Archive for June, 2005
June 30, 2005 at 8:29 am · Filed under F1
Yesterday, the Formula One governing body found the seven Michelin teams who refused to take part in the US grand prix guilty of bringing the sport into disrepute. OK, fine, they screwed up, they deserve some kind of (hopefully financial) punishment; but my question is who governs the governing body? The problem was caused by the Michelin teams, but the resulting fiasco could have been avoided. The FIA are partially to blame for what happened. They had options, they could have done something to give the fans a race. They had time, not much time admittedly, but time enough to put together a plan that would allow all teams to race safely and fairly.
If the FIA cannot or will not hold themselves accountable then they are just doing more damage to their already tarnished reputation and to the sport.
June 29, 2005 at 7:51 am · Filed under Rants
In Canada you can choose to marry whoever you want.
In Canada it is ok to use marijuana to ease your pain and suffering.
In Canada contraception is ok, whatever form it takes.
In Canada you can burn the flag if you want.
In Canada it is understood that sometimes abortion is necessary.
In Canada torture is a violation of human rights. Always. The end does not justify the means.
In Canada you can be an atheist and still be considered a citizen.
In Canada law is secular and religious freedom is guaranteed within that law.
In Canada you can’t have your home taken away for a shopping mall.
In Canada you can take books from the library without fear of persecution.
In Canada the authorities need to have probable cause and a warrant before searching your home.
So I’m confused; which country is the Land Of The Free again?
June 28, 2005 at 10:46 am · Filed under Family+Friends, Home
I love four day weekends.
I love three day work weeks.
We watched Danny Deckchair. I liked it, Jen found it slow.
I’m reading The Complete Book of Pork. I like pork.
I’m watching old episodes of Dr Who on BBC Kids. How did aliens who speak and act really really slowly ever become so powerful?
It’s hot. Really hot.
Sahfi is in town at the weekend. We like Sahfi.
We went to a neighbourhood bbq on Friday. We have some nice neighbours. Who knew?
A tiny water pistol is no match for a super soaker.
June 26, 2005 at 4:39 pm · Filed under Movies + TV
Are you a fan of Stephen R Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant? Do you like the idea of two girls in bed together discussing Lord Foul’s Bane? Then Fantasy Bedtime Hour is for you. Heatherly and Julie may be ill-equipped to discuss fantasy novel concepts, but that’s ok, they have experts on hand to help.
June 23, 2005 at 12:14 pm · Filed under Rants
So the Rotary Club of Chatham, New Brunswick decided to raise some money for a new eco-centre, a place for “promoting education and environmental awareness”. They put their heads together to find an appropriate fund-raising idea, and came up with this. We’re promoting an eco-centre, let’s give away a Hummer!
Idiots. I’m guessing one of the smiling faces in that photo owns a Hummer dealership.
June 22, 2005 at 8:53 am · Filed under Skepticism
If other countries took this kind of action there would be a lot less quackery in the world. Toronto police have branded ‘psychic healer’ Alex Orbito a fake, and charged him with fraud and the posession of the proceeds of crime.
Mr Orbito hails from the Philippines, where he has undoubtedly fleeced many poor and gullible people of their life savings. Mr Orbito uses the old and oft-debunked trick of pretending to push his fingers into the bodies of his victims and extracting blood and tumors. What he ‘extracts’ are, according to the Toronto police, parts from a chicken. For a two minute conjuring trick like this, he was charging gullible Torontonians $135 and managed to make $80000 in 3 days.
It’s sad to see that a trick that has been debunked so often and by so many people is still fooling the weak and desperate and separating them from their hard-earned cash. It’s heartening to see that the Canadian police are willing to step in and do something about it.
Apparently news of Mr Orbito’s visit was spread by word of mouth. Hopefully the news of his arrest and the arrest of his promoter will be spread in the same way.
June 20, 2005 at 1:39 pm · Filed under F1
After yesterday’s shambles at Indianapolis I hope the FIA make an effort to change their attitude. 100,000 fans were there to see a motor race supposedly at the pinnacle of motor sport. Millions of fans around the world were tuning in to see it too. Instead we got a farcical Ferrari showcase.
Choosing to let the race go ahead with only 6 cars, only two of which were competitive, was the worst possible decision. Fix the problem so everyone can race, or cancel the race and refund the fans. Running a six car race may fulfill the FIA’s contractual obligations but it does nothing for their reputation or for the reputation of the sport.
Without the fans, F1 is dead. The FIA must stop putting politics before the fans’ enjoyment. Their decisions yesterday effectively killed Formula 1 in the USA and seriously damaged it everywhere else.
June 19, 2005 at 9:59 am · Filed under Home
A year and a half ago I married Jen. My step-father-in-law makes knives in his spare time, and promised us some kitchen knives as a wedding gift. Last week he delivered on that promise. Not only do they look fantastic, but they’re a joy to use and incredibly sharp. Well worth the wait.
Thanks Richard, and happy Father’s Day, even though you will never read this. Happy Father’s Day to my dad too, and all the other dads out there.
June 13, 2005 at 3:26 pm · Filed under Blogging
I got tagged…
Number of books I own…
A lot less than I used to, but I still have an almost complete Pratchett collection, all the Harry Potter books and the complete works of Stephen Donaldson.
Last book bought…
Well I’ve already ordered two copies of Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. Does that count?
Last book read (still reading)…
Queenan Country by Joe Queenan
Five books that mean a lot to me…
- The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. It’s been with me since I was a teenager.
- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. See above.
- The Secret Seven books by Enid Blyton. I grew up reading them and had the complete collection.
- Danny, The Champion of the World by Roald Dahl, another childhood favourite.
- The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. One of the funniest things I’ve ever read. The first of the Discworld novels, it set me on the road to collecting them all.
Who shall I send this too?
Procrasto
Orac
Jonas Parker
and Jen (Kowy already tagged her, but she needs a push)
June 13, 2005 at 2:58 pm · Filed under Family+Friends, Home
We’ve done some gardening (with the help of two of Jen’s brothers and their girlfriends). I’ve cooked for family and friends. We went to a fabulous Blue Rodeo concert with the Shatnerian and his wanton chickie. I heard Dr Joe speak at Toastmasters. And we’ve relaxed a lot. Relaxing is good.
June 8, 2005 at 11:26 am · Filed under Skepticism
Having hooked up with Tom Cruise, it was inevitable that she would get into Scientology too. Yes, to quote Katie Holmes: I have looked into [Scientology] myself and I really like it and I think it’s really wonderful
. When will celebrities realise they’re being used to legitimize a criminal cult? Wasn’t Battlefield Earth enough of a clue? Don’t these people ever do a bit of research into what they’re getting into?
Scientology is a “religion” which was created on a bet by L Ron Hubbard, a hack sci-fi author with delusions of grandeur. His infamous quote:
Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous, If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way to do it would be to start his own religion.
Hubbard used his sci-fi background to create a creation myth involving an ancient galactic empire ruled by Xenu who hid billions of people in Earth’s volcanoes and detonated atom bombs in them to kill everyone. Yes, L Ron Hubbard was a complete nutcase (or a genius con-man, you decide).
I would imagine that unless the Scientology celebs ever visit places like xenu.net, they never hear about these dark secrets of the Scientology cult. They’re treated with kid gloves, the Scientology PR machine hard at work to keep them as figureheads and not freak them out by telling them the truth.
Scientology is a criminally convicted cult in Canada. They were fined $250,000 in 1985 when it was discovered that some of their members had infiltrated government offices and stolen confidential documents. They did this because those government organisations were perceived enemies of Scientology. It’s not just Canada either, this site has a list of all the countries where Scientology has been caught being a bad little organisation.
In 1995 Lisa MacPherson was declared dead on arrival at a hospital in Clearwater, Florida. Clearwater is where the HQ of the Scientology organisation is located. Lisa had been kept there in isolation for days after having a psychotic break. She was underweight, dehydrated, and covered in bruises and bug bits. This is what Scientology does to its members.
Tom Cruise, Jenna Elfman, John Travolta, Juliette Lewis, Kirstie Alley, and all the other Scientology celebrities are being abused in their own way. Their public profile is being used to promote a criminally negligent ufo cult which only exists to make money from the weak and the gullible.
Katie, have fun with Tom if you want, but please stay away from his “religion”.
June 3, 2005 at 10:26 am · Filed under Home
It’s my last day at work for 2 weeks. We’re not going anywhere but it’ll be nice to relax and do nothing. That is when I’m not digging, weeding, planting, mowing, watering, painting and cleaning.
Blogging may be sporadic, but hey, nothing new there.
June 2, 2005 at 10:45 am · Filed under Rants
Summer sunshine brings with it a craving for cold beer straight from the bottle. Any meal is enhanced by a glass of good red wine (well ok, except breakfast). A night out at one of Montreal’s Irish pubs isn’t complete without a pint of Guinness or oatmeal stout. There’s something incredibly satisfying about ending the day with a glass of single malt whiskey if I’m feeling flush, or shine if I’m feeling poor.
Yes, I enjoy alcohol. I’m also happy to say I’ve never had a problem with it. I drank a lot in my late teens and early twenties, but thats just what boys living in Essex do. Nowadays I drink in moderation. I can’t remember the last time I was drunk. I never drink and drive. Drinking doesn’t make me abusive or obnoxious. I don’t “need” alcohol, I just like it.
Drinking in moderation has been shown to lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, be good for the heart and reduce the risk of stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, kidney stones, gallstones, arthritis, stress and depression.
On the other hand, alcohol abuse kills thousands of people every year and causes problems for millions more. Long term abuse increases the chances of getting breast, mouth or throat cancer as well as destroying your liver.
I wondered if there was a proper definition of “drinking in moderation”. The generally accepted opinion seems to be two drinks a day for men, or one drink a day for women. A drink being 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine, or 1.5 ounces of spirits. I fall well below that level as I don’t drink at all on most days and rarely have more than two when I do. Oh and not drinking for 10 days then having 20 beers in one night is not good. It doesn’t quite work like that.
All this typing has made me thirsty…
June 1, 2005 at 7:49 am · Filed under Canada, F1, Movies + TV
The temperature is rising. The stands are going up on Ile Notre Dame. The chequered flags are hanging outside all the stores. Crescent Street is bracing itself for an invasion of beautiful people. The F1 boutiques are fully stocked. The hotels are booked. Yes, the F1 circus is coming to town with only 10 days to go before the Canadian Grand Prix. Summer hasn’t arrived properly until the sound of 17000 RPMs can be heard faintly from almost anywhere downtown.
Oh and if you want to get a glimpse of Zach Braff, it looks like he’s filming down by the Bell Centre today. Go stalk.
