The way I figure it, there are at least three sides to every person.
One is the public face that we put up for everyone to see. This is the side of ourselves that we let everyone see; the part of ourselves that we are most comfortable showing to the world.
Next is the side of ourselves that we reveal only to those who know us well. We may reveal different things to different people, but it is all our choice as to what is revealed. As time passes we may let some things reach the public side of ourselves as we become more comfortable with them.
Lastly is our private side; the part of ourselves that we do not let anyone else see. These are the things about ourselves that we may be ashamed of, or they may be things we think others will disapprove of, or they may just be things we are not comfortable telling anyone about. In any case, as we grow to accept these things, or grow to trust those around us these things may be revealed to those we care about.
That is the way I see it. We have a public side, a more personal side, and a deeply personal side. It is each of our decisions as to what is revealed and when, but I will say this. Embrace your strangeness; your hopes, your beliefs, your dreams. Never deny who you truly are and remember: people are a lot more accepting than you give them credit for.
Until next time...
Monday, February 27, 2006
Sunday, February 19, 2006
How to Lean Back in a Chair
I want to start off by saying that I do not think you should lean back in a chair. It is unsafe, and while I do lean back in them I do it of my own choice, knowing the risks involved. If you choose to lean back in a chair it is your choice and any injuries suffered while following of my instructions are not my fault... they are your own. This is my disclaimer and thanks to it, you cannot sue me... So there.
Start by finding a sturdy chair and a steady table.
Next, push back slightly, allowing your knees to clear the edge when you lean back.
Now, shifting your weight backwards, either push down and into the table with your hands, or with both feet flat on the ground press with your toes down and forward into the floor. With both cases Newton's third law will tip you backwards.
Now I suggest you either have a table that is bolted down or one that is heavy enough not to move. It is also beneficial to have a sturdy leg that you can put some weight on, because that just makes things easier. I can not stress how important it is to have a steady table, if you do not have one, do not lean back. This goes for your chair too, do not lean back in a wobby chair... You will just hurt yourself.
As you lean back rest your leg on the leg, or if the table will support your weight, then lean forward until your lower leg is supporting you on the edge of the table. It is important to keep one foot hooked around a leg to pull yourself forward quickly in the case of an emergency. Also, one should keep one's weight forward of their centre of gravity so that one does not fall backwards.
So you want to lean further back? Alright, shift your weight behind your centre of gravity and hold on to the table with your feet. Do not do this without a steady table AND a fair amount of experience in basic leaning.
How to get back down? If you are fully leaned back, then press your foot up and towards you to pull yourself back. Gently shift your weight forward to bring you back down at a reasonable pace. If you are just leaning on the table, just keep your weight forward, drop your knees and drop forward.
Now you may be asking: Robert, what if we don't have a table?
No problem... Just locate a wall, they are everywhere and you shouldn't have any problem finding one.
The procedure for leaning back is the same. Push off with your feet as I explained, and guide yourself back so that your chair sits on the wall. Next push your back flat against the wall so that you have control over the leaning. I advise against keeping the weight too much on the chair as this can be dangerous if you need to quickly get down.
If there is some sort of windowsill, then simply guide yourself gently onto the sill, leaving your back against the windowsill and not your chair. Windowsills are even easier to get off of than a normal wall, though the method is the same.
To get down, simply press your shoulders against the windowsill or wall and push hard. You then guide yourself back down to the ground.
To lean forward in a chair simply slide forward in a chair and shift your weight forward of your centre of gravity. This will tip the chair up. Be careful doing this, as you can easily go to far, causing the chair to shoot out behind your. This hurts and can cause in much embarassment.
So there you have it. A guide to leaning back in your chair. Good luck in all your chair leaning adventures.
Until next time...
Start by finding a sturdy chair and a steady table.
Next, push back slightly, allowing your knees to clear the edge when you lean back.
Now, shifting your weight backwards, either push down and into the table with your hands, or with both feet flat on the ground press with your toes down and forward into the floor. With both cases Newton's third law will tip you backwards.
Now I suggest you either have a table that is bolted down or one that is heavy enough not to move. It is also beneficial to have a sturdy leg that you can put some weight on, because that just makes things easier. I can not stress how important it is to have a steady table, if you do not have one, do not lean back. This goes for your chair too, do not lean back in a wobby chair... You will just hurt yourself.
As you lean back rest your leg on the leg, or if the table will support your weight, then lean forward until your lower leg is supporting you on the edge of the table. It is important to keep one foot hooked around a leg to pull yourself forward quickly in the case of an emergency. Also, one should keep one's weight forward of their centre of gravity so that one does not fall backwards.
So you want to lean further back? Alright, shift your weight behind your centre of gravity and hold on to the table with your feet. Do not do this without a steady table AND a fair amount of experience in basic leaning.
How to get back down? If you are fully leaned back, then press your foot up and towards you to pull yourself back. Gently shift your weight forward to bring you back down at a reasonable pace. If you are just leaning on the table, just keep your weight forward, drop your knees and drop forward.
Now you may be asking: Robert, what if we don't have a table?
No problem... Just locate a wall, they are everywhere and you shouldn't have any problem finding one.
The procedure for leaning back is the same. Push off with your feet as I explained, and guide yourself back so that your chair sits on the wall. Next push your back flat against the wall so that you have control over the leaning. I advise against keeping the weight too much on the chair as this can be dangerous if you need to quickly get down.
If there is some sort of windowsill, then simply guide yourself gently onto the sill, leaving your back against the windowsill and not your chair. Windowsills are even easier to get off of than a normal wall, though the method is the same.
To get down, simply press your shoulders against the windowsill or wall and push hard. You then guide yourself back down to the ground.
To lean forward in a chair simply slide forward in a chair and shift your weight forward of your centre of gravity. This will tip the chair up. Be careful doing this, as you can easily go to far, causing the chair to shoot out behind your. This hurts and can cause in much embarassment.
So there you have it. A guide to leaning back in your chair. Good luck in all your chair leaning adventures.
Until next time...
Friday, February 17, 2006
Can't We All Just Get Along?
I ask this question to everyone. Why can we not just work together and not attack eachother? Why can we not help eachother, covering eachother where we may have problems? Why do we feel the need to nitpick, rather than to support one another?
I say to everyone, that we should help eachother, rather than make life more difficult. Don't cause problems if you don't have to. Why must we make things harder for eachother? We are all capable of making life easier for all of those around us, yet we don't. We force others to try and handle the problems that we should be able to take care of ourselves.
I am ticked off now... Screw trying to work it out calmly. I say let the screaming match begin. Fight it out all you want without care to the happiness of others. I will sit back and watch the carnage.
Let the games begin...
Until next time...
I say to everyone, that we should help eachother, rather than make life more difficult. Don't cause problems if you don't have to. Why must we make things harder for eachother? We are all capable of making life easier for all of those around us, yet we don't. We force others to try and handle the problems that we should be able to take care of ourselves.
I am ticked off now... Screw trying to work it out calmly. I say let the screaming match begin. Fight it out all you want without care to the happiness of others. I will sit back and watch the carnage.
Let the games begin...
Until next time...
Monday, February 13, 2006
Webcomic of the Week
In this installment of Webcomic of the Week I will be showcasing the new webcomic Neko Madness. It is drawn by my brother Matthew Clark (Tom Clarkson), and is written by Neal Nearing. I will be doing things slightly different, as I have with me, the artist, Matthew Clark.
This will be the first interview to be on my blog, and I hope it goes well.
R: So what is this webcomic about?
M: Neko Madness is mainly about a group of fourteen year olds going into grade nine. The main plot of the story has nothing to do with school though. Let me explain to you some of the backstory. About fifty years ago cats started evolving, and developed human-like characteristics. At first, this new species was discriminated against, and were not considered to be 'sentient'.
R: So then what happened?
M: What happened then, was that the Nekos (what they called themselves) created their own government, and their own country. Humans eventually recognized the Nekos as being sentient, though they continued to experience intense discrimination. Some of the Nekos moved into human communities, though this was slow in coming.
R: And this is what lead up to the comic?
M: Yes. The comic starts about ten years after all of what I have described.
R: So do you have a plot all worked out?
M: Yes, I do have a main plot, it has a few holes in it at this point though, so the creative team is hard at work plugging those holes.
R: When do you expect the comic to fully start?
M: Within a month or two.
R: What can we expect to see in this comic?
M: War, humour, some romance and general insanity. They are cat people... what do you think?
R: What inspired you to start a webcomic?
M: Around September of last year, I started reading webcomics. From there, I started reading about ten others, and I eventually got the idea to start my own.
R: Where do you get your inspiration from?
M: I got a few of my ideas from the webcomic New World, drawn by Scott Clements and Robert Maupin. I like the character development that exists in that comic, as well as the variety of emotions that they can convey.
R: What is your favorite webcomic?
M: EGS... obviously. El Goonish Shive is quite simply the best webcomic that I read.
(The link for EGS can be found on the right hand side of the page for Blogspot viewers, and at the bottom for MSN Spaces viewers.)
R: Any closing thoughts?
M: Neko Madness is still in development. The art itself may change as the comic goes along, but this is to be expected with any new webcomic. Also, I hope you will all vote for Neko Madness at Top Webcomics; the link is on the front page of the site.
R: Thank-you for your time Matthew, and I hope that you do very well with your webcomic.
M: Thanks for having me Robert. Here is the link: Neko Madness.
R: And there you have it, my interview with Matthew Clark, artist of Neko Madness. I suggest to all of you that you read it once it gets going.
Until next time...
This will be the first interview to be on my blog, and I hope it goes well.
R: So what is this webcomic about?
M: Neko Madness is mainly about a group of fourteen year olds going into grade nine. The main plot of the story has nothing to do with school though. Let me explain to you some of the backstory. About fifty years ago cats started evolving, and developed human-like characteristics. At first, this new species was discriminated against, and were not considered to be 'sentient'.
R: So then what happened?
M: What happened then, was that the Nekos (what they called themselves) created their own government, and their own country. Humans eventually recognized the Nekos as being sentient, though they continued to experience intense discrimination. Some of the Nekos moved into human communities, though this was slow in coming.
R: And this is what lead up to the comic?
M: Yes. The comic starts about ten years after all of what I have described.
R: So do you have a plot all worked out?
M: Yes, I do have a main plot, it has a few holes in it at this point though, so the creative team is hard at work plugging those holes.
R: When do you expect the comic to fully start?
M: Within a month or two.
R: What can we expect to see in this comic?
M: War, humour, some romance and general insanity. They are cat people... what do you think?
R: What inspired you to start a webcomic?
M: Around September of last year, I started reading webcomics. From there, I started reading about ten others, and I eventually got the idea to start my own.
R: Where do you get your inspiration from?
M: I got a few of my ideas from the webcomic New World, drawn by Scott Clements and Robert Maupin. I like the character development that exists in that comic, as well as the variety of emotions that they can convey.
R: What is your favorite webcomic?
M: EGS... obviously. El Goonish Shive is quite simply the best webcomic that I read.
(The link for EGS can be found on the right hand side of the page for Blogspot viewers, and at the bottom for MSN Spaces viewers.)
R: Any closing thoughts?
M: Neko Madness is still in development. The art itself may change as the comic goes along, but this is to be expected with any new webcomic. Also, I hope you will all vote for Neko Madness at Top Webcomics; the link is on the front page of the site.
R: Thank-you for your time Matthew, and I hope that you do very well with your webcomic.
M: Thanks for having me Robert. Here is the link: Neko Madness.
R: And there you have it, my interview with Matthew Clark, artist of Neko Madness. I suggest to all of you that you read it once it gets going.
Until next time...
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Tales of Elections Canada
As I wrote this, I sat at the Information Officer’s (IO) desk at my appointed polling station. Life there was not quite as boring as you might have though, but I will let you be the judge. So in the interest of keeping a record of my day, here is my story.
8:45 – Arrived at my polling station and began to set up.
8:55 – Found out that the Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) for one of the polling stations was missing. Much a-worrying was caused by this as the Central Poll Supervisor (CPS) ran out with the poll listing to go call her.
9:20 – My CPS returned with my poll list. As I write this, we still do not have enough listings for all the people that need it. The stations are now set up and I have determined how to correctly do my job.
9:25 – No sign of the missing DRO yet. People are arriving outside, and the Conservative scrutineers have arrived, and are setting up.
9:30 – The polls open. So officially begins my twelve hour day. I now help my first few voters and after a few early stumbles I get to understanding what I am doing.
9:43 – My first lost voter. He came to the wrong station, and with the help of my CPS we direct him to the correct place.
9:44 – After much explaining as to why we cannot help them, I notice that the poll with the missing DRO is running. The Poll Clerk (PC) is acting as the DRO and the Registration Officer (RO) is now acting as the PC.
9:50 – The official DRO replacement shows up. The RO and PC return to their normal duties.
9:53 – First major lull in voter traffic.
10:00 – The first lull ends. This occurs when the voters from the poll with the missing DRO that were originally sent to the riding headquarters return. They now vote, a little angry with us for the mix-up. Understandable.
10:07 – I start writing this journal.
10:15 – My first lost voters. He went to the wrong poll again, so we call headquarters to get him some help.
10:19 – I talk to a scrutineer that works for Flaherty and I ask him what happens if he wins, as he is the MPP for this riding. I am told if he wins, his MPP spot will be vacant and their will be a provincial by-election.
10:21 – I realize that if Judi Longfield doesn’t win, I will at least get more money by working for Elections Ontario at the by-election.
10:27 – Caught up with my journal. There may be gaps now in the journal. Oh well…
10:34 – I break into my skittles and my first ginger-ale. Stupid cold froze the skittles, so they are not as chewy as I would have liked. I found some tape to close them back up when I tired of them. So this is boring… sue me. It isn’t as bad as my parents made it out to be though.
10:41 – A guy comes in with a paper that is apparently his wife’s power of attorney. Apparently this is acceptable and he votes for his wife.
10:44 – I steal my CPS’s polling station map. This will allow me to help voters better, as is my job.
10:46 – I tell my CPS that I took it. She seems fine with this. I also discover that my skittles pack has 50 % of my recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Random.
11:13 – Broke into the first half of my pizza sub. I also finished my ginger-ale. Both were delicious, and I plan on eating the other half of the sub within the next twenty minutes.
11:51 – Had a conversation with the replacement DRO on the topic of the computer age. I realized that none of my friends are in this polling distract.
11:53 – Read a bit of The Silver Chair. I am still bored.
12:25 – Helped a guy in a wheelchair. I also finished my second ginger-ale.
12:45 – Started writing my Webcomic of the Week post.
1:08 – Finished writing Webcomic of the Week. I started on an apology letter. It is a bit slow right now.
1:21 – Finished apology letter and moved on to doodling.
1:25 – Someone is trying to vote more than once… Shame on him… He voted at an advance poll and is now trying to vote here. We are getting scammed.
1:54 – The boredom has fully set in. I am pacing around the polling station. I broke into my carrots a while back and have now moved back to my skittles. I am saddened though; no one thinks I should be working here. Everyone thinks I am too young… Oh well…
2:27 – I’m not allowed to discuss my political beliefs while I’m here. I’m supposed to be non-partisan. I wish I could say something to the people. I cannot though, even when I agree with them.
2:33 – I finished my Fruitopia. I only have 1 pop left. I must conserve it. Heh… I am rationing…
2:50 – Some nice woman came around with some tea. She then brought me some, just how I like it, and a cookie. I set up a table near mine for all the cups once people are done with them.
2:55 – Only the Conservatives seem to have sent us any scrutineers today. It is disappointing. I wanted to see more of my favorite parties, or any other party for that matter.
2:58 – Saw the first person I actually know. Kind of. I saw the father of someone I know from Sinclair. I hope to see more people that I know.
3:22 – I set my watch after finishing my tea. I now have a timer going. Only 6:07 left to vote. Hurry!
3:35 – Had a conversation with a PC on the safety of leaning back in my chair. I have finished all of my carrots and skittles.
3:54 – Listened to another person explain rejected ballots and spoiled ballots to a voter. My word this is boring…
4:04 – Started reading silver chair again. Ate a cookie my CPS gave me.
4:19 – One of the DROs gave me a candy. That was nice of her.
4:25 – Voter comes in, angry at the Conservatives. They were campaigning on Election Day, which I don’t think is allowed. I hope they get in trouble.
4:27 – Saw a friend from the wine store at my work. Got her name wrong the first time. Dang…
4:35 – Saw someone from school. He just turned eighteen, and was voting. Who says my generation doesn’t vote?
4:38 – Got my name added to the conservative complaint. I will get an e-mail with the results. Again, I hope for some kind of fine. It’s not like they don’t know better.
4:46 – The Conservatives get off. They can campaign today, as long as they are at least three hundred feet away from any polling station. One football field. Two things are wrong with that; the first is that three hundred feet is not nearly enough; they should not be able to campaign at all on Election Day. The second thing is, why is that measurement in feet? It should be measured as one hundred metres. Why is it in the imperial measurement system?
4:55 – Mom dropped in with Timothy. Brought me Swiss Chalet, and it is delicious. I’m making my CPS jealous. Got to love having a great Mom.
5:22 – Finished dinner. Absolutely delicious. The bag I left in the trash smells of Swiss Chalet sauce and is making the replacement DRO hungry. It was really good. Now I have a coke that my Mom brought me. I should be good until 9:30.
5:31 – Four hours to go. Then I will see election coverage until morning.
5:37 – A couple came into the polling station. They had their voter ID cards, and still managed to come to the wrong station. How do you manage to come to the wrong place, when your destination is printed on the card in your hand? It makes no sense.
5:45 – Another one… For crying out loud people… Look at your card!
6:00 – And yet again, I’m getting sick of this. This guy couldn’t even take simple directions.
6:08 – Oh I’m getting tired of this. Suffice it to say some people are freaking morons. Now I have someone from another city trying to vote.
6:10 – They let her vote here. She doesn’t live here but she can vote here because someone mailed her voter ID card to her daughter’s address. Some days the system disgusts me.
6:19 – Same situation again, though it is not worth arguing about when I already know the answer to my complaint. I am not bothering to write anymore about this… It is getting tiresome.
6:45 – That was a busy twenty minutes, I hope it stays this steady.
6:57 – Libertarian scrutineers showed up. My friend is the candidate for this riding, and it is about time he showed. Now for some of my friend’s brand of “right-wingedness”. Various amounts of that in store for Elections Canada.
7:45 – Liberal scrutineers finally show up.
8:00 – Libertarian scrutineers successfully remove Liberal scrutineers from the DRO tables.
8:13 – A lull, finally. I get to sit down.
8:30 – The replacement DROs transfer papers come in after twelve hours of waiting. He can now vote.
8:38 – Libertarian candidate invites me to a Conservative drinking party. I decline.
8:43 – Read through the guidelines for candidate’s representatives.
8:44 – Heard disgusting stories from Libertarian candidate.
8:46 – Dad shows up… No real reason, he is forty-five minutes early. It is nice to talk to someone for a few minutes though.
9:10 – Discussed plans with Libertarian candidate to take over our town council. Talk of jailing political enemies, building statues of ourselves and the shooting of pigeons attempting to crap on them. Would electrify statues to discourage the pigeons from roosting.
9:13 – I have noticed a decline in the quality of my performance since the Libertarian candidate arrived.
9:29 – I get invited to act as a Libertarian scrutineers after the polls close. I decline. I get ready to go home.
9:30 – The polls close and I go home.
So was my day, boring at times. Though not as bad as I was lead to believe.
Until next time…
8:45 – Arrived at my polling station and began to set up.
8:55 – Found out that the Deputy Returning Officer (DRO) for one of the polling stations was missing. Much a-worrying was caused by this as the Central Poll Supervisor (CPS) ran out with the poll listing to go call her.
9:20 – My CPS returned with my poll list. As I write this, we still do not have enough listings for all the people that need it. The stations are now set up and I have determined how to correctly do my job.
9:25 – No sign of the missing DRO yet. People are arriving outside, and the Conservative scrutineers have arrived, and are setting up.
9:30 – The polls open. So officially begins my twelve hour day. I now help my first few voters and after a few early stumbles I get to understanding what I am doing.
9:43 – My first lost voter. He came to the wrong station, and with the help of my CPS we direct him to the correct place.
9:44 – After much explaining as to why we cannot help them, I notice that the poll with the missing DRO is running. The Poll Clerk (PC) is acting as the DRO and the Registration Officer (RO) is now acting as the PC.
9:50 – The official DRO replacement shows up. The RO and PC return to their normal duties.
9:53 – First major lull in voter traffic.
10:00 – The first lull ends. This occurs when the voters from the poll with the missing DRO that were originally sent to the riding headquarters return. They now vote, a little angry with us for the mix-up. Understandable.
10:07 – I start writing this journal.
10:15 – My first lost voters. He went to the wrong poll again, so we call headquarters to get him some help.
10:19 – I talk to a scrutineer that works for Flaherty and I ask him what happens if he wins, as he is the MPP for this riding. I am told if he wins, his MPP spot will be vacant and their will be a provincial by-election.
10:21 – I realize that if Judi Longfield doesn’t win, I will at least get more money by working for Elections Ontario at the by-election.
10:27 – Caught up with my journal. There may be gaps now in the journal. Oh well…
10:34 – I break into my skittles and my first ginger-ale. Stupid cold froze the skittles, so they are not as chewy as I would have liked. I found some tape to close them back up when I tired of them. So this is boring… sue me. It isn’t as bad as my parents made it out to be though.
10:41 – A guy comes in with a paper that is apparently his wife’s power of attorney. Apparently this is acceptable and he votes for his wife.
10:44 – I steal my CPS’s polling station map. This will allow me to help voters better, as is my job.
10:46 – I tell my CPS that I took it. She seems fine with this. I also discover that my skittles pack has 50 % of my recommended daily intake of vitamin C. Random.
11:13 – Broke into the first half of my pizza sub. I also finished my ginger-ale. Both were delicious, and I plan on eating the other half of the sub within the next twenty minutes.
11:51 – Had a conversation with the replacement DRO on the topic of the computer age. I realized that none of my friends are in this polling distract.
11:53 – Read a bit of The Silver Chair. I am still bored.
12:25 – Helped a guy in a wheelchair. I also finished my second ginger-ale.
12:45 – Started writing my Webcomic of the Week post.
1:08 – Finished writing Webcomic of the Week. I started on an apology letter. It is a bit slow right now.
1:21 – Finished apology letter and moved on to doodling.
1:25 – Someone is trying to vote more than once… Shame on him… He voted at an advance poll and is now trying to vote here. We are getting scammed.
1:54 – The boredom has fully set in. I am pacing around the polling station. I broke into my carrots a while back and have now moved back to my skittles. I am saddened though; no one thinks I should be working here. Everyone thinks I am too young… Oh well…
2:27 – I’m not allowed to discuss my political beliefs while I’m here. I’m supposed to be non-partisan. I wish I could say something to the people. I cannot though, even when I agree with them.
2:33 – I finished my Fruitopia. I only have 1 pop left. I must conserve it. Heh… I am rationing…
2:50 – Some nice woman came around with some tea. She then brought me some, just how I like it, and a cookie. I set up a table near mine for all the cups once people are done with them.
2:55 – Only the Conservatives seem to have sent us any scrutineers today. It is disappointing. I wanted to see more of my favorite parties, or any other party for that matter.
2:58 – Saw the first person I actually know. Kind of. I saw the father of someone I know from Sinclair. I hope to see more people that I know.
3:22 – I set my watch after finishing my tea. I now have a timer going. Only 6:07 left to vote. Hurry!
3:35 – Had a conversation with a PC on the safety of leaning back in my chair. I have finished all of my carrots and skittles.
3:54 – Listened to another person explain rejected ballots and spoiled ballots to a voter. My word this is boring…
4:04 – Started reading silver chair again. Ate a cookie my CPS gave me.
4:19 – One of the DROs gave me a candy. That was nice of her.
4:25 – Voter comes in, angry at the Conservatives. They were campaigning on Election Day, which I don’t think is allowed. I hope they get in trouble.
4:27 – Saw a friend from the wine store at my work. Got her name wrong the first time. Dang…
4:35 – Saw someone from school. He just turned eighteen, and was voting. Who says my generation doesn’t vote?
4:38 – Got my name added to the conservative complaint. I will get an e-mail with the results. Again, I hope for some kind of fine. It’s not like they don’t know better.
4:46 – The Conservatives get off. They can campaign today, as long as they are at least three hundred feet away from any polling station. One football field. Two things are wrong with that; the first is that three hundred feet is not nearly enough; they should not be able to campaign at all on Election Day. The second thing is, why is that measurement in feet? It should be measured as one hundred metres. Why is it in the imperial measurement system?
4:55 – Mom dropped in with Timothy. Brought me Swiss Chalet, and it is delicious. I’m making my CPS jealous. Got to love having a great Mom.
5:22 – Finished dinner. Absolutely delicious. The bag I left in the trash smells of Swiss Chalet sauce and is making the replacement DRO hungry. It was really good. Now I have a coke that my Mom brought me. I should be good until 9:30.
5:31 – Four hours to go. Then I will see election coverage until morning.
5:37 – A couple came into the polling station. They had their voter ID cards, and still managed to come to the wrong station. How do you manage to come to the wrong place, when your destination is printed on the card in your hand? It makes no sense.
5:45 – Another one… For crying out loud people… Look at your card!
6:00 – And yet again, I’m getting sick of this. This guy couldn’t even take simple directions.
6:08 – Oh I’m getting tired of this. Suffice it to say some people are freaking morons. Now I have someone from another city trying to vote.
6:10 – They let her vote here. She doesn’t live here but she can vote here because someone mailed her voter ID card to her daughter’s address. Some days the system disgusts me.
6:19 – Same situation again, though it is not worth arguing about when I already know the answer to my complaint. I am not bothering to write anymore about this… It is getting tiresome.
6:45 – That was a busy twenty minutes, I hope it stays this steady.
6:57 – Libertarian scrutineers showed up. My friend is the candidate for this riding, and it is about time he showed. Now for some of my friend’s brand of “right-wingedness”. Various amounts of that in store for Elections Canada.
7:45 – Liberal scrutineers finally show up.
8:00 – Libertarian scrutineers successfully remove Liberal scrutineers from the DRO tables.
8:13 – A lull, finally. I get to sit down.
8:30 – The replacement DROs transfer papers come in after twelve hours of waiting. He can now vote.
8:38 – Libertarian candidate invites me to a Conservative drinking party. I decline.
8:43 – Read through the guidelines for candidate’s representatives.
8:44 – Heard disgusting stories from Libertarian candidate.
8:46 – Dad shows up… No real reason, he is forty-five minutes early. It is nice to talk to someone for a few minutes though.
9:10 – Discussed plans with Libertarian candidate to take over our town council. Talk of jailing political enemies, building statues of ourselves and the shooting of pigeons attempting to crap on them. Would electrify statues to discourage the pigeons from roosting.
9:13 – I have noticed a decline in the quality of my performance since the Libertarian candidate arrived.
9:29 – I get invited to act as a Libertarian scrutineers after the polls close. I decline. I get ready to go home.
9:30 – The polls close and I go home.
So was my day, boring at times. Though not as bad as I was lead to believe.
Until next time…
Blog Content
When I started this blog I had no idea of what I was doing. I was going to use it as a vent for all of my frustrations, be they about my life or the world in general. In time the blog grew to be an expression of who I am; my feelings, my beliefs, my complaints and my hopes and dreams. I originally thought that I would post everything I wrote.
I have lost a few posts because I forgot to post them, or they lost their relevance in the time it took to post them. There were also a small number of posts that I actually lost the original copies of.
I think my first conscious decision not to post something came with a stream of consciousness piece I did a few months ago. It revealed a lot about me, but I was not comfortable showing some of the things that it showed to the world.
Lately there have been instances where I have been censoring myself. This may be to avoid my blog looking silly, or to keep certain things personal, or to not offend others. I have become acutely aware of the danger of offending others in the past few weeks.
I do not blog to offend others, but it seems that I have, especially some of those among my friends and family. For that, I am truly sorry. Anything that I have written was not meant to offend, but rather to vent. As such I will no longer be posting about my friends and family until they tell me it is alright to do so.
Due to this fact, I may be posting less often now. I will continue to write about politics, my blog in general, webcomics, some of my thoughts, and I will continue to post most of my creative work. I will however not be posting many of my rants, some of my complaints, and the tales of my life. This is not an attack on anyone, but it is rather my attempt to apologize to those that I have hurt with my posts, and to make up for them.
There are three people that I am not apologizing to in this post. They are the people featured in the posts: “Slander… It’s a Horrible Thing” and “Revenge upon the Child of Evil”. Those three people owe me an apology.
In conclusion, I am sorry. I sincerely apologize to all of those that I owe an apology to due to my rudeness and lack of consideration.
Until next time…
I have lost a few posts because I forgot to post them, or they lost their relevance in the time it took to post them. There were also a small number of posts that I actually lost the original copies of.
I think my first conscious decision not to post something came with a stream of consciousness piece I did a few months ago. It revealed a lot about me, but I was not comfortable showing some of the things that it showed to the world.
Lately there have been instances where I have been censoring myself. This may be to avoid my blog looking silly, or to keep certain things personal, or to not offend others. I have become acutely aware of the danger of offending others in the past few weeks.
I do not blog to offend others, but it seems that I have, especially some of those among my friends and family. For that, I am truly sorry. Anything that I have written was not meant to offend, but rather to vent. As such I will no longer be posting about my friends and family until they tell me it is alright to do so.
Due to this fact, I may be posting less often now. I will continue to write about politics, my blog in general, webcomics, some of my thoughts, and I will continue to post most of my creative work. I will however not be posting many of my rants, some of my complaints, and the tales of my life. This is not an attack on anyone, but it is rather my attempt to apologize to those that I have hurt with my posts, and to make up for them.
There are three people that I am not apologizing to in this post. They are the people featured in the posts: “Slander… It’s a Horrible Thing” and “Revenge upon the Child of Evil”. Those three people owe me an apology.
In conclusion, I am sorry. I sincerely apologize to all of those that I owe an apology to due to my rudeness and lack of consideration.
Until next time…
Snow
The snowflake dances up and down,
dancing in the wind.
It floats in place, and I blink
as the wind takes it out of sight again.
The sky is full of the dancing snowflakes,
my eyes move quickly, trying to follow them all.
I cannot see where each one goes,
they dance too fast, falling on the snow
The snow covers the ground like a blanket,
an even white layer, covering the earth.
I close my eyes and listen
to the silence that comes with it.
The falling snow dampens the normal noise,
the cars, the street, the loud conversation.
All that is left is the rustling of the trees
and the snow crunching beneath my feet.
Until next time...
dancing in the wind.
It floats in place, and I blink
as the wind takes it out of sight again.
The sky is full of the dancing snowflakes,
my eyes move quickly, trying to follow them all.
I cannot see where each one goes,
they dance too fast, falling on the snow
The snow covers the ground like a blanket,
an even white layer, covering the earth.
I close my eyes and listen
to the silence that comes with it.
The falling snow dampens the normal noise,
the cars, the street, the loud conversation.
All that is left is the rustling of the trees
and the snow crunching beneath my feet.
Until next time...
Expect the Cold
I am getting sick of hearing people complain about the cold, especially when I turn around to find these people not even wearing a sweater. I just want to turn around to these people and shout “You are living in Canada; you should expect that it will be cold. Put on a coat!”
I like the cold, I like the snow, and I expect it in early February. I have been disappointed up until now by the lack of snow on the ground, and this snowfall is a welcome change in weather.
I like the snow a lot better than the rain, and I prefer the cold to the heat. It is easy to warm up, but hard to cool down. It is nice to see a layer of snow on the ground, but it is depressing to see nothing but rain falling on a cold and dreary landscape. The fact is, that I like winter.
My favorite season is the autumn. It is cold, it has a nice feel to it and it is not an overly wet season. My least favorite season, by far, is the spring. It is always raining, the snow is melting and it is generally an uncomfortable season.
My point is that I like winter and its related weather, and that people who constantly complain about the cold, should simply put on a sweater.
Until next time…
I like the cold, I like the snow, and I expect it in early February. I have been disappointed up until now by the lack of snow on the ground, and this snowfall is a welcome change in weather.
I like the snow a lot better than the rain, and I prefer the cold to the heat. It is easy to warm up, but hard to cool down. It is nice to see a layer of snow on the ground, but it is depressing to see nothing but rain falling on a cold and dreary landscape. The fact is, that I like winter.
My favorite season is the autumn. It is cold, it has a nice feel to it and it is not an overly wet season. My least favorite season, by far, is the spring. It is always raining, the snow is melting and it is generally an uncomfortable season.
My point is that I like winter and its related weather, and that people who constantly complain about the cold, should simply put on a sweater.
Until next time…
The Value of My Time
My question is… How much of my time must be wasted before I am declared educated?
I am not talking about boring classes or when I am not paying attention because the subject material does not interest me. I am talking about true wastes of time; things that are done just to give me some quantifiable mark, things that are given out as busywork to kill time during the period. I am talking about teachers who tell me the same useless anecdotes over and over, or give us post-its to colour on. This is a waste of my time.
I am referring to my Co-op class. They started the first day by having us write our name on a post-it note, along with a picture of our favorite hobby, our favorite place to visit, and the names of our favorite movie and song. We then ignored the post-its and never did anything with them. How very beneficial to my education that was.
This kind of thing continued throughout the next week and a half, be it in a letter addressed to future me, or a handy mind-map to show me how to properly get injured at my placement.
I feel that I have had perfectly good time out of my life wasted. I want it explained to me how my time was not wasted, how this time would not have been better spent at my placement. I want to know how the post-it note had educational value.
I want the time I spend in school to have some meaning.
Until next time…
I am not talking about boring classes or when I am not paying attention because the subject material does not interest me. I am talking about true wastes of time; things that are done just to give me some quantifiable mark, things that are given out as busywork to kill time during the period. I am talking about teachers who tell me the same useless anecdotes over and over, or give us post-its to colour on. This is a waste of my time.
I am referring to my Co-op class. They started the first day by having us write our name on a post-it note, along with a picture of our favorite hobby, our favorite place to visit, and the names of our favorite movie and song. We then ignored the post-its and never did anything with them. How very beneficial to my education that was.
This kind of thing continued throughout the next week and a half, be it in a letter addressed to future me, or a handy mind-map to show me how to properly get injured at my placement.
I feel that I have had perfectly good time out of my life wasted. I want it explained to me how my time was not wasted, how this time would not have been better spent at my placement. I want to know how the post-it note had educational value.
I want the time I spend in school to have some meaning.
Until next time…
An Unfit Parent
When I wrote this, I was sitting in my co-op class, one day after I saw what could be the most negligent thing that I had ever seen.
Yesterday at a local pet store I saw a man get out of his car and leave his one-year old in the car with a video on. He then proceeded to go into the store for fifteen minutes, leaving his child to ‘fend for himself’.
How negligent is that? Is that not a crime? What if something had happened to that child? He would have been charged with criminal negligence then.
People like that do not deserve kids, especially when there are so many who cannot have children, who would actually take care of their kids. Negligent people like that are dangers to their own children. I should have phoned the police and reported the guy.
To top it all off, when he came back out and my family confronted him; he acted innocently, thinking that he had not done a thing wrong. He thought that he had acted responsibility. He did not think that he had acted negligently.
This person simply sickens me… I hope that he gets what is coming to him.
Until next time…
Yesterday at a local pet store I saw a man get out of his car and leave his one-year old in the car with a video on. He then proceeded to go into the store for fifteen minutes, leaving his child to ‘fend for himself’.
How negligent is that? Is that not a crime? What if something had happened to that child? He would have been charged with criminal negligence then.
People like that do not deserve kids, especially when there are so many who cannot have children, who would actually take care of their kids. Negligent people like that are dangers to their own children. I should have phoned the police and reported the guy.
To top it all off, when he came back out and my family confronted him; he acted innocently, thinking that he had not done a thing wrong. He thought that he had acted responsibility. He did not think that he had acted negligently.
This person simply sickens me… I hope that he gets what is coming to him.
Until next time…
Monday, February 06, 2006
Webcomic of the Week
Welcome to another installment of Webcomic of the Week. This week I will be going in a slightly different direction, and will be suggesting Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse to everyone. I realize that this is not a webcomic, but it is my favorite comic strip of all, even inching out El Goonish Shive, so I will bend the rules for it.
The thing about For Better or For Worse that sets it apart from every other comic I have ever read is the characters. They seem like real people, they grow over time and you can truly identify with them. The characters also age, which I find to be important, it makes them more real.
The comic is centred around the Pattersons, a family that lives in Milborough, Ontario, which is fictional community near Toronto. I had a short statement about all the main characters, but it did not do them justice, so I will direct you to the character page of Lynn's website for that. Read through if you want to get a quick look at the Patterson clan. Characters Guide
There is also a large number of secondary characters that also have backstories and personalities and grow over time. You can identify with some of these people as well, their lives, their stories and their choices that they have to make. The comic also deals with realistic problems, and is not afraid to deal with subjects that normally do not get dealt with in a syndicated comic strip, such as death of a character, extramarital affairs, aging characters and the challenges that creates, and in one recent example, someone trying to rape Elizabeth Patterson.
Like I said, it is an excellent comic that is full of real characters and issues, and you grow to like the characters and you can see where they are coming from. The comic has been going strong for over twenty-five years, and still shows no sign of stopping. You can read the past few years of comics at Lynn's official website, though I would suggest you go to your local library and read the old strips in book form to truly understand the characters. You will be glad you did.
So there you go, read the comic. You will not be disappointed.
Until next time...
The thing about For Better or For Worse that sets it apart from every other comic I have ever read is the characters. They seem like real people, they grow over time and you can truly identify with them. The characters also age, which I find to be important, it makes them more real.
The comic is centred around the Pattersons, a family that lives in Milborough, Ontario, which is fictional community near Toronto. I had a short statement about all the main characters, but it did not do them justice, so I will direct you to the character page of Lynn's website for that. Read through if you want to get a quick look at the Patterson clan. Characters Guide
There is also a large number of secondary characters that also have backstories and personalities and grow over time. You can identify with some of these people as well, their lives, their stories and their choices that they have to make. The comic also deals with realistic problems, and is not afraid to deal with subjects that normally do not get dealt with in a syndicated comic strip, such as death of a character, extramarital affairs, aging characters and the challenges that creates, and in one recent example, someone trying to rape Elizabeth Patterson.
Like I said, it is an excellent comic that is full of real characters and issues, and you grow to like the characters and you can see where they are coming from. The comic has been going strong for over twenty-five years, and still shows no sign of stopping. You can read the past few years of comics at Lynn's official website, though I would suggest you go to your local library and read the old strips in book form to truly understand the characters. You will be glad you did.
So there you go, read the comic. You will not be disappointed.
Until next time...
A Light in a Dark Room
A light goes on in a darkened room,
a pool of light falls upon the floor.
One cannot be sure what lies outside the light,
the shadows concealing that which the light cant reach.
The light comes from a lone bulb, hanging from its cord.
It sways back and forth, pushed by an unknown force.
As the light moves the pool it casts moves too,
illuminating slightly, the shadows in the dark.
One can only catch quick glimpses
of the figures in the moving light.
One cannot be sure of what one sees,
at the edges of their vision, almost out of sight.
The unknown force that moves the bulb
chooses what will be seen by those who watch,
as the pool of light moves across the floor,
the lightbulb's swinging arc changing as it goes.
Most will be content to sit inside the light,
watching as a few small shadows are revealed.
The truth will be shown to those who go,
and venture into the void.
It will be those that search in the dark, that will truly see the light.
Until next time...
a pool of light falls upon the floor.
One cannot be sure what lies outside the light,
the shadows concealing that which the light cant reach.
The light comes from a lone bulb, hanging from its cord.
It sways back and forth, pushed by an unknown force.
As the light moves the pool it casts moves too,
illuminating slightly, the shadows in the dark.
One can only catch quick glimpses
of the figures in the moving light.
One cannot be sure of what one sees,
at the edges of their vision, almost out of sight.
The unknown force that moves the bulb
chooses what will be seen by those who watch,
as the pool of light moves across the floor,
the lightbulb's swinging arc changing as it goes.
Most will be content to sit inside the light,
watching as a few small shadows are revealed.
The truth will be shown to those who go,
and venture into the void.
It will be those that search in the dark, that will truly see the light.
Until next time...
Thursday, February 02, 2006
The Watcher
An outsider sits on the fringe of the room.
He is secluded, detached and alone.
He sits there waiting for some day, some distant day, when he will join the crowd.
He sits there waiting, as life passes him by.
The outsider sits, observing the crowd.
He wonders how to join in.
He sits, waiting for the perfect moment, his time to shine,
Not realizing that by time that moment comes, it will already be too late.
The crowds shuffle back and forth, they change over time.
The outsider has long since accepted the life he lives.
The solitary life, the life of idle distraction.
For now, this is just the way life is.
So the outsider continues to watch the crowds, they change over time.
He sits, waiting for when he will seize the day.
The world around him is not as hard as he thinks.
But he sits there waiting, as life passes him by.
Until next time...
He is secluded, detached and alone.
He sits there waiting for some day, some distant day, when he will join the crowd.
He sits there waiting, as life passes him by.
The outsider sits, observing the crowd.
He wonders how to join in.
He sits, waiting for the perfect moment, his time to shine,
Not realizing that by time that moment comes, it will already be too late.
The crowds shuffle back and forth, they change over time.
The outsider has long since accepted the life he lives.
The solitary life, the life of idle distraction.
For now, this is just the way life is.
So the outsider continues to watch the crowds, they change over time.
He sits, waiting for when he will seize the day.
The world around him is not as hard as he thinks.
But he sits there waiting, as life passes him by.
Until next time...
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Strategic Voting
The NDP and the Liberals are a lot closer in how they see the issues than either are with the Conservatives. This is a fact.
I believe in an alliance against the right wing. Let me explain to you why this works. I will use my riding as an example, but first I must explain some things. Every vote for a party that receives two percent of the national popular vote gives that party $1.75 a year for every year that the government lasts.
In my riding, the Conservatives won by somewhere between 800 and 1400 votes. The Liberals were a close second. The NDP were a very distant third getting a little less than 2500 votes (The Conservatives got 15000). If the NDP had withdrawn and told their voters to vote Liberal, then the Liberals would have won and the true will of the people would be heard.
The NDP get $17500 from my riding if the government lasts 4 years. In the long run, that is really not much. An extra Liberal seat could have changed the balance of power. This occurred in ridings across the country, and it of course works in reverse. The Liberals should support the NDP when it is a toss-up between the NDP and the Conservatives, like in the riding just to the west of me.
We could have the government we actually want.
It does not make any difference now though. Oh well...
Until next time...
I believe in an alliance against the right wing. Let me explain to you why this works. I will use my riding as an example, but first I must explain some things. Every vote for a party that receives two percent of the national popular vote gives that party $1.75 a year for every year that the government lasts.
In my riding, the Conservatives won by somewhere between 800 and 1400 votes. The Liberals were a close second. The NDP were a very distant third getting a little less than 2500 votes (The Conservatives got 15000). If the NDP had withdrawn and told their voters to vote Liberal, then the Liberals would have won and the true will of the people would be heard.
The NDP get $17500 from my riding if the government lasts 4 years. In the long run, that is really not much. An extra Liberal seat could have changed the balance of power. This occurred in ridings across the country, and it of course works in reverse. The Liberals should support the NDP when it is a toss-up between the NDP and the Conservatives, like in the riding just to the west of me.
We could have the government we actually want.
It does not make any difference now though. Oh well...
Until next time...
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