Last week's "big news story" about South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford's adulterous affair with an Argentinian woman is just the latest in a long string of public figure scandals. Perhaps the biggest reason for this one getting so much coverage was the bizarre prelude to it, in which the governor disappeared for several days during which time no one could find him. (Constituting dereliction of duty for a Governor, I'd say!)
While these sorts of things seem to revolve around liberal politicians every bit as often as conservative ones, the reason that high-profile Republicans look so much worse in these situations is simply the hypocrisy of it all. These are typically church-going, Bible-quoting men who cluck their tongues and point their fingers at anyone who fails to measure up to their interpretation of the Old or New Testament. Gay marriage? Why, that would destroy the sanctity of the union between a man and a woman! Never mind that individuals like Gov Sanford spit on that sanctity by having affairs, of course. I guess it must be "the principle of the thing" at work here.
To cut Sanford a little slack, though: it does sound, at least from a distance, like the guy might actually be in love with his mistress. What I can't help but wonder, though, is whether this experience has taught him anything? Clearly he knew that having sex with a woman behind his wife's back was wrong... and yet he went ahead and did it. Repeatedly. And he did all that (presumably) because he felt that he had to follow his heart. Can't that teach him anything about a person who falls in love with someone of the same gender, and wants to marry that other person? Is it still impossible for him to put himself in the shoes of someone like that, and begin feeling any compassion for their situation?
If there's one thing I can't stand in a person, it's hypocrisy. If you truly believe that it's OK for you to do something but wrong for someone else, then you've got a serious problem. And the last thing we need are people like that holding down positions of importance in society.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A Classic Catch-22 That May Spell Disaster
Economist Paul Krugman has a very good post up about the slim passage of the environmental bill in the U.S. Congress last week. He writes about how the actions of some of those who voted against it may very well constitute treason against the planet. I certainly wouldn't disagree with him one little bit on that perspective. It's becoming increasingly clear that many individuals and organizations are working in what they consider to be their own, selfish best interests in the short term, with little or no regard for any long term consequences to the species.
What strikes me is the Catch-22 nature of the situation we find ourselves in, vis-a-vis Climate Change. In Joseph Heller's World War II novel of the same name, one of the examples of a Catch-22 was a fighter pilot requesting release from his duties on the grounds that he believed that he was losing his mind. The person in charge, however, argued that anyone sane enough to worry that he was losing his mind must therefore be sane enough to continue flying missions: Catch-22!
We're in a similar boat on the environment, I fear. In order for some people to believe that Climate Change is real and in need of a strong response (one that might even *gasp* involve raising taxes on American citizens!), something fairly dramatic and undeniable is going to have to happen. It can't be anything that can be explained away (see: Katrina) but has to be something unprecedented... like New York City being drowned under a tidal wave, for example. The problem, of course, is that by the time something like that actually happens, it'll be well beyond the point where anything could be done to stem the tide. In other words, we need something definitive to happen before enough people will believe, but by the time that thing occurs, believing won't make any difference: Catch-22!
As I'm sure I've blogged about before, the aspect of the argument that makes it easy for me to decide which side to come down on is this: if Climate Change isn't real, then the cost of being wrong is that we reduce our dependence on foreign oil, develop renewable energy sources that will power our lifestyles for centuries, protect more of the planet from plundering, and generally encourage people to treat natural resources as precious. Oh, and yeah, OK, some stuff may cost more as we learn to build the real expense of items into the price tag. I can live with all that!
Whereas the "oops" factor if we err in the other direction is that we may end up wiping ourselves out, along with many other species, in addition to the hundreds or thousands that we've already made extinct. Hmm, that's a Hell of a big "oops"!
As project management risk analyses go, that's pretty much a no-brainer in terms of deciding between Plan-A and Plan-B. I wish most of the choices I've had to make in my career were as black and white as that one! Unfortunately, many of the Climate Change deniers are playing the part of the Eternal Optimists of Project Management, who bury their heads in the sand when it comes to risks and simply continue to believe that everything will work out fine as long as we all keep doing what we've been doing. It just happens that, in this case, "failure" may end up meaning that there aren't any more projects... ever.
What strikes me is the Catch-22 nature of the situation we find ourselves in, vis-a-vis Climate Change. In Joseph Heller's World War II novel of the same name, one of the examples of a Catch-22 was a fighter pilot requesting release from his duties on the grounds that he believed that he was losing his mind. The person in charge, however, argued that anyone sane enough to worry that he was losing his mind must therefore be sane enough to continue flying missions: Catch-22!
We're in a similar boat on the environment, I fear. In order for some people to believe that Climate Change is real and in need of a strong response (one that might even *gasp* involve raising taxes on American citizens!), something fairly dramatic and undeniable is going to have to happen. It can't be anything that can be explained away (see: Katrina) but has to be something unprecedented... like New York City being drowned under a tidal wave, for example. The problem, of course, is that by the time something like that actually happens, it'll be well beyond the point where anything could be done to stem the tide. In other words, we need something definitive to happen before enough people will believe, but by the time that thing occurs, believing won't make any difference: Catch-22!
As I'm sure I've blogged about before, the aspect of the argument that makes it easy for me to decide which side to come down on is this: if Climate Change isn't real, then the cost of being wrong is that we reduce our dependence on foreign oil, develop renewable energy sources that will power our lifestyles for centuries, protect more of the planet from plundering, and generally encourage people to treat natural resources as precious. Oh, and yeah, OK, some stuff may cost more as we learn to build the real expense of items into the price tag. I can live with all that!
Whereas the "oops" factor if we err in the other direction is that we may end up wiping ourselves out, along with many other species, in addition to the hundreds or thousands that we've already made extinct. Hmm, that's a Hell of a big "oops"!
As project management risk analyses go, that's pretty much a no-brainer in terms of deciding between Plan-A and Plan-B. I wish most of the choices I've had to make in my career were as black and white as that one! Unfortunately, many of the Climate Change deniers are playing the part of the Eternal Optimists of Project Management, who bury their heads in the sand when it comes to risks and simply continue to believe that everything will work out fine as long as we all keep doing what we've been doing. It just happens that, in this case, "failure" may end up meaning that there aren't any more projects... ever.
The Opposite Of Boneman's "Affliction"
Boneman, if I remember correctly, suffers from "blue-green colour blindness", which I believe means that he can't easily distinguish between some shades of blue and green. (Or maybe I have that completely wrong!)
Anyway, this little optical illusion provides the inverse of that condition, causing the viewer to perceive a difference where none actually exists. Personally, I found it quite interesting. I did notice, however, that if I viewed the image from about a dozen feet away, the illusory effect disappeared.
Anyway, this little optical illusion provides the inverse of that condition, causing the viewer to perceive a difference where none actually exists. Personally, I found it quite interesting. I did notice, however, that if I viewed the image from about a dozen feet away, the illusory effect disappeared.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Off The Air For A Bit Today
The fence builders managed to cut our phone line today with all of their hole-digging, leaving me with no ground line (and Vicki had the only working cell phone in the family with her at the office). More importantly, I was stranded with no Internet for about 9 hours. It didn't look like we'd even get a service call until tomorrow morning, but then a Bell guy showed up unexpectedly around 7:30 tonight and just like that - if "just like that" suggests an hour or more of fiddling with wires and digging around in wet dirt - we were back on the air.
It's funny how cut off I feel anymore if I lose the Internet. A mere 15 years ago I'd barely have noticed such a thing. Is this progress I'm feeling?
It's funny how cut off I feel anymore if I lose the Internet. A mere 15 years ago I'd barely have noticed such a thing. Is this progress I'm feeling?
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Almost Done inFAMOUS
I'm about 2/3 of the way through inFAMOUS now, and have recently started to tire of it a bit. It's definitely a very good game, but the repetition (of missions, and enemies) is beginning to wear on me. There also aren't many upgrades left to buy, which removes one of the incentives to keep racking up the XP as I've been doing.
I don't know if I'll actually play it right through to the end or not, but either way: I expect that by this time next week, I may very well have started in on Red Faction: Guerrilla. (It's always nice when you have the next game lined up before finishing the current one, isn't it?)
I don't know if I'll actually play it right through to the end or not, but either way: I expect that by this time next week, I may very well have started in on Red Faction: Guerrilla. (It's always nice when you have the next game lined up before finishing the current one, isn't it?)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Strange Sight Around The Block
The denizens of our neighbourhood are quite accustomed to seeing Vicki and I out walking, as we do so several times a week when the weather permits. What they're not used to, though, is the sight of the two of us out walking a large dog... as we were tonight!
With the fence down between our house and our (fairly new) next door neighbour (new fence goes up next week), Caesar the very large golden Lab has made our yard his second home (with our blessing). While he was visiting tonight, we offered to take him along on our evening stroll... and off the three of us went!
A better behaved, more friendly dog I don't think I've ever met. If we weren't lifelong cat people, we might actually consider crossing over to the dark side. But instead we'll just settle for living that life vicariously.
With the fence down between our house and our (fairly new) next door neighbour (new fence goes up next week), Caesar the very large golden Lab has made our yard his second home (with our blessing). While he was visiting tonight, we offered to take him along on our evening stroll... and off the three of us went!
A better behaved, more friendly dog I don't think I've ever met. If we weren't lifelong cat people, we might actually consider crossing over to the dark side. But instead we'll just settle for living that life vicariously.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Travelling Tammy Now Back Home
After five and a half weeks away, Tammy's now back from her Asian excursion. Despite our many worries, she didn't break any bones, catch any dangerous diseases or get sold into any white slavery rings! Yay!
Are We Living In A Golden Age For Entrepreneurs?
Several recent events have got me thinking along these lines, but I should really start at the beginning.
Which, for me, was a couple of years ago (almost to the month) when I decided to write my first book. I had known all along that I would self-publish, rather than open myself up to the rejection and ridicule of trying to convince some publishing house to take a flyer on me. Since, at the time that I decided on the writing assignment, I'd not done any research at all into self-publishing, I pessimistically assumed that it would be an expensive undertaking. In fact, I think I said to Vicki that I would "set aside about $1000 and print whatever number of copies that would get me." My plan at that point was to give copies away, because really... who'd want to pay for the privilege of reading a book by a nobody?
Once I'd looked into it more, though, I realized that it was much cheaper than I'd expected. Where I'd imagined copies costing perhaps as much as $50 apiece (meaning that my $1000 would give me 20 copies to give away to friends and family), I discovered that a print run of any reasonable size (say, 10 or more) could be done with a price point no higher than $10 to $20, depending on the format and page count. Wow! What a revelation that was!
The relative ease and low cost of self-publishing meant that I could do ahead with my plan, which eventually lead to dozens of sales, a second AgileMan book and even thoughts of a fiction book (not to be confused with "a fictional book", which is its status at the moment). The important point here is that there proved to be very few obstacles in the way of my becoming an entrepreneurial author, beyond the inescapable challenges of actually doing the work. I didn't need to deal with publishers who might want to change my words or approach (possibly for the better, though we'll probably never know), or agents who would take a cut, or marketers who could have presented the book as something that it's not. (Although, hardly a month goes by without AgileBoy reminding me of just what a lousy job I've done advertising the AgileMan books myself, so perhaps marketers wouldn't have been all bad...)
Along similar lines, a former co-worker of mine made big news recently by quitting his job after creating a very popular - and therefore lucrative - iPhone application. Now, in this case, Apple gets a slice of every dollar made, but the majority of the money (I believe) flows directly into the hands of the application's creator. Once again, a person with some creative juices has been able to get their product out on the market without too much difficulty, and is reaping most of the rewards of their labour. Yay for "the little guy!"
Just last night, a new acquaintance of mine passed along the story of his brother, who has self-published a book on the topic of "what it takes to get into the Fire Department" and did very well for himself (selling thousands of copies on his own, and then eventually landing a publisher for the book). That success story clearly outstripped anything that I've accomplished with my AgileMan books (so far), but definitely provided inspiration to me, nevertheless!
It may, in fact, be the case that it's never been easier to "make good" on your dreams than it is right now - today! - early on in the 21st century. Sure, we're in the middle of a terrible Recession, and the stock markets are still down... but just as artists can be appreciated (and potentially even "discovered") through their use of YouTube, online comics, blogging, and the like, virtually any kind of creative energy that one might possess is more likely to find a low-cost entry point into the marketplace than has ever existed before.
In other words, we may be living in a Golden Age for such things. Isn't that pretty exciting, when you think about it?
Which, for me, was a couple of years ago (almost to the month) when I decided to write my first book. I had known all along that I would self-publish, rather than open myself up to the rejection and ridicule of trying to convince some publishing house to take a flyer on me. Since, at the time that I decided on the writing assignment, I'd not done any research at all into self-publishing, I pessimistically assumed that it would be an expensive undertaking. In fact, I think I said to Vicki that I would "set aside about $1000 and print whatever number of copies that would get me." My plan at that point was to give copies away, because really... who'd want to pay for the privilege of reading a book by a nobody?
Once I'd looked into it more, though, I realized that it was much cheaper than I'd expected. Where I'd imagined copies costing perhaps as much as $50 apiece (meaning that my $1000 would give me 20 copies to give away to friends and family), I discovered that a print run of any reasonable size (say, 10 or more) could be done with a price point no higher than $10 to $20, depending on the format and page count. Wow! What a revelation that was!
The relative ease and low cost of self-publishing meant that I could do ahead with my plan, which eventually lead to dozens of sales, a second AgileMan book and even thoughts of a fiction book (not to be confused with "a fictional book", which is its status at the moment). The important point here is that there proved to be very few obstacles in the way of my becoming an entrepreneurial author, beyond the inescapable challenges of actually doing the work. I didn't need to deal with publishers who might want to change my words or approach (possibly for the better, though we'll probably never know), or agents who would take a cut, or marketers who could have presented the book as something that it's not. (Although, hardly a month goes by without AgileBoy reminding me of just what a lousy job I've done advertising the AgileMan books myself, so perhaps marketers wouldn't have been all bad...)
Along similar lines, a former co-worker of mine made big news recently by quitting his job after creating a very popular - and therefore lucrative - iPhone application. Now, in this case, Apple gets a slice of every dollar made, but the majority of the money (I believe) flows directly into the hands of the application's creator. Once again, a person with some creative juices has been able to get their product out on the market without too much difficulty, and is reaping most of the rewards of their labour. Yay for "the little guy!"
Just last night, a new acquaintance of mine passed along the story of his brother, who has self-published a book on the topic of "what it takes to get into the Fire Department" and did very well for himself (selling thousands of copies on his own, and then eventually landing a publisher for the book). That success story clearly outstripped anything that I've accomplished with my AgileMan books (so far), but definitely provided inspiration to me, nevertheless!
It may, in fact, be the case that it's never been easier to "make good" on your dreams than it is right now - today! - early on in the 21st century. Sure, we're in the middle of a terrible Recession, and the stock markets are still down... but just as artists can be appreciated (and potentially even "discovered") through their use of YouTube, online comics, blogging, and the like, virtually any kind of creative energy that one might possess is more likely to find a low-cost entry point into the marketplace than has ever existed before.
In other words, we may be living in a Golden Age for such things. Isn't that pretty exciting, when you think about it?
Intelligence And The Kid Next Door
A friend on Twitter (a Fritter?) linked to this article on the topic of defining and categorizing intelligence. "Not Every Child Is Secretly a Genius" is, indeed, an interesting read, and since the friend indicated that he was "[c]urious to see what others think" about it, I thought that I might oblige him.
I don't have the technical background to challenge or support the article writer's stance (which is essentially that intelligence is "an innate cognitive ability that powers learning" and not something that should be diluted or distorted by suggesting that we can all be geniuses in our own way). He's probably right, and even if he's not, I'm not going to be the one to make the compelling argument to prove it. (Hey, I'm no genius!)
But I've long held a belief, somewhat related to this subject, that my Math tutoring experience has been allowing me to put to the test. It's simply this: most individuals who aren't doing well in school could probably do much better if they had the right kind of instruction. That's nothing Earth-shattering, to be sure. And yet I often get the impression that parents will "write off" their kids' chances at academic success by simply saying, "Oh, little Suzy or Bobby just isn't any good at _____" based on marks that come home. (This is basically a corollary to the situation mentioned in the article whereby parents fixate on dance, or a sport, as a way to say that Bobby or Suzy is actually a genius, just not at the stuff that happens to be in the school curriculum.)
Part of it, I think, comes down to the ways in which people learn. The article writer describes learning as something that's an innate ability, and there's probably something to that. Which is to say: some people are naturally talented at learning. They can pick something up by reading a book, hearing a presentation, watching someone else do it, trying it themselves, or even just by thinking about it logically. In other words, they're natural learners, and that probably is a mark of high intelligence.
But, as someone who just experienced first hand a scenario where a Grade 7 student raised his Math mark by ~15% simply by virtue of having someone spend a few hours each week going over the material with him, one-on-one, I find it hard to believe that the student had been receiving the optimal opportunity to learn, prior to that. (And that's not a dig at the public education system, as there's no way a teacher with 25 students can deal with each one on an individual basis.) Had this particular student been more of a "natural learner," my services probably wouldn't have been required. But on the other hand, had I not been brought in to help, then it's quite possible (perhaps even likely) that he would have continued down the path of "I'm no good at Math" for the rest of his scholastic career, and ended up being pigeon-holed into that subset of career options that don't require much Math expertise. Which would be a shame, regardless of what field he actually ends up in. More choice is always better, after all.
My bottom line, I guess, is that we can define intelligence any way we want (eight different types, or as one single "g" measure). Those are all nice intellectual diversions that probably even have some important real-world applications. But what we shouldn't do is assume that people (especially children) can't learn, before every possible avenue for them to do so has been exhausted. That's simply a cop-out, and it can make a world of difference (not in a good way) that lasts a lifetime.
I don't have the technical background to challenge or support the article writer's stance (which is essentially that intelligence is "an innate cognitive ability that powers learning" and not something that should be diluted or distorted by suggesting that we can all be geniuses in our own way). He's probably right, and even if he's not, I'm not going to be the one to make the compelling argument to prove it. (Hey, I'm no genius!)
But I've long held a belief, somewhat related to this subject, that my Math tutoring experience has been allowing me to put to the test. It's simply this: most individuals who aren't doing well in school could probably do much better if they had the right kind of instruction. That's nothing Earth-shattering, to be sure. And yet I often get the impression that parents will "write off" their kids' chances at academic success by simply saying, "Oh, little Suzy or Bobby just isn't any good at _____" based on marks that come home. (This is basically a corollary to the situation mentioned in the article whereby parents fixate on dance, or a sport, as a way to say that Bobby or Suzy is actually a genius, just not at the stuff that happens to be in the school curriculum.)
Part of it, I think, comes down to the ways in which people learn. The article writer describes learning as something that's an innate ability, and there's probably something to that. Which is to say: some people are naturally talented at learning. They can pick something up by reading a book, hearing a presentation, watching someone else do it, trying it themselves, or even just by thinking about it logically. In other words, they're natural learners, and that probably is a mark of high intelligence.
But, as someone who just experienced first hand a scenario where a Grade 7 student raised his Math mark by ~15% simply by virtue of having someone spend a few hours each week going over the material with him, one-on-one, I find it hard to believe that the student had been receiving the optimal opportunity to learn, prior to that. (And that's not a dig at the public education system, as there's no way a teacher with 25 students can deal with each one on an individual basis.) Had this particular student been more of a "natural learner," my services probably wouldn't have been required. But on the other hand, had I not been brought in to help, then it's quite possible (perhaps even likely) that he would have continued down the path of "I'm no good at Math" for the rest of his scholastic career, and ended up being pigeon-holed into that subset of career options that don't require much Math expertise. Which would be a shame, regardless of what field he actually ends up in. More choice is always better, after all.
My bottom line, I guess, is that we can define intelligence any way we want (eight different types, or as one single "g" measure). Those are all nice intellectual diversions that probably even have some important real-world applications. But what we shouldn't do is assume that people (especially children) can't learn, before every possible avenue for them to do so has been exhausted. That's simply a cop-out, and it can make a world of difference (not in a good way) that lasts a lifetime.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Measurable Improvement
My Grade 7 Math pupil stopped by a few minutes ago to tell me his final Math mark for the term: 81%! That's after having marks in the mid-60s for each of the first two terms. Apparently his dad now owes him an iPod (I guess the deal was, "Get your Math mark up to 80% or better, and I'll buy you one!") Which, I pointed out to the student, means that his dad has now paid quite a bit of money (between my fee and the new toy) in pursuit of getting that Math grade improved!
Anyway, I'm grading this first Math tutoring experience a solid A, since a 15% improvement over the course of just two and a half months has to count for something!
Anyway, I'm grading this first Math tutoring experience a solid A, since a 15% improvement over the course of just two and a half months has to count for something!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Brutally Hot Day
Today was not the day to have to do anything strenuous outside in this neck of the woods, and yet somehow I ended up going on a long bike trip that included stops at the chiropractor, comic store and bike repair shop (to pick up a fixed flat tire from last week). By the time I got home from all of that, I was soaked in sweat and particularly appreciative of the fact that there was a nice, refreshing pool in the backyard to jump into!
I feel great sympathy for anyone who was working outside today and didn't have any similar way to cool down easily. It was just nasty out there today!
I feel great sympathy for anyone who was working outside today and didn't have any similar way to cool down easily. It was just nasty out there today!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
In Good Company
With today's announcement of this year's Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, Brian Leetch adds another Rangers jersey to that prestigious locale. He, along with his 2009 co-inductees - Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille - is well-deserving of the honour, and provides some lustre to a Rangers organization that often hasn't had much.
He was drafted by New York, won the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) there in 1988/89, picked up two Norris Trophies, played almost his entire career for the Blueshirts, and was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner (playoff MVP) in 1994 when the boys won it all. He's the New York Rangers success story that's been sadly elusive over most of the franchise's history, and it was awfully sweet to see him make it into the Hall within his first year of eligibility. In fact, considering the pedigree of this year's class, all four may have gotten in on their first try. If so, then wow! What a year!
Congratulations to all four great players, but most especially to the point-producing defenseman from south of the border whose quiet and respectful demeanour, both on and off the ice, always made him seem more like a Canadian than an American!
He was drafted by New York, won the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) there in 1988/89, picked up two Norris Trophies, played almost his entire career for the Blueshirts, and was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner (playoff MVP) in 1994 when the boys won it all. He's the New York Rangers success story that's been sadly elusive over most of the franchise's history, and it was awfully sweet to see him make it into the Hall within his first year of eligibility. In fact, considering the pedigree of this year's class, all four may have gotten in on their first try. If so, then wow! What a year!
Congratulations to all four great players, but most especially to the point-producing defenseman from south of the border whose quiet and respectful demeanour, both on and off the ice, always made him seem more like a Canadian than an American!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Hello, My Name Is ___
Today, for whatever reason, was all about meeting up with people. I started the day knowing that I was having lunch with a former co-worker, but didn't expect, over the course of the day, to bump into:
- AgileBoy
- Boneman
- two other former teammates
- someone else I used to work with
- 4 different sets of neighbours (including the noisy ones)
- my Math pupil
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Anybody Handy At Putting A Trellis Up?
Our idiot neighbours behind us have just done the one thing that Vicki always said they might do (and which I had argued that they couldn't possibly be stupid enough to do): they've spent the last several days cutting down all of the foliage that had grown up between their yard and ours (which, unfortunately, was all on their side of the fence).
Those plants were serving two purposes, as far as I was concerned: some small amount of noise blockage, and more importantly: providing some privacy between our two houses. We'd planted 7 cedar hedges along that property line back in 2005, but the tree guys who actually dug the holes for them started in the wrong place (Vicki and I were both at work that day) and so they didn't cover the entire area between our yard and the socially retarded ones. But there was lots of growth there, on their side, and so I didn't worry too much.
As of today, though, it's pretty much just air between us. We now look directly into their trailer park-like yard, and they look into ours. Considering the amount of work Vicki's put into the gardens around our yard, the idiots definitely got the better part of that bargain! It's absolutely awful. So now the plan is to see if we can get 30 feet of 8 foot high trellis erected along our 3 foot high chain link fence there, so that we can go back to not being able to see every bit of foolishness that they're up to (tonight, for example, they've got a big fire going in their back yard, to burn up all of the stuff they cut down). This one family has undoubtedly cost us more, in terms of money spent to try to reduce their noise as well as just general frustration when we're out in our yard, than the rest of the neighbourhood combined. They are truly the living embodiment of the old expression, there goes the neighbourhood.
[Update Jun 22/09: I found out today why all of the plant life was pulled down. They'd had a lot of water in their basement this Spring and determined that that area of their yard needs regrading so that the water can be taken away from the house. Fair enough. I'm glad to hear there was a good reason for it! In talking to the wife/mother of the family, she also offered to give us a few of their mature cedars that they're planning to get rid of anyway, for us to put in that area of the yard on our side of the fence. If we can make that happen, then this little adventure may have a happy ending, after all. And we all like those!]
Those plants were serving two purposes, as far as I was concerned: some small amount of noise blockage, and more importantly: providing some privacy between our two houses. We'd planted 7 cedar hedges along that property line back in 2005, but the tree guys who actually dug the holes for them started in the wrong place (Vicki and I were both at work that day) and so they didn't cover the entire area between our yard and the socially retarded ones. But there was lots of growth there, on their side, and so I didn't worry too much.
As of today, though, it's pretty much just air between us. We now look directly into their trailer park-like yard, and they look into ours. Considering the amount of work Vicki's put into the gardens around our yard, the idiots definitely got the better part of that bargain! It's absolutely awful. So now the plan is to see if we can get 30 feet of 8 foot high trellis erected along our 3 foot high chain link fence there, so that we can go back to not being able to see every bit of foolishness that they're up to (tonight, for example, they've got a big fire going in their back yard, to burn up all of the stuff they cut down). This one family has undoubtedly cost us more, in terms of money spent to try to reduce their noise as well as just general frustration when we're out in our yard, than the rest of the neighbourhood combined. They are truly the living embodiment of the old expression, there goes the neighbourhood.
[Update Jun 22/09: I found out today why all of the plant life was pulled down. They'd had a lot of water in their basement this Spring and determined that that area of their yard needs regrading so that the water can be taken away from the house. Fair enough. I'm glad to hear there was a good reason for it! In talking to the wife/mother of the family, she also offered to give us a few of their mature cedars that they're planning to get rid of anyway, for us to put in that area of the yard on our side of the fence. If we can make that happen, then this little adventure may have a happy ending, after all. And we all like those!]
They Really Did Need A Bigger Boat, You Know!
Last night, Vicki and I watched a movie that we each had already seen several times: Jaws. I bought the 25th Anniversary DVD of Steven Spielberg's shark flick a few months ago, because I'm trying to get more DVDs into our collection that represent what I would consider to be the 'classic' films of my viewing history. It's nice to get copies of more recent films (as I often do, both on my own and as gifts) but you seldom know for sure that you're really going to want to re-watch them all that many times. With the older ones, though, anything that you've happily sat through on three or four occasions already is probably a pretty solid bet for having some long term appeal in your household. And Jaws fit into that category for me, to be sure.
The first thing I have to say about Jaws is that it was actually more intense, and more interesting from a cinematic point-of-view, than I'd ever given it credit for before. I've always considered it one of Spielberg's lesser works, and something of a one-note song: shark attacks, and people die... cue the unmistakable theme music. It probably helped that I hadn't seen it over a decade, but wow, was I ever impressed this time around! I noticed more of the clever photography and better dialogue than I'd remembered being associated with this picture. The Quint character, played by Robert Shaw, came across as much more multi-dimensional than the know-it-all, hard-edged Ahab-clone that I had always "chalked" him up to be (just a small pun on the scene where he makes his introduction, for those familiar with the film). And for once, I didn't even mind Richard Dreyfuss!
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the scene on the beach in which Roy Scheider's Chief Brody says, "That's one bad hat, Harry" to an octogenarian coming out of the surf, since we hear that line of dialogue at the end of House each week. (I should explain that we don't actually watch House, but it's on right before something that we do follow every week - 24, probably - and therefore we frequently see that 3- or 4-second Bad Hat Harry Productions clip that includes Scheider's line of dialogue!) The little bits of trivia that I didn't know... but now do!
As is so often the case, a positive viewing experience was made all the sweeter by the existence of bonus material on the DVD. In this case, it was mainly the 25th anniversary "Making Of Jaws" video that filled that bill, but it really did provide the perfect dessert to complement the main course of shark meat. (OK, maybe that's not quite the right metaphor!)
I still wouldn't put Jaws in my Top 20 Movies list, but it might just be in the Top 100 now.
The first thing I have to say about Jaws is that it was actually more intense, and more interesting from a cinematic point-of-view, than I'd ever given it credit for before. I've always considered it one of Spielberg's lesser works, and something of a one-note song: shark attacks, and people die... cue the unmistakable theme music. It probably helped that I hadn't seen it over a decade, but wow, was I ever impressed this time around! I noticed more of the clever photography and better dialogue than I'd remembered being associated with this picture. The Quint character, played by Robert Shaw, came across as much more multi-dimensional than the know-it-all, hard-edged Ahab-clone that I had always "chalked" him up to be (just a small pun on the scene where he makes his introduction, for those familiar with the film). And for once, I didn't even mind Richard Dreyfuss!
Perhaps the biggest surprise was the scene on the beach in which Roy Scheider's Chief Brody says, "That's one bad hat, Harry" to an octogenarian coming out of the surf, since we hear that line of dialogue at the end of House each week. (I should explain that we don't actually watch House, but it's on right before something that we do follow every week - 24, probably - and therefore we frequently see that 3- or 4-second Bad Hat Harry Productions clip that includes Scheider's line of dialogue!) The little bits of trivia that I didn't know... but now do!
As is so often the case, a positive viewing experience was made all the sweeter by the existence of bonus material on the DVD. In this case, it was mainly the 25th anniversary "Making Of Jaws" video that filled that bill, but it really did provide the perfect dessert to complement the main course of shark meat. (OK, maybe that's not quite the right metaphor!)
I still wouldn't put Jaws in my Top 20 Movies list, but it might just be in the Top 100 now.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Getting The 2nd Student Going
Next week I'll be starting up with my second Math tutoring pupil. She's just finishing up Grade 5 right now, and her parents want her to get a head start on Grade 6 over the summer (poor kid!). I don't know her final Grade 5 Math mark yet (the report cards come out sometime next week) but I got the impression that it will be somewhere in the mid-70s.
For my first session with her, I've been making up a list of sample questions to ask her, based on the Grade 5 curriculum for Math in Ontario. I'm hoping that these will allow me to get a good sense of what she did - and didn't - understand about what was taught in Math this past year. Depending on how that goes, I'll either launch into some Grade 6 material in the following session or else review the appropriate Grade 5 topics first.
I've got a potential 3rd student in the offing, as well, although this one isn't for Math. A friend of Vicki's has a Grade 4 student who does fairly well at Math but is really struggling with writing and reading comprehension. I had initially sidestepped this request (a couple months ago) because it's so far outside of what I'm comfortable tutoring (i.e. Math!) but the friend has persisted, and so I've started talking to her about it. Clearly, if this actually comes together, it's going to be a very different challenge than what I've been dealing with in tutoring Math. One of my areas of concern is that, whereas Math is very black and white in terms of what's right and what's wrong, anything to do with writing - or English in general - tends to be more subjective. I suppose, though, at the grade school level, that's less of a problem, as the focus is more on straightforward structural matters, like being able to spell and punctuate correctly, form correct grammar, and so on. It's probably not until high school that you get into the whole messy analysis of imagery and all that other stuff that teachers love to take marks off for! So maybe it wouldn't be that bad...
Anyway, if I can keep growing my pupil list like this, I may not need to take on any other kind of work. And wouldn't that be nice?
For my first session with her, I've been making up a list of sample questions to ask her, based on the Grade 5 curriculum for Math in Ontario. I'm hoping that these will allow me to get a good sense of what she did - and didn't - understand about what was taught in Math this past year. Depending on how that goes, I'll either launch into some Grade 6 material in the following session or else review the appropriate Grade 5 topics first.
I've got a potential 3rd student in the offing, as well, although this one isn't for Math. A friend of Vicki's has a Grade 4 student who does fairly well at Math but is really struggling with writing and reading comprehension. I had initially sidestepped this request (a couple months ago) because it's so far outside of what I'm comfortable tutoring (i.e. Math!) but the friend has persisted, and so I've started talking to her about it. Clearly, if this actually comes together, it's going to be a very different challenge than what I've been dealing with in tutoring Math. One of my areas of concern is that, whereas Math is very black and white in terms of what's right and what's wrong, anything to do with writing - or English in general - tends to be more subjective. I suppose, though, at the grade school level, that's less of a problem, as the focus is more on straightforward structural matters, like being able to spell and punctuate correctly, form correct grammar, and so on. It's probably not until high school that you get into the whole messy analysis of imagery and all that other stuff that teachers love to take marks off for! So maybe it wouldn't be that bad...
Anyway, if I can keep growing my pupil list like this, I may not need to take on any other kind of work. And wouldn't that be nice?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Less Than 3 Weeks Until Wednesday Comics Begins!
On July 8, DC Comics will kick off its next adventure in the world of weekly comic books, with the 12-part Wednesday Comics series. As I wrote about the series back in March, it's quite the experiment for DC to be doing, given that it involves producing a comic book series in newspaper format! But the more previews I've seen of the material, the more interested I've become. It's clear that all of the strips are "out of continuity" (meaning that they're not tied to what's going on in the DC Universe at the moment, or vice versa) and in fact are more likely to be archetypal representations of the characters than anything that's currently being portrayed in the monthly series (for example: Bruce Wayne will be under the Batman cowl, rather than Dick Grayson).I was a little disappointed when I found out that each issue will be $3.99 US, but considering the page dimensions (14" x 20") compared to a regular comic (7" x 10"), I guess it really does work out to the equivalent of 32 pages, with no ads... which is worth $3.99 if the stories are any good.
Today I finally took a good look at the list of features and creative teams involved, and I have to say that it's pretty darn impressive to anyone who's been following the comic world over the past decade or two. Here's what each issue will include, ranked from "best to worst" according to my own complex system of favouritism with regard to creators and characters:
- Metamorpho, by Neil Gaiman and Mike Allred
- Superman, by John Arcudi and Lee Bermejo
- Batman, by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Rizzo
- Sgt Rock, by Adam Kubert and Joe Kubert
- Hawkman, by Kyle Baker
- The Flash, by Karl Kerschl and Brenden Fletcher
- Green Lantern, by Kurt Busiek and Joe Quinones,
- Metal Men, by Dan Didio and Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
- The Demon and Catwoman, by Walter Simonson and Brian Stelfreeze
- Kamandi, by Dave Gibbons and Ryan Sook
- Adam Strange, by writer/artist Paul Pope
- Supergirl, by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner
- Wonder Woman, by Ben Caldwell
- Deadman, by Dave Bullock and Vinton Heuck
- Teen Titans, by Eddie Berganza and Sean Galloway
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Big News For Justice League Fans
About a year or so ago, DC Comics announced that James Robinson would be writing a 2nd ongoing Justice League title, which would feature a splinter group of heroes headed up by Green Lantern and Green Arrow. I've been a fan of Robinson's since the 90s when he was crafting the excellent Starman saga (still one of my favourite titles, and one which I've reread in its entirety at least once). For that reason, I was more excited about Robinson's JLA title than I've been for the regular one in quite a while now.
But then the other shoe dropped several months ago. Robinson's Justice League was only going to be a miniseries instead, running just six issues. Bah! His rocky relationship with DC's Dan Didio was rumoured to be to blame, but regardless: I was very disappointed!
Today, however, I read some happier news: DC's blog is reporting that James Robinson will be taking over the main JLA title, later this year! Yay! I don't know how long it will last, but, for now at least, I'm pleased. And this means I can enjoy the upcoming Justice League: Cry for Justice miniseries even more, knowing that it won't be the only Robinson JLA that I'll get to enjoy in 2009!
But then the other shoe dropped several months ago. Robinson's Justice League was only going to be a miniseries instead, running just six issues. Bah! His rocky relationship with DC's Dan Didio was rumoured to be to blame, but regardless: I was very disappointed!
Today, however, I read some happier news: DC's blog is reporting that James Robinson will be taking over the main JLA title, later this year! Yay! I don't know how long it will last, but, for now at least, I'm pleased. And this means I can enjoy the upcoming Justice League: Cry for Justice miniseries even more, knowing that it won't be the only Robinson JLA that I'll get to enjoy in 2009!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
inFAMOUS Reviewed
Over the past 22 hours or so, I've probably spent almost 1/3 of that time playing Sucker Punch's latest PS/3 exclusive: inFAMOUS. Which is to say: it's somewhat addictive!
For those not familiar with the game, it's basically cut from the Grand Theft Auto mold: a third person, open-world concept in which you roam around a city (in this case, Empire City), taking on primary missions that further the storyline while being free to accept non-linear side missions that have you doing various, random activities. I've never been a big fan of the GTA franchise, so why am I enjoying inFAMOUS?
Well, there are a few reasons that I can see so far. First, the character that you play (Cole) is something of a superhuman as the result of a catastrophic event that opens the game. He's able to fire electric blasts out of his hands, and develops additional (electricity-based) powers as the game goes on. He can also scale almost any surface (ala Spider-Man) and so you're able to travel vertically, as well as horizontally, through Empire City. All of that is greatly appealing to me.
Another thing that I like is that you're prompted, at certain points during gameplay, to consciously decide whether to act heroically or selfishly. There's a karma meter that reflects how you're doing, and the civilians in the city react differently to you, depending on how you've behaved to date. I'm going the virtuous route at present, but if I really get into the game then I could imagine starting a new game and seeing just how far into the red I could push my karmic balance sheet!
The graphics are top notch, and so far the controls have been easy to use (I'm still smarting a little from how unnatural the Killzone 2 feel was!). It took me awhile to learn how to read some of the items that show up on my minimap, but once I did, the game got a lot less frustrating. One mission that I'd tried unsuccessfully to complete several times became relatively easy as soon as I deciphered some of the icons (and, began traveling by rooftop more).
I love the science fiction aspects of the game, which also place it much higher in my book than the "gangsta" feel of GTA. It's not as rich or deep a story as what you'll find in the Resistance franchise, certainly, but it's also not the insultingly-stupid fare that often shows up in shooters (Haze, anyone?). I'm still trying to figure out some of the finer points of what's going on in Empire City around me, but I'm not as lost as I was early on in Gears of War or any of the Halo stories.
Overall, I'm happy enough with the game after several hours of playing it. I can't say yet whether I'll stick with it all the way to the end - always one of the deciding factors for me as to whether a game really grabbed me, along with whether or not I replay any of its levels - but early indications are all positive.
For those not familiar with the game, it's basically cut from the Grand Theft Auto mold: a third person, open-world concept in which you roam around a city (in this case, Empire City), taking on primary missions that further the storyline while being free to accept non-linear side missions that have you doing various, random activities. I've never been a big fan of the GTA franchise, so why am I enjoying inFAMOUS?
Well, there are a few reasons that I can see so far. First, the character that you play (Cole) is something of a superhuman as the result of a catastrophic event that opens the game. He's able to fire electric blasts out of his hands, and develops additional (electricity-based) powers as the game goes on. He can also scale almost any surface (ala Spider-Man) and so you're able to travel vertically, as well as horizontally, through Empire City. All of that is greatly appealing to me.
Another thing that I like is that you're prompted, at certain points during gameplay, to consciously decide whether to act heroically or selfishly. There's a karma meter that reflects how you're doing, and the civilians in the city react differently to you, depending on how you've behaved to date. I'm going the virtuous route at present, but if I really get into the game then I could imagine starting a new game and seeing just how far into the red I could push my karmic balance sheet!
The graphics are top notch, and so far the controls have been easy to use (I'm still smarting a little from how unnatural the Killzone 2 feel was!). It took me awhile to learn how to read some of the items that show up on my minimap, but once I did, the game got a lot less frustrating. One mission that I'd tried unsuccessfully to complete several times became relatively easy as soon as I deciphered some of the icons (and, began traveling by rooftop more).
I love the science fiction aspects of the game, which also place it much higher in my book than the "gangsta" feel of GTA. It's not as rich or deep a story as what you'll find in the Resistance franchise, certainly, but it's also not the insultingly-stupid fare that often shows up in shooters (Haze, anyone?). I'm still trying to figure out some of the finer points of what's going on in Empire City around me, but I'm not as lost as I was early on in Gears of War or any of the Halo stories.
Overall, I'm happy enough with the game after several hours of playing it. I can't say yet whether I'll stick with it all the way to the end - always one of the deciding factors for me as to whether a game really grabbed me, along with whether or not I replay any of its levels - but early indications are all positive.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Microsoft Ads Crashing TVs
I know it's just a headline in The Onion, but it sounds so plausible that you'd almost believe it unconditionally!
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