Respect needed: Dial "S" for ... Stupidity?

If, out of a sudden massive amnesia, I ever needed a reminder as for why I avoid traveling in the US... This story is such a reminder.

For reasons that no longer surprise me, the story barely made the headlines in the US (except for a brief comment by Keith Olberman on his Countdown show at MSNBC), but made a lot of brouhaha in the UK... and elsewhere too.

Since September 2001, if you have ever traveled to the US, you know the drill. I have my load of horror stories, you probably have yours too. :) Just this year around, I went 4 times in the US, twice for the job, twice on vacations and meeting friends. 3 times out of 4 were sheer hell.

Ahhh... the mighty US Department of Homaland Security...

So here's the story:

If you're a Muslim... with a weird name... You've been certainly subjected to even more scrutiny than everyone else. (Which makes you wondering about the usefulness of such extra scrutnity, from a security standpoint. Think about it, it will become clear. ).

This happened recently to a Muslim, on a visit in the US.

He's not an ordinary person you ask? That's a good guess. However, you have to admit that stupidity is applied equally well. :)

It happened at Washington DC's Dulles airport the other day...

To a member... of the UK parliament...

A ... UK minister...

A UK minister... who was a keynote speaker at a US government meeting.

A UK minister who was invited by... the very Department of Homeland Security... on defeating terrorism !!!

And you know what?

That very UK minister got nailed *TWICE* by the Department of Homeland Security in just one year !!!

Talk about winning the jackpot, isn't it? :)

I wish this is a Woody Allen movie... but it happened for real to Britain's minister Shahid Malik, just days ago.

In a sick way, it's kind of reasurring to us, poor peons and travelers that we are... if the US Department of Homaland Security can nail TWICE a UK minister...

Ooooookay! We're not alone! :)

On a more serious note... I've seen this happening *too* many times, and I have personally felt the pressure during my travels in the US, I never understand why there's no public outrage in the US.

Heck, the guy who you have good reasons to fear for your own safety... is the guy who wears a badge, and is supposedly there for... security. Hello ?!?

I love this quote from Malik:

"Obviously, there was no malice involved but it has to be said that the US system does not inspire confidence."

I wholeheartedly agree! And all this was put in place, if you remember well... to inspire confidence to travelers, to make sure that traveling is safe.

Yeah sure!

Since September 2001, laws have been passed... giving extraordinary powers in the hands of ordinary people... and at the same times, removing all checks and balances...

So, it's not surprising.

I wish I can say... Respect needed. without upsetting these distinguished personnel...

Cheers,

-E

Links:
BBC: MP detained by US airport staff
Guardian: Minister 'deeply disappointed' by US airport detention

Dance is in the air? A strange sense of déjà vu...

This is my monthly transit pass... for the month of October, soon to expire...

... which reminds me that I haven't bought my pass for November yet. You read it right. $87 per month . "TRAM" stands for TRain, Autobus (bus) and Métro. The Zone 2 means that I can ride the commuter trains up to the West Island.

No sane Montréaler would dare to say that where I live is on the "West Island", but to the bureaucrats... and their not so subtle way to pump more money, I do. :) For reference, commuters in the immediate North Shore and South Shore of Montréal pay $103 and it can go all the way to a whopping $207 per month as they get further from Montréal, with dismal transit service to the city. :)

Do they really want to promote the transit system... and get cars off the roads? One wonders. :)

Anyway... the drawings on this month pass caught my attention. It looks like steps. You know, dance steps.

And I knew that somewhere somewhen, not too long ago... I've seen this, I have the mental picture of it... but dang... if you are a visual person like me, you have probably felt the frustration of being unable to put a name.

Tonight... EUREKA! A search on my laptop, I've found the photo... *AND* my travel notes.

Welcome to Seattle! This is the photo of the sidewalk on Broadway Street between Pine and Pike Streets in the Capitol Hill district.

It looks pretty much like my monthly transit pass. Eerie, isn't it?

If this was up to me, I'd be in Seattle, or anywhere else these days...

Cheers,

-E

The meaning of ... life...

Maybe I should state right away that no, I'm not depressed. Many things happening.. and time for me to ponder.

Last week, I didn't blog much. I was pensive... On October 24th, a bunch of milestones occurred. At my blog at FC, I've blogged about a cross-border love... a year of visiting each other.

October 24th marked the 10th year of this strange relationship. The sticking point: Since no one wanted to relocate... we couldn't live forever part time... and in two countries, to boot...

A flurry of feelings, good and bad, many pictures in mind... and the sinking feeling that if back then I were where I am now... things would be differently... you know what I mean.

Sigh... Living as couple... So that's one way to answer this question, the meaning of life. We're programmed to live that way...

In this blog, I'll focus on another milestone. On October 24th of last year, an online friend has put her life on the line. Almost literally. For a good cause, admirable in every way... Bloggers who were at FC last year will probably remember. Even the e-mail she sent, telling why she's ready to die for a very good cause went on several blogs, and got forwarded to me.

And during the week it lasts... for reasons I don't want to mention, the true consequence onto her life would be known only weeks if not months later. I was extremely worried for her. She was in my prayers every morning for months.

I'd feel the same if she was my sister.

That's very powerful feelings...

Caring for someone, who at that time I knew only as an online friend...

I'm also thinking of several family members I've lost...

I'm also thinking of several friends which I've lost due to illness...

Same thing.

Last year, when I got the SOS from my mom about dad's illness, I jumped right in... today, there are times I feel squarely overwhelmed, literally crushed...

To see my dad slowly fading away, and it is the kind of illness there's just one way out... the emotional toll is there.

Even if I were given the opportunity to go back in time, I wouldn't do things differently.

Then, one wonders why I have some white hair growing. Heh, I've no idea. :)

Now, an uncle is seriously ill, and if it's up to me, I'd be in France right now. Work obligations are keeping me grounded at least for a couple of days (and add on that a labor strike at Air France that are thoroughly messing up all flights between Canada and France, not only on Air France, but on other airlines, such as Air Canada. And no, I don't plan to swim the Atlantic anytime soon. ).

Common denominator? Life.

When life is at stake, to people who are in your circle... there are things which come straight from you. Gut move. Boom, you go. Without thinking. Even if the battle is hopeless, even if you can't do much... even, even, even...

... even anything you want, you side with that person.

And it goes without saying that you pray, you invoke every saint, every god, for the well being of that person.

Humans are capable of many things, many of which are the ugliest...

But humans are also capable of the most noble thing on earth.

Care.

... And the extent to which one cares for another human... is fascinating.

Those have been my thoughts for the past few days, inspired by an October 24th milestone... and recent family events...

Cheers,

-E

Dalai-Lama is in Canada...

There's something amusing.

Last year, the Dalai-Lama would come to Vancouver... a week after I left. This year, I was in Ottawa not too long ago, and bingo, The Dalai-Lama is in Ottawa!

One of these days, we have to synchronize our busy schedules. :)

On a more serious note...

I'm a bit mhhh... embarrassed. Not the right word, though.

Personally, I'd be blessed to meet the Dalai-Lama in person. I see a man of infinite wisdom. A man who is peaceful, a fascinating man in so many ways, a man which... as an individual, I would immensely benefit, even from a brief meeting with him.

No, there's something else, and it isn't about me.

The Dalai-Lama is on a tour. He was in the States not too long ago, and met George Bush. Now, he's in Canada, he should meet Harper today or tomorrow. He has done some public meetings too. It goes without saying, he filled the auditorium in no time. If I were in Ottawa last night, I'd be in the room, certainly!!

The point which I am uncomfortable is this: It is viewed as DARING for these leaders to meet the Dalai-Lama, because it upsets the mighty powerful China.

(As you all know, China has invaded Tibet).

Daring? Mhhh...

How fearless are our leaders... I wonder...

(as a peaceful man, I will NEVER suggest a military move... but it says how vulnerable as a country, if we are sooooo frightened to welcome people!

And it says something about Tibet. Literally. We can't be silent... on the basis that it would sooooo royally displease China).

That's why I'm a bit uncomfortable.

Cheers,

-E

Communicating in silence...

There was this interesting story about teaching ASL. Communicating in silence. The video is quite amusing to watch (don't worry, there's also a sound track. :) ).

The idea is to teach ASL dynamically... and a way to do so is to have *two* deaf teachers in front of the class... and to have them interact... in ASL, of course.

As for myself, I'm quite happy because it is one of those videos in ASL which I could understand what was signed (with the sound off. Otherwise, this is cheating, heh! :) ) ! Those online ASL classes finally begin to pay off! (I'm still at ASL University and ASLPro , in case you're wondering).

I was pondering about that... There are lots of deaf bloggers on the Internet... many are doing video blogs... signing in ASL (American Sign Language). At first, I was frustrated, because I couldn't understand a word, err... a sign. :)

Many of you have learned a second language and perhaps more. Don't you feel the *freedom* to be able to read a text written in a language that was previously foreign to you? If you travel, you have certainly felt that freedom. Gone is the language barrier !

I consider ASL as a "full blown" language, just like English, French, Spanish and so forth. It isn't just a "disability language", a kind of sub-standard language that exists solely for the purpose of bridging a communication gap.

Understandably, ASL is often taught that way, and perhaps as a result, it gets deeply rooted in the mindset of many of my fellow deaf and hard of hearing persons.

The mindset is that in order to learn ASL, you have to be deaf or HoH or someone close to you and you need to bridge that communication gap...

An indication of that mindset , is for instance the hot debate about CI (aka Cochlear Implants) that continues to rage.

The rationale is this: If you can ""hear"" (with many doublequotes, CIs are no ear substitutes), then it is perceived in the deaf community that there isn't a need to learn ASL Why learning Sign Language if you can hear? Therefore, if less people are learning ASL, there will be less signers, "obviously". That's how CIs get decoded as a threat to ASL... they bring people from the deaf world to the hearing world...

I'd say they are "obviously" wrong! (and on both counts too)

There are plenty of ASL students knocking at your door... but they've been ignored.

From my side of the world, I'm not alone. There are plenty of hearing people like me who'd love to learn ASL... if there are some materials in ASL readily available to us. We don't have friends or relatives who are deaf or HoH after all.

Why we would want to learn a new language? For the same reasons other people are learning French, Spanish, German, etc... No more, no less. It's not crazy to learn a new language and everyone has his/her motives. So, why it would be different with ASL, as if it is shameful to do so because I'm a hearing person?

It is this close-knit, and almost close-minded mindset in the deaf community that bugs me from time to time.

For the same reason that not all German speakers are German... Not all signers are deaf! I wish it is a message... that wouldn't be met with deaf ears, double-entendre (triple-entendre?) intended.

So I think the Internet is bringing opportunities to us, hearing people. You'll see more and more materials in ASL.

(PS: I even brought here the URL of some vlogs (see the links on the right)).

As for myself, those vlogs in ASL titillate my curiosity. I don't know about you, but I want to know what they are saying! I'm curious, what else can I ahem... sign? :)

My little Canadian 2-cent.

Cheers,

-E

PS: In case one is wondering, yes I am thinking eventually of having a vlog in ASL, next to this one. Don't worry, beside seeing my pretty face (!!), perhaps a kilt (oooohhhh!!!), there will be subtitles too, so you won't miss a word. :)

This is the ultimate way for me to learn ASL. :) The reasons I'm not doing it right now are technical (A decent videocam would certainly help. :) and the fact that there are many things going on, I can't set time aside inorder to get that project started).

Are you fluent in ASL? There are some job opportunities...

This week, I wasn't in the mood for my weekly ASL lessons. The good thing about online courses... you can skip classes all you want, heh. I wish I could have done that when I was at the university. Sigh. :)

So I was "spinning the bottle" at Google... wondering what web site with the keyword "ASL" (American Sign Language) would turn out.

This is how I arrived at Deaf Casting . com .

My first thought: Gee whiz, why not ?!? They have to recruit deaf actors, somewhere, no?

How about deaf movies?

How about English-speaking "mainstream" movies with deaf actors? In real life, there are plenty of deaf and hard of hearing people who are happily co-habitating with the hearing population... so why they wouldn't appear in mainstream movies as well?

As you know, I'm multilingual. I'm a native French speaker. I pretend to speak English (heh heh). I know some Italian, some German, some Spanish. Now, I'm learning Sign Language.

It has irked me a few times to see in American movies some people speaking in "fake French" (say, a waiter, err... "garçon" at a supposedly French restaurant). The idea is that it would sound French... to English speakers. They don't give a hoot that there are also people who are fluent in French watching this movie, and what the guy has uttered is just gibberish.

So why hiring hearing actors who would fake that they're deaf? A language is a language is a language, and American Sign Language is a language, just like French, English, German, and so forth.

I'll be offended, just like my fellow deaf and hard of hearing brothers who see actors "faking" that they are deaf. Don't sign in gibberish...

Respect our language, respect our culture.

I think this is also why Deaf Casting is there.

It goes without saying that they provide job opportunities to deaf and hard of hearing people.

Wow...

At the time I'm writing these lines, there's a movie by the name of "Sweet nothing in my ear"... (bravo for the great title!), a movie for the television, and you see big names like... CBS. No less. They're looking for deaf actors, fluent in ASL...

Also there were some auditions in Seattle, for a 3-month movie shoot... to be done in Toronto and Montréal. Sigh... three lovely cities I know quite well. :) Being fluent in ASL is also de rigueur...

Sometimes, I'm wondering...

I imagine that I can be classified as a hard of hearing person. :) However, never in my life I thought that learning a new language would become _this_ useful. :)

I would also bet that many deaf and hard of hearing persons have never considered an acting career... nor that in their wildest dreams, ASL would be the ticket to do so.

I support organizations like Deaf Casting and the least I can do is to write about them, here.

I suspect that there's no deaf Tom Hanks nor deaf Helen Mirren celebrities. I figure that you earn just modest amount of money. :)

However, if you know a deaf of hard of hearing friend, maybe they haven't thought that they could consider acting... nor even thought that the knowledge of ASL would open such big doors... so feel free to pass these infos. Who knows? A great movie star is born, thanks to you. :)

Cheers!

-E

Time after time... :)

This is a well known song by Cyndi Lauper... but sometimes, like tonight, this is also the incredible things we have to do, as a computer programmer...

Warning: This is a tired sleepless blog post. It's similar to a drunk post, except that the mind is rev'ving at full speed, while I'm physically exhausted.

So I imagine this conversation with my son... years later, asking various questions about the incredible things I've done as a computer programmer.

-So you could work at home, dad?

-Ayup, it's called VPN.

-Very Pathetic News? I don't understand.

-First, stop watching Fox News. They are very pathetic thank you, and second, VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. Over the internet, it brings the office to my home.

-Ah. This is like what mom is doing with her brand new hip megafliflop iPhone UltraLite LX ?

-Yup, except that dad got bigger toys to play with. A big computer, heh. :D

-What ?!?

-Size does matter, and I'll explain to you, when the time has come. :)

-Dad, can you explain again what you were doing on this day in October 2007?

-Nothing and I was paid overtime, my dear son.

-Overtime?

-Overtime to have a lot of time on hand.

-Huh?

-Overtime to keep at all time a watchful eye at the time.

-Why?

-Because the time could have gone wrong at any time. :D

-Huh ?!?

I don't want to waste your time, you know. ;)

-Dad... let me know if I get this straight.

-STRAIGHT ??!?!?

My son smiles. He knows and he's proud of his dad. Great kid. :)

-Dad... so you were paid overtime to do time in checking the time because it could go wrong at any time.

-You got just in time, son. :)

- and only during the weekend of Saturday October 27, 2007 was the right time to do so?

-Yup. That was the right time.

-Not before?

-Weeeell, I did that also in March 2007... and we had something similar on December 31st, 1999.

-Oh, that's the Y2K bug?

-Yup.

-The thing that was blown off because nothing happened?

-Nothing happened because thousands of programmers have worked hard to make sure that nothing would happen.

-And?

-And thousands of us were killing time on that December 31st, 1999, while our families were enjoying the festivities of the New Year and the Millennium. Not exactly fun.

-Same thing today? Not fun?

-Well, it's Hallowe'en. I was thinking about this kilt, you know...

-DAD!!!

-Ok, ok... I, along of thousands of computer programmers all over Canada and the United States, and even overseas were killing time.

-Why?

-Son, we're also thousands of computer programmers asking the exact same question. :)

-Ah.

-Do you know George Dubyah Bush?

-Oh, the most despised, lunatic, idiotic (and a long list of very flattery words) president in the history of the United States?

-That's the one!

(I knew this kid is brilliant, just like his father. :) )

-In school, have you read Don Quixote?

-You mean... The guy who was fighting against a bunch of energy wind turbines?

-Ahem... Sort of. :)

(This must be a heck of a revised edition since I've read Miguel de Cervantès' famous novel. :D )

-And you know how absurd it was?

-Well, no more absurd than what our governments do these days, dad.

-You got it right son!

(I'm telling you, this kid is brilliant. :) ).

-So what Bush did?

-Another absurd thing, what else? :)

We chuckle.

-Son, as absurd it was to fight windmills, err... energy wind turbines, Bush fought time.

-And he won?

-No, but your father and thousands of his colleagues all over the continent are laughing big time at the money we made thanks to him!!!

-How?

-To save energy, (and I assume to fight the need for more ahem... wind turbines? Mhhh.... ) he believed that by extending daylight saving times even further would help, from mid-March to November.

-All the way into November ?!? This is dumb!

-You got it, son! This is also why Bush thought it would be a good idea in the first place. :D

We chuckle.

-Thanks to Bush, thousands and thousands of programmers have worked hard to fix computers to compute time correctly, according to the new standards he has set. Also thanks to Bush, on this day, all over the North American continents in many data centers, there are teams of programmers, killing time to make sure there isn't a computer abiding by the old time rule...

-And paid overtime?

- (silence here)

-What else, dad?

-Thanks to Bush, his cost saving measure has cost the economy millions of dollars.

-Typical of conservative thinking. Was any electricity saved, by the way?

-I'm not sure whether the meager amount of electricity presumably saved has compensated for the thousands of additional laptop computers running, along with the many lights that were kept on during the night...

-I got it, this time.

Brilliant kid. :)

Cheers!

-E

The NASA toilet... drinking your own juice...

I haven't touched at my mailbox a little while (otherwise, I'd be online all the time... avoiding that big housechore cleanup!).

So prominently sitting on top of my huge pile of unread mails... a mail from a friend, commenting about that infamous "space toilet" on the Space Station. Also the fact that this is likely to be the kind of toilet to be used for a trip to Mars. He was making fun at the fact that astronauts... have to drink their own juice. Oh, the fact that the toilet is of Russian design. Yeah sure, very funny...

This reminded me of my forum years... beside my tech forums, I was a forum staffer at various "Languages & Culture" type forums, among other forums... so I had to do some lectures... and I have this urge itching me right now. Ok, I'll do here, instead. Sorry, blog friends. :)

Urine is relatively sterile. It is the ahem... "other number" that is full of bacterias, and are a _very_ serious threat to health.

It reminded me of the things my dad taught me when I was a little kid. We enjoy camping, hiking and spending a lot of time in the forest. So I learn that urine can save my life.

If I'm lost in the forest and I'm running out of water... I can drink my own juice. This will keep me alive 'til rescue comes in.

Also, if I get hurt, I can disinfect wounds with urine.

So to me, urine isn't the dirty thing, nor such a big laughing matter. Besides, as a guy who has to do his Kegel exercises... Sometimes I despise this western world that makes life miserable to those like me who have a weak bladder!

Western world... Sometimes I'm ashamed that the world I'm in, is dominant. Everything is compared to our standards... and when they do not meet our standards...

Sheesh, we're no reference of excellence, I'd say...

In the Eastern world, from India to Japan... urine gets part of some rituals. If you're familiar with Buddism, or if you do yoga or other kinds of meditation, you may have already heard of that. People do drink their own juice or the one of their partner. We're talking of rituals that exist for hundreds if not thousands of years. To say the least, that deserves... respect, don't you think?

In our twisted western world, people who are into "watersports", some would also do that as well. Here, it gets decoded as that big exotic thing to do...

The point is... millions of humans are still alive, and healthy. Physically and mentally. :)

The glass of water that you're holding... especially if this is tap water, most Canadian towns and cities get their water from rivers , so where do you think that water comes from? You can bet that some toilets have been flushed upstreams...

The "space toilet" is just a much closer loop of the waste to water cycle, and this is what makes people in the western world uncomfortable. :)

One has to realize that in space, there isn't a seemingly infinite amount of resources like on earth. You can't ship easily to the Space Station a 6-month supply of water for the entire crew. So, imagine a 2-year round trip to Mars.

So, in space, you *must* recycle, and as much as you can...

I'm not a doctor, but I've some concerns about such a *very short* close loop. Urine is relatively sterile. Relatively is the keyword. :)

This is an extreme case, but someone who is HIV+, it is known that the virus will be present in *all* bodily fluids, including urine. There are other virii that could be present. So there's a certain risk of drinking others' juice.

While I assume that being in good health is a requirement for any space travel, I do hope their "space toilet" will make a good job of killing virii and bacterias.

And that's my 2-cent comment on this subject...

Oh... an additional 2-cent... about the frustration that some topics can't be discussed seriously. Are we too... immature? Sometimes, I wonder.

Sheesh...

-E
____

Links:
Drinking Pee (highly informative, and there are some interesting links. )

Watersport Training Manual (the title says all. The best article I've found on the 'Net that describes what is "watersport" that is both informative and will not hurt too much your feelings)

From the NASA web site (a bit outdated but always informative): Water on the space station and Plumbing the Space Station .

How squeaky clean is your house? :)

I was on the go for 5 months... albeit with frequent returns in Montréal.

However, staying just for a week or two and then being back on the road... I didn't bother much about my apartment. I was just passing by, after all.

5 months later, my apartment was a real mess...

So it took all my courage, and went full time putting some order in this disorder.

As a man, and we all have _that_ reputation... okay, okay... it's tough, very tough. :)

But at some points... it was so depressing... that I figure that I have to work on the mojo. You know, a place that it feels good to... live.

The joy and pain of a single man... sigh. :)

Cheers!

-E

Sometimes, I want to scream...

<--- This is just a week's worth of junk mail, at my dad's mailbox.

As you may know, my dad has a serious illness (Alzheimer), and in the meantime other illnesses (such as diabetes) have crept in. It seems... the words have spread out... to people who have things to sell.

Very targeted junk mails... that make you convinced that it's *NO* coincidence. Just a few years ago when my dad was doing well, there was *NONE* of these junk mails. Now these days, it's an avalanche. On FC I've blogged this a few times. However, due to their strict censorship, I couldn't post any photo. Now you have an idea of what I'm talking about. Awful, isn't it?

Breakthrough news... New herbal cures to Alzheimer! Mhhh... in 3rd class mail. If this was true there was a cure, don't you think it would have made the headlines in the media? Our doctors would know it, and serious organizations like the Alzheimer Society would have something to say? So, news coming in 3rd class mail are to me... 3rd class news! :)

There were other junk mail about exerting memory with exercises and drinking some weird stuff. Yeah sure. The other junk mail about diabetes got my attention. This was fairly recently that my dad was diagnosed with diabetes... Mhhhh... ok, let's say it's just coincidence.

Then, some spiritual help. Making sense of your life after you lose someone. Get the wisdom of the shaman, see the path to freedom, find happiness, understand why illness happens, etc... with on-location courses.

Right now, (with a great discount) some classes in nearby Berkshires (I know this part of Massachusetts quite well. With the fall foliage it must be splendid), then shortly after, classes in the California desert, then overseas in the Alps, then in Portugal and then back in America, but way further south, by walking in the lands of the Incas, in the mountains at 15,000ft and get a transfusion of their spirit. Beautiful and inspiring places to be!

Also great opportunities to travel... and to leave behind all your torments. Tempting, isn't it? That got my mom's attention, to say the least. I was doing the translation in French (she doesn't understand English), but the beautiful pictures in their blurb speak by themselves.

Then on the last page, the prices... and the tiny prints... whoopy. Each on-location classes (1 or 2 week long) cost a bundle (on average $2000-$3000) and that does *NOT* include transportation and personal expenses). In bold letters, a "risk-free" deposit. In tiny prints, the deposit will count toward the last class (this is squarely illegal in Québec, but our laws can't apply to US-based "schools") ... and that class will be held in 18 months from now, at a time and place to be announced. :)

So, if you have done the maths, 8 classes later at $2000-$3000 each (and you must not miss a single class, otherwise, it's bye-bye for your deposit)... we're talking of having to shell a whopping amount of $20,000 US just for the classes alone and only then, the deposit (a few hundred dollars) will count. Hello ?!? Can you smell... scam? No wonder why they use such tiny prints... and not bold letters. :)

It's almost a sure thing that no one will be able to afford these classes all the way to the end. Even with my salary as a computer programmer (and I'm well paid, thank you! :) ), I couldn't afford. So bye-bye the deposit and all the money already poured in, and these guys know it.

It's not the first time we get that kind of "spiritual help" in the mail (and I've blogged this at FC a couple of times) and their terms are always similar (which is why I spot them right away) ...

So my line of reasoning is this: If you are _really_ into spirituality, why these guys are so much into... money?

Besides, I think they more than cover their cost... nor they need to use gimmick, like that pseudo "risk-free" deposit", right?

For one, I can travel for far less... and I think that ahead of times, I can do enough research on my own (thanks Internet, thanks Bibliothèque Nationale)... and if I was really into spirituality, I think I'll manage to meet the right persons at the right places on my journey (which isn't the fun of travel, to begin with?), and money wouldn't even be part of the equation.

But maybe I know nothing about this new era spirituality, I'll admit. I never thought that my Visa card was so inspiring, all of a sudden. :)

"But there's a free DVD, Jacques. We should order it!"

Oh boy... Sure, they offer zillions of books and DVDs... at an unbelievable HUGE price... So you can smell that the "free" DVD is just another bait to pump money from us.

Sometimes I want to scream...

We all have an Achilles heel. The very weak spot that will knock down the giant that we are.

And that is what pissed me off of these *targeted* ads.

When you see your loved one fading away... slowly, ever slowly, and death is the finality... who hasn't dreamed of a miracle cure?

Why things happen the way they happen, why some horrible sickness occur? The pain that you feel, your soul that is screaming, wouldn't spiritual help the remedy?

These guys know it... and they bombard you. See the photo on my blog? That's what happening, weeks after weeks, months after months, bombarding us with their advertising.

They tell you exactly what you want to hear... hitting us where we're the most vulnerable. Soothing our pain...

... and I appear as a big villain in front of my mom.

Sometimes, I want to scream...

-E

Travel notes: Baddeck, NS. To see and to hear: visible speech and audible thoughts. :)

<--- The Bras D'Or Lakes, Baddeck Nova Scotia (Map: click here). Lovely, isn't it? :)

In French, "bras d'or" means "golden arm", in part because of the shape of these *salt water* lakes and the stunning sunset. Also, from the name of the village, you are quite correct to say that Gaelic is spoken. In fact, many road signs are both in English and in Gaelic. Incidentally, not too far from Baddeck, there's the only Gaelic college in the province (and probably in the country too :) ).

I was part of a group of about 20 persons, mostly age 40 to 60, many of which were singles, for a 4-day "soul search" on the Cape Breton (Nova Scotia). So many vivid pictures in my mind...

If it was just up to me, I'd search my soul again. :)

When we arrived in Baddeck, we had the afternoon off. (We were later reunited at that very beach that you see for a joyful bonfire). So I wander in the village (nice, but terribly touristic!) and I spotted a sign, with the logo of Park Canada, and simply these words: "AG Bell museum".

Mhhh... Alexander Graham Bell? The telephone guy? And what it has to do with Baddeck and the Canadian park service ?!? My curiosity was piqued. After climbing a long and steeeep cliff (my poor legs!), here I am.

Yes, he is indeed the telephone guy. He had a home in Baddeck! The pollution of the cities made him sick, the stunning beauty of the region inspiring, (and these rolling hills being a reminder of the Scotlands?), so for a creative mind like Bell, Baddeck felt like home. I do feel the same as well. :)

When he died, the land was donated to the Canadian government, and that's how it went into the Canadian park service.

He had other interests. Such as nascent aviation, those amazing flying machines. It is interesting to note the use of the mighty triangle that you may see in some futuristic "modern" displays.

He was also interested in high speed boating. In the museum, you'll see that he used a principle that is still in use today. Raise the boat as high as possible, to minimize drag. Obvious now, but not so back then. In a way, this is a flying machine, albeit just inches above the water.


Finally, Bell's main work, with the deaf and hard of hearing. While I am not deaf, I have many affinities with my deaf and hard of hearing fellows (newcomers to this blog should read my blog entry "Are you getting deaf?" to understand why).

So the title, Visible Speech got my attention. The focus was on speech (Bell was also a vocal physiologist professor at Boston University).

Speech, as if it would bridge the communication gap...

I observed the several displays of his work. Interesting to say the least. A different way to see things. To put into written signs how words are pronounced, so a deaf person would be able to pronounce these words the way they are meant to be.

(A different approach was the one by Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc who came with Sign Language, which is very handy, if you pardon me for this bad pun! :) ).

So I was there and I was thinking.. Bell's approach seems like doing things upside down. Before having to speak, I have to *understand* and to make sense of what's going around me (and for me, understanding human speech has been my worst nightmare!).

So if I were truly deaf, while not said explicitly, I would have to read lips. That's my only clue to what is being said. Trust me, because I can't process sound easily as you do, often I have to read lips, and you don't learn that overnight. This is a lot of effort! And that's just one part of the equation. Because figuring out how to speak when you have *NO* audible clue... wow..

On the other... hand, sign language (!) is a no-brainer. In comparison, using hands is easy, and decoding them just as easy. The dilemma, in order to bridge the communication gap... hearing people have to learn a new language.

And that is the fundamental divide.

Bell's approach was to bring the deaf person to the hearing world. Being deaf or hard of hearing being a disability, the idea is to negate such disability so you would appear to be a hearing person... just like everyone else. In a way, you are attempting vaillantly to be a person... that isn't *you*.

Sign Language (it deserves capital letters just like any spoken language) comes with the idea that you are who you are. So, being deaf isn't a disability. It's simply a matter of... *being*, period!

Therefore, Sign Language is the mean of communication between similar beings, and when you have a community that uses a common language, then we're talking of a culture.

So, contrary to Bell's approach, the burden is being reversed. It is up to the hearing people to come to the deaf culture and therefore to learn Sign Language.

By the way, as a hearing person, this is what I've been doing for several months! I'm learning ASL (American Sign Language), and when I'll be fluent, I do intend to learn LSQ (Langue Signée du Québec) as well.

The dilemma... is the ruling majority... and when you're part of a minority... it's the joy and frustration, but I'm used to that anyway! :)

So in a way, and not to Bell's intent, the trip to his museum in Baddeck was quite informative!

In the evening, I was back with the group, the fun we had at the lodge for supper... and then we went to the beach and we did a fire. No one wanted to go to sleep. We were joyful, playful, and under an inspiring starlit sky. Water, Fire, Starlit Sky. Food for the soul and one common language: a bunch of seriously grown ups rediscovering the openness of their childhood.

Cheers! Santé!

-E

Blog Action Day: Save The Environment!

Like a bird, I have traveled a lot. Especially this year... I was on both east coast and west coast.

Since I was a little kid, I have enjoyed nature, whether being at sea, whether being in the forest, whether...

Photography is my passion. This is my way to show you with my own eyes how I love nature, how I find my balance. To tell you how this world is so inspiring, so... pretty, if we care to preserve its pristine state...
On this day... I am pensive.

Pollution is everywhere in our environment, it is poisoning ourselves, whether in the food that we eat, the air that we breathe.

We're so used to it that we don't even pay attention...

For instance, few people would raise an eyebrow at the sight of Mount Rainier seemingly lost in the smog.

To the photographer, it is the frustration of being unable to take great photos, the air being so dirty that it blurs everything that is at some distance...

And yet few realize that this is the same dirty air that we breathe... and we wonder why some of us are sick?

Climate change...

Late November, it was unusually summery on the east coast, while at the other end of the country... usually balmy Vancouver was hit by a one-of-a-kind snowstorm, followed by a one-of-a-kind severe wind storm combined with strong arctic air, which rarely occurs this early in the season.

It did make great photos... but it pains me to take photos which "we" have to be held responsible for the damages done to our environment.

Legacy...

I wish I could pass the baton to the next generation...

My love for nature... how beautiful, inspiring, nurturing..

I wish I could tell to the next generation how important it is...

... to cherish and preserve our environment.

We all live on a very small planet, after all...

Cheers,

-E
____

Photos: All these photos are mine and are copyrighted. Please ask for permission before copying. Thanks. :)

From top to bottom:
1) A seagull, from the ferry, somewhere between Vancouver and Victoria. June 2007.
2) Stanley Park (Vancouver BC). June 2007
3) Sunkenmeadows Beach, North Eastham (Cape Cod, MA). September 2003
4) Mount Rainier, photo taken just outside Seattle, WA. July 2007
5) Snow covered English Bay Beach in Vancouver BC. November 2006
6) My neighborhood. Montréal, October 2003

Zero-cost computing, revisited...

I was listening to Radio-Canada's Première Chaine this morning. They reminded me about a story I've heard at least a year ago.

The mighty $100 laptop computer. That was the initial price tag. One could say that this is "zero-cost" computing, to us the wealthy... but this is for children in the "developing world", the very politically correct word... and when you look on a map... you get humble. VERY humble.

Digression aside, it is a sturdy laptop computer, water and dust proof, it can withstand the wear and tear of use and abuse by children. Such laptops do not need the latest CPU, nor fastest bus speed, memory speed etc, nor a fancy schmancy graphic card. This brings cost considerably down. On the software side, there are great softwares around, at little or no cost...

This is Nicholas Negroponte's project.

To kickstart creativity, to boost learning. To bridge the technology gap between the western world that we live... and the rest of the world.

You know the saying, today's children will be the adults of tomorrow. It isn't stated explicitly, but there is a bit of that too.

As a computer professional, trained to solve zillions of problems (and when I'm off duty, I am the computer doctor. To my friends, I'm Mr. Fix-it :) ), I was a little bit worried about the success of that project. Despite a rough shell... a computer is still a sophisticated electronic device. Too sophisticated for the rough terrain, that's my fear. Above all, a computer requires... infrastructure.

As in my younger years in involvement with aid organizations for African countries taught me, when you don't have a stable government, when a government is *too* heavily corrupted... forget about infrastructure (water, sewer, electricity, etc). It won't get built, and the existing one will get ruined sooner or later, whether because of lack of maintenance, whether of civil war, whether of many issues which in the West do not exist, nor could ever be thought of.

Also, we tend to bring western-like thinking in all of our makes, so the western way of doing things are often doomed when exported.

But you have to start somewhere. To break that ill-pattern. So I have high hopes about those low-cost laptop computers. Since I didn't hear much since the initial announcement, I was a little bit worried.

They are making headlines these days. To keep cost down with mass volume, as well as boosting distribution of these XO laptops in developing world, for the month of November, they will have the "Give 1 Get 1" program.

You pay for the cost of TWO laptops. One laptop that will go to a child, thanks to your contribution, and the other laptop for your own child... or to the child sleeping in you, if you don't have children. :)

I figure that such initiatives deserve a tip of the hat (which I'm doing :) ).

As a technician, I'm naturally curious at these little machines. I might indeed "Give 1 Get 1" this November. And yes I admit, beyond all these grand and noble principles, there's the inner child sleeping in me. :)

Cheers!

-E

Links:
XO Giving: http://www.xogiving.org/
XO Laptops, "One laptop per child" http://www.laptop.org/

My first dream in ASL...

With all these ASL (online) lessons, even though I throttle down a bit recently, I guess it was bound to happen. :)

I feel almost ashamed to admit it. Because I'm officially a "hearing person" ? I don't know...

Nor that dream is embarrassing to mention. I just feel... odd. Sort of crossing a forbidden line that as a hearing person I shouldn't. However, dreams know no censorship...

I'm lost, in the Sierras, I've no idea of where I'm going. It's hot. I'm thirsty and I'm a bit worried.

In a distance, a village. Relief!

When I arrive at the village center, I stop at a bar that looks like a far-west saloon.

I walk to the counter. The waiter asks me if I want to order something. Sure a beer! What beer? Any American beer that you have. Ice cold will be fine, because the heat is killing me! Okay dokay...

Then it dawns on me... He was SIGNING to me and I was SIGNING to him? and wow oh wow... it was like telepathy... his thoughts flowing speaking directly to my brain and my thoughts flowing... freely to him? No barriers, no nothing?

What in a strange world I am?

Beer in hand, I turn around and I observe the patrons. Friendly atmosphere... I saw hands signing merrily everywhere... I could eavesdrop if I want to... and there's silence. SILENCE. Oh the mighty SILENCE. Soothing...

It felt good. VERY good.

I never felt so good in my life. Gone are my torments.. gone are my communication barriers. I've left the hearing world...

Sweet.

-E

Those talking plants...

When I check the news this morning, this title (from Yahoo News) has grabbed my attention: Plants Communicate to Warn Against Danger.

Snippets:

Plants chatter amongst themselves to spread information, a lot like humans and other animals, new research suggests. A unique internal network apparently allows greens to warn each other against predators and potential enemies.

Many herbal plants such as strawberry, clover, reed and ground elder naturally form a set of connections to share information with each other through channels known as runners horizontal stems that physically bond the plants like tubes or cables along the soil surface and underground. (...)

Here is how it works: If one of the network plants is attacked by caterpillars, the other members of the network are warned via an internal signal to upgrade their chemical and mechanical resistance making their leaves hard to chew on and less desirable. This system works to spread the information amongst the plants and to ward off caterpillars.

This is an early warning system, very much like in military defense, but then more effective: each member of the network can receive the external signal of impending herbivore danger and transmit it to the other members of the network, Stuefer said. The attacked leaf is lost. However, the remaining leaves are protected against predators.

The study is detailed in this month’s issue of the journal Oecologia.
-----
Mhhh... communication between living creatures. Aren't we talking about the use of a... language? :)

Also, this study reminds me of similar studies on plants. Plants do have feelings, they do feel pain, for instance.

I also remember some conversations with friends who are vegetarian, and I have asked why, wether it was for health reason or otherwise. Answer? Eating meat is cruel.

And I reminded them that their bowl of salad, if they had an idea how that lettuce had to suffer to finally land on that dish, ditto for that plant which these tomatoes come from, etc, etc... Suffering, eh?

Because a plant is silently sitting still doesn't mean that it isn't alive. It *IS* a living creature. Just like animals.

Besides, depending from which part of the world they come, there maybe tons of pesticide, many of these pesticide banned here for health reason are still widely use elsewhere in the world.

Of course, I didn't mean that we should all eat hamburgers, but I was labeled at the big bad guy for not being politically correct. :)

My point is this: We're omnivorous, and to be healthy, you have to eat... a bit of *everything*. Otherwise you have a severely unbalanced diet... and all sorts of problems will (and do) creep up.

My other point is... that we are part of the food chain and we are no longer reminded of that.

With supermarkets filled to the brim of all sorts of edible goodies, all available to your heart content in exchange of... money, we have forgotten this link with the food chain. In order for us to stay alive... another living creature has to give away. That's the equation, as brunt as that.

I'm a fisherman. (OK, a "summer fisherman". :)) However, I fish only for my needs and those who are with me. Period. The fish in the boat in the morning, will be our dinner tonight.

So, you get very humble and you get VERY aware of your role in the nature food chain when you're back home... and you have to clean fish.

What is cruel... we are now over 7 *billions*. There is no way this little planet will be able to continue to support us very long. Our collective load onto all other living creatures is insane. Even to ourselves, we are lucky to live in this part of the world that we can eat all we want, to the point that obesity is a widespread problem. Elsewhere, a lot of humans are... hungry.

I'm at an age that the URGE to have children is there... it's hard-coded in the genes, it is true to all humans, men and women. To be parents and to pass the baton to the next generation.

However, there are times I wonder... maybe the ultimate sacrifice for our own survival, as well as helping other living creatures to live... is *NOT* to have kids.

Mhhh....

-E

Hey! My kitchen is on the web! :-)

<--- Meet Albertine... and her web. :-)

(Actually, I have no idea whether it's a he-spider or a she-spider, nor that I'm willing to ahem... check!)

This is the time of the year that little creatures are seeking refuge. In my area, spiders are very tiny, so this 8-legged guy (gal?) got my attention. She's quite big!

So... for the past couple of days, Albertine (her name) has decided that my kitchen will be her new home!

Some people are afraid of spiders. Well, in Africa and in South America, where everything is BIG, I might. Some spiders may even kill you.

However on this continent and this far north... spiders are the answer to the use of chemicals. So I've done a deal with Albertine: Do your job, do catch flies, and I won't bother you! So far so good. She already got a few fruit flies. Thanks, Albertine!

<--- This is a close up of Albertine, in her full glory, arachnidally speaking. :)

I have never seen a spider like this in my region. One or these days, I have to look on the web on who she is.

Anyone has ideas?

Cheers,

-E

Mixed bag... Canada style

Ontario referendum: Gee whiz, they're about to vote... and I hear more about the Ontario referendum here in Québec... than in Ontario.

Mhhh... when someone says referendum and constitutional amendment, it's true that we get all excited here. :)

I had a chat recently with a former forum colleague living in Toronto, and I was floored to hear that he doesn't care about the referendum. However, the bickering about McGuinty, his wife and about confessional schools seem far more important than the referendum on the way Ontario will elect their politicians for many generations to come.

I can't proclaim that I'm an expert in Ontario politics, but that seems to be the general mood. This is sad, I think.
___

Afghanistan: There's something quite indecent to see ministers Bernier and Oda parading in Afghanistan, at the government's expense of course.

At the same time, Denis Coderre whose been denied all government supports, has to go literally -on his own- to Afghanistan (and at the time I'm writing these lines, he's currently in Pakistan. He should arrive later today or tomorrow in Afghanistan). People are a little bit worried for his safety, should the words spread out that he's a Canadian elected official... and not an "ordinary tourist".

To hear minister Bernier saying that Coderre's trip to Afghanistan is "irresponsible" makes me puke.

Coderre (Liberal) *IS* a member of the Parliament, just like Bernier and Oda (Conservative, the ruling party here in Canada).

It is by the will of the Parliament and not of the ruling political party that our troops are there in Afghanistan.

Also, the Canadian government isn't ... a branch of the Conservative party.

So Coderre has every right to be in Afghanistan and meet our troops there. As a member of the Parliament, it *IS* the duty of the Canadian government to bring him to Afghanistan, safely. So there, Mr. Bernier. You should be ashamed.

Since we're having a minority government, it's not very politically savvy to soooo openly pissed off a member of an opposition party, one of the parties that has helped the Conservative... to stay in power. Capitche, Mr. Bernier?
__

Mr. FixIt revisited: Funny, there are times I feel like I'm a doctor . :) I think that I'm also a church minister, which people confess their worst sins. :)

I'm a little bit under the weather (cold... sigh!!), but yesterday I got a call (err.. a SOS) from a friend that her computer doesn't work and she needs it absolutely for this weekend.

When I had my tech forums years ago... I had coined this phrase: Put a rubber on your modem!

Upfront, she confessed that she visited many "dirty" sites (porn, and many gay *male* porn, to my surprise) and she had installed many "viewers". She thinks she went to one dirty web site... too many. She also does file sharing, and I spare you the names, you know them, and I despise these programs. Oh... anti-virus? She got it... but the subscription expired 2 years ago. You get the picture. In other words, I have to do miracles... as always...

Oookay. When a nice lady sends you a SOS... I can't say no. :) So I brought with me my laptop, some CDs and DVDs (including an old version of Knoppix, a fully functional Linux operating system, which is always useful to boot a sick PC with it) . I spent the afternoon and part of the evening in bringing her computer to a reasonably functional state.

I'm a data professional, much like a doctor when friends call me to help with their computer problems. So I don't blush easily at the things I see on someone else's computer.

I'll make this clear: I don't blush at the things you think that will make me blushing, but I wish you blush at the things *I* see!

Funny how people feels ashamed when I click on a file and suddenly a naughty picture appears on the screen, while I see nothing wrong with that (raise your hand if you don't have any dirty pics on your computer! So you see my point. :) ).

However, I'm a little pissed off when I see pirated softwares, pirated songs, etc, while to most people, they don't mind. We're talking of intellectual property... and that is my daytime job, as a computer programmer. So, respect my job and the job of my brothers and sisters, please!

(For the same reason when I'm giving music CDs to friends, I buy retail, I don't make copies. I want respect for my work, so I respect others' work. It's reciprocal... and I think that my salary is high enough to afford the seemingly "extra" cost ...)

Since I can put links here, I might mention an interesting online diagnostic tool that has been around for years: Housecall, by TrendMicro ( http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ ). It was useful yesterday, as the computer was too sick to update the already installed anti-virus nor to install another anti-virus.

Oh, it goes without saying, anti-spyware programs like Adaware and Spybot are also "must have" programs (that must be kept updated!) on a PC...

I appreciate friendship... but I wish for my friends... the best. Really! ;)

-Doctor Eskimo...

If I were lost... somewhere between Matane and Baton-Rouge...

(This blog entry is *NOT* simulcasted at FC, because of the many photos. This is also a follow up to the previous blog entry here...)

I have in my luggage,
Photos, so many photos...

This year, it all started at the tulip festival in Ottawa in May,

Some travels were for work, many times it was for leisure...
"The Lady in the wet suit".
When you know her story, she's truly the mermaid of Vancouver.

She's observing ships coming in and out of the harbour, enroute to the Lions Gate Bridge, and from there... Alaska? Asia? California? Ah...

What she's thinking? I've been wondering.


A walk in the rain forest on Gabriola Island, like many of these islands on the Sunshine Coast and Gulf Coast.

Can you feel... the energy these trees radiate? I do.

On days like today, such energy helps me to keep going, even when I'm worried.



Then on the east coast, Halifax, a 4-day tour on the Cape Breton. From Chéticamp to Baddeck, from the foggy beauty of the Cabot Trail slicing between the sea and Irish-like rolling hills... to the stunning beauty of the Bras D'or Lakes.
The pinnacle of this trip, La forteresse de Louisbourg. No DeLoreans to go back in time. The past grabs you as soon as you begin to walk on the muddy streets on this foggy day...

I'm in the early 1700s,
I left my world, my modern life,
I've been wondering...
As fascinating as it seems,
And I hate to admit it,
As I don't have much belongings,
I'm *too* spoil rotten by the modern life.

Then a powerful image in many ways, on the fast-ferry leaving Boston, sailing at an insane speed, enroute to bucolic Cape Cod.

Incredible how in no time, the city skyline disappears.

I also feel the energy. The Salacia vibrates, the roar is deafening, I have to hold firmly the guardrail.

I feel tipsy, as if I were drunk. Away from city crowd, away from crazy traffic... Being free, being at sea. Such a joy!

Silence is often my world, it's an open invitation to meditation.

However music is like champagne. Despite being "hard of hearing" to human speech, music can be sweet to my ears...

On FC, you've read many times about Isabelle Boulay... and a song special to me...

"Entre Matane et Baton-Rouge"... she sang in Ottawa, at Vancouver's Stanley Park, in flowery Victoria, on Mount Rainier in Washington State, and on my last day in Seattle, playing full bast at the harbor.

Her magic also radiated to my fellow travelmates.... whether in Ottawa, whether at a bon fire near Baddeck on the Cape Breton whether on the trip to NJ's Blogamajig...

To others, this is music with an accent... while to me, it's my culture, sweetening my pain when the blues hit me and I feel terribly uprooted...

"Si j'étais perdue" (if I were lost)... is another song of her from the same album... and on days like this, it's also playing often in my mind.

Words mean little to me (as it's painful for me to process human speech), however the music, the rhythm... in non-verbal way, Boulay is singing so well how I feel.

Language and culture... in so many ways...

Cheers,

-E
____

Since we're on the internet... You can hear both songs (and others!), off Isabelle Boulay's official web site.
(http://www.isabelleboulay.ca/)

(Click on "Discographie", then "Retour à la source", then look for "01-Entre Matane et Baton-Rouge" and "11-Si j'étais perdue")

hopes and fears...

<--- Sunset on the Pacific Ocean...

------

Ciel rose le soir, donne de l'espoir,
Red sky at night is sailor's delight.

espoir... or hope in French.

Yet, I am surrounded with fears tonight. Fears.. and hopes.

You know that's a bummer to a guy? Guys are supposed to be built tough. Fears, we shouldn't know what it means. Oh yes we do know... but there's a heck of misplaced ego to internalize it...

I was at the office tonight, observing the sunset over the city, pondering...

It reminded of the many sunsets at sea that I've been privileged to observe... and to my mind, that old sailor's saying in French. (literally: Red sky at night... brings *hope*).

-Winds of change have begun to blow and they're a lot tougher than I first thought...

-Many more worries about my father,

-Contraring to the ferry from which the photo was taken, I'm sailing while having no idea of where I'm going. This is completely uncharted seas for me...

Facing the unknown always brings some amount of... fears... and yet, like any sailing... there's the hope of arriving safely at the harbour, any harbour...

Fears and hopes...
like fire and water...

A sky in fyre,
over a calm body of water.

Sigh...

-E

International week of the deaf...

September 24 - 30 was the international week of the deaf... (press release from Gallaudet University)

The subtext is: Celebration of ASL !

In these celebrations, I feel like an oddball.

Oddball, oh, what's new? :)

I'm a hearing person... and "hard of hearing" to human speech, which is already oddball enough.

It's been a few months that I'm learning Sign Language... and I'm loving it !

So, I'm pensive...

It all started...

A stop in Seattle, last June,

A deaf blogger with a big heart,

She "contaminated" me...

Now, up to me to spread the words ahem...

... signing my happiness to friends and family. :)

Thanks Tantrika. Thanks. A long lasting gift of yours.

(And waving hello sign to Crowfriend!).

-J

Balance...

<--- A common sight, along Vancouver's seawall...

I'm pensive this morning. Photos of Vancouver are in my mind.

So many walks in Stanley Park... so many walks along the seawall...

So... beautiful.

Meditation? Bliss.

Calm, serenity, serendipity...

-E

Giggles on the road: Master's Student Demonstrates Thesis Project in Her Underwear!

It makes you wondering...

It is about human interface to computers. Incidentally, this is something I once contemplated studying when I was at the university.

If grad schools were like that, I think that I'd stay on school benches a little bit longer and get my Master degree. Whoopy!!! :)

The actual report is quite... dull in fact. From a technical standpoint, there's no technical breakthrough. It's a matter of putting sensors... at a place you wouldn't think. Whether there's ahem... an added value of doing so, it remains to be... seen.

If seeing is believing, there's a YouTube video of her and her boyfriend... attempting to play a game of pong. Quite boring, in fact!

The story is funny, nonetheless. :)

So, if you remember just *TOO* well your hard days at the university...

Imagine if you were in her pants, figuratively and ahem... literally, shall I say? :)

From Regina Lynn: Master's Student Demonstrates Thesis Project in Her Underwear.

Cheers!!!

-E

Tough day for human rights in Canada...

There was a long awaited court ruling about the tainted blood scandal in Canada.

During the mid 80s, over 20,000 Canadians got Hep C and HIV from tainted blood tranfusions. The trial was to attempt to held criminally responsible the top officials at the Canadian Red Cross and a US-based company that supplied the Canadian Red Cross with tainted blood.

It's funny how the judicial system works. If you willfully put someone's life in danger, or you kill someone, you'll be held criminally responsible.

Knowingly and willfully endanger the life of 20,000 people... the judge concluded that was not enough to hold criminally responsible.

Human rights? We're talking of deadly diseases, and to this day, still with no cures. The right to ... live? mhhh...

There's another story which hits home, almost literally. A private company that runs senior healthcare housings for the government was caught pants down for the second time... evicting seniors in order to make room... for other seniors that are eligible under a new governmental program (and for the company, cashing extra money from the government, of course).

There are hair raising horror stories, such as a 94-year old blind woman being given... a WRITTEN NOTICE that she has 30 days to vacate the premises (which is illegal. The law requires 6 months). Thankfully she has caring sons and they sound the alarm to the media.

Human rights? Dignity? When you're getting old... I hesitate to complete my phrase...

This is happening in Ahuntsic (north end of Montréal) and this is close to where I live.

But the story screams to me for another reason: The declining health of my dad. At some points in time, we'll have no choice.

My mom is dead set against the idea of moving, and this kind of scandal just re-enforced her opinion that dad should stay at home... at all costs.

And costs... it isn't just in money that it's breaking my back...

-E

Links:

• Canadian Press: Victims cry foul, call acquittal of defendants in tainted-blood trial ludicrous.
• Cyberpresse: Painful turmoils in healthcare housing (In French)