Living differently... and a matter of human rights?

If you're a woman, would it come to your "right" mind that you could breastfeed... your spouse? If you're a man, would you have a drink... that it's on (and literally from) your wife? :) Without nursing a baby, a woman can be induced into lactating and apparently, to the delight of both spouses.

The other day, both in local printed media and over the radio, I was (indirectly) reminded of my past, as a forum moderator... and why this old militant had his human rights chord being tickled .

I was also a bit intrigued (and pleasantly surprised!) that a seemingly taboo topic could hit the mainstream media, and essentially they didn't make of that story as a freak show.

A couple living in my province started this blog on Wordpress: Allaiter mon conjoint (breastfeed my spouse).

What has touched me is that among the reasons she has started this blog, it is to serve as a place for others who share similar interests. To overcome a taboo, to educate the population in order to fight ridicule.

Also, like so many things in Québec, articles written in French, especially on topics that are... off the beaten path are almost non-existant.

Upfront, I'd say... mhhh... that's absolutely NOT my thing. However, because I don't like something should not and should NEVER mean that others shouldn't enjoy it.

In a previous life, well... in the 80s when the BBSes were king, I was an avid forum participant. By the 90s, I graduated as a forum manager on commercial online services, the ancestor of today's internet. GEnie, Delphi, name it.

One day, on behalf of an ailing forum manager (and personal friend) that I temporarily took care of the Freemind forum on Delphi.. For just a few weeks I thought, 6 looong (and fascinating) months it went. Even after I gave back the forum to its original host, I stayed there 'til I retired entirely from the forum world, in the late 90s.

That was a forum in the "adult" category. Woah. By design, it was in that category in order to be able to speak more freely (hence, the "Freemind") without having management censoring us.

Religion often took a hard beating. (It was the time of tele-evangelists who made headlines regularly for their "immoral" excesses, so I had plenty of material for the forum). Also, maybe because of being in the "adult" category, sexuality was also a fairly recurrent topic.

This forced me to do searches on the 'Net, as well as pitching in my little Canadian 2-cent. Sort of being a reference center and also being a place to discuss about various issues on sexuality, in general.

Being open minded and eager to learn, let say that my mind got opened wider than I thought, and I learn a lot.

If you think people are crazy, yes they are. Yes *we* are. Yes we *all* are. You, me and everyone around. :)

A way of saying that the mighty word "normal" is the word to ban.

Sadly, "statistics" is a word I'd rather like to see it undefined, because people aren't just numbers. We're humans, made of flesh and we have a heart and a soul.

Anyway from that era, there are a few things I learnt and got stucked in my mind. Like one person out of two has a sexual fantasy, enough that the word "fetish" would apply. It is just that your fantasy isn't exactly appealing to others, and if you could know what happen in the bedroom, the fantasies of your neighbours and people you know would be shocking to you.

The danger is applying your moral values to others... and saddly, if you happen to be at the other end of the equation, it is about feeling the pressure of a ruling majority and morality.

There are times I wish the Freemind forum would still exist. Last weekend, Québec's ruling cardinal at a public gathering heavily complained about abortion and he openly wished to have abortion being banned, once again. That would be a good topic to discuss.

And isn't a case of ... human rights? Aren't we born equal, in *dignity* and in *rights* ? Why that moral pressure against you if you live in a non-standard way? Why being ridicule... for who you are?

Some of the reasons people came to the Freemind forum... are the very same reasons this Quebecer couple mentioned in their blog: Loneliness, the fear of "not being normal" because you do things that the moral majority would be against, to have a place to make informations available and to share experience...

Plus ça change...

New communication means... and same old issues.

My thinking is that between freely and willfully consenting adults who want to have some mutual fun and as long as they aren't harming themselves one way or the other, anything can (and should) go on, limited only by their imagination.

And no moralists should tell them what to do and what is approved or not. :)

PS: If you're a guy, you shouldn't laugh that much and you should wipe that grin on your face. :) While researching this topic, I've discovered that men could also lactate. So guys, beware! Your spouse may order you a drink from you one of these days!

Which in a way... feeding from each other, it is living in symbiosis, albeit being squished to a new height. :)

Vivre et laissez vivre, mes amis. That's the whole point. I'm serious.

Cheers,

-E

Mhhh.. no, I won't sign your petition...

... about the killing of baby seals. Oh, I'm a villain? Stay on. :)

I'm on Facebook recently (and it's a place I don't like much, I'm there only to stay in touch with FC blogfriends).

One thing about Facebook, you get bombarded of requests to support causes, sign petitions, that on top of many quizzes and games, pokes and superpokes.

For some reasons recently, I'm getting bombarded once again with causes and petitions against the killing of seal pups. One phrase that caught my attention, "about inhumane killing". This begs the question: What is humane killing?

Mhhhh...

True, you have seen plenty of videos... and yes, it is gruesome.

Here's a digression... that isn't one.

I'm what would be considered a "sport" fisherman, altough I royally hate the word "sport". (More on that later). If I were not such a clumsy guy with such a poor eye-hand coordination, I'd be a hunter too.

Though when I'm on the water, and fishing, while it is a wonderful opportunity to have quality time and enjoy myself, it is clear in my mind that what I will catch today... will be my meal tomorrow.

In other words, I'm doing my role, the way nature intended to, taking my place in the food chain. The life of a living thing has to be taken away, so I'll be able to stay alive.

Have you cleaned a fish? Have you done fillets? It is gruesome, and even though I'm used to that since I'm a little kid, you better be strong on your feet to do that.

Yet, this is part of the whole process of taking my place in the food chain and there's nothing to be ashamed of.

What I find really gruesome and definitively obscene are those weekend TV shows about "sport fishing". A bunch of guys having a devil of fun catching fishes...and releasing them, and these guys hoping for that big trophy fish. I've seen in person plenty of those guys too. Urrrgh!

Making fun from the suffering of a living creature, I find that obscene. If you have ever fished, you know the hook can inflict severe damages. Those fishes that go belly up because they didn't make it, that's gruesome (oh they won't show up to the camera, "thankfully").

Mhhhh....

But what about the grocery store?

It seems this society is so scr*wed up that with these stores, we have collectively forgotten where all the food comes from?

For instance, it is quite gruesome at a slaughterhouse.

The milk that you drink, you think that cows are all smiling and enjoying a quality life grazing in the open, enjoying the scenery and watching passing trains, as some TV ads want you to believe? Mhhh, not really.

Or that "organic food" calms down your concerns, while organic is just the name. It is mass produced in a non very healthy way just like their non-organic counterparts; the whole process is also quite gruesome and to add insult to injury, still with lots of contaminants coming from the soil and polluted rain.

To a point that depending on where they come from, some organic foods are more toxic than their non-organic counterparts? Ooch...

Of course, organic or not, multinational commercial interests drive all this. While I have some (minor) issues with the movie, by all means see "Food Inc" (official web site, IMDB database), if you still have some doubts. It's an eye opener.

Yet, the grocery store is the magical place which we get fed... and the fact we don't know little nor anything about the true origin of all that food seems to have isolated us from nature.

(And I don't want to shatter your heart about the huge amount of food getting spoiled, and also food that must get thrown out, even if they're still edible. Only a tiny fraction of that food goes to food banks. The rest is just thrown out).

To me, I find that quite disturbing. Far more disturbing than... well, you know what.

Humans have inflicted so much damages to nature, and yet he can also help to alleviate the damages he's been doing.

Fishing stocks along the east coast have collapsed. From overfishing and also from pollution. Our fault on all counts.

Scientists will tell you that the population of seals have grown exponently, from 1,8 millions to 5,6 millions in 30 years (link), and we're heading for a disaster if the seal population isn't brought down. By being a predator to them, we can help. Guess how...

Mhhhh....

Back to my original thoughts...

For many centuries, humans have been harvesting seals. For their meat, for clothing, for our own survival. We were taking the part we deserve on that food chain.

Gruesome? Yes. The cycle of life is that too, you know...

I'm also thinking that coats made of animal fur are far more ecological than similar clothes mass made from synthetic fibers, fibers which are often derivative of petroleum byproducts...

Not to mention the sheer amount of energy waste to make those clothes from synthetic fibers, and doing so in countries which cheap labour is prevalent and human rights NOT so prevalent.

Mhhhh...

All things considered, no, I won't sign your petition.

Thanks nonetheless.

-E

Cellphone monopoly...

Sometimes, I wish our CRTC has teeth, like its US counterparts, the FCC. The airwaves belong to the public domain, and like radio and TV broadcasters, cell phone operators are given a privilege to use some of that precious resource for commercial purposes.

In return, they should make good use of it, and this is on that principle that both CRTC and FCC do rule.

Two frustrating news went on yesterday. It reminds you that these cellphone operators operate as a monopoly in Canada and therefore they are laughing at you big time, since the CRTC doesn't want to intervene...

1) Bell *AND* Telus, 2 of the 3 cellphone operators both announced *at the same time* that not only outgoing text messages are billed, you will also be billed for *incoming* text messages.

Since text messages are likely to come from either their own network or from the other network, you really want me to believe that Bell and Telus didn't talk to each other, and it was just sheer coincidence that they both come to the conclusion they must bill incoming text messages as well and also a coincidence they made the announcement... on the same day, yesterday?

Hello?

What about Rogers (who also own Fido)? No plans to do double dipping like Bell and Rogers. On the other hand, since it costs twice as much to send a text message.... Bingo! It's a monopoly (or more technically an oligarchy, or a triopoly, since we have just 3 cellphone operators in Canada).

2) Rogers announced that they have "listened" to the uproar of protests from their customers about the iPhone and how insane it is priced here in Canada. Ah.

They'll now offer a data plan for $30/month. Rogers is making a lot of publicity that they are slashing the costs of the iPhone by half, initially priced at $60/month.

Where's the gotcha? Actually there are several of them. First, it's a time limited offer (until the end of August).

Second, it's a *data plan* (therefore no voice) at $30/month. Since monthly basic cellphone (voice) service is about $30. ... we're back to $60/month, so there's no savings at all. Gotcha!

A footnote: A data-only plan isn't that bad, and it would make sense to deaf people. This is what T-Mobile in the US offers for their Sidekick. However, the Sidekick has applications for the deaf people, such at internet relay, a service which we don't have in Canada, nor VRS, thanks again to our government procrastinating. Since we have a Bush-like Conservative government, don't expect anything good coming from them anytime soon.

So a $30/month data plan for the iPhone won't bring much benefits to the Canadian deaf communities... except of a better rate, and even there, the plan will be available only for two months. Not much to cheer about.

About myself? For the time being, it's no, I won't bite at the bait. Later? Maybe.

Since I'm often in the States, I'm still thinking of buying a US phone and I'll cough out the roaming fees when I'm in Canada. :) It would still be cheaper.

Besides, I'm still debating about the Sidekick vs iPhone. The one key feature missing on the iPhone is a *real* keyboard, like on the Sidekick. Other than that, the iPhone would be the perfect phone for me!

That being said, I have ZERO sympathy for Rogers, Bell and Telus. The only 3 cellphone operators in Canada, they are merrily price gouging the market, knowing that they can do so with total impunity from the government.

Like its wired counterpart, those wireless cellphones have become so useful that you can't think of getting rid of them. That's the bet the 3 Canadian cellphones have made. Grrr.... :)

Cheers nonetheless!

-E

Deaf world: Some debates that will never end...

I was reading DeafPulse (which you get the 10 most recent headlines on this blog), and reading other Deaf web sites...

CI, aka Cochlear Implant. It's a big thing in the deaf world. I guess that it is alike to a Christian seeing Satan in person. :)

I'm fighting all I can on behalf of my dad, and the last thing on top of many illnesses is deafness... it goes without saying, pun not really intended that I have to rely on Sign Language to get understood. Or words on a piece of paper, but even then you have to write in big letters, as his eyesight is also getting worse. Also a miracle that my dad was able to remember a few signs and to make use of them.

On top of other illnesses, it feels like the last straw. At least for me. But it's no use to get angered, frustrated, or anything. It's life as it unfolds, with the best and the worst and you have to take that.

One thing I notice how the world, so wide and infinite, gets narrower for him. While I have also my own 'bouts (I hear well, but decoding human speech is a nightmare for me, so I sometimes appear to others as if I were deaf), but I haven't realized what it means being deaf.

We're in an audible world, from the doorbell, the telephone, radio, even television, when all these audible infos become out of reach, you live in a strange narrowed world, because all those audible you depend on during all your life... are no longer there, and you realize the sheer void.

I had that in mind when I was reading several heated debates about CI. Whether parents who took decision on behalf of their children, or as a grown up, to go for cochlear implants.

For my dad, it's way too late of course, but I have been thinking that in the very audible world that we live in, if I were in that situation at my age, I'd seriously consider the option.

Which doesn't mean I'd stop using Sign Language, far from it, but I have to realize that 99% of the people around me, from friends to neighbours to colleagues haven't learned it. So I have very little use of Sign Language (but I continue to wish that Sign Language should be taught at school, just like other languages, because it *IS* a full fledged language, with its own culture. It's *NOT* a sub-standard language, just for the "disabled", with the double quotes! )

I'm a fervent partisan of "Vivre et laissez vivre". It's a French phrase to just say to let people decide for themselves. I feel in cases like that, there's no right or wrong choices to take. These are just... personal choices.

But in the deaf community, it isn't different than other communities. There are always some outspoken (?) people monopolizing as many means of communication as possible, and claiming high and low that we should all go their way.

When there's a language, there is a culture. There IS a deaf culture. The dilemma is when you are a minority, then you are in survival mode.

Incidentally, this is the debate we keep having in my province (Québec). Anyone who wants to understand the language debate there, the key to do so is to view from the angle that we're a tiny minority in North America, even in our own country. 24% of Canadians speak French. Stated otherwise, that's 76% who does NOT speak French, and the numbers have been steadily declining since Stat Can began to do statistics, a hundred years ago...

So I see in the deaf community the same patterns of self-defense. The debate against CI is also that. It is perceived as removing people from the deaf culture, which is not entirely false, but it isn't entirely true.

It is my understanding that the deaf culture while being a minority and having to beg from the majority for its needs, is far from going extinct.

The geek in me, who sees technology progressing, I have to say: Who could have thought a few years ago that there would be plenty of "vlogs", video blogs, people signing merrily in ASL? there are web sites in ASL, and already movies in ASL? Who would have thought there would be plenty of materials on the internet to feed things like DeafPulse?

Aren't these things... an expression of a *culture*, that is vibrant and dynamic? I would think so, and thanks to the technology, for providing a support for which a language can be transmitted. In this case, *visually* transmitted.

I was looking at the millions of channels on digital cable. I was joking a bit, but I am serious, what about an ASL channel? I'd sign for it right away. What about newscasts, game shows, sitcoms in ASL? There are millions of deaf and hard of hearing people across the US and Canada. Sorry, but closed captioning doesn't cut it.

There are TV channels that are on the air with an audience less than that. Besides, there are already linguistic channels, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese, German.

I think it's a matter of time someone who has the money will come up with a nationwide ASL channel? (and put closed captioning for the NON-hearing impaired? ;) )

I'd be the first to sign up, that's for sure.

So it seems that debates like against CI are so futile and such a waste of energy... it's being at standstill while the world keeps moving forward.

What else to say, or sign for? PEACE and ILY? Maybe...

That's a way to sign Vivre et laisser vivre, I'd say...

-E

Blogatus interruptis ?

<--- Hugfest at Blogadelphia. You should recognize the guy in kilt. I think. Oh that, and the Fluevog shoes worn by the huggee. :)

It's been a month I haven't blogged here (and not much on FC either) except for the "Blogadelphia" reports.

When things move on professionally, when you have also to parent your own parents, sometimes you just appreciate... some time off.

Also, life as a single for this long, and I'm not eager to go back to the dating scene for as long as I barely have time even for myself... it does compel for more time off... and to enjoy the sweet feeling of being alive.

On the other hand, I *do* have things to say, and it's piling up! About my stay in San Francisco in May (such as the Musée Mécanique, or about geeks who didn't know they were geeks when they crafted these incredible machines)... and also geeky stuff while at Blogadelphia, as well in Boston, and a few things in between.

I'm just back home, right in time for Oh Canada (July 1st is Canada Day). I saw blurbs from Rogers and Fido about the iPhone. This is from the same guys who a few years ago have nuked the Sidekick, the iPhone's ancestor (and still a very apt competitor today... everywhere else in the world, *EXCEPT* Canada. Grrrr.... )

So it goes without saying from people who don't understand what these devices are all about, nor the huge market for those devices, the fact they delayed the arrival of the iPhone in Canada by a year, and the rumors flying high that Apple officials were royally pissed off at Rogers and Fido for the GSM monopoly they have in Canada...

Those are hints that as a customer, Rogers and Fido will scr*w you royally. In other words, paying top dollars for a brain damaged iPhone... unless you are willing to pay even more $$$ to get... essentially what eveyone else in the world do get from their iPhone, at a fraction of the cost. Sigh...

I was in the US just days ago... and sigh! Ok, I'll go with big with stereotypes, but it's like women with flagrance (I'm tempted to add Fluevog shoes as well. Tee hee!!! ;) ).

I'm a geek who can't resist electronic toys. I saw the iPhone in store in Boston, also the newest (and coolest!) Sidekick at a T-Mobile store in Hyannis...

One word: Sigh!!! :) Even more sigh that these guys were willing to sign me up right away, even after I told them that I'm Canadian and live most of the time in Canada. How *TEMPTING* is that? :)

Other little silly news I've heard: VIA Rail is not able to keep its trains on time. Mhhh, ok, they call that... news? :)

The worst line? Toronto-Ottawa. The 2nd worst line? Ottawa-Montréal. There must be something with Ottawa, I guess. ;) Seriously, it's all single track upthere, and freight trains always get priority... so no wonder. The day the Canadian government will get serious, things will change.

While in the US both in May on the west coast and June on the east coast, I rode Amtrak a couple of times. Now I feel good about VIA Rail. :)

On the geek front, I was surprised, even in first class, that there's no Wi-Fi access on their train. On the west coast, I rode between LA and Sacramento a few times, then from Sacramento to Vancouver BC.

On the east coast , I was on their popular "corridor" section, between Philadelphia and Boston. (This would be somewhat equivalent in Canada with our corridor service between Montréal and Toronto). So we can badmouth VIA Rail on many things, but we're one step ahead of the Americans by providing Wi-Fi access on all their corridor trains. Besides, with all those delays I've just mentioned, isn't it fun to kill time on the internet? Wise move for VIA Rail. ;)

Happy Canada Day everyone (Also a belated Saint-Jean Baptiste Day... a week ago! :) )

Cheers,

-E

GPS for the blind...

This is a blog entry I have to "somewhat" simulcast. On FC, I put the emphasis on the human aspect. Here, I can get geeky all I want... and post links and mention names. :)

Sunday night, I was watching Radio-Canada's Découverte, their science show.

They ran a story about talking GPS. No big deal as you might say. You can get one installed on your car. Beside their screen, they guide you verbally. "Turn right on 4th avenue. Go 300ft and turn left".

The folks at a small local company, Humanwear thought: Why not bringing that technology to the blind?

This story touches me. One of my naive... ideals when I began programming, is that computer could help... humans. Especially with our handicaps. I guess it's the Good Samaritan in me speaking. :) Anyhow, and this was way back in the 80s, there were researches on visual recognition.

Some hard facts of life (such as $$$ and the urge to have... a life) the academic world wasn't exactly for me, so like many students freshly out of the university... I worked for businesses. I refined my craft there and here I am today. Nonetheless my interest was and still is about computers being programmed to help us cope with the real life... despite our handicaps.

And it seems to me that the worst handicap... is being blind. Close your eyes, and try to get outside and walk a few blocks. Have fun. :)

So the story touches me deeply, for the human aspect. As a software programmer, it gets interesting to see how computers are programmed to do wonders. Also, there's that dilemma that all programmers face: To be able to *fully* understand the problem, so a programmer could work on a computer model.

We can second guess all we want based on observations, but only blind people could express their need. They're the ones who can't see.

One surprising comment that kept coming: The need to know where they are. It's one thing to have a service dog, but you must have in your head a map of the city, and to be able to pinpoint where you are... and your only clues are tactile feels (such as intersections) and audible clues.

Often blind people had to ask people where they are.

So they work on a prototype. They used a Compaq iPaq PDA (ironically, it's exactly the same model I have), a GPS receiver, a map database, and an extra battery pack, because all these things eat lots of energy. So, they went from the straight talking GPS for cars and augmented with data that blind people need to know.

Street intersection. There might be a traffic light or a stop sign. There might be an island half way. Perhaps to warn that the street has just one sidewalk and it is on the other side.

Then they augmented the database by including bus stops, then some obstacles like fire hydrants.

Now their goal is to augment the database again by showing where businesses are.

The technology has its quirks and shortcomings. It can't tell that sidewalks haven't been plowed (and boy did we have a lot of snow this season), nor it will tell you when it's safe to cross the street, even when you have a service dog.

To the amazement of programmers, when they ask blind people to test drive their prototypes, there were new uses that were found.

-"When I ride the bus, I'm no longer dependant on the bus driver to tell me when I should get off. The talking GPS keeps me updated about where we're going."

-"I didn't know there was that café next by, so I can stop and have a cup of coffee. Nor I was aware of that bakery. So this technology gives me eyes. I can SEE my city... again, and no longer missing what is there".

Probably the story won't mean much to you, but to me, in many ways, it does.

Links:
Radio-Canada Découverte. Look for the Sunday March 23rd 2008 show and for "GPS pour aveugles". Click on the link and you'll see the story. The story is in French, and sadly, there's no closed-captioning.

Humanware. A bilingual French/English site. Besides their talking GPS, they have all sort of funky equipments.

Winter... did someone say winter? :)

Got about 40 cm of snow, and we're the lucky ones. Ottawa, 51cm. Trois-Rivières and Québec, both near 60cm. For our American friends, we're talking of a foot and a half of snow to *2* feet of snow! Welcome to Canada! :)

This is the 3rd major snowstorm in a week (last Saturday, Wednesday and this Saturday).

For Montréal, it's the 29th snowstorm of the season. Ayup. *29* snowstorms... so far. The 30th is scheduled to hit us by mid-week... if the weathermen have their way. We're close to historical amount of snow. I can say that I haven't seen this much snow in my entire life.

What a difference a day makes...

The image on the left is the leftovers from the Wednesday storm. I didn't have time... or rather my courage ran out for shoveling my patio.

The image on the right was taken today, after the storm.

When they say that a picture is worth a thousand words... I'll let those words speak for me.

Can you say... ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!!!! :)

(to give you a scale, I'm holding a standard 8 1/2 X 11" notepad.

Then... and now !

Regulars from FC will recognize my unofficial "bedroom webcam". I love nature and I find important when I get up the next morning... to see the outside world.

The image on the left was taken last November after our very first snowstorm.

The neighbor's fence is 4ft tall. So I'd say we're between 5 and 6ft of snow on ground.

I'm a little bit worried when all this snow is going to melt.

<--- During the storm, last night... The dilemma I see... during and after a snowstorm... Snow does embellishes the city. It is beautiful, immensely beautiful.

Especially when seen from inside, where it's warm and cozy... :)

When so you don't have to feel the bitter wind, or like last night, you are spared from the ice pellets grinding on your face,

When you don't have to shovel the snow....

When you don't have to go outside... to go to work, or bring food and other supplies in.

However, when it's the 29th snowstorm of the season that you're shoveling, and your arms and your back are killing you... The beauty of winter fades a bit.

That's understandable, yes... but nonetheless a bit sad. We're in March, this is the baroud d'honneur for winter. Spring will arrive very soon, regardless of what the calendar will say.

From there, it's bye-bye snow...

So...

Welcome to Canada and I hope you have appreciated this quick trip to my world, today!!!

PS: Stay warm! :)

-E

PPS: Just to chill you, click on this link and see the photos of Québec City's Ice Hotel. Would you believe that a lot of their clientele comes from people... living in warmer climates? A lot of Americans from... Florida, California, even Hawaii !!! I'm speechless.

PPPS: I _might_ have a chance by the end of this month to visit the Ice Hotel. It's very iffy, but if I'm in Québec City, I'll do everything to stop by the hotel! I'll let you know how it turned out. If you think I'm a bit weird... you're probably right. :) Cheers! -E

International Women's Day...

... or "Journée internationale des femmes" in French. There were events like these all over the country (do notice the snow. This is Montréal, after all. :) ).

It is one of those days, which my mhhh... militant fiber is there and screaming.

Those days? Whether Martin Luther King Day, whether... the Pride Day... whether too many days...

And THANKFULLY these days exist... yet I'd wish that someday, the raison d'être would vanish.

Maybe it's the Good Samaritan in me... maybe I have this seemingly naïve ideal... that we're all... humans.

So naive, it seems...

There shouldn't be humans penalized, because they happen to live in a not so welcoming country, shall I say...

No matter where on earth, there and here,

There shouldn't be humans considered as less of an human,

based on race,
based on sexual orientation...
...and based on gender.

It is on days like this one, I have this urge to shout to the top of my lungs, these very words...

All human beings,
are born equal,
in dignity and rights.

Those are the very first words... of the Universal Declaration of... Human Rights.


We can pride ourselves that we we live in a supposedly modern world, and yet in the very way we behave... it's still the dark age...

Cheers to all my fellow female companions. It's your day!

-E

(The last two photos were taken during a quick trip to Ottawa last September. The monument is... of course the Human Rights monument located on Elgin Street near city hall, and also within a few minutes of walk from the Parliament. If you happen to visit this monument, you'll be told that the monument has been blessed by the Dalaï Lama and presumably, some of his good spirit is lingering...

... and that concludes my tip to the savvy travelers. :) )

A glimpse of serenity and peacefulness...

Beauséjour means "nice stay" in French, and boy it was indeed a nice (albeit short) stay, last Sunday.

With a pair of (loaned) snowshoes, I went to Beauséjour Park. The good thing is the park is located close to my home.

The park is the pride of our neighborhood. You'll see why in a few minutes. It's a heavily wooded park and it is located along the shore of the Rivière-des-Prairies.

The day was nice, sunny and warm, and after the last snowstorm that has dumped another foot of snow, it was an opportunity to get outside.



This is the entrance to the park (which is plowed. There are some plowed trails in the park too).

In the distance the "chalet".

PS: Notice the height of the snow. :)

Above waist high snow.

Note: today (wednesday), we had another snowstorm...

... and yes, we were graced or ahem dumped with another foot of snow today, and guess what? Another foot of snow is forecasted for the upcoming weekend. I kid you not!

So what you see on these photos is already... very passé. :)



It's winter wonderland...


















Path... path... path...











Sun peeking through the trees...

Calm, peacefulness...

Silence, serenity...

And one wonders why I love nature? :)

Well, my friends, I hope you enjoy this walk in the park. Canadian style. :)

Cheers!

-E

Juno...

The other day, I had the chance to see Juno. The movie, that is. :)

I come from FC, which several fellow bloggers upthere didn't like the movie. Personally, it's not my kind of movie, it's a bit sombre for my taste, but it's a good movie, overall. I'm also quite pleased to see that it might get an Oscar.

Not sure whether it's our Canadian accent, or our culture? Juno, aka Ellen Page is a young Halifax native, and the movie was entirely shot in Vancouver.

Sure, there's no Bruce Willis, and no wall to wall big Hollywood-style special effects. A low budget movie, so you have to go straight to the point. This is also why I like low budget movies. :)

Teenhood, at a time when boys become men, and girls, women. With the sexual freedom we enjoy, what was bound to happen... happened.

Topics like teen pregnancy... and its potential consequences, like abortion and adoption... it's a bit heavy, albeit the movie makes it palatable, nonetheless.

But I can't help, but thinking of my own teenhood and the men and women of my generation. This was a pre-HIV era, and also at a time the pill was a reality.

Were we all saints... and always using contraception? Mhhh.... I think a lot of us would have to plead the 5th amendment, isn't it?

It seems that a generation later, in a time that promiscuity can be a deadly proposal, there are some topics that are universal.

I don't have kids, but at this adult age, the parenting fibre is present and strong. So I can't help but thinking of what would happen if my teen daughter got pregnant, or my son did so to his girlfriend. Abortion, Adoption? Ewwwww....

Of course, if it was up to me, my answer would be:
1) Oh thank you for making me a grandfather!

2)Keep your baby. He or She will still be better in your hands... and take care as much as you can... and yes, the grandparents are there... sigh.

So all in all, a movie that makes me stop and ponder about a few things... it's not a bad movie. Not bad at all. :)

Cheers,

-E

Worst nightmare for a parent...

Since I have my own issues about hearing (and also the fact that I'm learning ASL), this is why from my blog, I subscribe to "DeafRead".

So, "automagically", everytime you read my blog, you'll also see the latest from DeafRead, with their selections of stories off the Internet. Interesting text readings. (To my non-signer friends, not all these links point to ASL video blogs. :) ).

So I saw this title, Every parent of deaf child's worst nightmare, from Berke's Outspoken blog.

Imagine, being in a school bus and you're deaf. The bus driver is a substitute, therefore doesn't know you nor understand sign language. The bus assistant who could communicate in sign language wasn't there either.

This is what happened to a 13-year old deaf girl, and she was dropped off 2-miles from home, in pouring rain. Everything that could turn bad, did. Thankfully, there's a happy ending, but it's been indeed a nightmare.

Maybe because of my own issues, I always carry a pen and a piece of paper everywhere I go. If in the unlikely event that I don't have these items with me and I don't understand something that seems very important, I often make the gestures of touching my ear and then writing on an imaginary piece of paper. That's something non-signers will understand right away.

Yes, I could have stated so verbally, but it seems the visual aspect while I stay *silent*... speaks for me louder than my own voice. :) Besides, with friends, it's the fun of being tangential. Being straightforward is too boring, but I'm digressing terribly here.

Anyway... what seems glaring in this story.. is the lack of attempts to communicate in *other* ways.

The schoolgirl is obviously under BIG stress and of course she could be forgiven for not readily thinking about it, but why the bus driver didn't come up with a pen and a piece of paper, so she could write down the address of her home? And for him, to write down other questions to her? Is she ok? Does she need help? Etc...

Conversely, if the bus driver didn't have a pen and paper (which is highly unlikely, as they seem to always have to fill out various reports while they are on the go), why he didn't make... the signs I've just mentioned? Such as the gesture of writing on an imaginary piece of paper.

Especially with someone who makes use of sign language, that person more than anyone else will catch the visual clue.

Deaf people aren't dumb, and deaf people do learn how to write, just like everyone else. Besides, going at school... don't we all have to carry pen and papers,... unless things have changed since my time? Very unlikely, but one can hope? :)

But I also remember my childhood years, and bus drivers too. Some were really super... and then there were those... which remind you that bus companies hire anyone, and they _really_ mean anyone.

So disasters are bound to happen...

Ay ay ay...

-E

XO Laptop, re-revisited...

Busy life, busy weather (one storm after the other. Someone got to shovel all that snow!!!), so the little XO laptop waited patiently.

What is worth mentioning, is the shift of paradigm. PCs like Macs, despite all the hype are pretty much the same. A graphic interface... and you run applications. Applications have files and you manage files.

The XO puts the child at the center of his universe.

For instance, the "neighborhood mode" Like stars spreaded everywhere... are Wi-Fi "access points", hence the various dots in different colors.

It seems the colors are generated randomly for others' Wi-Fi access point, while mine is always blue. I wonder how it is on other XO laptops...

It's even more obvious in "Home" mode, with the big "XO" icon at the center, representing a child. So, around me, there are my journal, my piece of paper (a text editor), my world (a web browser) and so forth. Beneath are the battery (charging) and the Wi-Fi access points that I'm logged too.

At the bottom, are the activities I may like to do.

In a way, I have to "unlearn", to "untrain" myself about the traditional ways computers work, to begin to truly appreciate the XO.

Not showing in these photos are friends. Friends with XO laptops of course! :)

Since I have no one with a XO laptop around, I have to take OLPC's words. :) The idea of friends represents a shift in the computer paradigm.

Isn't for nothing that the P in "PC" stands for "Personal". You're in your own bubble, isolated, and you do your own stuff without worrying, nor being aware what others are doing.

However, the XO laptop assumes that there are other children... with a XO laptop (which would show up in these pictures as other XO icons, all of different colours).

Children have friends, and so are recognized by the XO laptop.

With friends, you can do things together, so is the XO laptop. You tell who are your friends, and you tell the XO what you want to do together. An essay? The text editor is fully shared. A whacky audio jam session? Sure. Apparently, all applications can be shared, and doing so is ahem... a child play, pun intended. :)

Sure, there have been "groupware" before, but they feel clunky, and those are just specific applications that have been built specifically for that purpose.

On the XO, it's the entire laptop and therefore everything on it that was built with sharing activities in mind.

Now, I have to let my inner child comes to the surface, and to find other XO owners to really see how well it really works. :)

The IT guy in me is amazed. For a $200 laptop, this is no toy computer. Its shell is rugged, it feels solid, there are many things that come built in (even a webcam, usually found on pricey top of the line PC and Apple laptops), tons of USB ports, there are decent built-in applications... not bad at all.

Then there's the guy in me. As a teen, I was in organizations like Marche 2/3 and the like, believing in projects to help the lesser fortunate of us.

When I grew up and began programming, my approach to computers has been the same too.

Computers are there to help us, humans, whether to compensate for our deficiencies, whether to help us to learn, whether to simply let loose our creativity, whether anything one could possibly want to do.

(These days, it seems the other way around, computers are controlling our life, but I digress terribly! :) ).

Given my background, it's no surprising that the XO laptop strikes a chord. In the long run, I don't know... how such computers will fare. I think they are on the right way by hiding as much "computer stuffs" as possible, and to present to a child... a world that is less intimidating, a world that is familiar to him, a world that is also fun, inviting, and a world that would stimulate his mind?

I'm also wondering about the social interactions of humans through computers. I come from the forum world, and if I count my BBS years, I've been online since 1984. That doesn't exactly make me feel young, and yes I do have grey hair... but I have seen a lot, and saw the evolution, since the ancient time of 300 baud acoustic coupler modems. :)

I've never been a big fan of computers in class school, yet... this is the intended usage of the XO laptop. To be used at school and being brought home later.

For all the good things unleached, there are bad things being unleached by computers. Also computers are sophisticated pieces of equipment, and too often, there isn't the expertise, both IT skills as well as *human* skills. This is too often true in our western world... So imagine elsewhere...

There's also a matter of culture. Those XO laptops are western designed, therefore with our mindset and our way of seeing and understanding things. Western solutions to problems... even in our own world do not always work, so again, imagine elsewhere...

I still believe that local solutions to local problems are the best. However, that's not always possible, especially in the short term, so all help is welcome, figuratively and too often literally.

In the case of computers like the XO... if they serve as a springboard for future generations, they will serve their purpose.

I'm also thinking that in countries with little infrastructure, in countries with ahem... dubious governments, one has to start somewhere. Why not with computers like the XO ?

Today's kids are tomorrow's adults...

... and better educated adults having more chances to be at key places... to allow things to happen? How's about better leaders? That's a long-term goal... but what is something like 10 or 20 years in the lifespan of a country?

Finally, I'm tempted to say bad words against OLPC. Hehehe...

For the way they royally scr*w up the distribution of XO laptops, it's a complete disaster. Also, how ahem... misinformations were being carried by that organization. There's a huuuge pool of good will that has been wasted, for nothing.

It makes me wondering that if they can't deliver laptops in countries like the US and Canada, nor able to even tell us donors what is going on with our orders with a reasonable amount of accuracy...

Gee whizz, in the very two countries which we have optimal infrastuctures... should delivery *NOT* being an issue, and communication should be flowing... easily?

So imagine in African countries... whether to have those XO laptops delivered, whether *to train* and *to support* teachers, when the infrastructure isn't there.

Mhhhh....

... and that's my comment about OLPC. :)

Nonetheless, I have big hopes for the little XO. The 3 persons in me (!), the IT guy, the online guy and the guy with a big heart and big dream are all impressed by this little green and white kid.

Cheers!

-E

Think spacially, express yourself spacially!

If you've been wondering why I like computers... :)

It's a bit by accident that I went to computer programming. It challenges my mind in a great way, and I'm paid for that. It's difficult to find a better job!

When I went to the university, my approach was that computers can help us, human beings. Whether to compensate for our own deficiencies... whether to provide an environment, to fully express ourselves and to organize our thoughts in ways that make sense. Computers have become powerful enough... that we are getting to that point.

Think spacially, express spacially. Also a matter of going beyond words... beyond links. It's all about... people.

Zubie has sent me the URL of this YouTube video:


PS: The music is pretty cool! The question is there: Is the machine us/ing us or are we using the machine to be... ourselves? (I rather think of the latter). A new breed of humans will result? Mhhhh... not so sure.

PPS: I enjoy a lot the end of the video. I agree that we need to rethink a lot of things. Enjoy the video!

PPPS: Have you noticed how writing text has been... non-linear? Up and down, left and right? Welcome to the realm of visual thinkers! :)

On a related topic:

Are you left brain or right brain? Here's the link to an interesting article: Right Brain vs Left Brain. Is the female dancer spinning to the right or to the left? It depends. (To make the dancer spinning, click on the miniature photo on the left).

If you think the animated .GIF picture is rigged, try this experiment with a laptop, or with an LCD screen which you can hold... sideway.

All of a sudden, you'll see the dancer spinning in the other direction. (If it doesn't work, place the monitor or laptop the other way around).

Better, if you can hold the monitor at the point the dancer spins in opposite direction, you'll likely see the dancer spinning one way and then the other way.

A proof that the .GIF animated picture isn't "rigged". It's up to your mind, and how it decodes reality.

There are lights... and there are lights.

This is the time of the year that you see Christmas lights everywhere.

Personally, those lights are a downer in shopping malls. The mercantile aspect of Christmas is so glaring obvious.

However, those same Christmas lights... when they are decorating homes and trees, that's something else.

They are there... for the sheer pleasure of its owners. There's nothing to buy. They are there, free, to be enjoyed.

With the foot of snow that we just had... those lights give a great festive look to our streets.

I like that!

Cheers from North Pole, Canada!

Poor America, a special comment...

Sometimes I wonder whether 1 + 1 = 2. Sometimes I wonder, period.

It's not my intent to do a political blog, and certainly not about a country that I am not currently living in. So consider that blog entry as the exception that confirms the rule, (that's what we say in French. :) ).

What happens elsewhere... can happen here. To some extents, it has already happened (ie, Stephen Harper).

Also when that very elsewhere is our closest neighbour, also the country that self-portrayed as the watchdog of democracy... Ooch.

When it is a country you admire, and a country you'd love to live in, to see the country so rapidly dropping their principles, on the aftermath of 9/11... rapidly turning as a police state, when individual liberties have been ditched in the name of "security", and there was very little protest, one wonders...

But there is more.

I was watching Keith Olberman the other night, and listening intently to his "Special Comment" (transcripts: The Neocon job . By all means, do read it).

This was on days after the NIE report was leaked to the media, stating that Iran's nuclear plans have been put on-hold since 2003, and Bush got that report last August.

You certainly remember Bush's recent statements about WW3, nuclear holocaust and other similar niceties, at the time he knew that none of that could possibly happened. With the NIE report now leaked into the media, Bush was caught again pants down, openly lying to his population. It is blatant, it is as obvious as a nose on one's face. And so far... not much is happening.

I'm a fan of Olberman, and whenever it happens that I'm home, I watch his broadcast. Of all of his Special Comments", it is probably the harshest of all. His ending words? "You, sir (Bush), have no business... being president." Loud and clear, and to the point.

And that could be said back then in 2004 when the 9/11 commission published its report (more on that later).

But... where's everyone? Why Olberman is the only one openly stating what many people think?

And there's one word missing. Even from someone as verbose as Olberman... and I always wondered why on many of his "Special Comments" he didn't use it, because it was the logical conclusion to everything he said. Even more so now.

I'm also thinking that in 2004... when the 9/11 commission published its report, and when it stated, that *NONE* of the reasons invoked by Bush for the war in Iraq were true... NONE of them, not a single one of them...

So what it says about the capacity of the man, being at the helm of an extremely powerful country... and with the job, as commander in chief of the army, when it got stated blatantly that he has sent the army on a war... for *NO* valid reasons?

There's only one word for that... and that very word was also missing in everyone's comments, back then.

Not only that, but Bush got re-elected, defeating the purpose of that word.

Oh, it's too easy to blame the media, printed and electronic.

Also, it is true that we deserved and we should be held responsible for the politicians we elect. For instance, I blush when I see Harper making a fool of himself on every international tribune (these days, on how he torpedoes the Kyoto accord. It's just one humilation among many others).

One wonders: we have elected... THAT ? Ooch...

So I wouldn't blame the Americans for electing and re-electing Bush. We're just as bad, and the way it's going, we're going to re-elect Harper. So much for learning from our mistakes, even collective ones.

So there has to be something else.

And I wonder what is that very "else". I've no idea.

In the meantime for my fellow American friends, here's the missing word. Cut and paste it, use it, everywhere. Freely. Oh my, even... liberally? ;)

Impeachment.

And that concludes my "Special Comment". We shall resume our more or less normal programming. :)

Cheers,

-E

Alzheimer... a new treatment? Mhhhh....

I heard this news yesterday on Radio-Canada: Industrie pharmaceutique: Péripétie d'un médicament.

In a few words, a Laval-based pharmaceutical, unhappy with the decision of the US' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to not approve a new drug used as a treatment against Alzheimer, will now market its drug... as food.

Woah.

Months ago, I've blogged this: Sometimes, I want to scream. You should see the mailbox of my parents (photo on the left). Weeks after weeks, it's an avalanche of miracle cures, for various ailments, from Diabetes to... of course Alzheimer.

(Of course, not mentioning "spiritual help", all offering trips to various places. From bucolic Berkshires in a Massachusetts retreat to the Joshuah trees in California, to the French Alps and a meet with the shamans living in the mountains in Peru. It would have been neat if they weren't so heavily into... money. Visa and MasterCard, our new spiritual gurus. :) ).

All these guys follow the same pattern: "They" don't want you to know. "They" don't want you to have access to that miracle cure.

Who are "they" ? Of course, the US' FDA is one such bad villain.

Yesterday, I was floored to see that a locally known pharmaceutical. -with a *good* reputation -, is using the very same argument as these bad guys.

What to think of all that? I don't know...

Sure, a lot can be said about the US' FDA, or here Health Canada / Santé Canada. Somehow, they have been batting well above .500 , so they aren't all _that_ bad.

Rather, in the light of various lawsuits going on against some big pharmaceuticals for some very popular drugs, I think that "they" have let drugs they shouldn't have. So the approval process of a new drug doesn't seem such a formidable hurdle, at first glance.

So, when the FDA turns down a drug on a basis that it's ineffective (which is the case here)... It _really_ has to be ineffective, otherwise they would have approved that drug. That's what I'm thinking.

Bottom line?

It's no party time, having to take care of someone who is Alzheimer. It's a daily pain to see a beloved person slowly fading away, and Alzheimer is one ugly disease, because it affects the very identity of that person.

Have you noticed that it's always against people who are vulnerable... that there are people around, telling you exactly what you want to hear? Even impossible dreams?

So, I'm thinking of... decency? How obscene it is, to fill us with false promises of a better world, in exchange of big lumps of money?

By all means, spare us of all this bullsh*t, good grief. But there isn't a law against that, sadly...

Cheers,

-E

Deafness is hitting home...

No, not me. (Although I may appear to you as hard of hearing. I wrote a long blog entry, a few months ago).

No, it's about... my dad.

Since he has Alzheimer, getting to know with the disease, one of the things it does, it affects the mood. It isn't just all about memory recollections. Far from it, in fact.

So when we saw the first signs, we all thought, me first, that he was playing games on us. "Don't want to listen, don't want to talk, I'm in my bubble, and that's that." Okay dokay...

I had some suspicions. But I had to battle. "Oh, you know, your dad isn't young, it's kind of normal to be a bit deaf". I've heard that many times.

Mhhhh... I had a hunch there has to be something else. My mom too it isn't buying that argument.

Well, today the results are in. Left ear: Completely deaf, and there's serious hearing loss for his right ear.

Sigh...

When you see someone slowly fading away... and that someone is 50% of you... There's _that_ shock.

Then... it comes quickly obvious that there's a very something that becomes paramount as times go by: Communication. When he's with us...

To the point you look forward, for *those* times that he's with us.

Tonight, it seems that I've been robbed.

A wall of silence is getting established between us.

Sure, a lot can be conveyed with touch. We're warm blood creatures, with feelings... touches and feelings...

Visually too. From body language to sign language, yeah I know all that...

So, there are ways to side-step silence.

But nonetheless...

Sigh...

-E

SNOW !

Snow is a 4-letter word. :)

It is also 30 cm perhaps up to 45cm of white fluffy stuff.

Where's my shovel? I'm just an eskimo lost in the blizzard. Heeeelllpppp!!!!!!

:)

Cheers,

-E

World AIDS Day... food for thoughts...

<--- AIDS Day in downtown Vancouver, on a bitterly cold day of December 2006. Photo taken on Howe Street near the very chic Robson Street.

This is one of those days, which the time has come to pause and ponder.

To think of brothers and sisters who have already fallen...

To think of those who are infected...

To think.

Of the past, the present and the future.

A friend of mine who is HIV+ once told me: "It's like sleeping at the top of a giant volcano that you know to be active. You never know when the eruption is going to happen and to take you away. This is my life."

And he's right. For instance, if you skip meals and have to skip medications, whether you don't feel ok, whether you were traveling and fighting jetlag, you can skip so many times without problems. But it can happen that the next time... this will be one time *too* many. As science has discovered, as a result, the virus can become resistant and your treatment is now ineffective.

Disaster.

It is only recently that there are have been a handful of alternate treatments and you have to count your blessing that one of these alternate treatments will take. You dearly hope of being given another chance at life. If not... it's AIDS and its slow spiral...

Even having your twice a day cocktail of pills isn't fun. There are good days and bad days, and some really bad days. To some people, there can be some very crippling nasty side-effects.

Besides, all sorts of minor ailments have been popping up here and there. None are life threatening, but it isn't the "business as usual" type of lifestyle as you may think it is, from taking these medications.

This comes as a result of the cumulative use of these medications for years. As people live longer with HIV, it is only by now that science has begun to discover these long term effects... and of course have little answers to that, at the present time.

HIV still kills people. As simple as that.

And it doesn't happen to... others.

It can happen to people who are dear to you.

It can happen to... you.

Can one do something? Sure...

Whether to support financially research,

whether to donate time and money to organizations who are helping people coping with HIV.

Also, medications cost a bundle, and some organizations will subsidize its cost. They will pick up where insurance won't. But to do so, they need your money.

I'm also thinking of illiteracy. I'm also thinking of moral and religious rules. HIV isn't a sex disease, nor a gay disease, nor that it reflects anything about your morality. It's been said ad nauseam for so many times...

And yet...

I'm also thinking that perhaps the most important thing you can do...

is to take steps to avoid getting it.

Have fun, but play safe. :)

Cheers,

-E

Is it bad, is it good? A matter of opportunities...

At the workplace, some colleagues were teasing me today.

A year ago, about on this day... this was the scene on my arrival in Vancouver. A big snowstorm, followed the next day by bitterly cold temperatures followed by the next day by 100 km/h winds and followed by another snowstorm. Whoopy!

A place not used to see a real "Canadian-strength" winter... and a guy from the east coast (moi!) who said foolishly: "I wonder how Vancouver looks like in winter time".

Well... I came, I saw... I froze. :)

And back home, I got plenty of "friends" and colleagues giggling. Today, they were reminding of that. OK, I'm sport. :)

Beyond the giggles, people were really sorry for me, as if my trip was completely ruined. To them, this was sheer... bad luck.

To me, this has been a good thing. This has been sheer LUCK.

Sure, my plans were trashed by this incredible weather. (but not completely trashed. I could make it to Victoria, as planned) .

However... have you ever seen Vancouver under the snow? It's rather rare. I was there. :)

A walk in Stanley Park?

It felt like a walk in winter's wonderland.

Photos don't do justice.

Snow covered trees. Big big BIG trees, all dwarfing you. I really felt like a kid.

The seawall anyone who has taken a walk... The Pacific Ocean on side, Stanley Park on the other side, and in a distance the mountains, and as always, stunning sunsets.

It inspires serenity, it inspires peace.

Add snow... it's even better.

So... is this really bad luck? is this all that bad? Of course not!

This trip to the west coast last year was memorable... and I enjoyed it thoroughly.

I'm thinking of several things that happened in my life which obviously bad things turned out otherwise.

It was up to me to adapt, up to me to seize opportunity...

However, if I kept complaining and sat idle, none of that would happen.

Cheers,

-E

-----
Photos
1) Downtown Vancouver, from the Metropolitan Hotel, where I stayed last year. In the forefront, Howe & Georgia streets. On the left, the entrance to the Pacific Centre Mall.

2) One of my favourite photos! Snow covered benches at English Bay Beach, near the end of Davie Street.

3) A walk in Stanley Park

4) Seawall, somethere near the Lions Gate bridge