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Blogging on Oscar Night

Can anybody tell me which picture won last night? I wasn’t really that interested. I found myself chatting with a friend who, evidently, shares my lack of interest. When I finally realized that it was Oscar night, I was concerned that my attitude might somehow place me out of the loop. But when I checked [...]

Paleontologist Marcus Ross an Early Earth Creationist

On Monday, the NY Times published a piece titled “Believing Scripture but Playing by Science’s Rules” about Marcus R. Ross who successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation in paleontology notwithstanding his belief in “early earth creationism.” He wrote about events which occurred (according to him) 65 million years ago but simultaneously asserts that the universe is [...]

DOD Unveils the Heat-Beam

Just what we need — another weapon See this piece from Reuters. It’s a hoax, right? Yesterday, at the Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, the U.S. Department of Defence revealed a prototype of a heat–beam weapon which it plans to place in the hands of troops by 2010. It will be a great boon [...]

The Popular Science of Weed

My son likes … well, what are some of his interests? Playing table tennis with kids in Japan, & Gears of War on his Xbox (I can’t believe I allowed a Microsoft product into the house), capturing sequences of Halo and making his own movies from them, hunting down the Frag Dolls online. Are you [...]

UK Sexual Orientation Regulation, Niqabs & Trident Nukes

The BBC reports that, yesterday, the House of Lords upheld legislation that prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. This legislation was effective in Northern Ireland as of Jan. 1, 2007 and now will be implemented throughout the rest of the UK. As indicated by the Canadian experience with same–sex marriage laws [...]

A Case for the Left Behind

Presbycusis & The Mosquito Ring Tone

My son came up to me and said: “Hey Dad, listen to my new ring tone.” He opened his phone, pushed a button, and held it up for me to listen. I was expecting another piece of music, maybe something loud, or something with a pulsing rhythm. I waited. But there was nothing. “Isn’t that [...]

9/11 coverup

On September 11, 2001, I spent the morning staring wide-eyed at my TV screen, watching the twin towers come down … again and again and again. At lunch, my daughter came home from school. She had just started Grade 4. She had heard what had happened and announced with certainty that it was the PLO. [...]

The Lost Book of the Bible

I went to the airport to pick up my in-laws from vacation, and because their flight was delayed, I went to the nearest news stand to find something to read. I couldn’t help but notice the headline for the Sun: Found in Dead Sea Cave … Lost Book of the Bible. I laughed and decided [...]

Is There Life After Death

I just had to laugh. I was walking past a box, like the newspaper boxes, that displayed a free Summer 2005 syllabus for The Learning Annex. The cover features what I presume to be their most popular course: “Is There Life After Death? Find Out!” I hope I’m not the only person who thinks this [...]

Eastern Canadian T&T Championships

Just got back from Halifax where we spent the weekend at the Easterns. Mitchell was competing in the Individual Men 13 +. Not much to brag about this weekend; maybe next year. I caught an interesting shot of him during a warmup. I didn’t notice it until I got home and opened the image file [...]

Tsunami – act of God

Today, the body count stands at more than 125,000 following Sunday’s tsunami. I listened to a CBC radio report critical of Canada’s response. The radio station played an audio clip of a Canadian tourist in — I think it was — Jakarta. She said the Canadian embassy had let her down. Canadian officials told her [...]

A Visit from the CAS

This is a war story – doing battle with the complicated world we have created for ourselves. I was acting for a young man, and at our last court appearance, his mother told a tale on him while we were waiting in the lobby. My client was 18 or 19 at the time. There was [...]

Hostage-taking in Toronto

Tamiko gets up early to go to work. I was just waking up when she phoned and told me to turn on the TV. She had gotten off the subway at Union station, then crossed from Front St. to Wellington beside the Royal Bank Tower. As she walked, security—looking types ran past her toward Front [...]

Factory Direct Caskets

While I was doing a little housecleaning, I came across an ad that I clipped from TV Guide earler this spring. The factory direct web site is worth a visit — www.factorydirectcaskets.com. Under “business oppportunities,” they advise: “Remember, caskets are not an impulse item such as jewelry or clothing.” Oh, how wrong they are! Thanks [...]