28 October 2009

Funny email from WWF

"Dear Ms. Nasmith,
Allow us to introduce you to the Atlantic cod. Do not let appearances deceive you – because this is much more than just a fish."

Uh, yeah. We've already met.

Really, it's like WWF doesn't even know me.

25 October 2009

Can I get an Amen?

Sweet Jesus. I really freaking hate Webmail. It makes me want to cry. And scream. And how can one email system be so singularly crappy? It blows my mind.

21 October 2009

Cell phones impede your ability to notice clowns (and they make you stupid)

My lack of love for cell phones is well known amongst those who know me. So, I'd like to point you to my favourite article on CBC today. Especially poignant is the section that reads: "...cellphone users are slower, they change directions more frequently, they weave and they're much less likely to acknowledge any other people around them." It seems that most people can't walk and talk at the same time. I really didn't need an entire study with statistics to tell me that, but it's nice to know there's a citation out there should I ever need one.

I dream of a day when cell phone usage is the new smoking, and can only be done in designated areas, or in the privacy of your own home - unless you have kids, in which case you can only use it on the back porch.

18 October 2009

Kraken

Last Sunday I took a walk to the library. I took the long way, because the walk is so damn pretty. It skirts the harbour and across the water is downtown Halifax.

One thing I love about this city (these cities) is the harbour offers a new view everyday. Some mornings there are cruise ships so massive they dwarf the Islands. Some days, giant ships are raised on stilts.
That ship is the Seajacks Kraken. By the way, Seajacks Kraken is currently my favourite ship name. Ever. It's so fun to say.

As I was taking these pictures, I noticed the three towers way out in the harbour, the best view I could get was this:

Then a few days later that structure appeared in harbour. It's right near the Seajacks Kraken now. I don't really know where it came from, or how it got there. I don't have any pictures becuse I took the short way to the library yesterday (Season 3 of Dr.Who was in for me and I had to make haste). But, you can see it on the harbour web cams. (This one makes it look so much bigger than Seajacks Kraken).
As Joel Plaskett says, there's a reason why I love this town.

Epidemic of Stupid

Remember this past summer, when there was the epidemic of stupid parents leaving their kids in cars during heat waves? It was like the newest fad in bad parenting. Now the trendy thing to do is kill your kid and save yourself the trouble of even having to buy a car seat.

There are two cases in the NS courts right now of couples being charged with the murder of their baby. In one case it was assault leading to death, and I don’t think they have a cause of death in the other, but the parents concealed the body for days before going to a hospital.

I can’t even bring myself to use a stern tone with my niece and nephew, so infanticide baffles me.

On a somewhat related note, it’s Conflict Resolution Day and I went to a talk by a woman who works internationally to teach kids how to get along and live with each other. And she told us how her kids went to one of those new-age feel-goodery for elementary school where they learned about “lessons in living.” She said she felt the program really did teach her kids empathy and respect, and that it wasn’t just something they used in school but didn’t take home. Then she started to tell us how her eldest son became the target of a bully when he was in high school (Grade 9 at a “normal” school). And I thought that she would tell us how they resolved this conflict, and I thought it would provide some interesting insight into stopping or preventing bullying. But no. One day the bully knocked the kid down with such force that a main artery was damaged and the boy died. This was about 20 years ago, so she was able to talk about it calmly, but I think a couple of people in the audience were crying. And she never got any resolution. The boy who killed her son was never charged, never apologised, never got counselling. It was a pretty tragic story. She was able to turn that horrible experience into something useful with her current work, but still.

I don’t remember being bullied in elementary school. The school bully was in my class, and I know that his older brother bullied my older brother, but our bully didn’t really pick on girls. It may also have helped that my best friend was his girlfriend for a few years.

11 October 2009

One step closer to knowing

I was at the bank on Friday. I was sitting in the little reception area waiting for an appointment and I was watching the people at the tellers. My bank is pushing this savings account for kids, and if they sign up they get this coffee-can like coin bank with a list of all the Stanley Cup winners on it. They have these cans displayed on ledges above the tellers' stations. So, I was idly (perhaps rudely) watching the people at the tellers, and then the people at Teller 1 and Teller 3 - in perfect synchrony - picked the tin up, looked at the front, tipped it forward to look at the top, tipped it back to look at the bottom, then placed it back on the ledge. It was just a few moments, but they did everything at the exact same time, like it was choreographed. And neither of them noticed. I took that as a sign that humans are more alike than any of us think.

I was at the bank to start an RSP. It's like admitting your own mortality, saving for your retirement. I mean, I don't know what I'll be doing a year from now, but I do know that someday I'll be old and useless and no one will pay me to do anything.