You Are Best Described By... |
 Farbstudie Quadrate By Wassily Kandinsky |
19 December 2006
Things My Prof Told Me
After taking six courses, there are three ways to finish your MA in Liberal Studies at SFU. First is to take one more elective and then a graduation seminar, known as the "capstone" course. Second is to do a major project; it must be academically based, but can (and has) take many forms. Third and final is to write to extended thesis papers (25 plus pages each). These latter two options require approval of your proposed project/papers.
When I first started GLS, I had planned all along to do the coursework and go the capstone route, but this semester just past, I thought I'd see about writing two papers instead.
As it happens, my Avant Garde prof is also head of the department, and so I met with her last night to discuss my possible papers.
Things my prof told me:
When I first started GLS, I had planned all along to do the coursework and go the capstone route, but this semester just past, I thought I'd see about writing two papers instead.
As it happens, my Avant Garde prof is also head of the department, and so I met with her last night to discuss my possible papers.
Things my prof told me:
- she usually doesn't encourage students to got the papers route; in fact, she paid me a high compliment, saying that she wished all her students would write as well and clearly as I did. She thinks my writing two papers would be great.
- she thinks my Kandinsky paper (that I wrote for the course) would be a fine starting point for one of my thesis papers. Furhter, she said that Kandinsky is a hard artist to understand and that I seem to really comprehend what he was all about.
- she would like to see my Kandinsky paper published once it's done, even it's "only" (her wording) for the department's journal, but the implication is she would like to see it in an academic journal somewhere.
Pointless Quizzes Amuse Me IV
| You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy) |
 You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer. |
30 November 2006
Coffee
Welcome to the end week three of "no more coffee" for me. On my trip back from Hattiesburg/New Orleans, I drank a lot of coffee on the plane. And then the next morning with breakfast, I had two large mugs. And then when we went shopping, we stopped in at our favourite coffee shop, and I had a cappucino.
And I felt absolutely rotten. Over-jittered, nauseous... It was bad.
So I gave up morning coffee. And aside from a few minor withdrawal headaches the first few days, I've been just fine. It's not the caffeine - I've been drinking lots of tea. I suspect the acidity of coffee and I just don't mix well anymore.
I haven't completely abandoned coffee, but it's a treat drink as opposed to a regular beverage now. And that works fine for me.
And I felt absolutely rotten. Over-jittered, nauseous... It was bad.
So I gave up morning coffee. And aside from a few minor withdrawal headaches the first few days, I've been just fine. It's not the caffeine - I've been drinking lots of tea. I suspect the acidity of coffee and I just don't mix well anymore.
I haven't completely abandoned coffee, but it's a treat drink as opposed to a regular beverage now. And that works fine for me.
27 November 2006
Pointless Quizzes Amuse Me III
| You scored as Storyteller. The Storyteller is in it for the plot: the sense of mystery and the fun of participating in a narrative that has the satisfying arc of a good book or movie. He enjoys interacting with well-defined NPCs, even preferring antagonists who have genuine motivations and personality to mere monsters. To the Storyteller, the greatest reward of the game is participating in a compelling story with interesting and unpredictable plot threads, in which his actions and those of his fellow characters determine the resolution. With apologies to Robin Laws.
What RPG Player (Not Character) Type Are You? created with QuizFarm.com |
26 November 2006
A Night at the Opera
Last night was the first of the 2006/07 season of the Vancouver Opera, and we went to see Verdi's Macbeth.
It was an absolutely wonderful production. They used some "holographic" display technology for the sets to wonderful effect (the assassination of Banquo in particular stands out for me), the orchestra played splendidly, and the lead bass-baritone playing Macbeth, Greer Grimsley, was fantastic - he had an aria in the fourth act which generated a roar of spontaneous applause.
At the end of the show, when everyone was taking their curtain calls, even the orchestra stood up and applauded Grimsley.
A fantastic opening night, and a most excellent start to the season.
On an amusing note, it's been snowing here in Vancouver almost constantly since about 5pm yesterday, and the Skytrain downtown was packed solid both to and from the opera, as not only was there a Canucks game on, but also the delayed Rolling Stones concert.
The snow doesn't look like it's going to be stopping any time soon either.
It was an absolutely wonderful production. They used some "holographic" display technology for the sets to wonderful effect (the assassination of Banquo in particular stands out for me), the orchestra played splendidly, and the lead bass-baritone playing Macbeth, Greer Grimsley, was fantastic - he had an aria in the fourth act which generated a roar of spontaneous applause.
At the end of the show, when everyone was taking their curtain calls, even the orchestra stood up and applauded Grimsley.
A fantastic opening night, and a most excellent start to the season.
On an amusing note, it's been snowing here in Vancouver almost constantly since about 5pm yesterday, and the Skytrain downtown was packed solid both to and from the opera, as not only was there a Canucks game on, but also the delayed Rolling Stones concert.
The snow doesn't look like it's going to be stopping any time soon either.
21 November 2006
Shostakovich
CBC Radio 2 has been playing a lot of Shostakovich in celebration of the composer's centenary (he was born in 1906).
He was rather prolific, despite living under a repressive regime in the USSR. The state had rather specific ideas as to what was acceptable and not, much like the Nazis shutting down the Comedian Harmonists for producing music that wasn't in keeping with the atmosphere patriotic fervor they were hoping to engender among the masses.
Shostakovich has arguably produced some of the best 20th Century classical music. He's certainly one of the most prolific.
My favourite piece is Waltz 2 from his Jazz suite #2.
He was rather prolific, despite living under a repressive regime in the USSR. The state had rather specific ideas as to what was acceptable and not, much like the Nazis shutting down the Comedian Harmonists for producing music that wasn't in keeping with the atmosphere patriotic fervor they were hoping to engender among the masses.
Shostakovich has arguably produced some of the best 20th Century classical music. He's certainly one of the most prolific.
My favourite piece is Waltz 2 from his Jazz suite #2.
Cassoulet
I love cassoulet. It's a great dish, especially at this time of year.
It's also a dish that's both easy and hard to make. Easy because no one step is difficult. Indeed, as recipes go, it's among the easier of the classics. Hard because you need about three days to assemble everything. Not literally, but rather "day one, do these tasks, day two do those tasks, day three do a few last things and throw together and cook".
Fortunately, here in Vancouver we have the Oyama Sausage Company, an old school charcuterie deli and every year around this time they have their "Festival du Cassoulet". You pre-order, they make as many as they get ordered, you pick them up. You get a nice large tray for $12.99. Feeds two very hungry people, or four people for dinner with other things.
And looking at the ingredients list, I can barely make it myself for less money.
Delicious!
It's also a dish that's both easy and hard to make. Easy because no one step is difficult. Indeed, as recipes go, it's among the easier of the classics. Hard because you need about three days to assemble everything. Not literally, but rather "day one, do these tasks, day two do those tasks, day three do a few last things and throw together and cook".
Fortunately, here in Vancouver we have the Oyama Sausage Company, an old school charcuterie deli and every year around this time they have their "Festival du Cassoulet". You pre-order, they make as many as they get ordered, you pick them up. You get a nice large tray for $12.99. Feeds two very hungry people, or four people for dinner with other things.
And looking at the ingredients list, I can barely make it myself for less money.
Delicious!
20 November 2006
Pointless Quizzes Amuse Me II
You are The Sun
Happiness, Content, Joy.
The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.
Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.
The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
05 November 2006
Glamour II
I'm safely back home. The rest of the business trip unfurled nicely.
I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep each night, mostly due to insomnia induced by time zone changes and unfamiliar surroundings. The beds in hotels sure aren't as comfortable as the ones at home (with the exception of the Peabody in Memphis, which had a most astonishingly comfortable bed).
I had a leisurely breakfast the next morning at the hotel buffet, making eggs "benedict" out of biscuits and sausage gravy and the over easy eggs I ordered from the waiter.
The sales guy and my colleague arrived at the site around 9:30am and we spent the next 5 hours straight with them - it was time well spent, and very productive. We headed back to the hotel, checked out, and around 4, managed to find a place that had been highly recommended to us - a barbecue joint called "Leatha's".
Wow, best barbecue ever. The ribs were smoky and tender, the sauce delicious, and those were defnitely contenders for the best baked beans I've ever had.
Around 5pm, we were on our way to New Orleans.
New Orleans is a fun town, even post-Katrina. All the street signs are still warped funny from the winds, and there are signs of wind damage throughout the town.
But Bourbon Street is still full of bars, "gentlemen's clubs", and every bar has a take out window so you can carry your tipple of choice down the street with you. I also had the obligatory beignets and coffee at Cafe du Monde, where the service is almost as bad as the beignets are good.
I did manage to find a non-cheesy-touristy gift shop in the French quarter and bought a couple of souvenirs. A quiet night in the hotel and the next morning we had a couple of hours to wander about.
New Orleans by day is as pretty as it is seedy by night. I had a mufulletta sandwich for breakfast, which I regretted as we later passed the famed "Central Grocery", which is the original. Oh well, next time. Not that one can't make a good mufulletta oneself.
We got to the airport very early, but our flight was on time and it was a leisurely wait. The flight home was nice and quiet and routine, and I was back home in time to tuck my daughter into bed at 8:30pm.
Time away from home: 63 hours
Time in transit to/from airports or on planes: 22hours
Time in transit to/from Hattiesburg (which has no airport): 6 hours
Time with customer: 5 hours
Time enjoying New Orleans: 6 hours
All in all a much more relaxing trip than the last time.
I managed to get about 5 hours of sleep each night, mostly due to insomnia induced by time zone changes and unfamiliar surroundings. The beds in hotels sure aren't as comfortable as the ones at home (with the exception of the Peabody in Memphis, which had a most astonishingly comfortable bed).
I had a leisurely breakfast the next morning at the hotel buffet, making eggs "benedict" out of biscuits and sausage gravy and the over easy eggs I ordered from the waiter.
The sales guy and my colleague arrived at the site around 9:30am and we spent the next 5 hours straight with them - it was time well spent, and very productive. We headed back to the hotel, checked out, and around 4, managed to find a place that had been highly recommended to us - a barbecue joint called "Leatha's".
Wow, best barbecue ever. The ribs were smoky and tender, the sauce delicious, and those were defnitely contenders for the best baked beans I've ever had.
Around 5pm, we were on our way to New Orleans.
New Orleans is a fun town, even post-Katrina. All the street signs are still warped funny from the winds, and there are signs of wind damage throughout the town.
But Bourbon Street is still full of bars, "gentlemen's clubs", and every bar has a take out window so you can carry your tipple of choice down the street with you. I also had the obligatory beignets and coffee at Cafe du Monde, where the service is almost as bad as the beignets are good.
I did manage to find a non-cheesy-touristy gift shop in the French quarter and bought a couple of souvenirs. A quiet night in the hotel and the next morning we had a couple of hours to wander about.
New Orleans by day is as pretty as it is seedy by night. I had a mufulletta sandwich for breakfast, which I regretted as we later passed the famed "Central Grocery", which is the original. Oh well, next time. Not that one can't make a good mufulletta oneself.
We got to the airport very early, but our flight was on time and it was a leisurely wait. The flight home was nice and quiet and routine, and I was back home in time to tuck my daughter into bed at 8:30pm.
Time away from home: 63 hours
Time in transit to/from airports or on planes: 22hours
Time in transit to/from Hattiesburg (which has no airport): 6 hours
Time with customer: 5 hours
Time enjoying New Orleans: 6 hours
All in all a much more relaxing trip than the last time.
01 November 2006
Glamour baby
Well, since my last "business travel is glamourous" post went over so well, another installment...
Today, 5am, get up.
5:30am call cab
6:08am arrive at airport
6:10am have filled in customs form and enter interminable lineup #1
6:50am clear customs lineup and enter security lineup. Attempt to persuade the "first class" lineup harpy that my 7:23 flight is in jeopardy due to long lineup met with "you'll make it"
7:20am clear security after security staff manage to avoid potential national security risk by confiscating and discarding my shaving gel as the container moderately exceeds the "rules"
7:24am sprint to gate along with other LAX bound passengers and make plane just so.
10:20am land in LAX at gate 82. Run to gate 71 as flight to New Orleans is already boarding.
11:15am plane leaves 45 minutes late due to replacement of switch in cockpit.
6:15pm arrive in New Orleans (Central time zone)
6:40pm arrive at Hertz rental counter where once again they have manage to cock up my reservation.
7:40pm colleague who joined me in LAX and I stop in Picayune, MS for dinner.
9:05pm after waiting almost an hour for pizza and wings (hello?) finally get back on road.
9:30pm arrive at hotel
It's 11:12pm local tme now. Who knows when I'll manage to get to sleep. I'll fill in the rest of the schedule tomorrow, but it looks like this time we'll get to spend 3 hours with the customer...
Today, 5am, get up.
5:30am call cab
6:08am arrive at airport
6:10am have filled in customs form and enter interminable lineup #1
6:50am clear customs lineup and enter security lineup. Attempt to persuade the "first class" lineup harpy that my 7:23 flight is in jeopardy due to long lineup met with "you'll make it"
7:20am clear security after security staff manage to avoid potential national security risk by confiscating and discarding my shaving gel as the container moderately exceeds the "rules"
7:24am sprint to gate along with other LAX bound passengers and make plane just so.
10:20am land in LAX at gate 82. Run to gate 71 as flight to New Orleans is already boarding.
11:15am plane leaves 45 minutes late due to replacement of switch in cockpit.
6:15pm arrive in New Orleans (Central time zone)
6:40pm arrive at Hertz rental counter where once again they have manage to cock up my reservation.
7:40pm colleague who joined me in LAX and I stop in Picayune, MS for dinner.
9:05pm after waiting almost an hour for pizza and wings (hello?) finally get back on road.
9:30pm arrive at hotel
It's 11:12pm local tme now. Who knows when I'll manage to get to sleep. I'll fill in the rest of the schedule tomorrow, but it looks like this time we'll get to spend 3 hours with the customer...
30 October 2006
Singing Along
Inspired in no small part by the opera course I took, I started taking bel canto lessons from Gary (http://www.zellermusic.com/) last June.
It's been tremendous fun. I have a slightly better than two octave tenor range, really good breath control, and lousy pronunciation. It's not actually that bad, but it's something that needs to be learned. What I do have trouble with is timing. I have incredibly good imitative skills, but I can't read music very well, so while I know that on paper that note is a whole note or a sixteenth, singing it is a different matter altogether.
Gary, like me, is German, and so we work way too hard when we're together! We complement each other very nicely and get along extremely well, and most importantly we have a lot of fun. We often run over our allotted hour as the time just flies by.
One thing I appreciate about Gary's teaching style is he has no interest in teaching me many songs, but rather in teaching me to sing correctly. So far, my repertoire (so to speak) includes Caro mio ben, Sebben crudele, and most of Amarilli mia bella; we've set that one aside for the time being to start on "O Holy Night" in time for Christmas.
My wife has often despaired of me and Christmas, as I can be quite curmudgeonly about the season (mostly because I tend to completely ignore it until after my birthday, which is almost mid-December); now she gets to enjoy me releasing my inner tenor. I'll try not to drown out the rest of the singalong party we'll have this year.
O Holy Night was originally composed in French, but Gary only has it in English. That and he wants to get me singing in English as a change of pace from the so far exclusively Italian that we've been doing.
English is really a horrible language to sing in. Italian is wonderful, French and German are both good, but English... bah!
Gary has a nice future list of fun songs that will be added to my repertoire in time - the aria from Martha, the Volga Lied, the flower song from Carmen, die Forelle, and others. As long as I'm having fun, I'll keep taking lessons.
It's been tremendous fun. I have a slightly better than two octave tenor range, really good breath control, and lousy pronunciation. It's not actually that bad, but it's something that needs to be learned. What I do have trouble with is timing. I have incredibly good imitative skills, but I can't read music very well, so while I know that on paper that note is a whole note or a sixteenth, singing it is a different matter altogether.
Gary, like me, is German, and so we work way too hard when we're together! We complement each other very nicely and get along extremely well, and most importantly we have a lot of fun. We often run over our allotted hour as the time just flies by.
One thing I appreciate about Gary's teaching style is he has no interest in teaching me many songs, but rather in teaching me to sing correctly. So far, my repertoire (so to speak) includes Caro mio ben, Sebben crudele, and most of Amarilli mia bella; we've set that one aside for the time being to start on "O Holy Night" in time for Christmas.
My wife has often despaired of me and Christmas, as I can be quite curmudgeonly about the season (mostly because I tend to completely ignore it until after my birthday, which is almost mid-December); now she gets to enjoy me releasing my inner tenor. I'll try not to drown out the rest of the singalong party we'll have this year.
O Holy Night was originally composed in French, but Gary only has it in English. That and he wants to get me singing in English as a change of pace from the so far exclusively Italian that we've been doing.
English is really a horrible language to sing in. Italian is wonderful, French and German are both good, but English... bah!
Gary has a nice future list of fun songs that will be added to my repertoire in time - the aria from Martha, the Volga Lied, the flower song from Carmen, die Forelle, and others. As long as I'm having fun, I'll keep taking lessons.
Graduate School
It seems that my blogging interest waxes and wanes, but sometimes I have a few moments and the right topic arrives.
I'm currently taking a course on the Avant Garde, and it's unfolding well. It is in most respects a good course. We're looking at both art and literature of the period, and the first half of our weekly sessions is art, and the second literature.
I'm mildly disappointed that the prof has decided to give us a lecture style presentation on the art. I would have preferred to hear what my fellow classmates would have had to present about the art. The second half discussions are far more interesting because the scheduled presenter discusses the literature and then we have a proper seminar.
However, I have my two paper topics under control, although I'm behind schedule in getting them written - the deadline is the 28th of November, which is not that far away.
Several of us in the class have taken to visiting Steamworks after class, most of them from my cohort. We were chatting about what we were planning to do to finish, and during this conversation, I had an epiphany...
Neither of the January course offerings really grab me - I was contemplating the merits of the seminar on Madness Self and Society over the one on War and Society.
The epiphany was this - I should take a directed studies course from my favorite GLS prof.
He was a guest lecturer for one session in the very first course I took - he talked about Verdi's opera Otello; his passion about music rubbed off on me.
I took his course on opera last fall, and loved every minute of it. Indeed, I got my paper back and for the first time ever in my academic history took the notes and comments and revised it! I'm even considering submitting it (in a slightly revised form) for publication in an academic journal.
He a guest lecturer again this semester, talking about Debussy, Schopenauer and Stravinsky in the context of the Avant Garde.
So, I emailed him that very same epiphanous evening, and he said he'd be delighted to do something with me, provided it would be next summer, and that I get the department to ok it (he's a sessional). They did. Done and done. Win-win.
The icing on the cake is that he's teaching a course on 18th century music next fall, so it will be a fitting penultimate course in my GLS program (the final course being the graduating seminar in January 2008).
One of the things I enjoy most about school is the interaction of the live classroom. I've done directed studies before in my undergrad degree. I had my favorite philosophy professor run a one person section of Workplace Ethics for me, and my French professor allowed me to do a third year French literature course independently of the class. I've also done online courses.
However, working one-on-one with someone who is not only passionate and knowledgeable about their subject matter, but can bring out those same strong emotions in me about what they're teaching is an opportunity not to be missed. Especially in a program that is both interdisciplinary and "is designed to satisfy wider needs".
Now if only I can persuade the department to have him teach the graduating seminar too... :-)
I'm currently taking a course on the Avant Garde, and it's unfolding well. It is in most respects a good course. We're looking at both art and literature of the period, and the first half of our weekly sessions is art, and the second literature.
I'm mildly disappointed that the prof has decided to give us a lecture style presentation on the art. I would have preferred to hear what my fellow classmates would have had to present about the art. The second half discussions are far more interesting because the scheduled presenter discusses the literature and then we have a proper seminar.
However, I have my two paper topics under control, although I'm behind schedule in getting them written - the deadline is the 28th of November, which is not that far away.
Several of us in the class have taken to visiting Steamworks after class, most of them from my cohort. We were chatting about what we were planning to do to finish, and during this conversation, I had an epiphany...
Neither of the January course offerings really grab me - I was contemplating the merits of the seminar on Madness Self and Society over the one on War and Society.
The epiphany was this - I should take a directed studies course from my favorite GLS prof.
He was a guest lecturer for one session in the very first course I took - he talked about Verdi's opera Otello; his passion about music rubbed off on me.
I took his course on opera last fall, and loved every minute of it. Indeed, I got my paper back and for the first time ever in my academic history took the notes and comments and revised it! I'm even considering submitting it (in a slightly revised form) for publication in an academic journal.
He a guest lecturer again this semester, talking about Debussy, Schopenauer and Stravinsky in the context of the Avant Garde.
So, I emailed him that very same epiphanous evening, and he said he'd be delighted to do something with me, provided it would be next summer, and that I get the department to ok it (he's a sessional). They did. Done and done. Win-win.
The icing on the cake is that he's teaching a course on 18th century music next fall, so it will be a fitting penultimate course in my GLS program (the final course being the graduating seminar in January 2008).
One of the things I enjoy most about school is the interaction of the live classroom. I've done directed studies before in my undergrad degree. I had my favorite philosophy professor run a one person section of Workplace Ethics for me, and my French professor allowed me to do a third year French literature course independently of the class. I've also done online courses.
However, working one-on-one with someone who is not only passionate and knowledgeable about their subject matter, but can bring out those same strong emotions in me about what they're teaching is an opportunity not to be missed. Especially in a program that is both interdisciplinary and "is designed to satisfy wider needs".
Now if only I can persuade the department to have him teach the graduating seminar too... :-)
Global Warming
It's interesting how when something gets a price tag associated with it, suddenly there's interest.
I refer to this morning's screaming headlines that global warming will cost the global economy on the order of $7 trillion dollars.
Global warming is an interesting phenomenon in itself. If you listen to the vast majority of climate scientists, it's real and it's happening and it's going to have enormous impacts on all life on the planet.
On the flip side, governments and business leaders have been doing their level best to pay lip service to the problem, and often spend more time pooh-poohing the whole notion of global warming.
Leaving aside the dire "the sky is falling" predictions aside, last June an article appeared in Nature discussing climate change. Some scientists from ten European nations took a very deep core sample of the Antarctic ice allowing them to look at the earth's climate over the past 740,000 years.
The findings are quite telling. There have been several cold periods (ice ages) interspersed with warmer periods. A natural ebb and flow.
To wit:
The question then becomes what we should do about it. On the one hand, it seems that the climate will continue to warm up regardless of what we do.
However, it seems unreasonable that we do nothing. Pollution of our environment affects us all, and will also affect our descendants.
So, while Kyoto as written is probably a bad idea (conceptually good, but the notion of "buying" emission credits from poor countries is asinine), continued research and development of cleaner energy and alternatives to oil and other carbon emitting resources, combined with increasingly stringent regulation of allowable emissions, is a very good one.
I refer to this morning's screaming headlines that global warming will cost the global economy on the order of $7 trillion dollars.
Global warming is an interesting phenomenon in itself. If you listen to the vast majority of climate scientists, it's real and it's happening and it's going to have enormous impacts on all life on the planet.
On the flip side, governments and business leaders have been doing their level best to pay lip service to the problem, and often spend more time pooh-poohing the whole notion of global warming.
Leaving aside the dire "the sky is falling" predictions aside, last June an article appeared in Nature discussing climate change. Some scientists from ten European nations took a very deep core sample of the Antarctic ice allowing them to look at the earth's climate over the past 740,000 years.
The findings are quite telling. There have been several cold periods (ice ages) interspersed with warmer periods. A natural ebb and flow.
To wit:
The analysis has shown that the earth has undergone eight ice ages in the last 740,000 years – periods when the climate was much colder than it is today. These ice ages were interrupted by eight warmer “interglacial” periods. During the last 400,000 years, these warm periods have had a climate similar to that of today. Before that, the warm periods were cooler but lasted longer.Now, one could argue that we're merely in part of one of those warmer trends. But, and here's the rub, it seems that human activity is having some effect:
Scientists can now draw parallels with earlier episodes of climate change. Without the interference of humans, the warm period we are now experiencing, which began 12,000 years ago, should continue for at least another 15,000 years.
Analysis of the air bubbles in the ice reveals variations in the mixture of various gases in the atmosphere over time. Preliminary research indicates that today’s carbon dioxide levels are higher than at any other time in the past 440,000 years.So based on this snippet of information, it seems that we are contributing to global warming, but also that we're about mid-point of a natural warm/cool cycle of global climate.
The question then becomes what we should do about it. On the one hand, it seems that the climate will continue to warm up regardless of what we do.
However, it seems unreasonable that we do nothing. Pollution of our environment affects us all, and will also affect our descendants.
So, while Kyoto as written is probably a bad idea (conceptually good, but the notion of "buying" emission credits from poor countries is asinine), continued research and development of cleaner energy and alternatives to oil and other carbon emitting resources, combined with increasingly stringent regulation of allowable emissions, is a very good one.
12 September 2006
Off and Running
Sometimes not only can you not win, you can't even lose decently.
But that's just how my week's been going.
My new class is off to a roaring start and even though I feel behind
already, it's just the nature of the beast when there's so much reading
to do and only three hours a week in class to discuss it.
Tonight's class was, alas, a bit of a disappointment for me - I was
supposed to present (10-15 minutes) on the Impressionists and
Post-Impressionists, probably my favourite art period in what led into
the Avant Garde, but the prof spoke at length about art history up to
and including the Impressionists and then we were out of time and we
moved on to William James and his discussion of stream of
consciousness.
So, I suppose in some sense it's not so bad since I'm off the hook, so
to speak, for the rest of the semester since everyone else has
something to present on or about. I at least still have all my
presentation notes handy and did learn a lot in the preparation of
them.
The class on the Avant Garde has a nice tight focus - art and
literature. The Avant Garde encompasses so many facets of the first
half of the 20th century that it would be a poor effort to try and get
through it all in a one semester seminar.
The rest of the evening whooshed by for me too, as it seemed I never
had the mot juste at the right time, or when I did, someone else had
something else to say and I couldn't get a word in edgewise. There's
always next week.
Besides, now I can focus on writing my two papers.
05 July 2006
Sweetness
I watched the Germany-Italy semifinal of the 2006 World Cup yesterday. The game was played in Dortmund, where Germany's national team had never lost (12-0-1). On the flip side of the coin, Italy had never lost to Germany in a World Cup match.
Obviously, one streak was going to end. Unfortunately, it was Germany's unbeaten streak in Dortmund, but kudos to Italy for the win late in the extra time.
For today's semifinal, I don't have any strong preference as to who wins, although if France go through, I'll be cheering for them in the final.
My friend S opined the other day that he wished every soccer match could end in a draw. When I inquired further, he said that he would like to see people satisfied with good play and that the draw would ensure that nobody would be crushed when their team lost.
After the match, I had the time to run a few errands and walked along the Drive, where many Italian fans were still hooting and hollering with joy and euphoria.
I think that my friend S is wrong. The fact Germany lost was sad, but they did a lot better than almost anyone predicted, and I was proud of them. I think it's far better to have a life where there are great moments of joy as well as sadness.
In the movie version of Mark Salzman's Iron & Silk, Mark experiences a moment of wisdom, beautifully expressed as "you have to eat bitter to taste sweet."
Obviously, one streak was going to end. Unfortunately, it was Germany's unbeaten streak in Dortmund, but kudos to Italy for the win late in the extra time.
For today's semifinal, I don't have any strong preference as to who wins, although if France go through, I'll be cheering for them in the final.
My friend S opined the other day that he wished every soccer match could end in a draw. When I inquired further, he said that he would like to see people satisfied with good play and that the draw would ensure that nobody would be crushed when their team lost.
After the match, I had the time to run a few errands and walked along the Drive, where many Italian fans were still hooting and hollering with joy and euphoria.
I think that my friend S is wrong. The fact Germany lost was sad, but they did a lot better than almost anyone predicted, and I was proud of them. I think it's far better to have a life where there are great moments of joy as well as sadness.
In the movie version of Mark Salzman's Iron & Silk, Mark experiences a moment of wisdom, beautifully expressed as "you have to eat bitter to taste sweet."
30 June 2006
The Glamour of Business Travel
My friend WCW once opined that she felt business travel added to the glamour of a job, and so I'm posting this for her.
I was sent to New Hampshire to do a customer presentation and had myself booked to fly out on the Wednesday, spend the day at the customer site on Thursday and to come home Friday.
Here's the summary...
Tuesday evening: Pack.
Wednesday morning:
- 0-dark-thirty, get up and have a shower.
- 6:30am the cab arrives
- 7:00am I'm at the airport. The check-in is painless and I've of course packed so I only have carry on luggage. I've also travelled enough now that I always get United's "Seating 1", which means I am in the first batch allowed to get on the plane to fight it out for overhead luggage space. I used to resent those people who brought a bag/briefcase and a small suitcase, but I'm one of them now, especially after the time my luggage unsurprisingly didn't make the five minute connection I once had in Salt Lake City en route to Dothan, AL.
- Then comes the customs lineup. It's essentially random who you get, and I was in the lineup for the CustomsAgentFromHell(tm). The lady in front of me was getting a grilling and was even having her fingerprints taken and photo taken. By good fortune, the customs agent in the next line over was free and waved me over and wished me bon voyage and I was on my way.
- My flight left Vancouver more or less on time and we arrived in Chicago, where my connection was supposed to be at 4:10pm. Now, when I arrived, the departure board said "on time!". Since this meant I had a short connection, the colleage I had run into on the flight out and I went to a fast food place for what was lunch for us. It was one of those moments where had we known, we'd have braved the lineup to get into Chili's. As it transpired, my flight was moved from gate F14 to F12, but still on time. Then back to F14 (no announcement this time), at 5:30. Then back to F12. Then back to F14. Then around the time it would be close to boarding, the announcement comes "It's been moved to gate E3!". Grrrr...
- We didn't even get off the ground until 6:10. This meant that, unlike the plan I'd had in my head, I arrived after dark, too late to get dinner anywhere, but there was a grocery store open not far from my hotel. Since this particular hotel had a kitchen in each room, I picked up something to make myself as well as cereal etc for breakfast. It's after midnight by the time I get to bed. Fortunately my suit survived the trip unscathed and I didn't need to iron it.
Thursday: o-dark-thirty... I awaken to NPR on the radio alarm clock. I like NPR.
- 7:00am, which is 4am as far as my body's concerned, my sales guy comes to pick me up for the hour plus drive to the hospital we're visiting.
- 8:30am, we arrive and they set us up in the board room where we'll be presenting.
- 9:00am, about four people are late for the presentation and we get the go-ahead at 9:15. I give a decent presentation (could have been a little more polished, but it went ok) and we have extensive Q&A with the customer.
10:30am, the competition arrives and the customer demonstrates just how bush league they are by letting them in and let them start to set up while we pack up.
My sales guy takes me to lunch at this great diner we picked at random, and we talk about the meeting and debrief, dissect, and talk shop. After lunch, he thanks me for coming out and drops me off at my hotel. I check with the travel agent to see if I can come home early since I'm done.
As luck has it, I get the final seat on the late flight to Vancouver. This leaves me about an hour to get to the airport and return my rental car. I go check out the absolutely enormous Barnes & Noble across from the hotel. I make a nice lunch box out of the leftover groceries I have for the flght home. I pack. I check out early and the hotel's nice enough not to charge me extra time even though checkout was at noon.
I get to the airport in plenty of time for my flight and security is painless, although once you know the drill (unpack your laptop, take off your shoes and your belt, empty your pockets...) it gets easier.
The flight to Chicago was smooth, and the 7:50pm flight to Vancouver was delayed until about 8:30pm but we still arrived in Vancouver close to scheduled arrival.
After a painless trip through customs, I took a cab home and was in my own bed by midnight.
Total trip time, starting from the time I left home to the time I got back: 42 hours.
Time spent in transit to airports, waiting in airports, and flying: 24 hours.
Amount of sleep I "officially" got, including time zone insomnia: 5 hours
Time spent in transit to and from the customer: 3 hours.
Time spent with the customer: under 2 hours.
Glamour indeed.
I was sent to New Hampshire to do a customer presentation and had myself booked to fly out on the Wednesday, spend the day at the customer site on Thursday and to come home Friday.
Here's the summary...
Tuesday evening: Pack.
Wednesday morning:
- 0-dark-thirty, get up and have a shower.
- 6:30am the cab arrives
- 7:00am I'm at the airport. The check-in is painless and I've of course packed so I only have carry on luggage. I've also travelled enough now that I always get United's "Seating 1", which means I am in the first batch allowed to get on the plane to fight it out for overhead luggage space. I used to resent those people who brought a bag/briefcase and a small suitcase, but I'm one of them now, especially after the time my luggage unsurprisingly didn't make the five minute connection I once had in Salt Lake City en route to Dothan, AL.
- Then comes the customs lineup. It's essentially random who you get, and I was in the lineup for the CustomsAgentFromHell(tm). The lady in front of me was getting a grilling and was even having her fingerprints taken and photo taken. By good fortune, the customs agent in the next line over was free and waved me over and wished me bon voyage and I was on my way.
- My flight left Vancouver more or less on time and we arrived in Chicago, where my connection was supposed to be at 4:10pm. Now, when I arrived, the departure board said "on time!". Since this meant I had a short connection, the colleage I had run into on the flight out and I went to a fast food place for what was lunch for us. It was one of those moments where had we known, we'd have braved the lineup to get into Chili's. As it transpired, my flight was moved from gate F14 to F12, but still on time. Then back to F14 (no announcement this time), at 5:30. Then back to F12. Then back to F14. Then around the time it would be close to boarding, the announcement comes "It's been moved to gate E3!". Grrrr...
- We didn't even get off the ground until 6:10. This meant that, unlike the plan I'd had in my head, I arrived after dark, too late to get dinner anywhere, but there was a grocery store open not far from my hotel. Since this particular hotel had a kitchen in each room, I picked up something to make myself as well as cereal etc for breakfast. It's after midnight by the time I get to bed. Fortunately my suit survived the trip unscathed and I didn't need to iron it.
Thursday: o-dark-thirty... I awaken to NPR on the radio alarm clock. I like NPR.
- 7:00am, which is 4am as far as my body's concerned, my sales guy comes to pick me up for the hour plus drive to the hospital we're visiting.
- 8:30am, we arrive and they set us up in the board room where we'll be presenting.
- 9:00am, about four people are late for the presentation and we get the go-ahead at 9:15. I give a decent presentation (could have been a little more polished, but it went ok) and we have extensive Q&A with the customer.
10:30am, the competition arrives and the customer demonstrates just how bush league they are by letting them in and let them start to set up while we pack up.
My sales guy takes me to lunch at this great diner we picked at random, and we talk about the meeting and debrief, dissect, and talk shop. After lunch, he thanks me for coming out and drops me off at my hotel. I check with the travel agent to see if I can come home early since I'm done.
As luck has it, I get the final seat on the late flight to Vancouver. This leaves me about an hour to get to the airport and return my rental car. I go check out the absolutely enormous Barnes & Noble across from the hotel. I make a nice lunch box out of the leftover groceries I have for the flght home. I pack. I check out early and the hotel's nice enough not to charge me extra time even though checkout was at noon.
I get to the airport in plenty of time for my flight and security is painless, although once you know the drill (unpack your laptop, take off your shoes and your belt, empty your pockets...) it gets easier.
The flight to Chicago was smooth, and the 7:50pm flight to Vancouver was delayed until about 8:30pm but we still arrived in Vancouver close to scheduled arrival.
After a painless trip through customs, I took a cab home and was in my own bed by midnight.
Total trip time, starting from the time I left home to the time I got back: 42 hours.
Time spent in transit to airports, waiting in airports, and flying: 24 hours.
Amount of sleep I "officially" got, including time zone insomnia: 5 hours
Time spent in transit to and from the customer: 3 hours.
Time spent with the customer: under 2 hours.
Glamour indeed.
20 June 2006
The World Cup
There was a time, perhaps as little as a decade ago, that I was "into" sports - I used to follow the Montreal Canadiens exploits (or lack thereof), I'd watch the NHL playoffs, I'd watch the World Series, I'd regularly watch the NFL (go Broncos!) and sometimes I'd even watch a little NBA action.
I'm not "into" sports anymore. I do watch the occasional NHL playoff game, but I didn't watch a single game of the Stanley Cup final this year - the NHL season is too long. The Cup was won yesterday and tomorrow's the first day of summer.
However, if there's one sports vice I do have, it's the World Cup. In 1994 I marvelled at "the beautiful game" and through an improbable set of circumstances, watched every single match at work. In 1998 I was working for HP, IT infrastructure provider, and through the new implementations of technology had the scores updated "live" on my desktop at work, and revelled with France as they won it all over Brazil 3-0. In 2002 I set my alarm for an improbably early hour of the morning, perhaps 2am, to watch Brazil agonizingly win it over my beloved Germany 2-0, their first goal coming mere minutes after the German captain almost scored on what would have been a highlight reel free kick.
I find the World Cup compelling sports for a number of reasons...
I'm not "into" sports anymore. I do watch the occasional NHL playoff game, but I didn't watch a single game of the Stanley Cup final this year - the NHL season is too long. The Cup was won yesterday and tomorrow's the first day of summer.
However, if there's one sports vice I do have, it's the World Cup. In 1994 I marvelled at "the beautiful game" and through an improbable set of circumstances, watched every single match at work. In 1998 I was working for HP, IT infrastructure provider, and through the new implementations of technology had the scores updated "live" on my desktop at work, and revelled with France as they won it all over Brazil 3-0. In 2002 I set my alarm for an improbably early hour of the morning, perhaps 2am, to watch Brazil agonizingly win it over my beloved Germany 2-0, their first goal coming mere minutes after the German captain almost scored on what would have been a highlight reel free kick.
I find the World Cup compelling sports for a number of reasons...
- There are games every day. The tournament starts with 32 teams, so every day there's someone playing a game - you're not left to wait for the "travel day".
- Unlike the Olympics, where there are many events that each have a small following, the World Cup has one thing - soccer. Several billion fans can't be wrong.
- The crowd is as much fun to watch as the game. During the Korea-France match, the Korean fans had tribal drums going and chanting Beethoven's Ode to Joy (in Korean no less). Then they went absolutely bananas when their team scored.
- The game doesn't stop. The clock starts, the half is 45 minutes long; the referee will add usually 2-3 minutes at the end to make up for "stoppage time", but there's no break in the game.
- There are only three substitutions for the entire game. The 11 people who start are it, save for subs.
- There are no substitutions for players sent off. In the Italy-USA game, for most of the second half Italy was down to 10 players and the USA was down to 9.
- A strict penalty system - one yellow card's a warning, get a second in the same game and you're not only sent off, but you miss the next game. Yellow cards carry over too, so if you got one in your first game, and another in your second, you miss the third. Boom. Done. No endless appeals.
- The "I can't believe he just did that with the ball" factor - it's amazing how much skill these players have.
Happy Father's Day Indeed
I had a wonderful Father's Day. I got up really early and went for a 30km bicycle ride, the first of the season for me, but will hardly be the last as I need to get in shape for the 60km Rona MS Vancouver Scenic City Bike Tour on August 13th.
Beyond that, I actually got to watch part of a World Cup soccer game, my car was washed and now looks less like a dad-mobile and more like a car with a child seat in it, and we had a great dinner with some good friends of ours.
A good day all around.
Beyond that, I actually got to watch part of a World Cup soccer game, my car was washed and now looks less like a dad-mobile and more like a car with a child seat in it, and we had a great dinner with some good friends of ours.
A good day all around.
15 May 2006
Singing
Gary had to cancel our scheduled lesson on the 4th because he had the WorstColdEver(tm), and so I finally had a chance to meet him last Friday.
He told me his theory of singing instruction, which I won't bother to repeat here - suffice to say that he has over thirty years teaching experience, and everything he explained made sense to me, and hey, I have no basis of comparison.
That said, he said that he teaches unlike pretty much every other voice coach out there, but it worked very well for me.
I've always thought I had a good ear for music, as does my wife, but it was still good for the ego to hear Gary tell me I had a really good instinct for music, and that furhtermore I took instruction exceptionally well.
We spent the first part of the lesson going over the basics of the human voice, how we make sound (which Gary termed "the human grunt") and how to turn it into not only musical sounds, posture, breathing, and so forth. I had brought along some music (Comedian Harmonists and Ensemble Six) as samples of what I wanted to be able to sing well some day, although I also want to sing Nessun Dorma, Toreador, and other opera arias that are just plain fun to sing.
In seemingly no time, I was singing scales, and if you've ever heard an operatic singer warming up, well, that's what I was doing although with frequent coaching, variations on technique, and practice practice practice.
Gary said he was going to be my "instant feeback mechanism", and that he would keep raising the bar as we went along. Indeed, in our first hour, he says, we did a lot more than he usually does with a new student.
Interestingly enough, he told me not to practice before our next lesson so he wouldn't have to undo anything. So, I'm keeping my end of the bargain so far, but still singing along with my favoiurite songs the same old way I ever have.
I've signed up for lessons until the end of the month, but I'll definitely carry on until the end of the summer. Hopefully grad school this fall will allow me to carry on with the singing too.
He told me his theory of singing instruction, which I won't bother to repeat here - suffice to say that he has over thirty years teaching experience, and everything he explained made sense to me, and hey, I have no basis of comparison.
That said, he said that he teaches unlike pretty much every other voice coach out there, but it worked very well for me.
I've always thought I had a good ear for music, as does my wife, but it was still good for the ego to hear Gary tell me I had a really good instinct for music, and that furhtermore I took instruction exceptionally well.
We spent the first part of the lesson going over the basics of the human voice, how we make sound (which Gary termed "the human grunt") and how to turn it into not only musical sounds, posture, breathing, and so forth. I had brought along some music (Comedian Harmonists and Ensemble Six) as samples of what I wanted to be able to sing well some day, although I also want to sing Nessun Dorma, Toreador, and other opera arias that are just plain fun to sing.
In seemingly no time, I was singing scales, and if you've ever heard an operatic singer warming up, well, that's what I was doing although with frequent coaching, variations on technique, and practice practice practice.
Gary said he was going to be my "instant feeback mechanism", and that he would keep raising the bar as we went along. Indeed, in our first hour, he says, we did a lot more than he usually does with a new student.
Interestingly enough, he told me not to practice before our next lesson so he wouldn't have to undo anything. So, I'm keeping my end of the bargain so far, but still singing along with my favoiurite songs the same old way I ever have.
I've signed up for lessons until the end of the month, but I'll definitely carry on until the end of the summer. Hopefully grad school this fall will allow me to carry on with the singing too.
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