Omnioculars!

It seems Muggle technology is only about 10 years behind that of the wizarding world...

Ponderances arising from the pope's funeral

1. I wonder if that casket is in any was fastened to that stretcher thing?
2. I wonder if the pallbearers rehearsed?

Semantics

Suppose that everyone in the world shares a particular opinion. Every single person is of this opinion, and no one has ever thought to question it.

Is it still an opinion, or does this make it a fact?

Verbal misstep of the day

You've got three million people at the largest funeral in human history. And it's about something positive

- Global news anchor Kevin Newman

Yes, because the fact that the pope is dead is quite positive, isn't it?

My thoughts on the recently-made-public sponsorship testimony

Same disclaimer as before still applies: I have not read the evidence that is under a publication ban, I have only read what has been published in major national dailies. I currently do not wish to be pointed in the direction of any banned evidence or commentary thereon.

My very first thought upon reading what was made public today: Is that all?

With all the hype it was getting, I thought it would be something that directly and severely hurts people - extortion, death threats, taking advantage of desperate refugees, dealing with the mob, trading in sexual favours from third parties, smuggling illegal goods, trafficking in human beings - something hardcore like that. Turns out it was just more financial back-scratching. Which is what was already going on. Not that said financial back-scratching is commendable behaviour, but it's nothing new - same ethical plane, just a different scale. Based on the information I have now, I think the media was making too big a deal of this. I reserve the right to change my opinion when I've read about the information that is currently still under publication ban.

On banned sponsorship testimony

First, I want to make it clear that I have not read the banned sponsorship testimony that's allegedly floating around on the internet. I'm not sure whether it is ethical for me to read it, given my particular station in life, so I would appreciate it if no one links me to it for the moment.

I'm just pondering whether it's productive for Canadian media sources to be all "OMG! There's banned sponsorship testimony that will make the whole country have to have another election!" I can see a few negative consequences arising from that:

1. People will go looking for said testimony, increasing the risk of tainting dude's trial.
2. People's interpretation of the seriousness of the testimony will be tainted ahead of time, so they'll be treating whatever facts come up as "OMG THIS IS BAD" because the media told them, not because they're thinking for themselves.
3. Alternatively, people might read the banned testimony and think "Oh, that's not so bad" because it doesn't live up to the hype, then consider most of this sort of thing to be less important than it is.

Obviously, I haven't seen the banned testimony yet and I don't wish to do so at this exact moment, so I'll reassess my position when I've read it.

I guess I'm not the biggest pessimist in the world...

From the Passport Canada site, on why children need their own passports:

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has recommended a policy requiring every individual who travels by air to have his or her own passport. This policy has been put in place to combat the traffic of millions of children around the world who are often sold into slavery, child prostitution or worse.

Or worse? Like what?

Why is everyone so curious about the Pope's shoes all the sudden?

Ever since the Pope fell ill, I've been getting a lot of hits from people searching for the Pope's shoes and finding a link I posted to this picture of the Pope where you can see his shoes from October 2003.

I know it's gauche to talk about one's site stats, but I'm really curious: why are so many people looking for the Pope's shoes? Did his death suddenly make everyone think "I've always wondered what kind of shoes the Pope wears"? Or is there some better reason?

Dose

I read Dose today.

I find myself really disinclined to read it, because I feel like they're trying really hard to market to some fictional impression of who they think I am based on my demographics. Being marketed to based on my demographics (rather than based on the benefits of the product or service in question) frankly makes me feel dirty, and being treated like who I "should" be because of my demographics rather than who I am as an individual infuriates me. Also, I'm not too fond of the media conglomerate behind this publication, mostly because of the editorial stances of other media outlets owned by said conglomerate. Most everyone I know of this target demographic is not too fond of the editorial stance of this media conglomerate, and I feel like they're insulting my intelligence by treating me like I don't think editorial stance matters because they are Targeting My Demographic.

However, I felt it would be judgemental to rule it out unread, and there was a copy sitting on the kitchen table at work, so I had a look. My reviews are mixed. I liked their coverage of the Pope (they mentioned that he typically had a latte for breakfast, and sometimes cookies, which is interesting to me), but my reaction to the rest of the paper ranged from indifferently scanning the headlines to "Ew, they're trying too hard." I found that I was only reading about a third as many articles, percentage-wise, as when I read the Star or the G&M.

I also found the articles I did read didn't always contain all the information I wanted. For example, there was a poll saying that a significant number (I forget the number) of teens thought that there was a lower risk of STI transmission with oral sex than with vaginal sex. However, the article a) never specified what kinds of oral sex and whether they meant giving or receiving, b) never said what the risk actually was, and c) never said which activities are lowest risk. It was simply repeating what percentage of teens thought what, with the tacit implication that They Are All Wrong Because They're Teenagers, without providing me with any actual facts.

Overall, I wouldn't read Dose for news because I have two broadsheets on my kitchen table at home and CBC Newsworld available on my television, not to mention the entire internet. I might read it to keep me amused during my commute, except that I always carry a book with me. It's better than 24, but I still prefer Metro because it isn't freaking out with trying to market to me. Dose wasn't filling any gap that I could perceive, and if it vanished off the face of the earth I wouldn't even notice.

Pope Overload

I wonder how people who have nothing to do with catholicsm feel about this wall-to-wall coverage of the Pope's death?

I was raised catholic and my heritage is Polish, so I see where all the passionate mourners are coming from; I'm also rather fascinated by the idea and everyday life of the pope, the same way I'm fascinated by the everyday life of royalty. What does his bathroom look like? What does he wear when he isn't in costume? What does he watch on TV? The result is that, even though I'm not mourning myself, I find all this media coverage quite interesting. But I'm also rather surrounded by people of catholic heritage, so I don't know if all this fuss is actually of interest to anyone else. What does the rest of the world think?

Brilliant Ideas that will Never Work: Make Phys. Ed. Fun for Everyone

There is often talk of making physical education mandatory for a longer time in order to promote the population's physical fitness. The problem with this idea is that not everyone enjoys phys. ed. Many people do enjoy it, but others' feelings range from vaguely negative to living hell. Making phys. ed. manadtory for longer is more likely to increase dislike and resentment of fitness in general among people who don't enjoy it, so I think the emphasis should be on making it enjoyable for everyone. Absolutely everyone. Even the klutzes, even the geeks, even that one student who is the favourite target of all other students.

It might sound like I'm marginalizing students who do enjoy phys. ed.; I'm simply not paying that much attention to them here because they already enjoy physical activity, so already have the motivation to continue to be physically active throughout their lives. I am focusing more on students who grow to dislike and resent physical activity because of phys. ed. class. If changes can be made so that every single student finds phys. ed. fun, then every single student will be motivated to be physically active as an adult.

Here are some ideas:

- Dispense with the idea that phys. ed. is fun because it involves being physically active. This clearly is not true for everyone. Instead, introduce ways to make it fun despite the fact that it involves being physically active.
- Right now, the people who become phys. ed. teachers are most likely to be people who enjoyed phys. ed. as a student. Therefore, they cannot sympathize with the students who did not enjoy it. Work on getting some teachers who did not enjoy phys. ed. as a student so they can provide some insight.
- Make the phys. ed. curriculum less strictly regimented so that teachers can adapt their classes to the needs of their particular students.
- Have the options of several activities at any given time. If two classes have phys. ed. during fifth period, perhaps three or four activities could be set up at once. For example, there could be basketball, badminton, soccer and yoga on the go all at once, and students could pick their favourite.
- Consider not giving students marks for phys. ed. It could be pass/fail, or there could simply be a period where they are to report to the gym for physical activity. There are few things more disheartening for an otherwise-straight-A student than getting a C in phys. ed. because you haven't yet mastered use of your ever-changing body, or your classmates won't pass you the ball because you aren't cool, or you're afraid of the ball because a similar ball broke your hand when you were eight, or no one has ever bothered to explain the offside rules to you.
- If it is not possible to have an ungraded phys. ed. class, give students the option of undergoing a fitness assessment (heart rate, recovery, body fat, all that other stuff) and let that substitute for part or all of their mark. Someone who can run a five-minute mile shouldn't have to have a bad mark on their report card just because they are shy and tormented.
- Make sure the locker-room experience is as unhellish as possible. Have private changing cubicles, make sure students have lockers where they can lock up their possessions, make sure the room is clean, if students have to shower make sure the showers are as clean and private as possible.
- Take whatever measures are necessary to eliminate any and all bullying, intimidation, threats, mockery, and abuse - physical, mental and emotional. A holistic approach is needed here, beyond the gym and the locker room, but since the gym and the locker room tend to be very conducive to bullying, something must be done.
- Have non-competitive games that involve being active, as opposed to competitive sports. Sit-down dodgeball with elephant balls is fun. Running around the building on a scavenger hunt is fun. Basketball is not necessarily fun.
- Let students sit out if they want. If they sit out too often, ask them quietly and privately why they are sitting out, and address that issue.
- Develop a gym class environment that encourages people to be supportive of their classmates rather than competitive. If the star of the volleyball team gives the awkward student some helpful tips, entirely in good faith, Awkward Student will feel better about this whole sports things. But if Star Volleyball Player just spikes a ball at Awkward Student's head, breaking her glasses, Awkward Student will just feel worse.

Generation gaps and pulling the plug

I've noticed the same sort of comments coming from several places. Among commentators who are older and who would not want the plug pulled on them, the general attitude seems to be that anyone who would want the plug pulled on themselves is just saying so because they're young and dread being old. Then there seems to be the tacit implication that young people don't really have the right to this attitude because when they're older, they'll see that being alive when you're older, even if you don't have all the physical abilities you had when you were young, is still pretty good.

Now I'm not going to get into the older/younger thing because anyone who has been reading this for a while already knows how I feel about age and death etc.

I just want to point out that these commentators are being remiss by being so dismissive of younger people's attitudes based solely on their youth. Even if every single young person in the world will change their attitude as they age, it is still important for everyone to think this through and make their wishes clear in case something happens while they are still young!

Terri Schiavo was only 27 when she went into her vegetative state, so what mattered was her feelings on the matter at the age of 27, not how she would have felt at the age of 60 or 80.

Making a living will and telling people your wishes is not eternally binding. If your feelings on the matter change as you get older, you can change your living will and notify your nearest and dearest of the changes. But it is totally inappropriate to trivialize someone's wishes because they are only 20, telling them they'll feel differently when they're older, only to have them meet with disaster days before their 21st birthday.

Dying from Chastity

In the wall-to-wall pope coverage on TV, they were at one point interviewing this guy, either a bishop or a cardinal, and he said "No one has ever died from chastity."

I don't think that's necessarily true.

If anyone has decided they would rather die than be raped, found themselves in an attempted rape situation, and succeeded in carrying out their choice, they have died from chastity.

If anyone has ever starved to death rather than prostituting themselvse, they have died from chastity.

In situations where they used to physically or chemically castrate people with mental or intellectual disabilities so that they wouldn't breed, if anyone ever died from side-effects of that, then they died from chastity.

You know what would be a good joke?

Tomorrow morning, the Pope should stand up, stick his head out the window, and shout "APRIL FOOLS!" to the crowds gathered in St. Peter's square.

Ho-sanna-hey-sanna-sanna-sanna-ho

Anyone want a sacriligious practical joke that you'll have to wait a year to play?

Next Easter, find one of those things where a bunch of church people act out Easter. Then follow them around singing the appropriate songs from Jesus Christ Superstar.

Nightingales: the Extraordinary Upbringing and Curious Life of Miss Florence Nightingale by Gillian Gill

This book tells the story of Florence Nightingale's life and work by providing the background of her family and social circle. While she was from a rather progressive family for the Victorian era, she also had to deal with old-fashioned concepts like entails. The author uses the large corpus of extant family letters to draw a vivid picture of the thoughts, feelings and personalities of everyone involved.

It was all very interesting. Her parents took the time and effort to educate her in an era where general education for women was just beginning, and she took up nursing because she felt she had been sent by God. Although Nightingale could be quite the social butterfly when she put her mind to it, I think she was inherently an introvert and, after living in close quarters with all the other nurses in Crimea, she became a recluse and spent the last several decades of her life at home, living as an invalid with a disease that had not yet been diagnosed, but still working to develop a public health system in Great Britain.

The book is thick (~500 pages) and, because it is an academic biography, slow reading, but it's all terribly interesting and paints a vivid portrait of upper middle class Victorian life. Reading about how hard Florence Nightingale had to work - both in the Crimea and in the crazy social life that her parents organized, temporarily inpsired me to work harder myself.

Ways I humiliated myself today

1. Early this morning, as I was eating breakfast in my bathrobe, I heard a key fumbling in my door. I thought it was mi cielito unexpectedly dropping by, but when I looked through the peephole I saw it was a creepy older man with a beard. Not knowing what to do, I called the supers, slightly freaked out. Turns out this guy had been hired to clean the empty apartment across from me, and he had the wrong door.

2. The security-card-scanner-thing in one of the doors to our office wasn't working. Then I noticed the cleaning lady was in our office. I asked her if she had used her security card to come in (which would mean the door was working again), and she reacted like I was carding her (which does happen around our building for security reasons). I tried to clarify, but it turns out she spoke only Spanish. So I tried to clarify in Spanish, but as I reached into the "foreign language" section of my brain, stuff kept coming out in Polish!!! Which is weird because I don't even know the Polish for what I was trying to say! Luckily a co-worker came over and helped me with the Spanish, or I'd still be there now with this cleaning lady half my size all freaked out because she thinks I'm questioning her security credentials! I'm so embarrassed though that I couldn't speak Spanish! I honestly thought I could!

3. I was walking down the crowded stairs from the Yonge line to the Bloor line in St. George station. I saw my train had just pulled in, so I was focusing on the train instead of where I was going. Suddenly, the lady in front of me spilled some stuff out of her bag onto the stairs. I was still focused on the train, and I accidentally stepped on a container of expensive-looking makeup, breaking the container and spilling makeup everywhere! GAH! I was so embarrassed I didn't even think to help her clean up or anything, I just apologized profusely and ran off.

Today was not such a good day.

Recurring dreams

I keep having this dream where I made some administrative error and didn't finish high school. Like I didn't take all the required courses or forgot to fill out a form or something, and then it's too late to do anything about it. Then as I pass through lucidity into wakefulness, I'm counting OACs and thinking that surely Mr. Foreman would have told me if I was missing something, and hey, haven't I already been accepted into university?

Then I wake up and realize that I did finish high school, and university, and I have a job. Then I feel relieved and get on with my day.

What if...

This idea started with a discussion about Terri Schiavo that quickly ventured off into the absurd...

Suppose that in your living will you designate your spouse to have complete medical, financial, legal etc. power of attorney. You clearly and specifically state that your spouse is to make all decisions on your behalf should you be incapacitated.

Suppose you then become incapacitated.

Suppose your spouse then decides to divorce you.

Could your spouse sign the divorce papers on your behalf?