Well, the plans have all been set for the Thanksgiving weekend.
Turns out, it's the only time Cathy will have to spend any time with the family. It's as well that I wanted to spend the day with them. She and Mary seemed pretty glad it worked out that way.
My brother understood the reasons why I didn't really want to get involved in a large gathering. I wasn't sure if he would or not, but it worked out. He told me that, given the confusion, it might be easier if we just stopped in on the way back from Mary's.
Actually, as was posted in the comments from the last post, it makes sense that we start doing things our own way now. Our family is getting a little too big for anything else. No one will be forgotten, we just won't get together in one place all at once as often.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Holidays
I'm in a bit of a quandary over the up-coming holidays.
In the past, I have always liked getting together with my family. Mom would always cook up way to much food. The house would be so crowed that getting to the bathroom was a problem, never mind whether or not somebody would be in there when you did make it. The noise and confusion was just a regular part of the holidays.
These days, I find myself wanting to avoid the crush. If I get into a crowd of more than five or six, all of the energy just gets drained right out of me. I tire very easily, and the sound of voices gives me a headache that lasts for hours.
My brother wants to have a big family do for Thanksgiving. (That's on October 8th here in Canada.) I just can't do it. For one thing, he wants to serve the meal rather late. My wife has a condition that does not allow her to eat after a certain time. Besides that, he is dating a woman with two young children. Put the three of them together with my brother, sister, three nieces and my parents, and you are talking about major chaos.
I do like to spend time with my family. It has just outgrown me. I need them to come in small, calm dosages. The real problem is, how do you say that to your family without hurting some body's feelings?
The other side of the coin is my in-laws. I love them dearly, and want to spend some quality time with them. They are the second best part of being married. Is it wrong for me to choose a peaceful afternoon with them on one or two of the holidays of the year?
Okay, maybe I'm trying to rationalize not taking part in my brother's big plans for Thanksgiving, but all of the things you have just read are true. When does the truth become the wrong thing? I would hope that somebody reading this could give me a little insight.
In the past, I have always liked getting together with my family. Mom would always cook up way to much food. The house would be so crowed that getting to the bathroom was a problem, never mind whether or not somebody would be in there when you did make it. The noise and confusion was just a regular part of the holidays.
These days, I find myself wanting to avoid the crush. If I get into a crowd of more than five or six, all of the energy just gets drained right out of me. I tire very easily, and the sound of voices gives me a headache that lasts for hours.
My brother wants to have a big family do for Thanksgiving. (That's on October 8th here in Canada.) I just can't do it. For one thing, he wants to serve the meal rather late. My wife has a condition that does not allow her to eat after a certain time. Besides that, he is dating a woman with two young children. Put the three of them together with my brother, sister, three nieces and my parents, and you are talking about major chaos.
I do like to spend time with my family. It has just outgrown me. I need them to come in small, calm dosages. The real problem is, how do you say that to your family without hurting some body's feelings?
The other side of the coin is my in-laws. I love them dearly, and want to spend some quality time with them. They are the second best part of being married. Is it wrong for me to choose a peaceful afternoon with them on one or two of the holidays of the year?
Okay, maybe I'm trying to rationalize not taking part in my brother's big plans for Thanksgiving, but all of the things you have just read are true. When does the truth become the wrong thing? I would hope that somebody reading this could give me a little insight.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Ontario's Electoral Referendum
If you live in Ontario, you are aware that there is going to be a referendum on the tenth of October. We are being asked if we want to change the way our votes are decided. A number of groups have felt that the way we currently elect our government is not fair. With more than three candidates to choose from in each constituency, the one elected need not necessarily by the one the majority have chosen.
The proposal is that our ballots should have two votes. One would be for the candidate of your choice for the riding, the other would be for the party to form the government. Each party would have a list of people who would sit in the legislature if their party is chosen, but has not won enough seats through election. In the event that the chosen party has, it isn't clear how those extra seat would be filled, presumably by percentage of the popular vote.
I cannot say that I am a fan of the proposed changes to our electoral system. I have a number of problems with them.
The biggest issue is that it results in people sitting in the legislature that the public has not approved. The parties will choose them, not us. You can be sure that seats will be given for favours, promises to vote on party lines at all times. That is not what a democracy is about. The people should choose those who represent them.
Another problem I see is that any government selected by this new method would have an artificial majority. This means that they can pass whatever legislation they want, without even the possibility of the wishes of the population being taken into account. True, this is tied to the first issue I raised, but that's the way party politics works.
The way I see it, the only way we could ever have a truly representative governing system is to eliminate party politics all together. Instead, each candidate would have to stand on his or her own. They would be responsible to the constituents alone, the people who chose him or her for the job. When they took their oath of office, he or she would know exactly who the boss was.
That is an idealized way of setting up a democracy. The party system evolved so that there would be less confusion in policy for the government, and those proposing laws would have to justify those bills to the opposition. It is the price we pay for trying to streamline getting things done.
There may or may not be a problem with the way we elect our members of the legislature. The proposed system, however, presents the larger problem of putting unelected people into positions that affect how we are governed. That is not democracy. If the proposal were changed, maybe I could get behind it. Until then, the current system of "first past the post" is the only fair way I can see to elect our government.
The proposal is that our ballots should have two votes. One would be for the candidate of your choice for the riding, the other would be for the party to form the government. Each party would have a list of people who would sit in the legislature if their party is chosen, but has not won enough seats through election. In the event that the chosen party has, it isn't clear how those extra seat would be filled, presumably by percentage of the popular vote.
I cannot say that I am a fan of the proposed changes to our electoral system. I have a number of problems with them.
The biggest issue is that it results in people sitting in the legislature that the public has not approved. The parties will choose them, not us. You can be sure that seats will be given for favours, promises to vote on party lines at all times. That is not what a democracy is about. The people should choose those who represent them.
Another problem I see is that any government selected by this new method would have an artificial majority. This means that they can pass whatever legislation they want, without even the possibility of the wishes of the population being taken into account. True, this is tied to the first issue I raised, but that's the way party politics works.
The way I see it, the only way we could ever have a truly representative governing system is to eliminate party politics all together. Instead, each candidate would have to stand on his or her own. They would be responsible to the constituents alone, the people who chose him or her for the job. When they took their oath of office, he or she would know exactly who the boss was.
That is an idealized way of setting up a democracy. The party system evolved so that there would be less confusion in policy for the government, and those proposing laws would have to justify those bills to the opposition. It is the price we pay for trying to streamline getting things done.
There may or may not be a problem with the way we elect our members of the legislature. The proposed system, however, presents the larger problem of putting unelected people into positions that affect how we are governed. That is not democracy. If the proposal were changed, maybe I could get behind it. Until then, the current system of "first past the post" is the only fair way I can see to elect our government.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Space for guests
We had a house full of people yesterday afternoon. It worked out pretty well actually. This apartment has plenty of space. I can actually see doing a little entertaining here. Granted, more than six or so guests is out of the question. Given enough chairs, we could sit and talk comfortably.
Since Sandra started getting some proper sleep, she has even started to feel more at home here. There is a way to go yet, of course. Change takes time to get used to.
Unless you happen to be one of our cats. Somehow, they adapted to the new place within a couple of days. They just needed to have their litter pointed out to them. The trains don't bother them. The dogs upstairs could run around to their hearts' content and they wouldn't notice. They have even staked out the best window seats.
Anyway, back to where I started.
Entertaining is going to be a bit of an issue this year. With my in-laws moving to new apartments, I suspect that we will probably be hosting Christmas Eve here this year. It just makes more sense for them to come here than for us to go to two places, or try to fit us into their new homes, given that we don't know exactly how much space they have to work with.
I would like to have a bit of a get-together for New Year's Eve. Not a full blown party mind you. There isn't that much space, and besides, there are neighbours to consider. It would be nice to have friends over for a while, and family after that. I could set up a little buffet on the table, and put some good movies into the DVD player.
It's just nice to have the option of having people in now and then.
Since Sandra started getting some proper sleep, she has even started to feel more at home here. There is a way to go yet, of course. Change takes time to get used to.
Unless you happen to be one of our cats. Somehow, they adapted to the new place within a couple of days. They just needed to have their litter pointed out to them. The trains don't bother them. The dogs upstairs could run around to their hearts' content and they wouldn't notice. They have even staked out the best window seats.
Anyway, back to where I started.
Entertaining is going to be a bit of an issue this year. With my in-laws moving to new apartments, I suspect that we will probably be hosting Christmas Eve here this year. It just makes more sense for them to come here than for us to go to two places, or try to fit us into their new homes, given that we don't know exactly how much space they have to work with.
I would like to have a bit of a get-together for New Year's Eve. Not a full blown party mind you. There isn't that much space, and besides, there are neighbours to consider. It would be nice to have friends over for a while, and family after that. I could set up a little buffet on the table, and put some good movies into the DVD player.
It's just nice to have the option of having people in now and then.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Inexpensive computers
Have you seen the little laptops that one of the major companies in the States has produced? It looks like it was put together by Fisher Price. It is durable, colourful and sized just right for young kids. That was the idea.
Whatt the producers want to happen is for those who can afford it to buy one for their own child, and by doing so, purchase one to be given to a third world or underprivileged child. The plan is that every child in the world should have the same advantages when getting an education.
Let me point out, these little laptops are no toys. They are Internet capable, work wireless, and have pretty good resolution on the screen. On a television news article, they showed one of these things playing streaming video. It's better than the first computer I ever learned to use. If things go the way they are meant to, we will have a very large computing world indeed.
I think they are serious about all of this. The tiny machines are running a simplified but very effective version of linux software as the operating system. They've avoided the whole Windows Vista thing. At least they got around that whole thing.
In case you haven't figured it out, I am an advocate for this program. The more companies we can get on board, the better. We made this a technical world, so we had better get our people on the ball. I'd like to see these machines made for use in Canadian schools, just as much as in the third world. These are computers made for kids the world over. It's a great start for the next generation. With the wireless abilities, each classroom could have a couple of printers, and kids could just print out their homework assignments.
If we insist on kids having computers to do everything, let's do the job right.
Whatt the producers want to happen is for those who can afford it to buy one for their own child, and by doing so, purchase one to be given to a third world or underprivileged child. The plan is that every child in the world should have the same advantages when getting an education.
Let me point out, these little laptops are no toys. They are Internet capable, work wireless, and have pretty good resolution on the screen. On a television news article, they showed one of these things playing streaming video. It's better than the first computer I ever learned to use. If things go the way they are meant to, we will have a very large computing world indeed.
I think they are serious about all of this. The tiny machines are running a simplified but very effective version of linux software as the operating system. They've avoided the whole Windows Vista thing. At least they got around that whole thing.
In case you haven't figured it out, I am an advocate for this program. The more companies we can get on board, the better. We made this a technical world, so we had better get our people on the ball. I'd like to see these machines made for use in Canadian schools, just as much as in the third world. These are computers made for kids the world over. It's a great start for the next generation. With the wireless abilities, each classroom could have a couple of printers, and kids could just print out their homework assignments.
If we insist on kids having computers to do everything, let's do the job right.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
