archives
03/28/2004 - 04/04/2004
04/04/2004 - 04/11/2004
04/11/2004 - 04/18/2004
04/18/2004 - 04/25/2004
04/25/2004 - 05/02/2004
05/02/2004 - 05/09/2004
05/09/2004 - 05/16/2004
05/16/2004 - 05/23/2004
05/23/2004 - 05/30/2004
05/30/2004 - 06/06/2004
06/06/2004 - 06/13/2004
06/13/2004 - 06/20/2004
06/20/2004 - 06/27/2004
06/27/2004 - 07/04/2004
07/04/2004 - 07/11/2004
07/11/2004 - 07/18/2004
07/18/2004 - 07/25/2004
07/25/2004 - 08/01/2004
08/01/2004 - 08/08/2004
08/08/2004 - 08/15/2004
08/15/2004 - 08/22/2004
08/22/2004 - 08/29/2004
08/29/2004 - 09/05/2004
09/05/2004 - 09/12/2004
09/12/2004 - 09/19/2004
09/19/2004 - 09/26/2004
09/26/2004 - 10/03/2004
10/03/2004 - 10/10/2004
10/10/2004 - 10/17/2004
10/17/2004 - 10/24/2004
10/24/2004 - 10/31/2004
10/31/2004 - 11/07/2004
11/07/2004 - 11/14/2004
11/14/2004 - 11/21/2004
11/21/2004 - 11/28/2004
11/28/2004 - 12/05/2004
12/05/2004 - 12/12/2004
12/12/2004 - 12/19/2004
12/19/2004 - 12/26/2004
12/26/2004 - 01/02/2005
01/02/2005 - 01/09/2005
01/09/2005 - 01/16/2005
01/16/2005 - 01/23/2005
01/23/2005 - 01/30/2005
01/30/2005 - 02/06/2005
02/06/2005 - 02/13/2005
02/13/2005 - 02/20/2005
02/20/2005 - 02/27/2005
02/27/2005 - 03/06/2005
03/06/2005 - 03/13/2005
03/13/2005 - 03/20/2005
03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005
03/27/2005 - 04/03/2005
04/03/2005 - 04/10/2005
04/10/2005 - 04/17/2005
04/17/2005 - 04/24/2005
04/24/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/08/2005
05/08/2005 - 05/15/2005
05/15/2005 - 05/22/2005
05/22/2005 - 05/29/2005
05/29/2005 - 06/05/2005
06/05/2005 - 06/12/2005
06/12/2005 - 06/19/2005
06/19/2005 - 06/26/2005
06/26/2005 - 07/03/2005
07/03/2005 - 07/10/2005
07/10/2005 - 07/17/2005
07/17/2005 - 07/24/2005
07/24/2005 - 07/31/2005
07/31/2005 - 08/07/2005
08/07/2005 - 08/14/2005
08/14/2005 - 08/21/2005
08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005
08/28/2005 - 09/04/2005
09/04/2005 - 09/11/2005
09/11/2005 - 09/18/2005
09/18/2005 - 09/25/2005
09/25/2005 - 10/02/2005
10/02/2005 - 10/09/2005
10/09/2005 - 10/16/2005
10/16/2005 - 10/23/2005
10/23/2005 - 10/30/2005
10/30/2005 - 11/06/2005
11/06/2005 - 11/13/2005
11/13/2005 - 11/20/2005
11/20/2005 - 11/27/2005
11/27/2005 - 12/04/2005
12/04/2005 - 12/11/2005
12/11/2005 - 12/18/2005
12/18/2005 - 12/25/2005
12/25/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 01/08/2006
01/08/2006 - 01/15/2006
01/15/2006 - 01/22/2006
01/22/2006 - 01/29/2006
01/29/2006 - 02/05/2006
02/05/2006 - 02/12/2006
02/12/2006 - 02/19/2006
02/19/2006 - 02/26/2006
02/26/2006 - 03/05/2006
03/05/2006 - 03/12/2006
03/12/2006 - 03/19/2006
03/19/2006 - 03/26/2006
03/26/2006 - 04/02/2006
04/02/2006 - 04/09/2006
04/09/2006 - 04/16/2006
04/16/2006 - 04/23/2006
04/23/2006 - 04/30/2006
04/30/2006 - 05/07/2006
05/07/2006 - 05/14/2006
05/14/2006 - 05/21/2006
05/21/2006 - 05/28/2006
05/28/2006 - 06/04/2006
06/04/2006 - 06/11/2006
06/11/2006 - 06/18/2006
06/18/2006 - 06/25/2006
06/25/2006 - 07/02/2006
07/02/2006 - 07/09/2006
07/09/2006 - 07/16/2006
07/16/2006 - 07/23/2006
07/23/2006 - 07/30/2006
07/30/2006 - 08/06/2006
08/06/2006 - 08/13/2006
08/13/2006 - 08/20/2006
08/20/2006 - 08/27/2006
08/27/2006 - 09/03/2006
09/03/2006 - 09/10/2006
09/10/2006 - 09/17/2006
09/17/2006 - 09/24/2006
09/24/2006 - 10/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 10/08/2006
10/08/2006 - 10/15/2006
10/15/2006 - 10/22/2006
10/22/2006 - 10/29/2006
10/29/2006 - 11/05/2006
11/05/2006 - 11/12/2006
11/12/2006 - 11/19/2006
11/19/2006 - 11/26/2006
11/26/2006 - 12/03/2006
12/03/2006 - 12/10/2006
12/10/2006 - 12/17/2006
12/17/2006 - 12/24/2006
12/24/2006 - 12/31/2006
12/31/2006 - 01/07/2007
01/07/2007 - 01/14/2007
01/14/2007 - 01/21/2007
01/21/2007 - 01/28/2007
01/28/2007 - 02/04/2007
02/04/2007 - 02/11/2007
02/11/2007 - 02/18/2007
02/18/2007 - 02/25/2007
02/25/2007 - 03/04/2007
03/11/2007 - 03/18/2007
03/18/2007 - 03/25/2007
04/08/2007 - 04/15/2007
04/15/2007 - 04/22/2007
04/22/2007 - 04/29/2007
04/29/2007 - 05/06/2007
05/06/2007 - 05/13/2007
05/13/2007 - 05/20/2007
05/27/2007 - 06/03/2007
06/10/2007 - 06/17/2007
06/17/2007 - 06/24/2007
06/24/2007 - 07/01/2007
07/01/2007 - 07/08/2007
07/15/2007 - 07/22/2007
09/02/2007 - 09/09/2007
09/16/2007 - 09/23/2007
10/07/2007 - 10/14/2007
10/21/2007 - 10/28/2007
11/18/2007 - 11/25/2007
11/25/2007 - 12/02/2007
12/02/2007 - 12/09/2007
12/09/2007 - 12/16/2007
12/16/2007 - 12/23/2007
12/23/2007 - 12/30/2007
12/30/2007 - 01/06/2008
01/06/2008 - 01/13/2008
01/13/2008 - 01/20/2008
01/20/2008 - 01/27/2008
01/27/2008 - 02/03/2008
02/03/2008 - 02/10/2008
02/17/2008 - 02/24/2008
02/24/2008 - 03/02/2008
03/02/2008 - 03/09/2008
03/09/2008 - 03/16/2008
03/23/2008 - 03/30/2008
03/30/2008 - 04/06/2008
04/06/2008 - 04/13/2008
04/20/2008 - 04/27/2008
04/27/2008 - 05/04/2008
05/11/2008 - 05/18/2008
05/18/2008 - 05/25/2008
06/01/2008 - 06/08/2008
06/08/2008 - 06/15/2008
06/15/2008 - 06/22/2008
06/22/2008 - 06/29/2008
06/29/2008 - 07/06/2008
07/20/2008 - 07/27/2008
Friday, July 30, 2004
Shindig Update
Okay, the plan for tonight seems to be that we'll see a movie between 10-11. Two good candidates seem to be "The Village" and "The Manchurian Candidate". The theatre is also showing "Catwomen" and "I, Robot" which we might want to picket if we get bored.
It's my job to call Dave and Box and inform them, but my parents threw out Dave's phone number (Nothing personal-I think-they just recycled a bunch of paper) and neither Neil ('s family) nor Sam are in so I can't get Alex's number.
So I'll just communicate it electronically.
Today was good because we got chinese food for lunch. Today was bad because two people are leaving forever. Today was worse because I had to spent the whole day and overtime fixing some huge mistakes some others made.
So? Anyone? Plans?
Wondering about shindiggery status myself. Wonder where Jacob is. david dot warde dot farley at utoronto dot ca is my e-mail and is hillariously enough probably more reliable than reaching me via telephone. That or the old MSN, the_last_ghetto_astronaut at hotmail.Thursday, July 29, 2004
I'm back in T.O. for five days sunday night is my parents 20th anniversary soiree (I'm not going to bother with accents, as everyone knows my accent is nomadic) and mom's 50 th B-day, it should be pretty rockin. My parents have put me in charge of the music for the night so inaddition to the stuff they selected (motown classics, awesome rock of the 80's and the Wayne's World 2 soundtrack) they told me to play some modern dance stuff. So the're going to get Beyonce, Christina Aguilera and other bump and grind stuff.
Speaking of bump and grind I was one of the officers voluntold to chaperone the cadet dance last saturday. Basically this meant I got to walk about the dance and the cadet canteen "gently reminding" 12-16 year old cadets about the six-inch rule (positive or negative six inches you ask?). Most of those kids are horny as rabbits, you could actually smell the hormones in the dance. Any time I told a couple that they were too close the male would always give me a sly look as if to say "I know I've been caught, Sir, but as soon as you turn away I'm going back to dry humping this chick I just met". We also had a precieved problem with the kids from Toronto who would form large densly packed circles to watch people breakdance fight. The other officers didn't quite get that they were not actually fighting but they didn't like not being able to see into the centre of the circles. I didn't have that problem. I really enjoyed plowing through crowds of cadets who are a foot and a half shorter than me. As the dance was ending a group of 5 or 6 males decided to stalk me around the canteen, one of them got knee'ed in the bits and another ended up in a recycling bin
Because I'm so naturally charming and awesome I have attracted a following of 14-16 year olds, my friend Steve told me to stop flirting, but it's not like I'm trying. He was also chaperoning the dance and liked telling people afterwards that if I was a cadet I could have picked up numerous times.
I've continued to put to use my wicked first aid abilities, I've dealt with bloody knees, several bloody noses, popped knee caps, and hyper ventilators.
With two weeks left at camp I'm looking forward to the last three big parties, first the party after sunset parade (some sort of army cadet tradition I have yet to understand). Then the Ceilie hosted by the pipes and drums company which has bagpipes, highland dancing, a Celtic band, and tug-o-war (which is even better when all the officers are drinking like their scottish name sakes). Finally there will be the end of camp party when we have to drink all the alcohol left in the officers mess.
I'm home for the weekend and want to see everyone.
Operation Janus
"Thank you for contacting me to express your opposition ... to the early use of military force by the US against Iraq. I share your concerns. On January 11, I voted in favor of a resolution that would have insisted that economic sanctions be given more time to work and against a resolution giving the president the immediate authority to go to war."
--letter from Senator John Kerry to Wallace Carter of Newton Centre, Massachusetts, dated January 22 [1991]
"Thank you very much for contacting me to express your support for the actions of President Bush in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. From the outset of the invasion, I have strongly and unequivocally supported President Bush's response to the crisis and the policy goals he has established with our military deployment in the Persian Gulf."
--Senator Kerry to Wallace Carter, January 31 [1991]
The Kerry's a flip-flopper thing's been done a lot but what I think these letters raise is a point about politicians in general. I'm sure most politicians do not actually read the letters they're sent by us (i.e. the people). So I decided to do an experiment. What would happen if I sent two letters, both expressing opposite views to a politician. Would I get two different letters? Would I get one thank-you-for-expressing-interest letter? Would it be shunted to another department?
To find out I launched Operation Janus (Doing a quasi-prank requires a name). I wrote two letters. One against the weaponization of space and one for it (It's not really an issue I care too much about, in my opinion space was militerized a long time ago and trying to "stop" it now is like shutting the barn door after the horse has left). Tonight I will mail both of these letters to Paul Martin. I'll keep y'all posted about what happens.
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Soya-lent ('s not) Green
There was an interesting tidbit from Jurassic Park I hadn't noticed any of the previous times I watched it. The 'DNA' animation has just ended and the tour moves on to view bustling scientists. The lawyer, thinking they're robots leans over to Hammond and asks: "Are those auto... eroticas?" All in all, t'was a great evening (not the least because hundreds of crazed party people didn't come and trash my house). So count me in for the shindig.
I was disappointed to learn that the major factor in the deforestation of the amazon is soya, not beef. So all those times when I bit into a veggie burger "knowing" I was helping save the rainforest I was actually helping destroy it. There's irony for you.
Lastly, this is pretty cool
"I dig"
I'm all for the shindig, hopefully I'll make it this time.Shyeah
So, I'm finally trying the Parry Sound Cybercafe.
It's okay.
The guy gave us a deal.
I've been hitting rock bottom lately. You know, no ideas, no energy, everything possible goes wrong. Seriously, everything I did in a 48 hour period. But I finally hit the depths once a friend of mine pointed out how terrible this program I was working on had become. So, I killed the program and got a new idea. Death and re-birth baby, that's how I feel. I'm back on the up right now, things seem to be looking better and better. I'm in town now, I but groceries, etc... Anyways, gotta hit the ol' dusty trail (in the parlance of our times).
This is the last time that I will ask you all to please send me emails. I don't like begging, certainly not from my own friends.
Take care,
Leo
Monday, July 26, 2004
Dentists: The Enemy Of Freedom
Senator Hatch is to his old tricks again with his new Inducing Infringement of Copyrights Act (Formerly the INDUCE Act, which I think is a zippier title). Now I'm not a guy who knows much about technology, but I know that putting criminal penalties on activities that "aid" "infrigement" is a crazy idea. This won't just threaten peer-to-peer services but hypothetically this could apply to tons of stuff. iPods? Photocopyers? Libraries?!
But this terrible bill (should it pass) won't be enough to save the record conglomerates from being cast onto the ash heap of history. They are worse than evil, they are irrevelent. There is no simply no need for a recording industry. They are not needed for distribution, certainly the internet is a far better medium for the transmission of information than shrinkwrapped polymer discs. They are not needed for production, nowadays any fast computer combined with some basic equipement can rival any studio. They are not needed for promotion, as p2p does the job just as well. So what are they needed for? They take our money (some of which obtained via illegal price-fixing so I guess they don't apply their so-called anti-stealing policy to themselves) and use it to promote utter shit. But cranking out prefabricated boybands and their ilk is no justification for what they do (Hell, even that's irrevelent now that American Idol's here). They had their chance with the internet and they blew it. Even now they try to hamstring their pay downloading sites with rules and controls (when you buy a car do you let the auto industry tell you where you can go or who can drive it?). Competing with a free product by offering an inferior version, sounds like a plan.
So don't cry for the Record Industries. From the beginning of their existance they're been trying to stamp out new technologies (A hundred years ago they sued player-piano makers to end the threat from sheetmusic). And don't cry for the artists, most bands make their money from concerts, and music sharing helps those by promoting awareness. Senator Hatch, I bite my thumb at thee. After reading about your legislation I downloaded some music (Well... Good Charlotte, that's almost music) and I say to all of you, do it as well. The record industry is quaking, time to put it out of its misery.
Yeah, okay, you're probably right.
Well, we were both wrong initially, it is soirée. But I guess you were closer.
So the music industry buffoons in Canada feel so "impotent" (as Neil put it this morning) after courts sided with consumers on the downloading issue, that now they're going after dentists.
Ridiculous! You just said the secret word!
Sunday, July 25, 2004
I'm pretty sure it's suaré.
... but I could be wrong. I'm not totally convinced that the root of the word is soir as in evening.
You York'ers (and even the rest of ye) might be interested in this. I'm surprised I didn't hear about this much in the Canadian media more. Oh wait, no I'm not.
If I were a student at York, I'd ask for Lorna Marsden's resignation. I'd encourage you folks who do attend York to do the same. A university is an environment that's supposed to foster dialogue, open-mindedness and god forbid, a little dissent; regulations are in place to facilitate these, and ensure than anyone facing disciplinary action has a chance to appeal. It appears as though Marsden has violated both the letter and the spirit of these rules, and in doing so has undermined the overall credibility of York University. I'd be pissed if I was you guys.
