Various Contrivances

Todd Houston, Ironman

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:04:01 -0400

Todd Houston, Ironman

Smoothies

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 20:27:33 -0400

Smoothies

Lake Okanagan

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:06:35 -0400

Lake Okanagan

Airplane

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:42:05 -0400

Airplane

"How in the world did we get to the point that filling out the long form census is just too much to..."

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:25:37 -0400

“How in the world did we get to the point that filling out the long form census is just too much to ask? I frankly cannot remember if I, personally, have ever had to do the long form. I’m old enough that I probably did and I hate forms enough that I may have blocked it from memory – but it simply cannot be too great a price to pay for being a Canadian citizen and helping to ensure that all citizens share in its benefits. And my guess – the majority of Canadians would agree, even if, like me, they hate the questions.”

- Bargain Basement Citizenship « Alex’s Blog (via Instapaper)

"I want to take this opportunity to comment on a technical statistical issue which has become the..."

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:36:17 -0400

“

I want to take this opportunity to comment on a technical statistical issue which has become the subject of media discussion. This relates to the question of whether a voluntary survey can become a substitute for a mandatory census.

It can not.

Under the circumstances, I have tendered my resignation to the Prime Minister.

”

- Media advisory: 2011 Census (via Instapaper)

This is a great series on The Agenda. I really enjoyed the...

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 15:46:10 -0400

This is a great series on The Agenda. I really enjoyed the vision of progress that Rifkin describes in this episode.

"To turn statistical methodology into a political controversy, a government has to really screw up...."

Sat, 17 Jul 2010 09:25:27 -0400

“To turn statistical methodology into a political controversy, a government has to really screw up. But to make statisticians shriek and flap their arms like wounded albatrosses, to cause policy wonks to turn purple with rage, to compel retired civil servants to dispense with a lifetime of discretion and denounce the government’s gobsmacking jackassery to reporters … Well, that’s something special.”

- Statisticians go wild (via Instapaper)

"Then we will see an economic life closer to our biological environment: smaller firms and no..."

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 20:05:52 -0400

“Then we will see an economic life closer to our biological environment: smaller firms and no leverage - a world in which entrepreneurs, not bankers, take the risks, and in which companies are born and die every day without making the news.”

- New Statesman - Beware those Black Swans (via Instapaper)

"MP Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister, says that the trial will be the first of a child soldier..."

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:46:36 -0400

“MP Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister, says that the trial will be the first of a child soldier in modern history and that such a trial is prohibited under international humanitarian law. Any thought that something like this might cause the Harper government to reconsider is, of course, risible. These honourable men rebuff their own high court verdicts. They rebuff the will of Parliament – when not shutting it down – on Afghan detainee documents. For them, international law is of trifling concern.”

- In the matter of Omar Khadr, shame on us - The Globe and Mail (via Instapaper)

"So, no new tax; no money flowing back to government to spend; no vast new bureaucracy springing up..."

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 08:45:50 -0400

“So, no new tax; no money flowing back to government to spend; no vast new bureaucracy springing up to burden the taxpayer (Stewardship Ontario was, until about a year ago, a virtual organization, and now has all of 20 staff), and really, a pretty smart program that is the first of its kind in Canada.”

- From the shock of ‘eco fees’ comes eco consciousness - The Globe and Mail (via Instapaper)

"A staple of collective self-awareness, the census is our national mirror. Arbitrarily and without..."

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:47:58 -0400

“A staple of collective self-awareness, the census is our national mirror. Arbitrarily and without debate or justification, Conservatives are blurring Canada’s reflected image by poking a stick in the eye of knowledge.”

- Travers: Census change latest move in PM’s dumbing down of Canada - thestar.com (via Instapaper)

Rice Krispies

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:52:01 -0400

Rice Krispies

Photo

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 17:51:34 -0400

“Keeping the Bees” on CBC’s Quirks and Quarks

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:05:00 -0400

“Keeping the Bees” on CBC’s Quirks and Quarks

"So what we have is a federal government that keeps asserting assumptions that almost all experts..."

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 06:57:00 -0400

“So what we have is a federal government that keeps asserting assumptions that almost all experts think are wrong, that says its critics in the PBO are wrong without providing alternative information, that backs a policy that those who know about such matters are almost unanimous in saying will not work, and that will be spending money on it when most other programs will be cut – all in the politically popular name of being “tough on crime.””

- The true costs of ‘truth in sentencing’ (via Instapaper)

Haircuts

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:59:02 -0400

Haircuts

"It became known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect — our incompetence masks our ability to recognize our..."

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:40:26 -0400

“It became known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect — our incompetence masks our ability to recognize our incompetence. But just how prevalent is this effect?”

- The Anosognosic’s Dilemma: Something’s Wrong but You’ll Never Know What It Is (Part 1) - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com (via Instapaper)

"Although centralized control of messaging has been a growing feature of federal governments –..."

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 23:40:24 -0400

“Although centralized control of messaging has been a growing feature of federal governments – indeed, governments in many democracies – nothing in Canada has come close to the attention, time and effort the Harper government puts into managing and manipulating information and image-making.”

- The price we pay for a government of fear (via Instapaper)

Bee swarm

Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:52:07 -0400

Bee swarm