Then remember this as the second decade of the new millennium begins. This year should be referred to as "twenty-ten", not "two-thousand ten" (no matter what the Vancouver Olympics are being hyped as.)
And yes, I know it's not technically the start of the new decade until next year but just like everyone celebrating the turn of the Millennium in 2000 instead of 2001, sometimes you just can't fight popular opinion.
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Friday, January 1
Friday Fun Link - Say '1810' (January 1, 2010)
by
Jason
on Fri 01 Jan 2010 12:30 AM CST
Monday, December 14
Music Monday - "Whoo-whoot!"
by
Jason
on Mon 14 Dec 2009 08:26 PM CST
This video is called "A Glorious Dawn" - Carl Sagan ft. Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remix) and if that doesn't hint at how much coolness is in store for you when you click play below, I have only one word - auto-tune!
(found via a Reddit thread on songs that were so awesome you played them at least 10 times in a row) Sunday, December 6
Gratitude: A Story of a Computer, Vomit and What It Means To Be A Parent
by
Jason
on Sun 06 Dec 2009 11:41 PM CST
I linked to this from Facebook and posted it to Redit but thought I'd put it here for posterity as well since it's so good. (And if I'm serious about a "Sentimental Sunday" recurring post feature, this fits right in!)
Gratitude. (via Cathie From Canada) Wednesday, October 14
I'm Turning 17 Today - Tell Me Some Things You Wish You'd Known At My Age
by
Jason
on Wed 14 Oct 2009 08:32 PM CST
Wednesday, August 26
A Question of Justice
by
Jason
on Wed 26 Aug 2009 07:50 PM CST
Came across this thought puzzle via a MetaFilter thread which, in turn, comes from a review of a book called "The Idea of Justice" by Amartya Sen.
Here's the puzzle... "Take three kids and a flute. Anne says the flute should be given to her because she is the only one who knows how to play it. Bob says the flute should be handed to him as he is so poor he has no toys to play with. Carla says the flute is hers because it is the fruit of her own labour. How do we decide between these three legitimate claims?" There's a case for all of the children to have ownership of the flute but my initial reaction was that Bob should have the flute. Obviously, that's a pretty instinctive pick for me and my value system but once you read the MetaFilter comments, you see all kinds of other options are out there including some very creative ways that all three children would benefit (in its simplest form, "Why does someone have to own it? Why can't they share it?"). You also see that the puzzle is worded neutrally in terms of the case that can be made for each child but also that everyone reads into the puzzle, their own meaning and cultural assumptions (some read it as "Carla deserves the flute because she made it" but others point out that she could be a factory worker who gets an hourly wage but has no claim of ownership in this situation.) Finally, some ask how would this be different if the item in question wasn't a musical instrument but something like a university scholarship? Or what if it was food? (Anne is a food lover, Bob is hungry and Carla made the cake - who should get it?) Thursday, August 6
Teenage Wasteland: RIP John Hughes
by
Jason
on Thu 06 Aug 2009 08:02 PM CST
[Edit: A wonderful story I came across detailing the relationship between John Hughes and a teenaged pen pal.]
When I'm forced to choose, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is one of the movies I often pick as my favourite movie of all-time. "Breakfast Club" pretty much defined my high school days with its perfect delineation of the main high school cliques (as well as being a script which is the rare example of not having a wasted line or scene) and "Some Kind of Wonderful"...well, I'll just say that one reminds me of high school a lot too!  So first it was Michael Jackson and now it's John Hughes and it feels like a lot of MAJOR 1980's-defining icons are dying WAY earlier than they should. I mean, obviously, we're all going to feel older as we get older. But it's like that game that you sometimes play - "how old do you feel?" and for me, the answer is usually much younger than I am. Except that lately, I'm feeling my age. Not numerically but in the sense that I no longer feel like a young person. I feel like a...well, not a middle-aged person either but whatever the step is between the two. I don't fit into the 18-25 demographic anymore, let alone the 26-35 one. I have a kid. And a mortgage. (I think) I've finally accepted that there's no way I could ever join a rock band (which was always a possibility in my 20's - lack of talent notwithstanding! I'll do a blog post about my "folk punk" band, The Banned, someday!  ) Or pick up and move to Europe for a few months like I did at 22. Or the fact that I'm generally going to bed by 10pm (if not earlier) and getting up at 7am (if not earlier) every morning. Shea and I had a backyard fire the other night which we stayed up quite late for, enjoying one of the few nice evenings we've had this summer. It made me wonder when the last time I stayed up all night was. And it had been so long, that I couldn't even remember when this was something that used to be a regular occurrence. Similarly, I can't remember the last time I was rip-roaring drunk (er, but that would be expected now, wouldn't it?  ). Anyhow, RIP John Hughes - you helped to define my adolescence. Thanks! (via MetaFilter) Sunday, July 20
Several Lessons To Be Learned From the Finnish School System
by
Jason
on Sun 20 Jul 2008 03:59 PM CST
I first became aware of the best-in-the-world ranking of Finnish schools in the excellent book, "Under Pressure: Rescuing Childhood from the Culture of Hyper Parenting" by Carl Honore. (This is probably one of the best books I've read so far this year and would highly recommend it, whether you are a parent or not. A lot of it applies to expectations of today's children in public settings like libraries for instance.)
This article explains some of the reasons why Finland is so far ahead of the curve including extended, high quality pre-school, delineated high school and free higher education. From the section related to their first example: In all three Scandinavian countries students begin formal schooling only at age seven, two years after most American children begin school. However, prior to entering school, all children have participated in a high-quality government funded preschool program. As opposed to a focus on getting a jump academically, these early-childhood programs focus on self-reflection and social behavior. It is interesting to note that one of the most notable attributes of Finnish children is their level of personal responsibility. The early focus on self-reflection is seen as a key component for developing that level of responsibility towards learning. Thursday, July 17
In Praise of The Four Day Work Week
by
Jason
on Thu 17 Jul 2008 11:39 PM CST
Tomorrow is my YouDay. Since the government hasn't officially declared it a statutory holiday as per my recommendation, I am taking it off using one of my earned holidays as per my personal YouDay policy.
Having Friday off, along with the recent news that the State of Utah is moving 20% of government employees to a four-day, ten-hour-per-day workweek, has me thinking about the concept of a shorter workweek a bit more. I also speak of this from experience. My very first post-undergrad job was with the Saskatchewan Publishers Group, an organization that utilizes a four-day workweek for all employees - from the Executive Director on down to the temporary summer student. (I admit that having this perk in my first job spoiled me quite a bit and was probably the best perk in a job that had many. I always thought that the various perks we got at the SPG were related to the fact that, as a cultural non-profit, they couldn't afford to pay their employees what they would make in similar positions in government or larger non-profits or corporations or whatever. But I soon realised that the SPG was very generous - even by cultural non-profit standards. Some day, I'll do a full-on post about employee perks and benefits and delve into this subject a bit more. And to be fair, I should list the best perks/benefits of my two other "real" jobs. At the Writers Guild of Alberta, the best perk/benefit was having almost total autonomy as the sole employee of the Calgary office which was followed closely by having an office on the edge of downtown with a fantastic view of the Calgary skyline. At Southeast Regional Library, one of the best perks is getting the library's discount on any book we order for ourselves.) So, anyhow, back to the topic at hand, one thought I have about the innovative scheduling is that libraries are sort of missing the boat when compared to the other two female-dominated professions that we often get linked to. Nurses have almost complete flexibility in their scheduling - Shea has a choice of working a 2/5, 3/5, 4/5 or full-time position. She can choose to only work days, only work nights, job share a position, to work casual on 1-2 floors and only come in when she chooses, etc. Teachers, partly due to the legacy of the agricultural roots of the school year, get the whole summer off plus generous holidays at other times of year. I know they don't get the flexibility in their time off but I'd say that 10-12 weeks of holidays per year is a fair trade! Librarians (at least public librarians - some academic librarians get some of the same extended holidays as teachers) don't really get these advantages in most workplaces. Instead, most public librarians have a fairly typical 9-5, seven or seven and a half hour workday with four weeks of holidays and not much else in terms of choice or variety in when and how they work. There are dozens (okay, sixteen on this link) reasons why the four-day work week is a great idea. From the reduction in pollution from less commuting (maybe high gas prices have a positive after all?) to the increased amount of family time to the fact that it may even increase productivity (!), the four day work week is an idea whose time has come. I mean, if it's good enough for the best show on television, isn't it good enough for you too? Friday, June 20
Friday Fun Link - The Last Lecture (June 20, 2008)
by
Jason
on Fri 20 Jun 2008 11:57 PM CST
I think I first heard about "The Last Lecture" via a book request we got at the library. The Amazon page for the book has more info including a couple video clips explaining the background and significance of this particular Last Lecture.
A bit more searching revealed that the full video of the original Last Lecture presentation at Carnegie-Mellon University is on YouTube (of course). It's an hour long clip but if you watch the first couple minutes, there's a good chance you'll want to watch the whole thing. Monday, May 26
Kiva.org
by
Jason
on Mon 26 May 2008 10:09 PM CST
Kiva is a web site that helps facilitate micro-credit loans to entrepreneurs around the world. (As always, Wikipedia has more information about this organization if you're interested.)
Shea got a Kiva gift certificate as a Mother's Day Gift and is helping two people: Ruth Celenia Santana Morales who sells clothes and jewelery in the Dominican Republic and Umedjon Nurov who raises beef cattle in Tajikistan. One of the coolest things about the site is that once the loan is repaid (the loans have a 99.7% repayment rate) you can either withdraw it or turn around and loan it to someone else. I first heard about Kiva via the Bill Clinton book, Giving: How Each of Us Can Change The World. There are various other organizations out there that are similar to Kiva but which have different approaches and cater to different needs, groups, countries and so on. Heifer International is one I heard about via Cenobyte for example. |
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