Today I read something that made me stop and think. The behavioural economist Dan Ariely said: Behavioral biases affect everyone, including those of us who study them. Biases are like optical illusions: Even when we know what we’re seeing isn’t real, we can’t help seeing it. from Ask Ariely This goes a long way to […]
I had a long telephone conversation with a police officer yesterday. I didn’t call him, he called me. No, I was not in trouble but he did want more information about a report I had submitted online. We have had periodic problems with people who roam the streets and alleys at night looking for things […]
Walking through the back alleys of Parkdale in Edmonton is a good way to see how the area has changed over the decades. One obvious change is that the small single-car garages are being taken down and replaced with much larger garages with room for two cars and sometimes recreational vehicles. Where the smaller garages […]
When you think about wings, what comes to mind? Birds? Butterflies? Angels? Hospital buildings? I’m pretty sure you weren’t thinking about politics. So, why is it that we are all being shuffled off into either a left wing or a right wing of whatever politics are available to us? It doesn’t matter which country you […]
Alongside the North Saskatchewan River right now there are loads and loads of burdock plants. So many, in fact, that the parks people are busily cutting off their heads. They are not native to the area and have become invasive, so the workers are trying to stop them from going to seed and spreading any […]
No matter which country you look at, the politics are terrible. I mean, really awful. We could blame it on greed, or lust for power, or the Internet, or fake news, or whatever cause you choose. It doesn’t matter. It’s all bad. There is a hierarchy of bad governments with totalitarianism as probably the worst, […]
For my birthday, on August 16th, I am going to give America a gift from Canada. I’m going make every can of beer cost a little bit more. Aren’t you grateful? You might think that a gift should be something you actually want, but that’s not how this gift works. This gift comes in the […]
I am watching creatures die, and I am actually enjoying it. Yesterday evening, I had a sudden infestation of ceratopogonidae. That is a very big name for very tiny insects also called midges or no-see-ums. They arrived in my living room through the kitchen sink drain. A quick visit to Lord Google advised me to […]
The City of Edmonton decided this week that everyone should wear masks indoors in public places as of August 1. There are some exceptions, such as when eating and drinking, and for those with medical conditions that make wearing masks impossible, but for the rest of us when going to the store, masks will be […]
America, I love you but some of your police actions are not helping you. Today I read about police officers in plain clothes grabbing people off the streets, putting them into unmarked vans, and driving away. How is that any different from a kidnapping? And, more to the point, how is the average citizen supposed […]
Last week, a house in my neighbourhood exploded in the middle of the night. The blast blew out one wall and destroyed the interior staircase. Fortunately, everyone was able to leave the building with only minor injuries. When I walked past today, this is what it looked like. I checked with Google Maps Street View, […]
Dawson Park in Edmonton is a delightful park for walkers, joggers, cyclists, and dog owners, and it runs alongside the North Saskatchewan River. I had not been there before today because I don’t usually go to dog parks. This one, though, is well worth a visit. All the dogs I saw were well behaved and […]
One way to memorize a series of random words is to use imagery. Here are some images that might help.
This is no-see-um season in Alberta. As the popular name suggests, these bugs are invisible until they are actually flying in front of your face. I don’t even know their official or scientific name. They are simply no-see-ums. They are so small that they can get through fly screens. And, they bite. The females feed […]
At 2:30 AM last night. I was having a bad night because I had insomnia, so, when my next door neighbour’s motion-sensor light came on right outside my bedroom window, I noticed. In fact, I noticed enough to get out of bed and look out of the window. I didn’t see anything, so I went […]
The first pecking order I became aware of was in housing. My family lived in a semi-detached house (known as a duplex in north America). At some point I began to realize that I went to school with some people who lived in detached houses, some who lived in council houses (social housing), and some […]
