Happy (belated) Canada Day!

So how was everyone's Canada Day long weekend?

Mine was good, didn't really do much, which was all in the plan.

Went to a kick-ass fireworks display Sunday night at a friend's place.  So much fun!  We had a HUGE bonfire afterwards (seriously, I don't think his firepit will ever be the same again - d'oh) which managed to get rid of most of the bugs.  It was a great time, I'm glad I went.

Hope your long weekend was good.

Cheers!

Oh!  And Happy Fourth to any Americans out there perusing my blog.

You can probably imagine profanity scattered throughout this blog post. 

The reason?

I just had to reset my iPod back to the factory settings.  Meaning I've lost everything in all my apps, plus a bunch of music that I had imported from CDs that I already own.

Piss.  Me.  Off.

Sometimes I really hate technology.

Well, now that we have the 'deep' post over and done with, let's see if there's anything new worth telling you.

There's nothing really earth-shattering, but what else is new. 

I bought myself a new laptop with part of my tax refund.  I got myself an HP Pavilion.  I'm loving it so far.  SO much better than my old Toshiba.  I think I might keep it around for a while though, there's a website I like to go to for downloading 'hidden object' type games, so I'll probably use it for that.  The site is Big Fish Games, if you're interested.

The only other real piece of news is that I'm taking my first actual real vacation this year.  I'm goin' to Vegas!  Yay!  I'm so looking forward to it, it's going to be a blast.

Anyway, there's not much else to tell you, so I'm heading off.

Cheers!

I'm Still Here!

So it's been almost a year since my last posting.  I'm not sure why this is; I've always used a diary or journal, and more recently my blog, as a place to put my thoughts.  This is why I usually ramble, there's hardly ever anything specific I want to talk about, I usually just feel the need to start writing (or typing, as the case may be).

I don't think I've felt this need any less, in fact I can clearly remember certain things happening and thinking "Hmmm...I would normally either put this on my blog, or write about it in my journal.  I wonder why I didn't."  Is it because life has been so busy that I haven't had the time?  Or has life become such that I just ignore this need?

Well, I think that's enough deepness for one blog post, so I think I'll sign off here.

Cheers!

Jack Layton’s Letter to Canadians

Canada lost a great politician and a great man yesterday.  May you rest in peace, Jack Layton.  I’ve decided to post the letter that he wrote to Canadians just a few days before he died.  I got it here.

August 20, 2011

Toronto, Ontario

Dear Friends,

Tens of thousands of Canadians have written to me in recent weeks to wish me well. I want to thank each and every one of you for your thoughtful, inspiring and often beautiful notes, cards and gifts. Your spirit and love have lit up my home, my spirit, and my determination.

Unfortunately my treatment has not worked out as I hoped. So I am giving this letter to my partner Olivia to share with you in the circumstance in which I cannot continue.

I recommend that Hull-Aylmer MP Nycole Turmel continue her work as our interim leader until a permanent successor is elected.

I recommend the party hold a leadership vote as early as possible in the New Year, on approximately the same timelines as in 2003, so that our new leader has ample time to reconsolidate our team, renew our party and our program, and move forward towards the next election.

A few additional thoughts:

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer.

To the members of my party: we’ve done remarkable things together in the past eight years. It has been a privilege to lead the New Democratic Party and I am most grateful for your confidence, your support, and the endless hours of volunteer commitment you have devoted to our cause. There will be those who will try to persuade you to give up our cause. But that cause is much bigger than any one leader. Answer them by recommitting with energy and determination to our work. Remember our proud history of social justice, universal health care, public pensions and making sure no one is left behind. Let’s continue to move forward. Let’s demonstrate in everything we do in the four years before us that we are ready to serve our beloved Canada as its next government.

To the members of our parliamentary caucus: I have been privileged to work with each and every one of you. Our caucus meetings were always the highlight of my week. It has been my role to ask a great deal from you. And now I am going to do so again. Canadians will be closely watching you in the months to come. Colleagues, I know you will make the tens of thousands of members of our party proud of you by demonstrating the same seamless teamwork and solidarity that has earned us the confidence of millions of Canadians in the recent election.

To my fellow Quebecers: On May 2nd, you made an historic decision. You decided that the way to replace Canada’s Conservative federal government with something better was by working together in partnership with progressive-minded Canadians across the country. You made the right decision then; it is still the right decision today; and it will be the right decision right through to the next election, when we will succeed, together. You have elected a superb team of New Democrats to Parliament. They are going to be doing remarkable things in the years to come to make this country better for us all.

To young Canadians: All my life I have worked to make things better. Hope and optimism have defined my political career, and I continue to be hopeful and optimistic about Canada. Young people have been a great source of inspiration for me. I have met and talked with so many of you about your dreams, your frustrations, and your ideas for change. More and more, you are engaging in politics because you want to change things for the better. Many of you have placed your trust in our party. As my time in political life draws to a close I want to share with you my belief in your power to change this country and this world. There are great challenges before you, from the overwhelming nature of climate change to the unfairness of an economy that excludes so many from our collective wealth, and the changes necessary to build a more inclusive and generous Canada. I believe in you. Your energy, your vision, your passion for justice are exactly what this country needs today. You need to be at the heart of our economy, our political life, and our plans for the present and the future.

And finally, to all Canadians: Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. We can build a prosperous economy and a society that shares its benefits more fairly. We can look after our seniors. We can offer better futures for our children. We can do our part to save the world’s environment. We can restore our good name in the world. We can do all of these things because we finally have a party system at the national level where there are real choices; where your vote matters; where working for change can actually bring about change. In the months and years to come, New Democrats will put a compelling new alternative to you. My colleagues in our party are an impressive, committed team. Give them a careful hearing; consider the alternatives; and consider that we can be a better, fairer, more equal country by working together. Don't let them tell you it can't be done.

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

So how do you like the new look? I was getting kinda tired of the other one, so I thought I'd try this one out.

Now to play around with fonts and colours to see which looks best.

Cheers!

Wow, it's been a while hasn't it. Some of that is the fact that I haven't really felt the need to blog any of my thoughts (lucky you) and part of it is I just haven't had the time. So what can I update you on?

Well, I passed my last year of Chemical Engineering from LU. I was able to find a job pretty much right away. I started at an engineering firm near the end of April. I love it. Great working environment, great people. The only issue is the location. I'm still in town, so it's not that -- it's the fact that the office space is in one of the sketchiest malls ever. And the roof leaks very, very, badly. The guy who's in charge of the office is looking for a new space, so that's good.

That's all I really feel the need to share. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know.

Oh, and it's Canada Day! So what are you doing reading this? Get out there and enjoy your holiday!

Cheers!

So have you read about the idiocy coming out of Florida now? There's a pastor down there that wants to burn a bunch of copies of the Qur'an on Sept. 11. Yeah, that's a good idea, make people even more pissed off at you than they already are. It's not like the States has any troops any...oh, wait.... Can we say 'dur'? Hopefully this idiot comes to his senses.

Anyway, just thought I'd pass along that little bit of stupidity.

Cheers!

Well crap…

Does anyone have a convenient brick wall I can use to bash my head against?  My school schedule has been changed around a few times already (and it’s only the second day of classes) and it’s about to be changed again.

I’m in my fourth year people!  I need some of these courses to actually, you know, graduate!

I’m gonna go grumble and swear now.

And that’s the way it is, September 9, 2010.

Finally Online!

Wow, it’s been a little over… 8 months since I’ve last posted anything.

Let’s see…what has been going on with me.  Well, I ended up failing Organic Chemistry.  I don’t feel too badly about that though, since something like 60% or more of the class failed right along with me.  (And yet, the prof is being allowed to teach the class again this coming school year.  How stupid is that?) I passed all of my other classes so that’s good.  The Engineering Dept. changed around a lot of the classes.  They changed a couple that affect everyone, but they really played around with the Mining Eng program.  I know a couple of people not really impressed by that because they took some extra core courses thinking that they would get themselves ahead, and now those courses aren’t even counted as technical electives, but are complimentary electives.  The other changes aren’t too bad, and will make it easier for people transferring into and out of Laurentian.  There were some math courses and stuff that were under the engineering umbrella, but now they’ve gone and found the equivalent courses in the math department.  The only issue I’m having so far is that I can’t register for some of my courses because it doesn’t recognize the fact that while I don’t have the “new” courses, I still have the old courses.  (We’re sorry, you don’t have those prerequisites)

Hmm..what else?  I made it onto the LUESS council for next year.  I’m going to be the VP Administration.  I’m basically in charge of membership and taking minutes at meetings.

Oh.  You’re probably wondering about the title for this blog, right?  Well, between November and April, I just didn’t feel the need to blog.  I also didn’t really have much to blog about.  And since April? You ask.  The answer is simple…my laptop busted again, and I only had the chance to bring it in a couple of weeks ago.  Stay away from Toshiba!  As soon as this thing goes in for its third major repair, or the warrantee is up and I have to pay for it myself, I’m going to the Sony store and buying a Vaio. (I’m not sure if I’ve spelt that right or not, I’m not even sure about how to pronounce it).

I have also decided to change my sign off.  In honour of the late Walter Cronkite, instead of ‘Cheers’, my sign off is now going to be…

And that’s the way it is, August 3, 2009.