Today is the release date in France of a new novel by Michel Houllebecq entitled "Soumission" (Submission). In the book, the French presidential election of 2022 pits the candidate of a new Muslim political party against the candidate of the Front National. The Muslim candidate wins, then goes on to transform the public schools into … Continue reading France this week
Whimsy
Big load
Photo and caption come from the Saskatoon Star Phoenix: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/news/saskatoon/Photos+Crystallizer+vessel+heads+Bethune+from+Saskatoon/10705706/story.html This is the second of these huge evaporators that has passed through here. This one is now stopped for the night about one mile from us as the crow flies. There are 10 axles on the trailer, and I believe there are 16 wheels on … Continue reading Big load
We’re headed in the right direction
It is -30° this morning, the sun won't rise until 9:15 and it will set again at 5:00 P.M. But the days are getting longer — I need to keep reminding myself of that. Twenty-five years ago I took a statistics course taught by a man originally from India. He told us how he and … Continue reading We’re headed in the right direction
Return of the sunshine
My wife left for Edmonton again on Sunday, December 14. That was followed by a week of overcast skies. I sent her a text message on Friday saying "You are my sunshine," since I hadn't seen any sunshine since she left. Yesterday was the beginning of another new week, and it was a gloriously sunny … Continue reading Return of the sunshine
Today’s weirdest news story
This morning, two young men walked into a Tim Horton's in Saskatoon and ordered breakfast sandwiches. They insisted that the onions had to be diced, not just sliced. The counter person explained that they could not do it. This led to an argument and finally one of the young men reached into the other's pocket, … Continue reading Today’s weirdest news story
How many Mennonites does it take to change a light bulb?
There was a time not so many years ago when ethnic jokes were popular. The jokes generally depicted members of the targeted ethnic group as being not very smart. Members of an eastern European ethnic group who are quite numerous in Canada were often the brunt of such jokes. One such joke went this way: … Continue reading How many Mennonites does it take to change a light bulb?
We have met the enemy and he is us
That famous quote from the Pogo comic strip was referring to pollution, illustrated by litter in the Okefenokee swamp. I have often found my life littered with debris, debts piling up, deadlines fast approaching, projects unfinished because something else came up, disappointments, hurt feelings, resentments. Of course it was very evident this was all due … Continue reading We have met the enemy and he is us
The benefits of winter
We are having weather today — just what kind isn't exactly clear yet. Yesterday was mild, light rain began in the afternoon and froze after dark. Last night we drove home from our first Christmas gathering on roads that were just a little icy. This morning there was light snow falling, which turned to rain … Continue reading The benefits of winter
The Death of Relativism
In case people haven't noticed, here is a very lucid explanation of the changes taking place all around us. (That didn't come out right did it? What I meant to say was: In case you haven't noticed the changes taking place all around us, here is a very lucid explanation of what is happening.)
