Category Archives: Other

Dec 10 2012

The Kobo Mini eReader


Kobo Mini eReader

Kobo Mini eReader

 

Black Friday came to Canada this year. With the Canadian dollar hovering around parity with the US in recent years (and 90% of Canadians living within 100 miles of the US border), many have been going to the US for Black Friday. Canadian retailers finally noticed and are trying to keep that business here. As a bonus, most Canadians hadn’t caught on, so it was easy to get the door-crasher deals.

One that caught my eye was the Kobo Mini eReader, reduced from the regular $80 down to $50. It was too good to pass up, so we grabbed one for each of the kids. You can see one of them pictured on the right. Continue reading →

Oct 24 2012

To the Others on Ending It

Reblogged from A Soul's Walk:

Some people just can't understand suicide
They say all kinds of things
And when they're done you still feel dead
And now a bit more silent.

Some people can't relate to suicide
They say they have never had the thought
And then they still keep speaking boldly
After their admission of ignorance.

Some people don't approve of suicide
And feel the need to say such things…

Read more… 95 more words

This poem got me thinking how to explain the blackness of depression to someone who has never experienced it. Picture the most tedious and unpleasant task you might ever have to do. Cleaning toilets? Picking trash? Burying dead animals? Now imagine that's your job eight hours a day. Next, picture television, movies, music, video games, all forms of entertainment gone from your life. And all recreation too. You do nothing but stay in a bare unpainted concrete room. No other form of pleasure is possible either. The only food you get is the most bland imaginable. Maybe oatmeal with no salt, sugar or flavoring, three meals a day every day. Oh, and every night your sleep is disturbed, so you feel tired every day. And you're always feeling aches and pains all over your body. And something terrible has happened in your life. Perhaps someone very close to you has died or has cut off all contact with you. Finally, you see no way out of this miserable existence, no other future, just more of the same. Suicide seems the only way out. How would you feel to be stuck in this situation?
Oct 20 2012

Walking Alone


 

Another song and video that really speaks to me. Especially when, as Churchill put it, there’s a black dog on my back.

 

Maybe they should have had Armstrong by himself, since he’s singing about walking alone. Then again, it’s possible to feel alone even when we’re with other people.

I know I often do. I’ve gotten very good at keeping my mask on, chatting and fake-smiling (being careful to wrinkle the corners of my eyes to make it look authentic) while I’m dying inside. Continue reading →

Jul 11 2012

Life


Life (Our Lady Peace song)

Life (Our Lady Peace song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I heard this song on the car radio this morning, and it reminded me that this is one of my all-time favourite music videos: Our Lady Peace – Life.

This is the original Canadian version, not the sanitized US version some of you may have seen, where the best scenes were cut (if you want to compare, here is the US version). Too real for delicate American sensibilities I guess 8^}.

This video always moves me. I think it taps into the sense of alienation that many youths go through. It reminds me how I felt at that age, especially the skater boy (though I wasn’t a skater boy, and no one offered me a hand up). Continue reading →

Jun 12 2012

Choosing an E-Reader


various e-book readers. From right to left iPa...

various e-book readers. From right to left iPad (Apple、2010) kindle DX (Amazon、2009) kindle 2 (Amazon、2009) kindle 1 (Amazon、2007) PRS-505 (Sony、2007) PRS-500 (Sony、2006). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A few weeks ago I decided to blow some of my tax refund on an e-reader. This led to a bit of research…

Which Display Type?

This was an easy decision: I wanted a dedicated e-reader, not a tablet—my Android phone does all the mobile stuff I need, and for everything else I use a laptop or desktop. This is just for reading, and I want to be able to read anywhere.

The tablets all use LCD displays, the same as laptops. These have serious glare and washout problems in bright light, making them virtually impossible to use outside, especially if the sun is shining. Plus the backlight uses a lot of power, greatly shortening battery life, and potentially requiring larger and heavier batteries.

All of the dedicated e-readers use essentially the same E Ink technology. These are ultra-low-power (up to a month on a charge!). Also, they are reflective like real paper, so they’re readable in any light (as long as there’s some light, but who reads in the dark?).

Continue reading →

Apr 12 2012

The Sex Trade


Stop the Traffik, aanklacht tegen de mensenhandel

Stop the Traffik, aanklacht tegen de mensenhandel by Stijn Vogels, on Flickr

Have you ever seriously thought about the women in the sex trade? How they got there? What they feel about it?

This blog entry got me thinking: An Ex-Hooker’s Letter to her Younger Self. This is a very moving story of Stella Marr’s successful effort to get out of prostitution and start a new life. She links to a similar post by another ex-prostitute: A Thankyou Letter to Punters. This woman’s story is equally moving.

But what really led to my post is this: The Sneaky Language of the Sex Industry Lobby. You may have noticed they don’t call it prostitution anymore. It’s now the Sex Trade, like it’s a legitimate trade, just like plumbing or carpentry. I don’t think they teach it at our local trade school. Continue reading →