Mental Scrawlings

I'm moving to WordPress

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 23:36:00 +0000

Blogspot is a great idea. I love this site but it’s not easy to blog onto Blogspot from my iPad or iPhone, which is where I do most of my blogging. That’s the reason that I dropped tumblr too.

I’m going to give WordPress a try, and if I don’t like it, I’ll come back here. So, I have exported my posts from here and from tumblr to http://antipodeancharm.wordpress.com - see you there, if you care.

True wisdom from Iggy Pop

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:06:00 +0000

"No Shit"

It was in the winter of my fiftieth year
When it hit me
I was really alone
And there wasn't a hell a lot of time left
Every laugh and touch that I could get
Became more important
Strangely, I became more bookish
And my home and study meant more to me
As I considered the circumstances of my death
I wanted to find a balance between joy and dignity
On my way out
Above all, I didn't want to take any more shit
Not from anybody

- Iggy Pop

Heard on Queen Street East

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:57:00 +0000

I live in an area of Toronto which is under-going gentrification. Chris and I refer to the gentrificationers (they are NOT "gentry") as "New Leslieville"and the older, more traditional inhabitants as "Old Leslieville". We're neither - we're displaced. Kinda like the punk band two doors down. Maybe that's why we get along with them.

We certainly aren't rich enough to be New Leslieville, and we don't qualify as Old Leslieville because we don't chain smoke, we have not lived there for 50 years, we do not have a substance abuse or alcohol problem, we do not use a power scooter to get around, or we are not Chinese. You have to have one attribute from that list to qualify as "Old Leslieville".

To qualify as "Old Leslieville", one must also drink at the "Jones Bar and Grill" or the "Tasty Chicken".

Things that would have alarmed us in Ottawa pass by as daily occurences here, and we are the wiser and richer for it. Like stepping around the pan-handlers outside the Shopper's Drug Mart at Carlaw, or ducking past the people smoking outside the homeless shelter, or watching the the bored teens pee from the tree branches at Leslie Grove Park. Then there was the incident involving the drunk native guy doing wheelies and doughnuts with his tricycle at 10 pm on Queen. He lives 4 doors down from us.

We live opposite Leslie Grove Park, which is a regular route for dog-walkers. We recognize the regulars, and Chris and I have nicknames for some of them, such as Crazy Old Hippy Lady with the Stroller (she has two dogs and no kids), Old Slowmoving Man and his Old Slowmoving German Shepherd, Tubby Smoking Lady with the three Hyper Dogs, etc.

You can hear some great things when walking down the street. These come to mind.

"Dave always come and visits me as soon as he gets out of jail", heard outside the Tasty Chicken
"I just had a line of shit", heard over the road from the Jones Bar and Grill
"I promise I won't buy drugs, I have not had a hit all day", said the pan-handler outside the 7-11 to a young lady who gave her some coins on conditions she didn't buy drugs with it

It's not boring.

What makes you a great physician?

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Doctors go to school for several years and pretty much are walking pharmacopoeias. They have their critics but they do their job really well. I have no truck with alternative therapies but on the whole, I believe that the genuine alternative practitioners train hard, learn lots of stuff and attempt to help the ailing.

The system is not perfect - we all have our beliefs, and as much as I loathe crackpots, this is not the purpose of this post. Maybe I will post on the topic of medical crackpots later but in the meantime, go look at Bad Science for great reading on that topic.

I work in biomedical research. I have worked in this area for 20+ years, and I have many colleagues who are similarly devoted. Between my medico colleagues and my science colleagues, we know a lot of stuff about diseases, germs, medicines, drugs, and genes - probably as much as anybody on this planet. You know what? Unless asked, my colleagues and I tend to keep our opinions to ourselves when it comes to what medicines or treatments have been prescribed to our friends/colleagues/family.

So what gives the lesser-educated but well-meaning layperson - and I use these terms accurately, not as pejoratives - the right to criticise what has been prescribed to a patient, and then go into rants about the dangers of such medicine/drug/treatment.

In particular, psycho-actives and immuno-suppressants are targetted. Yes these drugs have powerful effects, and powerful side effects. Doctors, in consultation with patients, should review the benefits of the effect versus the down-side of the side effect. Being a bit headachey because of the drug beats the hell out of being in a rage/losing your colon/dying because of the disease.

Vaccines also get their fair share of knocks by the medically illiterate. Do the literary research. If it weren't for these medications, you'd most likely be dead by now. The only reason that the one or two of you who did not get vaccinated aren't dead is because of the herd effect, and you are diluting that safety net.

How the swine flu got transmitted

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Fri, 01 May 2009 14:34:00 +0000

From an anonymous friend at the Canadian counter-terrorism agency (CRTI)

Great music that you won't hear on the radio

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:13:00 +0000

As detailed in my last post, I think people should compile a list of good independent music which cannot be heard on the radio, and post it on their blogs, FaceBook or MySpace sites. It should become a movement to increase the popularity and scope of good, non-commercial music.

My picks - and I will post more as I see them:

Helmet of Gnats is a truly progressive band with elements of jazz, prog rock, and even a bluesy feel. They have a heavy Hammond organ B3 sound. No vocals, non-standard timing, virtuoso musicianship, and great epic music to crank up and disappear into. Listen to them on MySpace.

Porcupine Tree is supposedly a progressive rock band but I feel that they defy description. They are so much more than that. There's elements of prog rock, pop, raw rock, metal and hip-hop all fused into clever lyrics and (again - this is a trend in the bands that I like) excellent muscianship. Their live performances are moving and addictive. Their founder, Steven Wilson, is a genious! There are downloads and snippets on their web site and MySpace sites.

Blackfield is an Israeli band featuring Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson and a bunch of really talented Israeli musicians, including human rights activist Aviv Geffen. They are almost "progressive pop" because although you will not hear 3-chord ditties, the music is easy to like, and accessible. Soundclips are available here, and on their MySpace site.

Ex-Wise Heads play jazzy, experimental, ambient music and are centred upon a bassist (Colin Edwin) and a multi-instrumentalist (Geoff Leigh) with lots of guest musicians. Worth several listens. They have free downloads available here and on MySpace.

Random Noise Generator mix spoken word, vocals reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine, and metal-like music - again focused around Porcupine Tree's bass player, Colin Edwin. They have a bunch of free downloads here and on their MySpace page.

Orphaned Land is a middle-Eastern prog rock band mixing elements of middle-eastern music, classic prog rock and soaring vocals (and some harsh vocals). You forget that that sometimes they don't sing in English. Their music is on semi-religious themes but they are not a bunch of whacked-out god-botherers. Worth taking the time to listen to. They have samples on their Myspace page.

Mogwai is different from the above. If you have watched CSI or its derivatives, you will have heard their music as it is played during all the "put a sample in the tube and get a result" scenes. A Scottish band, they are labelled as "post-pop" which I have no clue what it means - to me, it's prog rock. But if I need to listen to music while driving or writing a paper, I pick Mogwai every time. They have samples on their MySpace page.

If you do end up downloading and of the music from these artists, please encourage them to make more music by buying it from their web site or from stores, if you like it. These guys don't have huge high-paying contracts from music companies, and they live hand-to-mouth.

A musical appeal to my Blogger and FaceBook friends

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:39:00 +0000

I gave up listening to music on the radio about 15 years ago. E.g. I was sick of classic rock, most of which was not even good the first time around, and believe me - I was there. I don't like synthesized pop nor do I really care for soaring female vocals. Staind used to be a good band but now they generate a string of syrupy ballads which are worthy of a good chunder.

The problem: I love music. I am a musician. I need inspiration and stimulus. What to do?

I scoured the net. I asked people with taste what they listened to. I learnt to follow links - to look at solo and side projects of musicians I liked, and I followed their chains of collaboration and influence. I am sure many of you have undertaken the same exercise.

The conclusion: There is a lot of great indy music out there that is unheard, unknown and only appreciated by a small fan base. Some of you even play in bands which produce good stuff.

The challenge: Let's pool our resources of good indy talent, pass it on - with recommendations. Then, take the time to read what the collective group has posted, and buy & promote the stuff you like.

The request (part 1): Please take the time to find 5 or 6 (or more) independent, non-commercial musical acts that you like. Write a small description of what they play and why you like them. Add a link to a Youtube vide or a free download from their web site, and then post it on FaceBook or your blog.

The request (part 2): Listen to what your friends have posted, comment and promote what you like.

I'll start compiling my list and will post it as soon as I have all the links set up. Please take the time and enrich the musical vocabulary of your friends - it may just be a fun exercise.

Why I am not ashamed to be an elitist

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 20:37:00 +0000

I am an elitist. I abhor stupidity. I do not dislike the not-so-intelligent, the disabled or the genuinely ignorant. By "stupid", I refer to the absolute idealogue... the person who lets his/her philosophy over-ride evidence, or refuses to even contemplate an alternative solution.

I used to think that I was open-minded and egalitarian. That was until I started reading the CBC blogs. The comments from the "great unwashed" are startlingly stupid - from those who will only accept "God's literal word" to those who absolutely disbelieve that global warming does/doesn't exist - yes, I am lambasting both sides. [I believe that global warming is a phenomenon which is being accelerated by human behaviour but I admit that compelling evidence to the contrary will change my mind.] And the racism is absolutely sickening.

I have come to the conclusion that most people should be tested before they are allowed to vote. The test should consist of a test similar to the test that immigrants have to sit before they can become Canadian citizens. It should include Canadian affairs, international affairs, general knowledge and basic language skills.

If you don't pass, you cannot vote; but if you do pass, you must vote. The test should be administered before each election - yes, you have to keep on passing it. It is worth the extra cost just to keep the stupid from exercising their opinions.

The smug and the stupid: creationists critiquing

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 02:07:00 +0000

There is rarely an online newspaper article reporting on recent successes in genetics or evolutionary biology without some smartarse creationist blogger popping up with something like "This can all be explained by Intelligent Design", or a variant of "The earth is 6000 years old, how can this be true", or - emphatically - "the Bible says you are wrong".

Despite the fact that the original article usually doesn't mention intelligent design, the age of the Earth, nor Biblical arguments, and is usually concentrating on strings of GATCs, RNA transcript levels, or genome-wide association data, the creationist pundit must stick his/her ignorant little nose into the fray. I say this to you all:

"Aren't you lucky that while I have to use well-established models of hypothesis generation, data gathering, investigation, confirmation of evidence, and peer review in order to get my data published, all you have to do is to quote misinterpretations from a book of dubious authorship shrouded in antiquity, which has been edited more times than the number of words contained in it - often for political power, and whose consistency is in doubt. You don't even need to care about the veracity of the words nor even understand them. Your arrogance makes your stupidity even more contemptible!"

I don't like Fundies. Hey, isn't that a Boomtown Rats song?

Cuts to Canadian Health Research: At least you won't realise that you may have died earlier

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:43:00 +0000

The Canadian budget was announced during the week. Hidden (or absent) from the public was the fact that i) Genome Canada has had no further funding allocated to it, and ii) funding to research, in particular health research has been cut.

The minority Conservative government has tried to obfuscate the issue by stating the amount of funding that the funding agencies are getting. However, this is double-counting because it is counting money that previous budgets - mostly Liberal budgets - have allocated to them. Furthermore, the funding agencies work on 3 year funding cycles because research is done that way for the sake of continuity. In the case of Genome Canada, this means that no new research can be funded, and existing research has, at the most, 2 more years of money.

The projects involved include the sequencing of genomes of cancer cells, and many other research directed towards health. The health research community is not like the poor banks and the poor auto industry. The effects of a credit crunch take longer to be seen, and the lobby is not vocal.

Nonetheless, let there be no mistake - the effect of these cuts on the health of Canadians will be profound. The only good thing is that you won't know that this is why you may have died earlier.

Why I like downtown Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:57:00 +0000

I live three km from my workplace. I have walked twice, and it's not due to laziness. There are several reasons why I rarely walk to and from work. There is no sidewalk and the path could be three inches of mud or 2 metres of snow. The shoulder is on the roadside of a highway and I don't want to get smooshed. Also, it's home and there's things to buy, kids to pick up, errands to run and all those other car-necessary duties.

I travel to Toronto a lot - usually for three days every fortnight, often more. I work and stay in downtown Toronto - right in the busy part. I walk everywhere. It's about 1.5 km from my hotel to the office, and I often think that the walk is too short - unless I am dragging a suitcase, wearing a winter coat and carrying an overloaded backpack at 6 pm. I walk for an hour every night that I am not engaged in an activity with a colleague. I walk down Yonge Street - the main drag of Toronto at all hours of the day and night, and in all temperatures. I love watching the people, looking in the shops and watching the hustle-bustle. I brought a camera this time but it was too cold (minus 17 celsius) last night to use it.

You can find anything on Yonge St - apparently the longest street in the world (go Google it yourself) - from haute couture, fine dining and elegant decor to street food, mimes and Tim Hortons. There's snobs and street people, bankers and hookers - but I haven't seen one of those yet - likely due to not being able to identify said species.

Last night after work, I did my usual trick and fell asleep in my hotel room, awakening at around 9 pm - starving. I had a hot Italian sausage from a street vendor (corner of Yonge and Dundas, $4.50 with a drink). I eat from street vendors all the time in Ottawa. At 5 am, I remembered why one shouldn't eat street food in strange places where one's intestinal flora have not acclimatized to the area. Lesson learnt!

I guess it's not laziness but opportunity and circumstance which dictates my desire to walk.

Facebook - I love it. Maybe too much.

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 00:35:00 +0000

I was a fairly early Facebook adopter. Users in their 40s were fairly rare back then, but a great friend of my girlfriend was doing graduate work on the social networking phenomenon, and I became interested.

I love it because I can keep tabs on my kids, friends who I rarely see {Hi Manon}, friends who I see a lot {Hi Warren!} and, very importantly to me, friends who I lost touch with when I left Australia 22 years ago {Hi Pamela, Hi Chris}.

The trouble is that I have not been able to log into Facebook for three weeks, and the last time that I did log in, it was at an airport. I travel a lot!!! My job is supposed to be in Toronto but since I have not moved there yet, I commute. So when I get home, I am too busy doing other things to log into Facebook.

I forgot that when I started this blog back in 2007, I had linked its updates into my Facebook page until I got a message 10 minutes ago from Pamela about my post with the ice. I won't feel so isolated now. And Pamela, please email me your phone number - I'll call ya for a chat maybe even from an airport!

The Inspiration of Obama

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:57:00 +0000

It's easy to knock the USA. Under "Dubbyah", it was very easy to knock the USA. But give credit where credit is due.

As a news pundit on CBC said (and I paraphrase), "It took Katrina, two unpopular wars and the worst credit crunch in modern history to do it, but the US elected a black man". Well, kinda black... definitely not from slave ancestry, and definitely as white as black.

I can hear some say "Well, he's dark and has African features, so what is the issue? There's no issue."

For me it is an issue. Like Obama, I'm of mixed race. I don't 'feel' white, I don't feel 'ethnic', I don't identify with a skin colour. And if you listen to Obama closely - to his own words, neither does he.

And that is why Obama is an inspiration to people like me.

Sitting at the dock on the bay...

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:23:00 +0000

"...watchin' the ice roll away..."

This was taken at the Toronto Island airport last Friday morning.

Usually the ferry takes passengers on a 2 minute ride from the island to the city. At -31C, the ice - which was being broken up by a police boat - was jamming between the ferry and the dock, preventing it from mooring. The ferry and the police boat started doing donuts in the ice to try and shift it. I hope they handed out barf-bags to the passengers.

Stupid Religious tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 00:42:00 +0000

The world is full of stupid things and it is my self-proclaimed task to yell about them. Recently, I have become an Apostate, and found this little tidbit to bring to peoples' attention. File this under "Stupid Religious Tricks".

Sunni Islamic law allows husbands to divorce their wives by just saying talaq ("I divorce you") three times. In 2003 a Malaysian court ruled that, under Sharia law, a man may divorce his wife via text messaging as long as the message was clear and unequivocal.

Yes, the Charm has returned from a 12 month hiatus. I will bring you stories from that hiatus, filled with laughter, or in the case of my former employer, unbridled hatred.

The most important meal

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:16:00 +0000

Breakfast is an important meal. We must eat a healthy breakfast. Like chocolate cake garnished with M&Ms topped with Baskin-Robbins Rocky Road Ice-cream.

Sara and Lindsay made the cake for Chris' birthday the day before. Yum yum!

Technology for the absent-minded (and it's free)

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:28:00 +0000

As mentioned in a previous post, Star Trek gadgetry is upon us. My cell phone has email, free incoming texts, and access to many online calendars (I prefer Google Calendar).

I am notoriously absent-minded - actually, quite batty. There are several free tools which I am starting to use which are great memory Joggers.

First there is Jott. This program, reachable from a toll-free number, lets you call them up and leave a voice message which gets text-messaged to a recipient in one's address book.

Example:
John calls Jott. Jott says "Who do you want to Jott?"
John to Jott: "Adam"
Jott to John: "Beep!"
John to Jott: "Please get some milk on the way home from work"

Adam is in my friend's list on Jott so he gets texted "Get some milk on the way home from work" from John.

Update Google Calendar by voice: You can enter appointments into your online calendar by phoning Jott and asking it to email Google calendar and add an entry.

Yes, Jott has the ability to also message with other web thingies like Google calendar, Yahoo, Blogger, Twitter, and the list is growing.

You can send Jott texts to yourself. Hmmm... voice memos while driving via headset. So far so good. But what if you don't want the reminder to be sent immediately? A time component is needed.

Enter Sandy. You can email or text Sandy who maintains a calendar and a to-do list of reminders. So, by email or text you can get Sandy to "Remind me to turn on the oven at 3 pm". At a predetermined time - from 1 minute before 3 pm OR that morning at 5 am, a text or email or both will arrive reminding you to turn on the oven at 3 pm. However, Sandy is text/email activated.

But I want voice entry - or I'd just use my own calendar, or a sticky, or write on my hand.

The power comes by combining them. Phone Jott and ask it to text a task to Sandy - now ensconced in your Jott list. Sandy receives it and reminds you at the appropriate time.

While driving, one can send a voice-based Jott to Sandy saying "Remind me that I have a dentist's appointment at 9 am on Tuesday". The reminder (text or email or both) will arrive when you need to be reminded.

Quite a handy tool for the absent-minded. And easy to use - Jott is pre-programmed to activate by voice prompt on my phone.

Ain't technology grand? Move over Tom-tom.

A view from John's mobile phone

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 02:57:00 +0000

My mobile phone has a camera, the web, and email. This is Star Trek gadgetry at its (best|worst). How long will it be before I get bored with this? [Don't answer]

Why would one want to keep a mobile blog? Is it a fad? Laziness? Who knows?

One can send pictures too. I think it's a plot by wireless ISPs (no John. Your access is unlimited for $7/month) or the battery charger manufacturers, or even Ottawa Hydro.

(Sent from my mobile phone)

Oh Canada, our home and native land

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 15:51:00 +0000

I became a Canadian yesterday. (For those of you who care, I'm still an Australian citizen, and a British one too).

Interesting day. Filled with pomp and circumstance, and political manoeuvering. Since it is the 60th anniversary of Canadian citizenship, this was a special celebration, held on Parliament hill, with a string quartet and presided over by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finlay. Followed by a meeting with PM Stephen Harper. I kept on saying to myself "It's the Office not the man. Don't be rude. It's the Office not the man..."

We saw the opening of Parliament, and had a wonderful time.

Oh Canada, we stand on guard for thee...

And two days later I had these tattoos done to celebrate the occasion...

A can of beans is a marvellous accompaniment

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:51:00 +0000

Last weekend, I went to a book launch held by a good friend, Lori O'Connell. Lori has led a very interesting life, and is not ashamed to do the sorts of things that we mortals only wish we had the guts to jump up and do. The book, Weapons of Opportunity, tells of her journey from a beginning martial artist to an accomplished instructor - including her stint as a successful, gaijin jiujitsu instructor in Japan. It is a fascinating read, and I recommend it to my friends.

Disclaimer: I'm in it, but my name has been changed.

I've known Lori for almost the full timespan of the book's story. She writes well, accurately but most importantly, in a "can't put the book down", entertaining style. The book is filled with amusing, human anecdotes but told in a fashion that is deeper, i.e. each anecdote published was the basis of a fresh outlook, or new lesson about the book subject. You could read Weapons of Opportunity for the stories and it would be a fascinating, almost voyeuristic glimpse of life in the dressing rooms and on the mat of our old martial arts dojo - but there is a personal depth, a desire to share life's experiences, in O'Connell-sensei's writing.

And Lori is an excellent martial artist. One of my own favourite anecdotes is that Lori taught me to punch with power and to cause great pain, so I claim that I was taught to punch by a girl (she was still in school at the time). Lori is also the first person to knock me out on the mat. I had the honour to be one of Lori's back-up ukes for her shodan (1st degree black belt), and had the honour of her encouragement and help when it came the time to do mine. A small lady, Lori has the ability to prove to small people that one doesn't have to be built like a tank to get jiujitsu to work.

<idle threat>Buy the book or I'll demonstrate my ability to cause pain to you </idle threat>

Can't we standardize Calendar formats?

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 02:09:00 +0000

Standardization in the computer world can be a good thing. It worked with common files used with word processing, spreadsheets, music - mp3s of course, and PDF is the ultimate for formatted presentations on the Web. And (as in the case of music) it doesn't have to be one format. Sucky old WMAs work just fine.

I use calendar applications. My preferred calendar is Outlook's but that is because it is enforced at work. Also, it syncs with my Blackberry. For my non-corporatized friends, Gmail calendar is popular, but then so is Yahoo's and Facebook's. At any time, I can expect to receive invitations in one of four formats. Why can't these formats be interchangeable, and sync together? I mean a procedure that does not entail downloading the invitation in a clunky ical format and re-submitting it to another calendar.

Sure, I can write some sort of perl script which sits on a server, it could intercept mail forwarded to it, and then send it on to a preferred calendar. But why should I? It would have to sit on some stable server, be online 24/7, and be robust (because I want it to work for more than one person).

I don't want to do that! I think that all of the major calender services should have this level of interchangeability. If an incoming mail contains a calendar invitation from a service which is not yours, why not be able to forward it to your preferred calendar service where it can be parsed and entered.

C'mon Google, Yahoo and Microsoft - get with the programme!

Q: How do you gut a scientist?

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:57:00 +0000

A: Take away a prized technician.

I went to the farewell lunch for one of my prized three technicians today. I have three salt-of-the-Earth techs: Ms. O, Mr. C & Ms. A. All have been with me for several years, and they are the heart and soul of my research. They are all great and dedicated scientists, and as well as having a high professional opinion of them, I like them a lot.

Ms. O and Ms. A were laid off with me. Such is the talent of Ms. O, she got a new job in 24 hours. For the record, my two informatics specialists (Dr. W and Mr. S) were laid off too.

For those who don't know how a lab runs, the techs are the life-and-soul of a research project - particularly for those of us who aren't at a University and who work for the government. As a scientist gets busier and busier, he (and I use the male pronouns because I am a male) can do less and less in the lab. It's a combination of not-enough-time and not-enough-skills. As a lab head or Principal Investigator (PI), I have to write reports, write papers and presentations, write and defend grants, and teach. I also have to keep up with the literature. So apart from the tasks spent doing what I described in the previous sentence, I spend a lot of time planning experiments, discussing the results of experiments, and generally interacting in-a-working-sense with the technicians.

As well as being a thoughtful and enthusiastic worker and an amazing trouble shooter, Ms O was also the repository of all of the specialized laboratory techniques in my lab. If we did it, she knew how to do it... and well. And she was a charm to have around the lab. (This is no reflection on the others - but I didn't go to their farewell lunches today). She dressed in an outrageous but charming goth style, changed her hair colour often, listened to unusual music and taught belly dancing. She drank a LOT of coffee - and said nice things about my home-roasted beans. Ms O had great problems getting to work early, but I didn't mind because if it took until 2:30 am to finish an experiment, she stayed until 2:30 am.

I christened her "Lab Mum" because she looked after all of us in the lab, and I am going to miss her smiling face.

I am truly gutted.

Remind me why we live in a so-called democracy

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 14:20:00 +0000

Be warned. This is a political rant!

It's election time in Ontario. We are forced to listen to political rhetoric, earnest promises, blatant lies and the usual trappings that come when we the public get to choose those who govern us.

A disclaimer: My Canadian citizenship has not been granted yet, so I am not allowed to vote in this election. However, I am a political animal so I can't help but observe.

The word "Government" is a misnomer and should be changed. The politicians who are elected by us do not govern us, and they should not be allowed to think that they do. They are supposed to serve us. I think that we should change it to "Administer", and remove any part of the words "govern" or "rule" in the official bureaucracy. That will show them their place. The more cynical among us already know that we are ruled by the Public Service not by their supposed masters. But I digress...

I realise that the general public are stupid, misinformed, have short memories and generally are greedy. They listen to the guy who tells the best lies and then vote accordingly. This election campaign falls short of even fooling the most stupid of Ontario's denizens.

We have the Tories, led by John Tory - but I don't think that the Party was named for him. This crowd generally fucked up Ontario in their last reign. To give us tax breaks, they privatized everything, removed standards, and sent us into the poorly-regulated carelessness which resulted in tainted water scandals, natives murdered by overzealous police officers, and a feeling that if was essential we'd better get used to paying for it with our new tax breaks.

They were followed by Dalton's crowd - the incumbent, a non-government which governs by appearing to be invisible. Hang on - that may not be a bad thing! Their problem is that they were voted in on a "No new taxes" promise which they promptly broke.

What galls me are two things:

1. Dalton's crowd broke the promise because the previous lot lied about the budget surplus/deficit. They said they had a $5B surplus but forgot the negative sign.

2. Tory's Tories are nailing Dalton's Dummies for breaking that promise and Dalton doesn't have the balls to whine about the real reason.

And for the record: I have no preference for Dalton's crowd. But I despise Tory's Tories even more.

We have a third bunch of loons called the NDP. They are the huggie, touchie, feelie bunch who want to save the world and fix everybody's mistakes. They once were voted in by accident and most of them spent their 4 years of government in a blind panic - acting like they were still in the Opposition.

There are other parties who stand for issues like banning abortion, and family responsibility. I say to the anti-abortionists: "Donate to child shelters first, and I may even let you speak in my presence."

An anecdote: Last Sunday, the anti-abortion party was demonstrating in the local mall. About 200 of them were silently protesting, holding placards. To my passenger Christine's embarrassment, and then hysterical laughter, I wound down the window and yelled at them: "Kill babies... Kill all the unborn babies... Eat the babies... Yummy Yummy babies".

I guess you had to be there to appreciate the moment.

"My Dad has no money..."

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 11:45:00 +0000

I'm still too angry to finish the lay-off post, so here is a pure gem from when Pat was 5".

When my eldest son Patrick was young, he was at a very nice daycare. They would hold spaghetti dinners as fund-raisers, and where the parents and children could mix and get to know each other better.

The children would help the staff set up. Since Patrick could count at that age, he was helping his teacher Stacey count out the cash float. He didn't quite get why the daycare needed a cash float because the parents were giving the daycare money for the food. Stacey explained that this was because parents may give the daycare too much money and that they may need change.

Pat's answer was "My dad has no money".

Stacey said "Why do you say that?"

In a very serious tone, Pat's reply was "Dad says that he has no money because *Brian Mulroney takes it all!"

I got a lot of ribbing when I turned up for the fund raiser.

*Brian Mulroney was the former Conservative Prime Minister of Canada.

You are superfluous to operational requirements and hence being terminated - but we decided to promote you anyway

noreply@blogger.com (Antipodean Charm) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 21:35:00 +0000

In early September I was laid off. This is the first time that I been able to write about it. I had suspected that it was coming for several weeks. My Director-General had been hedging on his answers to my questions, and my Director was avoiding me (and still is).

The organization has been undergoing an Orwellian shift in direction in order to attract more money from the Tory government and Treasury Board, and the real way to do science (study, investigate, challenge, prove then commercialize) has become too slow for them. They prefer "borrow, promise and try to deliver or move on before you get held to accountability". It seems to work for some.

I took much of August on vacation to deal with the emotional discomfort with knowing that I was to be laid off after 17 years of dedicated service - which had included many many late nights, weekends and holidays worked.

The message came, and I was summoned to a meeting room to be one of the 105 employees laid off by the organization. Not only were I to be laid off, but so was most of my team, and many of the colleagues and friends that I had worked with in Atlantic Canada - many of them world leaders in their research field.

My Director-General was not comfortable delivering the news, and my HR officer had the standard forms and the corporate face. I do not blame them - they were doing their jobs and probably had little to do with the decision. My major concern at the time was the fate of my crew. I wanted to be sure that they were not being turfed out-the-door immediately, in particular one of my Technical Officers who was in a precarious family situation. My DG assured me that he would do his best for them. I guess his hands were tied - even the high have limited powers.

The DG also informed me that I was going onto a priority list and in the following eight weeks was eligible to apply for open positions with the organization for which I was qualified.

To be continued...