My Collected Writings on history, science fiction, philosophy, and women.
A young man planning to join our nation’s military recently emailed me asking for advice on how to be the best officer he could be. While the focus of this blog is mainly political, Leadership is an element that runs through all aspects of human society, including the political and economic. It’s a standard of learned moral behaviour which is just as important as comprehending Heuristics and Biases. What follows is my reply to him. One thing you’re going to internalize during your time in the forces, is a document called the Ten Principles of Leadership. It’s a great list,...
Document: An Accord on a Cooperative Government: http://network.nationalpost.com/np/bl… Petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/n… Find your Member of Parliament: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compi… Form Letter: Dear ___ I deeply upset about the Liberal, NDP, and Bloc’s attempt to form a Coalition government. Such actions at this time are an undemocratic manipulation of our government. However, the Conservative attempt to Prorogue Parliament is nearly as bad. When the No-Confidence goes through, the government should be dissolved, and a new election scheduled. I’ve certainly had more than enough of elections, but I don’t see that there’s any other reasonable choice. Sincerely,
Never mistake a Motel for a Hotel. That’s what I did today, and now I’m paying for it. The wallpaper is peeling, the air smells of Clorox, and there’s no bucket for the ice machine; just a spare garbage bag the front desk girl gave me. On the plus side, though, I saved some time after my jog; during my shower the shampoo and conditioner came in the same packet. But despite all of this, I’m not feeling that bad, because today I escaped the City. For one thing, that means I was able to get a smoking hotel room,...
Sorry about the bad audio; I’ll fix it one of these days. In the mean time, skip ahead 30 seconds.
There’s a movement going through through city councils to ban the construction of new drive-thrus for the sake of the CO2 emissions. I’ve been thinking about this a lot. First of all there’s the problem of delineating the difference between constructive uses of fuel, and those that are wasteful. Those who wait in line for their fast food consider it an acceptable loss; as do those who regularly drive to the convenience store, instead of buying all their supplies at the grocery mart, and those who drive across town to go to a particular club on Friday night, instead of...
Loneliness is a brutal state of affairs. When the glowing power LEDs of your laptop, and the comforting growl of your car’s engine are your only companions, you’re on your own. But at least you’re self defined. Mars. Mars! The planet’s name breathes through me like the voice of destiny. The Red Planet; our second home; another basket for our eggs. Luna; the spacefarer’s waypoint. Where are Heinlein’s Lunatics? The colonizers? The scientist-adventurers? The Northern Lights shon brilliantly tonight. Blue, green, even amber curtains – solar wind sucked in by our planet’s magnetic field. Ions flaring out in one final...
How can one be moral in an amoral society? The question plagues me. I don’t have the answer. Not yet. But I’ve realized there’s another question implicit within it. Namely: to what degree can principles be compromised without betraying them? Is expediency – sacrificing values to the needs of the moment – ever justified? If one is to take action – to rebel through moral behaviour – at what point should the action begin, and to what degree should it be taken? My context must be defined. At other times, and in other places, the solution came more easily. When...
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