And dig those curtains!
Mom, again
In this latest instalment of ‘crazy shit my mother says,’ I’m sitting and watching television when the phone rings. Mom picks it up and from her side of the conversation I figure out one of her medical specialists is calling to book an appointment for next year. Given that it’s March, it’s a long lead-time, but not unexpected for reasons I won’t get into here.
Before she hangs up, she says to the medical admin person in a cheery voice, “Okay, I’ll see you then … if I’m still alive!”
No more daylight saving time
I wrote my MPP a couple of days ago:
From: Rick Pali
To: Wayne Gates
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2018 6:01 PM
Subject: DSTWayne, it’s time to ditch daylight saving time. How can we make this happen? The two time-changing events each year are simply not worth the benefits we get in exchange…
Rob Nicholson has made me accustomed to no response or having to fight to get one, so I was delighted to receive a reply today:
From: Wayne Gates
To: Rick Pali
Date: March 14, 2018 at 5:45:30 PM EDT
Subject: RE: DSTHi Rick,
Thank you so much for reaching out to MPP Gates on this important issue, and for sharing your concerns with MPP Gates. He had an opportunity to review your email, and has added your concerns to his notes on this file.
As you may know., NDP MLA Thomas Dang in Alberta recently introduced a Private Members’ Bill to abolish Daylight Saving Time in Alberta. He is currently leading a public consultation on this bill across the province. He has received widespread support from families with young children and members of the agricultural sector. I can assure you we will continue to follow this issue.
Kindest regards,
Shannon Mitchell
Constituency Assistant – Casework Manager
Wayne Gates MPP (Niagara Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie)
Critic for Transportation
I’m glad I wrote because I knew nothing of Thomas Dang and his Private Members’ Bill. He ran a survey1 and 82% of the 26,000 recipients wanted daylight savings time to end. I absolutely believe that. I’m not sure I know anyone who would be sad to see it go. The most ridiculous issue2 people have raised is the start time of hockey games. Save us from the pox of sports.
The only possible issue is some areas considering dumping the change like the idea of staying on DST all year rather than maintaining standard time. In effect, they’re moving one time zone to the west. If most or all states, provinces, and territories stop changing from standard time to DST and back every year, those areas staying on saving time are going to mess things up. I suspect they’ll also revert to standard time eventually.
I hope the results of the public consultation are positive and Alberta makes the change. Then I hope we in Ontario quickly follow.
- Michelle Bellefontaine, “‘We need more time’: Alberta bill to end daylight saving time on hold,” CBC News. April 3, 2017
- Daniel Stilwell, “Alberta Daylight Saving Time bill to get further study,” Global News. April 5, 2017
Rest in piece, Stephen Hawking
I remember my first brush with Stephen Hawking’s work. It was a special Scientific American volume that included his 1977 paper, “The Quantum Mechanics of Black Holes,” detailing his how black holes can emit radiation and evaporate away, given enough time. The book is my sister’s, and I don’t remember when I first read it. I am certain that I didn’t understand most of it at the time but what I did understand made a life-long impression on me. It’s a fascinating article.
As an aside, I never did give the book back to my sister and I still have it. Sorry Sis.
Through the years, Hawking revealed more of the universe to humanity and made it understandable to the non-physicist. I firmly believe the pursuit of knowledge and pushing back the boundaries of ignorance is among the noblest of professions.
Hawking was a giant among those in that profession and we’re less without him.
Photo courtesy of NASA.
Politician: FAIL
Here is a tweet from my Member of Parliament:
What’s worse is that this post is typical of his tweets and Facebook posts. Does he tell his constituents what he’s doing for them? No. He’d rather take shots at the party in power. So he’s giving us what he thinks are reasons to not vote for them the next time an election rolls around. What he seems not to realize is he’s not giving us any reason to vote for him.
He’s simply perpetuating how voters typically vote against candidates and parties rather than vote for them.
I’ve tried to spur conversation by adding comments like, “So what have you been working on for us lately, Rob? Anything?” and I’ve never received a reply. In fact, I’ve never seen him reply to anyone. This all despite his claiming he set himself up in social media to stay connected with his constituents.
He’s utterly clueless about how social media works. He also seems unclear about the ‘representative’ part of representative democracy. Getting replies out of him, regardless of the medium, is not easy. Even then, it’s usually of no substance whatsoever.
Rob Nicholson acts as if he represents his party first, and his constituents last. So disappointing.