The Walton mistake
Do you ever get the sense that your home is not located in Wellington; that you really live somewhere else? Well, if you live on my street, Carla Court, that is no illusion. Here’s the reason. According to Bell Canada’s White Pages paper telephone directory, I live in Wellington. All well and good. But according […]
I hear a piper
Like a lot of people, the last thing I want to do is spend more money on things I don’t always use. Municipal budgets and the ensuing property tax increases feel a bit like that to me. But the reality is, I do use municipal services and I’d like a good return for my tax […]
The one-two punch
In the past few days, the one-two punch has hit the North American diet—right in the stomach. The first blow was delivered by a report in The Lancet medical journal by a group of 27 scientists from 16 countries, who aimed to come up with a “planetary health diet” that could feed a world population […]
Food, schmood! It’s all in the guide
Finally. Yes, finally a new Food Guide has been created for Canadians. I am very happy about it. I always felt the old food “pyramid” was wrong. There seemed to be too much animal protein and dairy, and not really enough vegetables and fruits. Don’t get me wrong. I have had a secret love affair […]
The Ukulele Spiel
The big wave has finally crested. The humble ukulele has had its day as the go-to instrument for musical beginners and recreational players. The trigger? A report earlier this week that at the time of his accident (in which he flipped his Land Rover and injured a couple of peasants, but was fortunately unhurt himself), […]
Self-Checkout and Job Suckers
Recently, I’ve been thinking about a former colleague who spent more than a few years teaching me about ins and outs of the wild world of work. While out to lunch at a cafeteria-style place, he told me to leave my tray and dishes on the table because I wasn’t being paid to do the […]
The reason of rhyme
The late rock iconoclast Frank Zappa (father of the legendary band the Mothers of Invention) once stated that “all the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff.” He was echoing the sentiments expressed a century and a half earlier by the philosopher John Stuart Mill, who was troubled by the […]
I am the problem
“If you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem.” Well, heck, when I first heard that phrase I didn’t think the concept could possibly apply to me, unless I wanted it to apply to me. In other words, if I didn’t acknowledge there was a problem I couldn’t possibly be a […]
Fishwrapped!
I’ve just been fishwrapped. And I’m still smarting from the experience. It all started innocently enough when I decided to take my wife out for dinner with a couple of friends to celebrate her birthday. Nothing too fancy: hearty pub food right here in Wellington would suffice. So we chose the Midtown brewery. I was […]
Declutter? That is the question
I actually lost sleep, recently, wondering how to get rid of some of the things I’ve accumulated over the years. It seems the more room I have, the more crap I manage to find to fill the space. I am the carp of crap. Nature may abhor a vacuum, but I seem to fear open […]