Confessions of a Shiftless Mind

My new blogging space is up and running. Again, for those interested, http://shiftlessmind.com will be my new little internet cottage. Drop by for casual commentary, life, miff and wooble. If you are expecting me to spout off about current events, politics, and other earth-shaking matters, look me up at the group blog, http://thepolitic.com. Thank you all again for all your support and patronage over the years. I look forward to your comments and/or readership in the future!

 

The Beginning of the End?

This may be premature, but The High Places as you have come to know and love it, may come to an end soon.

I have entered into an unholy alliance with the political bloggers over at The Politic. I will be ranting and raving about public issues over there for the most part – it is a better forum I think, and certainly alleviates a lot of burden I have felt about trying to compete with the high-powered political and current events bloggers that I have been priveleged to be associated with in the past. It takes a very special person to be a top solo blogger – you have to be original, be willing to dig like crazy, and you have to have a certain amount of resources to set up your blog. That combination is rare. Perhaps if I had more ambition, I might have managed to gather all three, but circumstances dictate I invest my energies in a few other areas.

I may shift this blog into a more personal forum, casually chatting about life, miff and wooble. Or I may move all that over to a new concept. If you want to see an early iteration, take a view over to Confessions of a Shiftless Mind. It takes its cue from some absolutely bang-up personal blogs I have read lately. Due to its personal nature and moving my soapbox somewhere else means I won’t be as driven to post all the time and expound on the events of the day to generate… I don’t know… traffic?

All I know is if my blog is mostly personal, I don’t care who reads it. If my blog is mostly topical, I will be driven. I don’t need to be driven right now.

Anyways, if The High Places does begin to fade, I would like to thank all those who have visited frequently, infrequently, and seldom. I would like to especially thank those who have commented – your words whether supportive, challenging or infuriating, are the reason bloggers do what they do. Please do patronize my other establishments. I would love to hear from you all again.

To wrap this up, I would like to cite my favorite writer, via his most beloved character.

The road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began
Now far ahead the road has gone
And I must follow if I can
Pursuing it with weary feet
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And wither then? I cannot say.

 

“Women Are Angry” Is Making Me Angry

They have a lovely little email on their website so they can be contacted. Please take advantage, as I did.

Subject: Your Entire Site is a Deception

Don’t be fooled into thinking Canadians aren’t aware of the deception.

There is no such thing as the disparity you are demanding from Mr. Harper. 29 cents is the difference between men’s and women’s salaries, without any reference to hours worked, maternity leave, overtime, or any other variable. It is simply raw annual income. It would be IMPOSSIBLE for Mr. Harper to force all women to forego maternity leave and work overtime which is largely VOLUNTARY. Besides that, women like yourself would be disgusted even more if he ever did propose such draconian measures.

How else would you like to see the Federal Government respond? Mandate ridiculous measures to ensure that women receive full-time salaries for part time jobs? Mandate that nobody is allowed to work overtime, or that if anyone works overtime, all workers get paid accordingly? Ensure that all women get full pay while absent from the job on Maternity leave? Mr. Harper did not institute the current policies of half pay for parental leave – he is not responsible for that inequality. why is he suddenly getting the blame for it?

When you factor in such variables, the wage disparity disappears. Your agenda is transparently trying to deceive Canadians and Canadian women about the truth. The truth is as far as wage measures go, women are doing just fine. Given identical working hours and conditions, women and men make pretty much exactly the same. Glass ceilings have been shattered systematically across this country, decades past. When you back up your claims about anti-women policies with facts, then Canadians will give you an ear. Not before.

Signed,

An Angry Man

Hat tips to the lovely, not so angry women, Kathy and Kate.

UPDATE: 12 hours later, no response. Unsurprising.

 

Thrill of the Chaste?

I had heard the name “Dawn Eden” before… but couldn’t remember where. Kathy Shaidle reminded me.

Dawn has quite the history. She was interviewed recently regarding her new book, “The Thrill of the Chaste” where she chronicles her journey from promiscuous rock journalist to born again Catholic and her life of chastity. She does this for the purpose of encouraging young women to recognize the value of self-control and the beauty of a life lived not in thrall of sexual drives – your own or others.

She was interviewed by a secular magazine where she gives some startlingly frank answers to questions. However, it can’t be questioned that this message needs to be heard in this day and age.

 

What Kind of Reader Am I?

Hat tip to Blue Blogging Soapbox.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

 

Ohh… This is going to be FUN!

I can’t WAIT for Mr. “Slapping’ Down the Conservatives” Dion to call an election.

I am starting to think that the Conservative Party actually has a stockpile of these blatant wastes of taxpayer money sitting in a drawer, ready to pull them out one at a time in the run-up to an election.

I am trying to fathom the confidential briefing that must have taken place a couple of years ago…

CHRETIEN – So, Mees Joostice Minister, what are we going to do in dees, my dying days as Prime Meenister?

McLELLAN – We are so nice to prisoners. If only they could vote!

CHRETIEN – But dey can, can’t dey?

McLELLAN – Hey… yeah… why don’t we?

CHRETIEN – Den we can do nice tings fer dem to make dem love us, and keep us in power forevair!

McLELLAN – Hmm… criminals like tattoos. What if we gave them all free ones?

CHRETIEN – Den we would be in powair for evair! You ARE de smart one for an Albertan, aren’t you?

Go ahead, Dion. Make Canada’s day. We’ll see what else the government you were involved in has been up to for the last 13 years.

 

Brilliant Idea!

Just what the doctor ordered! Almost literally. Heh. I’ll never get enough comments to make a serious dent on my paunch, but hey, it makes me feel like I am doing something for my health besides exercising the metacarpals.

Blogger Pledge
I will exercise for comments.
Time Period: December 1- December 31
Type of exercise: Walking/Running on treadmill/Biking
Pledge: 1 minute per comment

I will put a note on the bottom of every post this month, indicating the date of fulfilment.

 

Vote for Rory!

I just found out about this campaign. Apparently, there has been a groundswell of support to get Rory Fitzpatrick, journeyman defenceman with the Vancouver Canucks, to the All-Star game on votes. He has had over 30 000 votes so far as a write-in candidate, good for 12th place in all-star fan balloting.

If you like to root for the underdog, get out to nhl.com and vote for Rory! The guy will never be selected by the team to go, playing behind the likes of Sami Salo and Mattias Ohlund. But as a write-in… maybe he stands a chance!

Vote for Rory!

 

Get a Life, Campbell!

Big news this morning – a private health clinic offering emergency procedures for pay has been told by BC Premier Gordon Campbell, the first patient desperate to avoid wait times at public hospitals who dares to pay money for health care will see the clinic shut down by the police.

Get a life. Vancouver is 45 minutes from the Peace Arch border crossing. The only thing that shutting down this clinic will do is see more Canadian money go into the pockets of rich American clinics just across the border. Those who can afford private health care will get their surgery, whether health care workers rally at city hall or not. The only difference will be less tax money going into provincial and federal coffers, money that would have gone to support the public system, create jobs, and improve services.

But heavens, we don’t want THAT in Canada! Let the Americans get richer!

 

Life on Fast Forward

Life sure doesn’t slow down for nothing does it?

I am looking at my schedule for the month of December, and it is daunting. I have 20 venetian blinds to install, including a glass door long one. I have 2 chairs to fix. I have work to do on a new bathroom. I have cleanup to do. I have a bunch of evaluations to fill out in advance of a leadership course I am taking in January. I have to pick up a new piece of furniture over at Ikea. I have to buy my wife a CHRISTMAS PRESENT! Gah!

Then there is the schedule. Tonight, I am a waiter at the church’s Christmas production, so today at some point I need to run out and shop for a pair of black dress pants. Next Wednesday, we have a meeting about a church plant we are participating in. Next Friday is another waiter gig, then Saturday night is the company “Holiday party”. Sunday is the Rwanda Trip Reunion Christmas party. The following week, another church plant meeting on Wednesday, a party night with that same crew where we plan to run into Stanley park with the kids, actually attending Dessert Theatre that weekend, then it will be packing all week for leaving the 23rd for Edmonchuk and the holidays. Thankfully, I have the whole week off and the Monday so I don’t go back to work until the 2nd. Then again, we have to stop in Vernon on the way back from Edmonchuk to visit more family. Then it is 10 hour days followed by long weekends of classes for that course I want to take.

Life won’t slow down until February. Oi. I hope I don’t miss something.