I had a conversation with a friend about a year ago where I was expressing my concern about not doing more than I thought I should be doing. And her response to that has stuck with me to this day: “You’re a human being, not a human doing. It’s okay to just be sometimes.”
And honestly? I think that’s something all of us, especially now, need to hear.
Obviously, there was a *lot* of stuff on the ballot on Nov 3.
In Massachusetts, there was a chance to vote on Right to Repair.
Again.
Back in 2012, 75% of Bay Staters backed a ballot initiative to force auto manufacturers to allow independent mechanics to access diagnostic data carried on cars’ wired networks (but not their wireless nets).
Naturally, car makers moved all the useful data to wireless.
8 years later, the state’s voters got another ballot initiative, Question 1, closing the wireless loophole. Big Car threw everything at scaring people out of voting for it, including telling them that enabling independent repair would MURDER THEM.
But despite all this, they got fucking *creamed* at the ballot box. *Seventy six percent of bay staters voted in favor of right to repair.*
I mean, of course they did. “I wish it was illegal for me to choose my mechanic,” said no one, ever.
But the fuckery’s only just begun. In Massachusetts political circles, there are persistent, credible rumors that the car manufacturers are going to ask the state legislature to delay the new law’s start date…
They say that implementing the new data-formats is will take years to get right, and they’re just not ready.
The technical term for this is: bullshit.
First, we’re talking about an ISO-standard data format with extensive libraries and documentation.
The car makers are already shipping wireless updates to their cars. Tesla is sending over-the-air suspension firmware. Ford has an app that lets you change your engine performance from any IP address. Of course they can do this.
But let’s say they’re right and this will require heroic effort - so what? This was a *completely foreseeable outcome*. They subverted a law that was passed by plebescite by 75% of the voters. They knew this was coming.
If they’re not prepared it’s because they decided not to prepare themselves. They didn’t just fall asleep at the wheel - they took a sleeping pill. If they need to pay a shit-ton of overtime to get this done, then good. The last thing we should do is reward fuckery with forbearance.
Last night I had a #COVID19 test, not because I have symptoms, but so I’ll be able to visit my Mom in Long Term Care again. I haven’t seen her in over a month due to the difficulty involved in getting tested in a Province that has failed to prioritize testing.
Today at my pre-work screening I learned that I am no longer allowed to work until the results of my test are in. This is kind of reasonable, but again, it wouldn’t be such a problem if testing was easy and results fast.
Wuthering Heights: The food is as unappealing as the host’s personality. You find yourself fleeing the estate and taking refuge in the surrounding moorlands before the second course is served.
Great Expectations: The host wears a mildewed wedding dress as she cuts what looks to be a thirty-year-old piece of vanilla cake. You sit quietly and try to fake a smile.
Northanger Abbey: You think your host is the type of person who might have murdered his wife and hid her body in a dusty old dresser. As you take a bite of the pot roast it doesn’t even occur to you that he might just be a dick.
Jane Eyre: The fare is far better than the stale bread and bitter tea provided at your boarding school, but that’s little comfort when the host’s wife keeps setting the table linens on fire.
Dracula: You know that you are sipping on a fine Cabernet, but what is he drinking?
Pride and Prejudice: Over dessert, one of your guests confesses that he has fallen in love with you in spite of your family’s terrible table manners. You stab your pudding with your spoon and tell him he’s the last man you could ever be prevailed upon to marry.
When we talk about #RemembranceDay, Canadians remember the 2nd World War.
And the First…. the one originally called “The War To End All Wars.”
Which didn’t.
#Canada has been at war for almost the entire 21st Century. But we don’t even see it. Isn’t it time we stopped remembering and began working for real peace?
Why did Canada stop being a peacekeeping nation?
Why is Canada determined to spend $19 billion on 88 new F-35 fighter jets inappropriate for Canadian defense? Perhaps you’ll recall Justin Trudeau campaigning on scrapping the purchase to save tens of billions in 2015, instead saying
And yet Mr Trudeau’s government has done no such thing.
Instead of investing ridiculous sums of money in military white elephants, why don’t we make sure Canadian veterans and their families actually have the medical and economic support they need?
