I have been fairly quiet recently, writing very little on my blog.  There are two simple reasons for that.

First, I was stunned by the results of the electoral change (STV) referendum last May.  Although, I respect the will of the people, I still think British Columbians were wrong.  I sometime feel that people are waiting for a simple solution that will fix everything.  In the meantime, we let go of good compromise that improve some things.  The proverb says, “loose the battle, but don’t loose the lesson”.  I have yet to learn an positive lesson from that experience.

The second, more positive and more important reason regarding my recent silence is that I am busy with studies that I started in May 2009.  I am attempting to complete a Certificate in Sustainable Community Development at Simon Fraser University (http://www.sfu.ca/cscd/).  These studies keep me quite busy and focused so I think I have to apologized if I have not written on my blog recently.  But silence is not always negative.  In this case, silence comes from pursuing other activities.  So I guess it is true then, Silence is Golden and I hope you can stand the overwhelming sound of silence.

Frédéric Van Caenegem

I have seen quite a lot of spelling mistake before.  I make quite a lot myself too.  But this one comes from a simple one page advertising from the City!

Good luck recieving this tax free money for those eligible!

Frédéric Van Caenegem

I sometimes think that dogs are not environmentally friendly. They have no problems with hundreds of people everyday passing by their Street and driving in their cars, trucks or SUVs.  But as soon as they see a pedestrian… run for your life!

Frédéric Van Caenegem

I had a weird dream again.  It was 5 years into the future and I have quite a lot of white hair on my head!  I was a surveyor in Siberia.  Establishing the first draft for a new train line project that authorities want to establish there.  I had walked 5km into the forest (it’s summertime and the snow has melted) when I saw a bear! No luck, the bear also saw me.  I run towards the camp and in my run the bear keeps following me, but never gets to close for some reason.  I remain calm and think often of my family in Vancouver.  My wife and I live in a small house in Vancouver and I know we have a lovely baby girl (perhaps 1 y.o.).  I arrive at the camp, nobody seems here, the bear is still not far behind me and I wake up!  Sorry, I don’t know myself how this one ends.

I have seen hilarious translations in the past, but this is close to homicide!  Use Petrol to cook these noodles!  The French translation on this package is atrocious: wrong structures, verb tenses, tons of misspelled words, etc. but Petrol!!!

Also, to notice:
D’naricot, Unetension & Betier: not words in French!  So no idea where they come from?
Dns: you need a computer connected to the internet to cook these noodles???

Also, how come they write twice the same word (pétrole), but managed to spell it differently?

Frédéric Van Caenegem

I had a very strange dream a few days ago.

I was an old man, full of regrets in life.  An old man with many things I wanted to do, but my body just did not allow me to continue on.  I was desperately hanging on to life not allowing myself to die.  I continue on living a very old age, unable to do any of the things I wanted to do.  My wife and all my friends passed on, but I was hanging there.  Eventually, I decided there was nothing I could do anymore; I just did not had any energy left in me.  So, I let go…

Suddenly, I was a baby, a Japanese baby boy!  I was back, alive again.  Must find my wife!  But she died before me, she is already a young woman now.  Where is she?  Why was I hanging on so much in my previous life.

I speak to my new parents, but I speak only French and they only understand Japanese!  However, even that is irrelevant because whenever I speak, there is only unintelligible baby talk coming out.  I try to explain the situation, but they do not understand.  Ok, I will wait a little, when I will grow up, I will speak Japanese and I could explain it to them.

But, as I grow up, I gradually loose memory of my previous life.  I am looking for my wife, but I do not remember her name and her face.  It saddens me.  Eventually, I do speak Japanese but I do not remember what I am looking for, just that I am sad but I have no idea why.

My answer to Bill Tieleman’s comment on the Carbon Tax:
https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=35935973&postID=7458260248950793720

________________________________________

Hi Bill!

While I don’t support the BC Liberals at all, I think the Carbon Tax is a step in the right direction. I even think it’s not high enough. After all, the fate of the planet is at stake and if we don’t take courageous but achievable measures now we’ll be in a much worst situation when… there won’t be any petrol left. Gas prices are going up and it will never go back. The Carbon Tax is a good idea to reduce our dependency on this polluting and soon to be extinct source of energy.

What is not a good idea is tax credits for corporations and lack of funding into public transit. Because if we tax gasoline many people will need an alternative mean of transportation. The Carbon tax is a step in the right direction, but I’m afraid the BC Liberals are not up for the challenge of the future: building an environmentally sustainable society.

Thanks,
Frédéric.

Comment published today in Vancouver’s 24hrs newspaper.

Many studies have shown that plastic bags are actually less polluting then paper bags. They take less energy and fewer ressources to make then paper bags. In addition, they take less space to stock and are easier to recycle. The main problem is when bags are lost in nature instead of properly disposed.

Frédéric.

Here is my response to this article:
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=e4198c10-6e99-4a27-b07d-f808bb40cbfb&k=57152

Noise in an apartment building is no more acceptable then in a house. I love the West End, but some people (very few, but one is enough to disturb a whole building) are making it very difficult for everyone else. Playing music loudly is never acceptable nighttime and perhaps a few minutes during daytime. I would live in a quiet castle if I could afford it. I live in noisy building not out of choice, but of economic necessity.

I have music problems with two neighbours. It happens at night, day, whenever… sometimes lasts hours, sometimes just a few minutes. Sometimes I think I am crazy! In my situation, I have not called the cops yet. But contacting an uncaring landlord has no effects. Some people are just too dumb (or heartless) to realize their impact on others.

Nevertheless, in addition of the problem of a few jerks and lack of civics, there is also the problem of construction regulations. Soundproofing materials and techniques should be higher (and it doesn’t cost much more to build this way). If the mayor wants to create viable city with high “ecodensity”, he should but action where his mouth is, and examine soundproofing studies and regulation, and implement them.

Frédéric Van Caenegem

This is my first post!

The date of every post before this one has been manually modified to reflect when the original article actually appeared on my previous site (now offline). Frédéric.