Gee Whillickers

TANSTAAFL, as a famous SF author used to opine: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. In other words, if it's free, it isn't free. They're getting something from you. Maybe demographics, maybe feedback, maybe selling your info to marketing firms, but something.

Steve Jobs is looking mighty good for a zombie.

Many of the better theatres around here have learned. They are implementing very strict no-cell-phones rules, and will kick you out immediately for infractions. Also, for talking or otherwise disturbing others. There have been improvements in seats, even the concessions. The food is still ridiculously overpriced, but the selection has vastly improved.

Now don't panic. Solar flares have been happening forever, and have been hitting earth forever. This will have almost no impact on anything living or the earth itself. But... This is one of the first times a flare of this magnitude has hit us with all of our technology in place. It's not us that's in danger. It's our electronics. This could cause temporary outages or major damage to lots of satellites, including GPS, communications, etc. It could cause large electric grid blackouts. It could fry our Iphones and cell networks. Or, it could do nothing. The problem is, governments have been very reluctant to pay for the proper shielding necessary for our electric systems, satellites, etc. Because this hasn't happened. Yet. Typical government planning. Wait until after the major problem to fix it. At 100 times the cost. One thing it probably will do, however, is give us one spectacular light show. People all the way down to the mid latitudes should be able to see the Northern and Southern Lights Thursday and Friday evening, and they may be something spectacular. For those of you who've never seen them, this may be your chance. Here's the article: http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/sunspot-1429-solar-flare_2012-03-07

Those of us who write stories with teens in them have almost all done it. The scene in the school lunchroom where the kids joke about how awful their school provided lunches are. Well, it turns out there's more than a bit of truth to this. Ammonia treated meat, rejected by Burger King, McDonalds, Taco Bell, and others as utterly below their standards was deemed just fine for schools. Seven million pounds were purchased to make into school hamburgers. Folks, this stuff isn't even ground beef. It's officially termed "Lean Beef Trimmings." Which means, apparently, scraps, cow connective tissue, and other trimmings mushed together, ground up, then heavily treated with ammonia to kill all the nasty bacteria. Yum. Food to learn by. Here's the article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/05/pink-slime-for-school-lun_n_1322325.html?ref=education

The real issue here, to me, is that the moment we allow our corporate overlords to dictate their version of morality to us, their customers, it's already too late. We've lost. Freedom and liberty is a farce. Whether it's Visa or Paypal, their position of handling financial transactions gives them absolutely no say whatsoever in what the world reads. Or, at least, it shouldn't.

...in a lake. On an island. In a lake. On an island. In the ocean. For some reason I now feel like watching Inception again. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=14.00954N+120.9962E+&hl=en&ll=14.004699,121.002216&spn=0.03531,0.066047&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=58.206849,114.169922&t=h&z=15

As leaders have been finding out for centuries, fear is an effective tool for getting a population to sit down and shut up, and let you do what you want. Unfortunately, yes, itchy trigger fingers at the slightest provocation is one of the many unfortunate side-effects of this policy. I just don't understand why these same leaders don't read the next chapter in their history books to find out which one of the two inevitable outcomes a country is headed towards when it falls into this trap. Sigh.

Agreed. Excellent story. So much is said through the interview, and the discussion afterwards. Really very talented writing.

I'm not sure it's just the presence of guns, though that's obviously a factor. There's lots of guns up here in Canada. Lots. Yet this kind of thing is much rarer here for some reason. Now, the rules about properly storing and locking firearms are pretty clear, and this helps too. Also, the guns tend to be fewer handguns and more rifles, and are more heavily concentrated in rural rather than urban areas, so these too are factors. It's not simple, obviously.

Another film on my "must see soon" list. Thanks for the reminder.

For me, blaming a whole country on the actions of a few people who happen to have been born in, or are citizens of, that country isn't fair. Every country or culture or large group of people contains the whole spectrum of humanity in my experience, from selfish pricks to kind and generous souls. Not that there isn't blame to assign, just let's make sure we assign it to the right individuals.

Ok, that's just weird. Not more than one hour ago I came across a reference to this movie and, ahem, acquired it. I haven't watched it yet but I too was quite taken by the description I read. I'm looking forward to it.

Not that easy, actually, but not impossible. First, you'd need to become a permanent resident for I think it's about three years. In order to do this you need to prove you have the education and skills needed to be allowed to enter and seek work in Canada. There's other limitations too, based on personal history, criminal record, etc. Then, after the waiting period, a person can apply for citizenship provided they meet various criteria. Here's a couple of links: http://www.justlande...anent-Residency and http://www.cic.gc.ca...tions/howto.asp

Anyone who's attended games in any sport in which their kids/nieces/nephews/grandkids, etc participate has seen it. It happens everywhere, in every sport. Parents getting just a bit too serious, yelling from the stands, often saying things that no kid should ever hear. Or coaches screaming at the kids for minor mistakes instead of encouraging and smiling and laughing. Hockey is no different. In fact, the issue has been talked about at length over the past few years, and many policies have been put in place to help avoid these issues. Now, in minor hockey games in most of the country, how it works is that kids are hired and trained to be on-ice officials, referees and linesmen, at the beginning of the year. They ref games for kids about two years younger than them, and earn some spending money to boot. It works well on a number of levels. Gives these kids a chance to learn some leadership skills, helps them to understand the game from another point of view, and gives them a crash course in conflict resolution skills. This is a real job, and they have real powers. They dole out penalties, suspensions, ejections, etc as needed if things get out of hand. Now, here's the kicker. A game in New Brunswick this past weekend between House League eleven and twelve year old players was being reffed by a thirteen year old boy. As sometimes happens, things got a bit heated, and a player, parent, and one of the coaches were all complaining loudly and bitterly about what they perceived as a missed call by the ref. The ref summarily kicked out the player, a spectator, and the offending coach, as is their right and their responsibility. However, it just so happens, the coach he kicked out of the game happens to be his mom. Wow, that kid has balls. Good on him for doing that, if it needed to be done. Though you gotta wonder how that went down at home that evening. I certainly hope she's the kind of mom that can deal with this appropriately. (In other words, if the situation played out as described, tell him, "You did the right thing. I shouldn't have been yelling and complaining.") Still, it does raise the question, should any kid be placed in this kind of dilemma? Many, maybe most, probably wouldn't have been able to do what this boy did, and kick their own parent out if needed. Talk about role reversal. Here's the article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/02/26/nb-young-ref-zero-tolerance.html

The backlash is well under way, even in the Republican party:

No no, I think the next lyrics are: I told the witch doctor you didn't love me true I told the witch doctor you didn't love me nice And then the witch doctor, he gave me this advice Let's do this properly folks.

It's called, "othering." Like having separate, but "just as good" bathrooms for "coloured folks." Separate, but just as good, schools, etc. As soon as a distinction is made, we've created a separation, a distinction, a sense of, "us vs them." We all know how well that's worked in history.

Ahem. I'll have you know there's nothing wee about...ahh never mind...hang on and I'll post the proof later...

Dear Tonya Parker: Oxymoron: noun, ok-si-mawr-on, a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.” Hypocrisy: noun, hi-pok-ruh-see, a state where actions contradict stated beliefs. However, good for her for standing up to this. I wonder how it will play out.

I'm reminded of that story last year where that very conservative school banned a whole bunch of books, the usual culprits like Catcher In The Rye, Lord of the Flies, Harry Potter, etc. This one enterprising boy turned his locker into a little underground library, and would lend out the books to his classmates, complete with due-dates, tracking of books, etc. The censorship became a huge reason for everyone to want to read the books, and by the time all was said and done probably far more of the school's population had read those books than if they had actually been assigned. Maybe something similar could happen here if it's rated "R" but the right word gets out.

Yeah, I figured as much and it is a perfect standalone. My comment was meant more as a compliment and notice that if you ever changed your mind and decided to do more with this, it wouldn't go unappreciated! Thanks again for the great story.

This looks like it could be very good and very significant. I hope the rating issues are worked out, it would be a real shame if the kids who most need to see this couldn't.

I've been waiting for this one to finish so I could start reading it. I like the story idea. Looking forward to it.

That was great. Well written and perfectly stated, it illuminates entertainingly exactly those issues that are so concerning today. Well done! I, for one, can hardly wait for chapter two...