If you live in an area were winter is cold, as it is here in Winnipeg, why not consider donating some coffee, tea or hot chocolate to a homeless shelter in your town? these items are desperately needed by the shelters to help keep the homeless warm (and alive). The shelter in our town operates a van and delivers a hot drink to people living on the streets. This donation is not that expensive for us who have so much. This is a donation which can save lives and show we care for each other.
Another thought. Many homeless were provided with hats and gloves when it first started to get cold. Then the weather warmed up here and many other places in the country. As happens with people living on the streets, when the weather warms the get rid of anything they do not need so they have less to carry and keep track of. So if you have any unused mits, scarves, hats, toques the homeless shelters need these items as well.
We can all do our part to make the world a tiny bit more caring.
Am not entitled to the comfortable life I enjoy if I fail to share some of what I enjoy with those who otherwise would have to go without? It is better to give then receive. If we can afford to assist a fellow citizen of this world we have a duty to do so. If you are unsure what the homeless in your area could use, give your shelter a call. They will be more than happy to let you know how to help.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
A sad day
Ten years ago I worked as a ministry assistant for an inner city Lutheran church here in town. Attending the congregation was a family who had immigrated from war torn Ethiopia. The older boy in the family was born before the father left for Canada, with the goal to bring his wife and son to Canada after he was settled. After a few years the wife and son reunited with their father and husband in Canada. I remember the boys attending a church camp the congregation helped run north of the city. The younger boy was four was too young to attend so we bent the rules to allow him to attend with his brother. One day we took the campers to the beach at the lake and the younger boy was attacked by mosquitoes, covered from head to toe. My wife spotting his distress quickly wrapped him up in a large beach towel and carried him to the kitchen to put him in a tub of warm water with baking soda. Soon he was asleep and being carried to bed.
During this time that the family began to get ahead, The father obtained a good job in housekeeping at a local hospital, though both parents still had to work to to get by. mym wife often saw the father at the hospital, were she also worked. One day she informed me that he had told her he was worried his oldest boy was in trouble, making friends with the wrong teenagers in the neighbourhood. I made a visit to his home and helped him to set up family counseling. Shortly after this visit I left the congregation and did not know how the family was doing. I hoped that they were receiving help from the counseling service we had set up. My suspicions was that the older boy was involved with drugs. This was about ten years ago.
Yesterday I was listening to the news on the radio heard that the city police had an arrest warrant out for the older boy. He would be in his early twenties by now. Later that night I was discussing this with my wife and she told she had heard that the younger boy had been at a party and while there got into a fight. He left the party to return with his brother and a gun. Five persons ended up at the hospital with gunshot wounds. I am not sure if either of the brothers did the shooting or someone else was responsible. It looks very bad for the family.
Here as some thoughts I have had since hearing about this family after all these years. immigrating is not easy. The family leaves their homeland, relatives and extended family support to live in a new country with a new culture that is foreign to them. How are you raise your children in Canada? Do you raise them as you would in Ethiopia, using its culture and morality; do you raise them as Canadian with little of their Ethiopian culture; do you raise them as a mix of both Ethiopian and Canadian? This is the dilemma most immigrant families face. In the case of this family the choices the parents made were well intentioned with the best interests of the children always in mind. The aspects the Ethiopian culture he parents held dear and wanted their children to respect were seen as foreign by the boys and rejected for the more familiar values of their friends. Unfortunately most of the friends they associated with in their neighbourhood were heavily into the gang culture.
So, yes it is a sad day for me as I remember these two boys.
During this time that the family began to get ahead, The father obtained a good job in housekeeping at a local hospital, though both parents still had to work to to get by. mym wife often saw the father at the hospital, were she also worked. One day she informed me that he had told her he was worried his oldest boy was in trouble, making friends with the wrong teenagers in the neighbourhood. I made a visit to his home and helped him to set up family counseling. Shortly after this visit I left the congregation and did not know how the family was doing. I hoped that they were receiving help from the counseling service we had set up. My suspicions was that the older boy was involved with drugs. This was about ten years ago.
Yesterday I was listening to the news on the radio heard that the city police had an arrest warrant out for the older boy. He would be in his early twenties by now. Later that night I was discussing this with my wife and she told she had heard that the younger boy had been at a party and while there got into a fight. He left the party to return with his brother and a gun. Five persons ended up at the hospital with gunshot wounds. I am not sure if either of the brothers did the shooting or someone else was responsible. It looks very bad for the family.
Here as some thoughts I have had since hearing about this family after all these years. immigrating is not easy. The family leaves their homeland, relatives and extended family support to live in a new country with a new culture that is foreign to them. How are you raise your children in Canada? Do you raise them as you would in Ethiopia, using its culture and morality; do you raise them as Canadian with little of their Ethiopian culture; do you raise them as a mix of both Ethiopian and Canadian? This is the dilemma most immigrant families face. In the case of this family the choices the parents made were well intentioned with the best interests of the children always in mind. The aspects the Ethiopian culture he parents held dear and wanted their children to respect were seen as foreign by the boys and rejected for the more familiar values of their friends. Unfortunately most of the friends they associated with in their neighbourhood were heavily into the gang culture.
So, yes it is a sad day for me as I remember these two boys.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Winter in my neighbourhood
I live in a post war neighbourhood built in the early 1950s. One day a couple of weeks ago I went for a walk and took some pictures of what my neighbourhood looks like during winter. Here are a few examples.
This picture was taken from the sidewalk in front of our home.
The winter sky framed by some trees.
This school was built in 1951. At this time the homes were new and the first families were still moving in.
A playground behind our local community centre.
Over the past seven to ten years this neighbourhood has been undergoing change. Many of the original residents have reached the age were they are selling their homes and new families are moving in. There are now more children in the area then when we purchased our home in 1991. Many homes are being renovated and improved. Fortunately the renovations have yet to significantly alter the character of the area. The renovations have been mostly all for the good and have usually added to the value of the area. There have been a few rare exceptions. One home was painted a very dark blue (eeeek) another brown with yellow trim (ack!) and another a horrible shade of purple with black trim. Sometimes I wish neighbourhoods in Canada had homeowners' associations (as are often found in U.S cities) which would help prevent these eyesore creating colour schemes.
This picture was taken from the sidewalk in front of our home.
The winter sky framed by some trees.
This school was built in 1951. At this time the homes were new and the first families were still moving in.
A playground behind our local community centre.
Over the past seven to ten years this neighbourhood has been undergoing change. Many of the original residents have reached the age were they are selling their homes and new families are moving in. There are now more children in the area then when we purchased our home in 1991. Many homes are being renovated and improved. Fortunately the renovations have yet to significantly alter the character of the area. The renovations have been mostly all for the good and have usually added to the value of the area. There have been a few rare exceptions. One home was painted a very dark blue (eeeek) another brown with yellow trim (ack!) and another a horrible shade of purple with black trim. Sometimes I wish neighbourhoods in Canada had homeowners' associations (as are often found in U.S cities) which would help prevent these eyesore creating colour schemes.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Canada has a new politcal party
Bouncing around the web I stumbled on the website for The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada. the web page is located here:
The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada webpage
What do you think of the word Cosmopolitan to describe a political party? A cosmopolitan person is defined as:
Here is a quote from The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada web page:
The clue for the origin of this new political party is found in the discription of the party taken from the quote above.
About two years ago a movement took place by the Alliance Party (Basically a regional extreme right wing party from Alberta with an ideology similar to the ned-cons in the U.S.) to merge with the Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) in order to end vote splitting between the Alliance Party and the PC Party on the right wing of the political spectrum. Well to shorten a long story this was not a merger of the Alliance and the PC parties as much as it was a takeover of the PC part by the Alliance. All of this took place before the last federal election.
If you are familiar with Canadian politics you might know that the Progressive Conservative party was a delicate mix of two juxtaposed ideas: progressive and conservative. The Progressive Conservative Party was progressive socially and conservative fiscally. A progressive is defined as a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties. Liberal is often used as a synonym for progressive. After the Alliance Party took over the Progressive Conservatives the newly formed party adopted the name Conservative and even used the PC party's name Tories with the hopes that voters would not notice change in their party. By continuing to use the term Tories the Conservatives hoped to hide the fact that the Conservatives Party was now a party of extreme right wingers and the progressives of the old PC party had been thrown out.
The progressives did not fade away. Are the progressives alive and well today? I am not sure. Have they given up? No! The progressives have formed a new political party The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada. From what I have read on their web page I like what they have to say. Would I vote for this party? I am not sure. I need to hear more about this party and its policies.
The sad thing is that most Canadians still understand the Conservative Party of Canada to be the old Progressive Conservatives. This mistaken idea is re-enforced by the use of the term Tory to refer to the Conservatives. Tory should only be used to refer to the PC party. It leads people to wrongly believe that Conservative Party = Progressive Conservative Party; it does not! The progressives from the now defunct PC party was the liberal wing of the party. With the progressives, the PCs were seen as a centrist party. Without the progressives the Conservatives are understood as an extreme right wing party. Voters in Canada traditionally do not elected a right or left wing government. Centrist parties have won the majority of elections. After a year in government, the Conservatives without the progressives are no longer seen as a centrist party. Will voters in Canada elect a non-centrist party, one decidedly right wing, to lead the next government? That's the question that will have to wait until after the next election to answer.
So here is a new Canadian political party begun by the progressives from the now defunct Progressive Conservatives party now called The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada. I don't know a lot about this party. I like what I have read about the Cosmopolitan Party from their web page. My guess is that most voters in Canada have never heard of the Cosmopolitan Party or know that this is now the new home of the progressives who used to call the Progressive Conservative party home. Hopefully voters in Canada, including myself, will begin to hear more from the Cosmopolitan Party. This new political party seems to have made a good start. Here's hoping that we will hear more from the Cosmopolitan Party.
The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada webpage
What do you think of the word Cosmopolitan to describe a political party? A cosmopolitan person is defined as:
having no fixed residence; at home in any place; free from
local attachments or prejudices; not provincial; liberal.
[1913 Webster]
Here is a quote from The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada web page:
Canada's socially progressive political choice. January 20, 2007
OUR COSMOLOGY
Our CosmologyPROGRESSIVE 'WORLDLY' VALUES. We embrace human rights, social justice; cultural diversity; universality (including to basic amenities of life, public healthcare, and Higher Education); and environmental protection.
QUALITY-OF-LIVING FOR ALL CANADIANS, WITHOUT PREJUDICE. We embrace a 'quantuum' economic approach to economic development. This approach fully integrates social and environmental considerations and potential costs.
We support the development of a 'people-oriented' economy. Such an alternatively developed, quality-of-living focused 'economy' includes a shift to "Green" energy production toward healthy pollution-free communities. We also seek to eradicate poverty in a timely manner; and to overall, rejuvenate Canada as a compassionate society.
CANADIAN SOVEREIGNTY. Canadians critically rely on social, cultural, and economic sovereignty to express their individuality and community civic identity.
Representative government in a democracy must protect these civil rights.
In addition, an 'independent Canadian foreign policy' agenda which represents articulated convictions by Canadians on global peace and social justice also rely on the popular sovereignty of government in Canada, from anti-democratic external coercion.
The clue for the origin of this new political party is found in the discription of the party taken from the quote above.
Canada's socially progressive political choice
About two years ago a movement took place by the Alliance Party (Basically a regional extreme right wing party from Alberta with an ideology similar to the ned-cons in the U.S.) to merge with the Progressive Conservative Party (PCs) in order to end vote splitting between the Alliance Party and the PC Party on the right wing of the political spectrum. Well to shorten a long story this was not a merger of the Alliance and the PC parties as much as it was a takeover of the PC part by the Alliance. All of this took place before the last federal election.
If you are familiar with Canadian politics you might know that the Progressive Conservative party was a delicate mix of two juxtaposed ideas: progressive and conservative. The Progressive Conservative Party was progressive socially and conservative fiscally. A progressive is defined as a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties. Liberal is often used as a synonym for progressive. After the Alliance Party took over the Progressive Conservatives the newly formed party adopted the name Conservative and even used the PC party's name Tories with the hopes that voters would not notice change in their party. By continuing to use the term Tories the Conservatives hoped to hide the fact that the Conservatives Party was now a party of extreme right wingers and the progressives of the old PC party had been thrown out.
The progressives did not fade away. Are the progressives alive and well today? I am not sure. Have they given up? No! The progressives have formed a new political party The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada. From what I have read on their web page I like what they have to say. Would I vote for this party? I am not sure. I need to hear more about this party and its policies.
The sad thing is that most Canadians still understand the Conservative Party of Canada to be the old Progressive Conservatives. This mistaken idea is re-enforced by the use of the term Tory to refer to the Conservatives. Tory should only be used to refer to the PC party. It leads people to wrongly believe that Conservative Party = Progressive Conservative Party; it does not! The progressives from the now defunct PC party was the liberal wing of the party. With the progressives, the PCs were seen as a centrist party. Without the progressives the Conservatives are understood as an extreme right wing party. Voters in Canada traditionally do not elected a right or left wing government. Centrist parties have won the majority of elections. After a year in government, the Conservatives without the progressives are no longer seen as a centrist party. Will voters in Canada elect a non-centrist party, one decidedly right wing, to lead the next government? That's the question that will have to wait until after the next election to answer.
So here is a new Canadian political party begun by the progressives from the now defunct Progressive Conservatives party now called The Cosmopolitan Party of Canada. I don't know a lot about this party. I like what I have read about the Cosmopolitan Party from their web page. My guess is that most voters in Canada have never heard of the Cosmopolitan Party or know that this is now the new home of the progressives who used to call the Progressive Conservative party home. Hopefully voters in Canada, including myself, will begin to hear more from the Cosmopolitan Party. This new political party seems to have made a good start. Here's hoping that we will hear more from the Cosmopolitan Party.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Astronomer's may have found the first stars created after the "Big Bang"
I read this news article and way amazed with the technology behind the discovery of what some scientists are postulating may be the first stars created after the "big bang". Here is a quote from the news item, Distant light puzzles scientists:
Some time later, if the photo is saved in the native format of GIMP or Photoshop, any of the family members not original to the photo can be removed by deleting its layer and thus return the photo to its original state.
I don't understand all the technology behind this very complex telescope. Astronomers have learned how to slice up the telescope's image into "layers" with the ability to be turned off at will. By turning off selected layers allows other elements in the image to become visible. This is an amazing technology.
My eye was drawn to this news item because I have always had a fascination with time travel. I enjoy movies and TV shows using time travel. This news story is a story about astronomers looking back in time. It has taken millions of meleniums for the light to travel the distance from the events of the big bang to us. By the time By the time the light reaches the earth the events have been over for a vey long time. These very faint photons of light we view through the telescope are a windon into the past. In this case they are a window into the bignnings of our universe.
The link to the full story is here: Distant light puzzles scientists
The way I understand the how this telescope works is through the use an analogy. If you have ever used a high end computer graphics program such as GIMP or Photoshop you will be familiar with the term layers. A photogragh can be built up using several layers. If I want to take two or more photographs containing family members not in both photos I could cut out family members from one photo and insert them into the other. The family members are inserted into the photo using layers. By using layers it is possible to make it appear as if the photo was originally taken with all the family members present. Each family member is added to the photograph using a seperate layer.Fresh evidence of the first objects to emerge after the Big Bang has left scientists debating what they could be.
Researchers say the cosmic glow could be the first stars or quasars, but are not sure which.
Dr. Alexander Kashlinsky and colleagues at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center will report their findings in the January issue of The Astrophysical Journal.
Using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, the researchers analyzed infrared radiation from deep space.
They first removed the bright signal of recent galaxies in the foreground to detect the ancient background glow.
The researchers saw clumps in this infrared background radiation they believe come from the first objects to emerge from the Big Bang.
Some time later, if the photo is saved in the native format of GIMP or Photoshop, any of the family members not original to the photo can be removed by deleting its layer and thus return the photo to its original state.
I don't understand all the technology behind this very complex telescope. Astronomers have learned how to slice up the telescope's image into "layers" with the ability to be turned off at will. By turning off selected layers allows other elements in the image to become visible. This is an amazing technology.
My eye was drawn to this news item because I have always had a fascination with time travel. I enjoy movies and TV shows using time travel. This news story is a story about astronomers looking back in time. It has taken millions of meleniums for the light to travel the distance from the events of the big bang to us. By the time By the time the light reaches the earth the events have been over for a vey long time. These very faint photons of light we view through the telescope are a windon into the past. In this case they are a window into the bignnings of our universe.
The link to the full story is here: Distant light puzzles scientists
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Something I would like to share with you.This is a picture of the dresses I made for my two nieces this Christmas. Kathleen (my wife) helped me to selecting a good pattern as well as an appropriate fabric.
The picture is too small to show the details of the fabric. Both dresses are covered in gold snowflakes that match the gold ribbons in colour.
The older girl is 5½ and the younger one just turned 5.
I sewed the pattern exactly to the measurements given for the sleeves. After I shiped the dresses to the nieces I found out that the openning at the cuff was too small to get he arm through. Fortunately the gilrs' mother was able to open the cuff and add more room.
Random thoughts about Christmas 2006
This year, here in Winnipeg, Christmas seems different than it has in years past. This autumn the weather has been strnger. Yesterday the high and low temperature was -1.9°C/28.6°F and -10.5°C/13.1°F when the normals for this time of year usually are -12°C/10.4°F and -22°C/-7°F. When I have been out and about in the stores getting ready for Christmas the usual "elevator" music seems to be "missing in action". I am not complaining. I am not missing the repetitiveness of the Little Drummer Boy, dogs and cats "singing" seasonal carols, or the Christmas songs render over and over ad nasium by the likes of the Beach Boys. If In fact the absence of the Christmas "elevator" music is a welcome relief this year. Could it be simply my imagination palying tricks on me. I don't know. This year the liitle elves seem to have entered the music vaults and selcted the best of the holiday music. It may have been recorded this year, or 70 years ago. It is so cheerful. It makes getting ready for Christmas so joyful. Has this change away from "elevator" Christmas music has been noticed by others. My cynical side wants to suggest that the companies broadcasting the seasonal music into the malls and stores have only moved away from "eleevator" music because their market research has revealed this change will assist to ioncrease sales in the storesAs a result of the differences in weather and music it is hard to feel that Christmas Day is less than three days away.
The weather may well turn out to be one of the major news stories of 2006. The west coast of North America has endured some of the natiest stormsBritish Columbia is a place that people from other parts of Canada retire to to get away from the snow and cold. Winter on the west coast is uaually more temperate. Tulips often bloom in January or February in Victoria, B.C. This is the norm, although not this year. The west coast has been enduring high winds with amounts of snowrarely seen. Stanley Park, near Vancover, is well known for its old growth forest..
During one of the terrific wind storms this fall, a number of these trees were blown over. It is so bad that the officals had to call in logging companies to assist with the clean up. Several times this fall the residents in B.C. have lost their electricity.
British Columbia is not alone with its nasty weather. Washington State has had record snowfalls, most recently stranding holiday travelers at the aeroport attempting to make it home for Christmas. Places that usually have more temperate winters are being walloped this year. Here is a quote from an email I recieved from a friend in Utah:
Autumn this year has seemed stranger than usual beyond the differences of the music and weather. Bear with me as I touch on politics for a moment. There has been a gloom over everything the past couple of years. Everytime I read the newspapper or listen to the news on the radio . I noticed this gloom. It seemed to eminated from the fact that very few leaders/politicans seemed to have solutions for many of world's major issues. Recently this gloom appears to be lifting. Leaders seem motivated to approach world issues in a new light. They appear to be more willing to approach world issues in new ways, especially if the olds methods have not been working. Hopefully the world may be at the cusp of a new world order. Leaders who are willing to co-operate with other world leaders to find solutions for the world's problems. Its seems that the fog that has engulfed us for several years is now beginning to lift and a new light is taking its place. I will have to wait until the end of 2007 to find out if my suspected era co-operation among world leaders will come to bear fruit..
This season seems so different to me this year. In many ways I am having difficulty feeling that Christmas is less than three days away. Two thousand and six appears to be ending in a good way. I hope that 2007 will be a good year for you and your family and loved ones.
The weather may well turn out to be one of the major news stories of 2006. The west coast of North America has endured some of the natiest stormsBritish Columbia is a place that people from other parts of Canada retire to to get away from the snow and cold. Winter on the west coast is uaually more temperate. Tulips often bloom in January or February in Victoria, B.C. This is the norm, although not this year. The west coast has been enduring high winds with amounts of snowrarely seen. Stanley Park, near Vancover, is well known for its old growth forest..
During one of the terrific wind storms this fall, a number of these trees were blown over. It is so bad that the officals had to call in logging companies to assist with the clean up. Several times this fall the residents in B.C. have lost their electricity.
British Columbia is not alone with its nasty weather. Washington State has had record snowfalls, most recently stranding holiday travelers at the aeroport attempting to make it home for Christmas. Places that usually have more temperate winters are being walloped this year. Here is a quote from an email I recieved from a friend in Utah:
You're lucky that you're having such a mild winter. It's been coooooold and snowy here. We've got about 10 inches on the ground. MUCH more than a typical year so early in the season. Still better than Denver, methinks! They sure did get walloped!Ontario is also experiencing strange weather. For the first time in as long as many people can remember Southern Ontario will be having a green Christmas. No snow. Many of the Ski resorts north of Toronto are hving difficulty staying open, even with the use of snow making machines. Ontario farmers are worried that without the melting snow in the spring that there might not be enough moisture for their crops, even with the spring rains.
Autumn this year has seemed stranger than usual beyond the differences of the music and weather. Bear with me as I touch on politics for a moment. There has been a gloom over everything the past couple of years. Everytime I read the newspapper or listen to the news on the radio . I noticed this gloom. It seemed to eminated from the fact that very few leaders/politicans seemed to have solutions for many of world's major issues. Recently this gloom appears to be lifting. Leaders seem motivated to approach world issues in a new light. They appear to be more willing to approach world issues in new ways, especially if the olds methods have not been working. Hopefully the world may be at the cusp of a new world order. Leaders who are willing to co-operate with other world leaders to find solutions for the world's problems. Its seems that the fog that has engulfed us for several years is now beginning to lift and a new light is taking its place. I will have to wait until the end of 2007 to find out if my suspected era co-operation among world leaders will come to bear fruit..
This season seems so different to me this year. In many ways I am having difficulty feeling that Christmas is less than three days away. Two thousand and six appears to be ending in a good way. I hope that 2007 will be a good year for you and your family and loved ones.
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