Cats were once worshipped as gods and they've never gotten over it. Sandy had all the arrogance of a Siamese but the colouration of who knows what else mixed in. Beautiful blue eyes and a fierce loyalty to me. She was an abused cat a friend of ours rescued and I adopted in 1988. She lived to be eighteen.
Speaking of gods, I ‘probably’ shouldn’t watch the news; nor should anyone else for that matter; it’s simply too depressing. Every now and then though, there is something that catches my eye and makes me go hmm. A group of so-called atheists are apparently trying to publicize their cause by placing ads on the sides of buses all over the world proclaiming that there is ‘probably’ no God. What I find interesting is their use of the word ‘probably.’ If I were to ask anyone from just about any of the recognized religions whether or not there is a God, their answer would be a simple declarative sentence: Yes, there is a God. They are not interested in probabilities, for them it’s a matter of faith. Thus it would appear the Atheists are not so secure in their beliefs after all. Perhaps they would be better to call themselves Agnostics until they are.
You see the problem you get into in any such a discussion is proof. You cannot prove the existence of God but (and here’s the part that hangs these so-called Atheists up) there is no way to disprove the existence of God either. For the faithful, this is no problem for they do not require proof; their belief is enough. For the others however it is a real problem for they like to think they are living in a rational world where everything happens for a reason and the universe follows certain fixed natural laws. God by his very nature is not constrained by these laws, therefore he cannot exist or so they reason. Problem is, reason is not proof and they are forced to fall back on the word ‘probably.’ As such, they’re certainly entitled to their opinion. After all, we’ll find out in the end who’s right or wrong soon enough and until then we ‘probably’ should get on with our lives.
Speaking of which, it’s nice to see that the new leader of the Liberal Part is getting on with life instead of the silly coup his predecessor was attempting. Bide your time and act responsibly and who knows? Perhaps the voters will like you enough to make you Prime Minister some day, perhaps not. Either way, it’s refreshing to see a politician take the high road. Now I think it’s time I went back to the Comedy Network where things make sense.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
My Playground
This used to be my playground or at least that was how I thought of it at the time. There was a time when I knew every road and back alley in Calgary. You see I used to play a little game called Taxi. Oh, I know, I was supposed to be earning a living at it but in truth I was always better at playing Taxi than making any great amount of money at it. I did better than some and not so well as those who took it seriously. On the other hand, few if any drivers had more fun. Taxiland may not have been perfect but it was Paradise to me.
I had occasion to go downtown recently for the first time in several years. Guess what? They went and paved Paradise and put up a parking lot. Calgary has changed so much in the years since I quit driving I hadly recognize it any more. I wisely chose to ride the train and leave my car behind that morning. Not only was it faster and cheaper but it allowed me the luxury of gawking about like a tourist.
Where once the mighty General Hospital stood and fell, there are now some of the ugliest condominiums in existence. Even the old General with its aging brick and crumbling mortar had more style. From the train they look like prison blocks. I honestly cannot imagine living like that but obviously they appeal to some people for they do sell and at an outragious price too.
In the city core the building crane is still very much alive in spite of the depression everyone is calling something else. I suspect some of these projects will die uncompleted just as their counterparts did back in the early eighties when the first oil boom ground to a halt. Booms are always followed by a bust and this latest one is no exception. All any of us can do is wait for the whole thing to swing back the other way. The politicians will offer us a New Deal just as they did in the thirties but in truth they have no idea how to fix the economy. It will fix itself but there may very well be a long tough decade ahead of us before it does. Here's hoping we can manage it without a world war this time!
I had occasion to go downtown recently for the first time in several years. Guess what? They went and paved Paradise and put up a parking lot. Calgary has changed so much in the years since I quit driving I hadly recognize it any more. I wisely chose to ride the train and leave my car behind that morning. Not only was it faster and cheaper but it allowed me the luxury of gawking about like a tourist.
Where once the mighty General Hospital stood and fell, there are now some of the ugliest condominiums in existence. Even the old General with its aging brick and crumbling mortar had more style. From the train they look like prison blocks. I honestly cannot imagine living like that but obviously they appeal to some people for they do sell and at an outragious price too.
In the city core the building crane is still very much alive in spite of the depression everyone is calling something else. I suspect some of these projects will die uncompleted just as their counterparts did back in the early eighties when the first oil boom ground to a halt. Booms are always followed by a bust and this latest one is no exception. All any of us can do is wait for the whole thing to swing back the other way. The politicians will offer us a New Deal just as they did in the thirties but in truth they have no idea how to fix the economy. It will fix itself but there may very well be a long tough decade ahead of us before it does. Here's hoping we can manage it without a world war this time!
Friday, January 16, 2009
The Path of Least Resistance
Just as Robert Frost had many a mile to go, my life has already travelled far too many miles. As for how many I have yet to go, who knows? As I approach the dreaded speed limit of 55 I have to look back and say I did not travel the same path as everyone else but neither did I strike out on my own and create any new paths.
Instead, I travelled the path of least resistance, whichever way that seemed to be the easiest at the time. A lazy man's approach to life I admit but I never quite got lazy enough to cheat or steal. I might as well have in so far as my social status went though. In fact, I might have enjoyed more status as a successful theif than I did as a cab driver but I never developed any interest in politics.
The amusing part in so far as I'm concerned is the degree of success I have enjoyed despite this apparent lack of effort. I say apparent lack of effort for it has often turned out over the years that avoiding work can take more effort than the work itself. I am by nature a professional procrastinator. I put things off until in most cases they no longer matter and can be safely forgotten.. After all, why do today what can be put off until tomorrow? Sometimes this works and sometimes it results in more work. Oh well. I never said it was a perfect plan, just an easy one.
Yet here I am, in my own home with a wife I adore and who seems to not mind having me around most of the time. I work for the best people in the world [DOMO] who treat me like a king. They have stood behind me through all of the last three years I've been there and continue to do so. I've never worked for better people. Somehow the path of least resistance seems to have done better by me than the school of hard knocks ever could or would have.
Instead, I travelled the path of least resistance, whichever way that seemed to be the easiest at the time. A lazy man's approach to life I admit but I never quite got lazy enough to cheat or steal. I might as well have in so far as my social status went though. In fact, I might have enjoyed more status as a successful theif than I did as a cab driver but I never developed any interest in politics.
The amusing part in so far as I'm concerned is the degree of success I have enjoyed despite this apparent lack of effort. I say apparent lack of effort for it has often turned out over the years that avoiding work can take more effort than the work itself. I am by nature a professional procrastinator. I put things off until in most cases they no longer matter and can be safely forgotten.. After all, why do today what can be put off until tomorrow? Sometimes this works and sometimes it results in more work. Oh well. I never said it was a perfect plan, just an easy one.
Yet here I am, in my own home with a wife I adore and who seems to not mind having me around most of the time. I work for the best people in the world [DOMO] who treat me like a king. They have stood behind me through all of the last three years I've been there and continue to do so. I've never worked for better people. Somehow the path of least resistance seems to have done better by me than the school of hard knocks ever could or would have.
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