Virtual vehicles for the metaverse
Article on Canada.com: “Good Samaritan loses job after helping gunshot victim in Manitoba town“.
While on company time, a pizza-delivery driver comes to the aid of a gunshot victim. Her boss fires her because she was away from her job “for no good reason”.
Ironically, the ambulance arrived late because they stopped to deliver a large pepperoni with extra cheese.
The War on Fries continues to gain momentum in the US: “House restaurants change name of ‘french fries’ and ‘french toast’“. I’m glad to know that they have achieved some tangible progress on that important issue.
On a related note, while watching CNN last night, which I wouldn’t normally admit to doing, I was appalled to notice their casual reference to peace activists as “anti-Americans”. In particular, the comment was that directors and producers wouldn’t be comfortable making movies that feature “anti-Americans” (i.e., pro-peace), and that we could expect the Academy Awards to be affected. Reminds one of the Hollywood communist blacklist, doesn’t it?
Well, what did I expect from CNN? Balanced, unbiased reporting of the news?
BBC News: “Martin Sheen: ‘President’ under fire“
It’s a rare thing to see candies in my cubicle. I don’t have a sweet tooth. If I snack, I prefer something salty and crunchy. Miss Vicky’s sea salt and malt vinegar chips, if possible. Crunchy little dried fishies will do in a pinch.
Today, I broke my habit and brought a bag of jelly beans. Some people are jelly bean snobs and go for the designer jelly beans with flavours like blueberry and piña colada. I’m a jelly bean traditionalist: cherry red, minty green, lemony yellow, orangy orange, bubble gum pink, licorice black, and the unidentifiable white. What is white? It’s not vanilla, is it?
Here’s the thing, though: as I dig deeper into the bag, it seems as if the bitter licorice ones drift to the top. I like the licorice ones too, but in large quantities, they can anesthetize your tongue. And when that wears off, you realize that your mouth has been shredded raw by the sugar.
Why is it that when I try to reach for an orange or yellow one, the black ones form a defensive barrier, which forces me to eat my way through it to get to the good ones? Finally, I’ll break through, but by that point my tongue is too numb to taste the tangy orange. The struggle was in vain.
I’ll even shake up the bag a little to confuse their ranks, but they soon regroup to repel my advances.
I’m looking at my bag of jelly beans and I think it’s looking back at me and mocking my feeble attacks. But in the end, I’ll be the victor — holding a bag of licorice jelly beans.
Picture this. At the border between Quebec and Maine, there’s a gas station located only 15 metres on the US side of the border. The gas station has a driveway opening on the Canadian side. The nearest border-crossing is some distance away by car. Townsfolk routinely cross the 15 metres into Maine to fill their tanks.
One day, a forestry worker, Michel Jalbert, crosses to buy gas and is stopped by border guards. Because he’s on his way to a hunting trip, he happens to have his shotgun with him in the truck. He’s arrested and spends 35 days in a US jail. Today he pleaded guilty and his lawyer believes that Michel will never be allowed to enter the US again.
Well this should set an example to all those terrorists who like to fill up their tank on the border.
Commentary by Rex Murphy
Article on Canada.com
Article on CTV.ca
I’m sitting in my cubicle feeling very exposed. Vulnerable. Naked, even. Today I forgot my cell phone at home.
All I can think about is what it’s doing right now. Is it ringing, and no one is there to answer it? I bet it’s ringing, all alone on my desk at home. So lonely.
It’s times like this when I think about all the good times we’ve had together, me and my phone. Like the day I bought it, when it rang for the first time, I flipped it open and said, “Kirk here.” A life-long dream had been fullfilled.
And there was the time I was camping on Saltspring Island and sitting on the beach, I checked my e-mail. I would never again be without the Internet.
And then there was the time I forgot to turn off the ringer during a movie, and it rang. It wouldn’t stop ringing. It just kept going and going and none of the buttons would make it shut up! It just kept ringing and ringing and ringing. Damn that phone! When I get home, I’m taking a hammer to it.
Hmph.