Today is federal elections day in Canada. That one day that only comes around every four years where we either "put up, or shut up". That's right - we've got the constitutional right, and the civic duty on this one day to stop complaining about how crappy our government is, and actually have a voice in doing something about it. People who don't vote AREN'T ALLOWED TO COMPLAIN!
When you don't vote, you're letting others speak for you. Our country only asks three things of it's citizens - take part in the democratic process, pay your taxes, and partake in jury duty when called upon to do so. To ingore or squander the power that we've been given today is to waive your right to freedom. You don't think your one little vote counts? The US got stuck with George Dub'ya by under 200 votes out of 200 million registered voters. Yeah, your vote counts alright. Most ridings in Canada are won with less than a 1000 vote margin, so a few extra votes here and there makes a huge difference.
Here are some interesting statistics compiles by some Science students at USC about how much a few votes can count:
Election Results: 1999
Riding: London-North-Centre
Votes cast: 45 557
Votes needed to change result: 1709
Students in 2nd year Social Science: 1728
Riding: London-Fanshawe
Votes cast: 39 701
Votes needed to change result: 1383
Honours Students in Health Science: 1416
Riding: London-Middlesex-Elgin
Votes cast: 44198
Votes needed to change result: 1171
Students taking Psychology 020: 1220
Riding: London-West
Votes cast: 50 666
Votes needed to change result: 294
Nursing Students: 322
So I'm not even going to argue about who you vote for - it's totally up to the individual to vote for whoever you think serves your interests best... whatever your interest may be. This year, voter apathy is at an all time high - they're predicting that not much more than half of all registered voters will show up today... and a year from now when we're stuck with some more lame-ass politicians, it'll be those same apathetic Canadians that will whine about our government. You're not allowed to whine if you don't vote, so stop reading this and get down to the polls before they close!!!!
Need more convincing?
Here:
Elections Canada: Why should I vote?
Darwinian Democracy. You must vote or it's a vote for your extinction
Today is a huge day in history - the successful launch and return of the first civilian spacecraft in history!
MSNBC: Private Rocket Ship Break space Barrier
FOX: First Private Spaceflight Takes Off
CNN: Private Craft Flies into Space
There has been a 'contest' for quite some time now called the X-Prize where a $10 Million reward is offered for the first civilian spacecraft - and this flight today was the farthest anyone has ever got - it figures that it would take the private funding of Paul Allen to make this happen... anyway, there's a lot to read about at the X-Prize site if you want to know more about what happened today.
Personally, I'm pretty stoked about what this means for humanity... I figure if we've got our choice between the comercialization of space, and the weaponization of space, this is one race I hope the entrepreneurs win!
I love the sun. I always have. "Curse of the Irish" or not, I'm a sun seeker. I've been burned so many times, I think I'ved actually got more freckles than not, and yet... for some reason or another, I just can't seem to "tan" like I used to...
It has been 30+ deress here for the last few days, and it's going to stay like this for at least a few more. I've spent every bearable minute I could muster in the sun, and yet, still no tan. Sure, with no sunscreen I burn in 20 minutes. But it's gone the next day. If I use so much as SPF 4, and stay out for two hours, I'm still as pale as a [freckled] ghost the next morning ... but if I stay out longer than 2 hours, I burn, blister, peel, and an still as pale as a [freckled] ghost the within a day or two.
So what gives? I used to have great tans 10-20 years ago, but somehow I've lost the ability. I've heard people say "oh, as you get older, you lose the natural oils in your skin, and you can get a deep colour anymore" - bullcrap. How do you explain those 80 year old prunes that hang out a Wreck Beach then? Sure, they've been out in the sun for 80 years, that's why they look like prunes... but they still got some hella-wicked colour, so it can't have anything to do with age!
Maybe I'm just not spending as much time in the sun as I used to? Also true. I didn't used to have to go in for fear of blistering, and I certainly didn't used to worry about burning my forehead and crown either... a full head of hair and ponytail took care of that just fine! So why do I blister so easily now? Is the sun getting hotter/stronger/more damaging/etc ??? Yeah, I hear that's true too... but I still see lots of OTHER people out there with great tans... why doesn't affect them? (don't you dare say natural oils!)
Okay, so maybe the lotion I use now is different than the stuff I used back in the day? Also true... I used to cake on the coconut oil, but I've since developed a mild alery to nut extracts, and the stuff has started giving me a rash whether I go in the sun or not... yeah, but I still use TANNING lotion as opposed to sunblock, so where's the frikken tan?
Here's a beauty theory... "oh, well you've probably put on 40 pounds in the last 15 years... your skin is stretched. You know, you're only born with so much pigment... it's spread a lot thinner now that there's more of you to cover. Trust me, lose weight and you'll tan better." SURE.... I'll bet I get a GREAT zebra tan between all the flaps of hangy wrinkled skin! Remember, I've already lost all my natural oils, so all that skin's not just joing to snap back into shape like it would have decade ago.... Uhuh...
So, given the alternatives, I guess I'm relagated to a life of staying plump, drinkin' beer, wearing a hat, and diving for shade every 90 minutes or so. Yeah, that makes for a great day at the beach. Actually, I suppose drinkin' beer makes pretty much any activity great... ya know, maybe life ain't so bad. I could've been born in Siberia! Wearing a parka and sipping vodka on the permafrost probably wouldn't be quite as fun.
So there's my rant - it sucks to have lost your tanning abilities - but if ANYONE knows the secret of a good tan, please let me know! NO lectures on why being in the sun is BAD... I don't wanna hear it. Oh, and Como, no offense, but I've seen you at Wreck, and the parts of you that see the sun every day aren't much darker than the parts that only see it on the weekends.... so while you may be an expert at "How to be naked in the sun for an entire summer and still look like a Siberian imigrant", I doubt you've got any vauable tanning tips ;-) SPF 45? Come on.............. seriously, even if you're like me, and burn in 20 minutes, SPF 45 lets you be in the sun for 15 hours straight without getting any sun - what the hell kinda fun is that???
Cheers,
"I'm trying to get back into the stupid rant vibe" - Calvin.
There's really nothing like a little fishing trip on Blog Lake to fill your basket full of validation is there... I didn't even have to grovel.
Thanks everyone, for letting me know you're still alive, and that I should act that way too. ;-)
So its a hot day today, and it's going to be smokin' hot tomorrow - I'm SUPPOSED to be spending this evening in my basement studio tracking a couple new songs, but I've already made up my mind to bail on that and spend the remaining daylight hours at the lake. LOL, I guess that's kind of an inside joke for people in Vanocuver right now, what with sunset being at 9:22PM tonight, and dusk turning to evening shortly after 10 right now. Yup, these are the long days of spring, and we're only 5 days away from the solstice, when it all turns around and the days start getting shorter again. Sigh....
Anyway, baby steps... I'm getting back into the blog slowly - maybe too slowly, but geez, no pressure guys!!!
This blog is starting to remind me too much of Grade 12 Physics. I did awesome at it until I started to slip behind. First you skip a homework assignment or two, and you get away with it because you make up for it on the exam, but the next thing you know, you're so far behind that you may as well just give up. Well, I'm not so sure that I'm giving up just yet, but I really haven't felt like writing much, and there's just too much pressure to keep it up... I feel bad that I didn't complete my writeup about Cancun, but then again, nobody complained, so who am I really upsetting besides myself?
It's not like nothing has happened, that's for sure - We bought a piano, Carole and I have both been playing like crazy... we saw a few great movies, I took a long weekend off in the beginning of June and did some gardening, Carole found a couple of weeks of work after being without a job for nearly 3 months, and this contract has lead to several leads, so that's good! I've been out to the lake a few times, and the band just played a show at Pub 340 this weekend, and we followed that up with a kegger at Waynes house the next night, and all sort of other little (and interesting) stuff has been going on - but I just never get any time or inclination to write.
Feel free to send me comments, who knows... maybe if I thought that people were really read this thing, I might actually feel inspired to write something of content.
In the mean time, starting tomorrow we're supposed to have one straight week of temperatures over 32 - so I'm gearing up for some backyard and lakeside fun!