A second computer went off to a child in a developing country (Presumably, the one David had was distributed to help promote the project to ignoramuses like myself).
I’m conflicted on the idea of giving laptops to children in countries where development is typically measured in numbers of people with access to clean drinking water or basic education. But it would be hard to argue that scarce funds should not be spent on technology until absolutely everyone in a poor country has the basics; after all, even in the developed world, there are those who fall through the cracks.
Countries that aren’t tapped into globalization (eg. North Korea, Myanmar, Yemen) are the least successful ones on the planet, and modern globalization is driven in part by computers and their associated infrastructure. Ultimately, giving computers to people in poor countries is on balance a good thing.
So much for my ambition to be the first to post about the latest official Vancouver Blogger Meetup. The wise and welcoming author of Random Thoughts of a Student of the Environment has already beaten me to the punch and demonstrated the awesome potential of instant online reporting via liveblogging from onsite – complete a photo of yours truly, with my wrist bent at a very interesting angle. For the full report about the Vancouver Blogger Meetup, click here for the link to Random Thoughts.
Note to self: next time, bring my Macbook to the event. In any case, thanks for the link, my new friend. Very classy.
More to follow on this event and other matters tomorrow; this evening, I have a serious sleep debt to pay down. Goodnight, y’all.
Vancouver bloggers, beware! Open warfare has broken out in the Vancouver blogosphere. Well, it was bound to happen. My (admittedly self-serving) Vancouver blogger SEO experiment did indeed put my blog up on the first page of Google searches for that search term.
It is with a teary eye and a humble heart that I announce that I will not be taking part in the Vancouver Blogger Challenge.
It was never my intent to provoke such a terribly obscure bloodletting. I’ve had my moment of glory. I would certainly invite my readers to link to this blog, Currents, if and when a post on this blog seems to warrant a friendly nod or an honest rebuke… But in the words of modern philosopher Jerry Seinfeld, I CHOOSE NOT TO RUN!
To all those who wish to compete in the Vancouver Blogger challenge, I wish you the very best. In my books, you’re all winners.
Economic and environmental realities make it pretty unlikely they’ll even be able to cobble together crude principles. BC Premier Gordon Campbell can lecture his Albertan political counterpart all he likes on the dangers of greenhouse gases (although given BC’s record to date on cutting greenhouse gases, that might be a bit odd), but there’s a thirst for Albertan oil out there.
The world needs ever-increasing amounts of oil and Alberta has a big chunk of the planet’s known reserves. That’s going to be a tough reality to face down.
But the way the tar sands oil gets extracted is the cause of a large percentage of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Pressure needs to be put on Albertan oil companies by politicians to ensure that they don’t turn much of western Canada into a polluted desert in return for all the petrodollars they’re earning.
The Internet is a treasure trove of odd yet compelling bits of fiction, often authored by nameless wordsmiths with no desire for fame or the rewards fame reaps. Like many writers in high-priced Vancouver who will gladly take a certified check, I’m not one of them. But I certainly am grateful for the free content, creative geniuses. Keep it coming.
The Bad-Ass MoFo with the Ouija Board Tattooed to his Stomach
There was a kid named Stan and he had crappy parents, stupid brothers and sisters and teachers that were completely retarded. He lived in a lousy house that didn’t have a plasma screen t.v. and his parents always yelled at him to keep the heat down because they wanted to save ten cents on the heating.
One day he was mowing the front lawn which totally sucked because he only got ten dollars for doing it but it took hours and hours to do. This black van pulled up and these guys dressed like real ninja’s jumped out. They ran over to Stan who tried to run but it was too late. They stuffed him in a black sack and threw him back into the van. From the black sack he could hear the van peel out. Of course he was scared (wouldn’t you be ?) but then he heard them playing Metallica and he thought maybe he’d be okay.
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