Twelve.

Day 12, Downtown Hamilton.

"He put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of the seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.'"

- Matthew 13:31-32.

You are what you eat.

Day 11. Welcome, New Poster.

"Test your servants for ten days;
let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink."

"At the end of the ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food."

- Daniel 1:12,15.

Thanksgiving

Day 10, Canadian Thanksgiving. (The real and more awesome one).

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving; and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations."

- Psalms 100:4-5.

Beautiful Eight and Nine

It's been a crazy, beautiful weekend. There is much to be thankful for, from the amazing weather to the wonderful wedding of my cousin Judy and Michael! I haven't had much computer time in the past two days, so I'll combine my posts:

A traditional pre-wedding bowl of noodles:

"This is the bread that comes down from heaven,
so that one may eat of it and not die."

- John 6:50.

A picture worth a lifetime of words:

A wedding classic:

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends."

- 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.

Day 7.

"Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favour is a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning."

- Psalm 30:4-5.

And they come again.

Day 6: McMaster Engineering and Science Olympics 2011.
Attending three years ago was without a doubt a significant influence on my university choices. 

"For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter under heaven."
- Ecclesiastes 3:1.

Vote, and Vote Liberal

Results of May 2, 2011.

For the third time in twelve months, it's election time. Last October, municipalities across Ontario voted for their city government. Hamilton turned down former mayor Larry DiAnni and elected Mayor Bob Bratina, while Toronto rejected the path of David Miller and ushered in Mayor Rob Ford, boosted by the city's suburbs countering George Smitherman's downtown support. Months later, Canadians returned to their local schools, community centres, and churches to cast their ballots for aspiring Members of Parliament. While Stephen Harper stayed constant, we saw a huge shift in federal politics - a majority government for the first time in seven years, an NDP-led opposition, a crushed and leaderless team of Liberals, and the demise of the Bloc Quebecois. Oh, and Elizabeth May won her seat!

Both Hamilton (my school home) and Toronto (my home home) are changed cities. Nothing revolutionary, but different nonetheless. Toronto's shift to the far right began with tax cuts rarely seen in recent years, but the city is now battling over service cuts, or "efficiencies". Meanwhile, Hamilton has been adjusting to the Mayor Bratina, dealing with issues including a proposed "rain tax" and the mayor's lack of commitment to plans for Light Rail Transit.

Obligatory Parliament Hill Picture.

Whether we like it or not, politicians have a dynamic effect on our lives - whether it's through education, healthcare, communications regulations, or fundamental human rights issues including citizen's arrest and privacy. Races can be decided by a surprisingly low amount of votes: Etobicoke-Centre was decided by 26 votes this past May. Every vote has some say.

Democratic governments, as inefficient as they can sometimes be (re: American Congress), is even worse when it grows stale. Thus, each election campaign seems to follow the same formula, with opposition parties advocating for change, like Obama's campaign of '08. This leaves the incumbent camp defending its own policies, while throwing in some new incentives to match the competitors' promises. Despite some of the appeal in the PC's Changebook, the NDP's Plan for Affordable Change, and the Green Party's "It's Time (Five Point Plan)", here's three main reasons why the Liberals have my vote on October 6:

1) They've done well in the last few years.
The last couple years have not been easy for any government in the world, but the Ontario Liberals have done reasonably well. Our education system has improved, and full day kindergarten has been introduced. The introduction of the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) was successful, unlike the costly chaos in British Columbia.  Of course, no one likes taxes - but this tax is a simplification of our previous tax system that makes it a single value-added tax, a much better environment for businesses. Note that this change was also a goal of the Federal Conservatives, and that none of the three other parties wish to remove the HST, though the NDP has suggested removing the provincial portion of the tax from gasoline. I think this move would be a step in the wrong direction - tax breaks should not be used for pollutants and would be counter-intuitive to their environmental initiatives. The whole idea of a carbon tax is to place a charge on pollution-heavy materials and encourage green alternatives.

The next couple years aren't going to be easy either, but I place more trust in a government led by a returning Premier that has already weathered a recession. Yes, the current government still faces inefficiencies, and not all promises from previous elections have been fulfilled, but the Liberals under Dalton McGuinty have been moving in the right direction. On the other side, there are two parties with new leaders who insert the word "change" in almost every sentence. Change for the sake of change is not good enough, and most of the "new" policies are simply a dismantling of Liberal initiatives, usually a costly exercise of its own. Along with the Progressive Conservatives' lack of appreciation for statistics (and yes, I'm still upset with the voluntary long form census), I'm also concerned in the continual insistence that Ontario is plagued with "the war on the car" when a study has already indicated that a new highway is not necessary at this time.

Simply put, change for the sake of change can put us in a messy position. Given the tough years ahead, let's elect someone who has the experience to keep Ontario strong in the coming years. Lastly, the Liberals have remained committed to uploading municipal costs to the province until 2018. Tim Hudak has not been able to promise the same. Given the financial situations of our cities, they need a committed provincial government, and I believe that the Liberals would be the best choice.


2) Realistic support for education and students.
As a student, education is definitely one of the top issues, especially since post-secondary schools are largely funded and regulated by the provincial government. Rising tuition is obviously the big problem, though I feel that none of the parties address this well. Of course, it's a lot easier to throw money at the issue. The NDP and the Green Party have promised to freeze tuition immediately (along with transit costs), and allow the tuition to rise no higher than the rate of inflation. Losses will be payed by the government. The Liberals will allow the universities to continue raising tuition at a maximum of 5% per year, while giving $1600/ per year to students from middle to low income households. Both have their pros and cons; the Liberals give current students more immediate relief but don't address the tuition problem at all. The NDP strategy puts more pressure on universities to reduce costs; this burden may hamper the quality of education.

Outside of tuition issues, both the PCs and the Liberals promise more or less the same. Full-day kindergarten and more post-secondary education spaces. The Liberal platform is more or less a continuation of its current policies. The changebook promises to increase the transferability of credits among universities, a real issue that is finally being addressed. The insistence on removing the already small-percentage of scholarships for international students concerns me though. Using the term "foreign" as a negative term appears to be a theme in their platform.

Riding specific thoughts:
Scarborough-Agincourt: Soo Wong, as a public school trustee for the riding for the last 5 years, she has been actively involved in the community and is familiar with our education system, albeit at a elementary and secondary school level. This background should definitely help her with dealing with education on the level of the provincial government.

Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale: Ted McMeekin, MPP for the riding for the last eight years, has had plenty of experience working with McMaster and even the McMaster Student's Union. With clear endorsements from former executive members, including 2010-2011 President Mary Koziol and VP Academic Joe Finkle, Ted's re-election would ensure continued contact between McMaster and the Ontario Government. Progressive-Conservative candidate Donna Skelly, was not even able to attend the on-campus all-candidates debate.


3) Avoiding the Conservative Trifecta for Health Care - 2014.
My third and last point is my concern that having Conservative leadership at all three levels of government (if I consider Toronto my home) would close public discussion and result in more backroom deals. Prime Minister Harper, Mayor Ford and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have already some lovely BBQ times, and are just waiting for the addition of another Conservative.

Our health care system is up for major reform in 2014 when the current ten-year contract ends. Dalton McGuinty was the one who last discussed these issues in 2004. Not only does he have the experience, he has shown himself to be willing to disagree with the Prime Minister and demand more from the Federal Government. With a Conservative trifecta, concessions would likely be made as each government aims to support the others without a fight.


Ultimately, be informed. As I've said, politics has a rather dynamic impact on our lives, even if we don't see it on a day to day basis. So get out tomorrow, learn more about your candidates, and Vote!

Day 5

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil."

- Ephesians 5:15-16.

A late fourth day

Day four:

"Do not labour for the food that parishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."

- John 6:27.

Under a Rock

Day 3:

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock."

- Matthew 7:24-25.

Heading Back to the Hammer

Day 2:

"Then they said, 'Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.'"

- Genesis 11:4.

And later on... "And the LORD said, 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another's speech.' So the LORD dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth. And from there the LORD dispersed them over the face of all the earth". - Genesis 11:6-9. 

Project Genesis

I've only posted three times in the last two months, but I'm back! A busy third year is already well underway, and as I slowly accustom myself to getting up for daily 8:30 classes and adjust to the school routine. Already halfway through my undergrad degree (hopefully), there's a lot going on right now: the hunt for a thesis supervisor has begun, while plans for post artsci years have begun to materialize. We also celebrated the Arts & Science Programme's thirtieth year anniversary last weekend, and the third year biochemists have kept busy with our 3P03 projects. A side-project has also been setting up the website for the Taiwanese Human Rights Association of Canada. It frequently slips onto the backburner, so I figure writing it here will bring me back to work on it, but feel free to give me any suggestions if you have any!

This post feels a little strange since I am used to writing in past tense. Writing a daily post usually involves detailing the days events, and many of my postings follow that pattern. But today's a day for the present because I am shifting the purpose of this site once again. (I have not given up on the Essay-a-Week posts yet! I think I'm only two posts from the end...).

I was recently inspired by Matt Cutt's short TED talk: "Try something new for 30 days", embedded below. Simply put, thirty days is a good indicator for trying to add a daily habit - it's short enough to commit to it daily (i.e. a year might be too much), and long enough to see if it's practical. 

Updating this site daily is something I said I'd do a couple times, though I've never pulled it off. But I'll try again this October, and try to hit two birds with this project. So here's what to expect each day for the rest of the month, and if I successfully complete it, perhaps I'll find something new to try next month!

Project Genesis, named for being the first project, and because of the nature of the task.

Each day, I aim to:

1) Post a picture I've taken that day with my phone. 

2) Accompany that picture with a Bible Verse. The verse (or verses) must be found via a paper copy and typed out, not by Googling a description of my picture and finding an adequate verse.

The goal is to have a greater appreciation, and be more observant, of the world around me, as I pause and take the time to take a picture of something. Also, as I take part in Christian Fellowship at school, I want to refocus some of my daily time into reflecting in God's Word. 

So here's day 1:

A gift from my Housemate - a Bible with a customized biochem-themed cover.

ASX-ILE-ASX-LEU-GLU. Thanks, Jer.

"Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said,
'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.'"

- Genesis 28:16. 

Lawsuit Up

Essay-a-Week Challenge - Week 9

"July 1st: Ideas I've Outgrown"

No one goes through life without revising some of their opinions. Take some time to reflect on some of the beliefs you’ve had to revise in your lifetime, and the importance those beliefs held for you at the time.

Topics from, A Bookful Blockhead.

Well, I bring my Canada Day post to you on this early October day, out of order and weeks late. I previously stated I had trouble with this topic - partially because I don't have a full record of my beliefs when I was much younger, and I consider most of my ideas today to have evolved gradually over the last couple years, i.e. no sudden changes that would be of much interest to you.

One revelation that I had earlier intended to be the focus of this essay was the gaps in our education system. Partially inspired by a fellow challenge blog's post on education reform, I watched "Waiting for Superman" (and could lend it to anyone who wants to see it), and have thought about the pitfalls and potholes in our system. Aside from the waves of students slipping through the cracks of our schools, the highway overall is in drastic need of repair, to the extent that demolishing even our basic foundations and rebuilding may be the best option. A shorter info-video on education reform by RSA animations can be found here. 

While I'm very interested in the ideas of education reform, my opinions are preliminary, and I will save them for a later time. But the education system falls in a category of "things that seemed wonderful when I was young, but no longer seem so good". I was blessed with decent schools and hardworking teachers, and it was easy to admire (homework aside) the public education system, but I have also come to understand the gripping reality of alarmingly high drop out rates, and the many students who were unable to grasp fundamental concepts in math, science, and English. 

I'll move on to another formal part of our society that used to "seem wonderful", well, as wonderful as patents can seem. Like public education, intellectual property is a government effort to develop a national standard and serve its citizens in their best interests. Inventors and entrepreneurs are rewarded for their aspiring ideas, and maintain a "right" over their creation. This system a) encourages people to innovate, and b) discourages direct mimicking and encourages differentiation for increased competition. More competition and more inventions lead not only to better technology for the public, but lower prices too.

Patents are supposed to be this achievement that inventors strive for - you come up with a great idea, fool around with prototypes, get your patent, and make millions/change the industry. Today's patent system is far from this ideal, filled with patent trolls, abuse, and lawsuits/counter-suits that defeat the purpose of the entire system. Throw in a modern market that emerged after the development of IP laws, say the software industry, and you see how broken and outdated patent law has become.

What is... patent abuse? Or TORONTO??????

Patent trolls are companies that develop or buy patents (often from companies going bankrupt) and never use them, generating revenue by waiting for other businesses to infringe on their patents and then suing. For example, Toronto's very own i4i received a patent in 1993 for incorporating xml into word processors. The relatively generic concept sat rather undisturbed until a few years ago, when i4i sued Microsoft for the use of xml in Microsoft Word and ultimately won a $300 million reward. These companies, and the countless other patent trolls, don't help the industry because they don't provide the services/goods to the consumers - instead, they charge those who are actually trying to innovate, or force them to find potentially more expensive workarounds.

Then you have companies that horde up patents over the years and use this power to crush any opposition. There's perhaps some anti-trust issues, and quickly these businesses become abusive. I'll let this quote from an IBM lawyer speak for itself:

"OK, maybe you don't infringe these seven patents. But we have 10,000 U.S. patents. Do you really want us to go back to Armonk [IBM headquarters in New York] and find seven patents you do infringe? Or do you want to make this easy and just pay us $20 million?" - IBM lawyers to Sun Microsystems, in the latter company's early years. Sun paid it off. 

Microsoft has currently used this technique to force Android hardware makers to pay a licensing fee, even though Microsoft hasn't contributed to this open source, free software. The company's currently making $5-$15 dollars from Samsung and HTC for every Android phone sold (totalling tens of millions per month) and is currently in a lawsuit with Motorola. In fact, Microsoft is making significantly more money by suing companies using Android freeware than by selling its own Windows Phone 7 software.

Lastly, with today's mobile industry, we've departed from a world where competitors aim to build the best products and entered an industry marked with lawsuits.

Image from Design Language News,
featured in this article on The Guardian.

Just a list of some of the ridiculous/frivolous tech lawsuits in the last few years:

• Apple sued Samsung for "a black rectangular device with all four corners equally rounded" and for the "use of a tray that cradles products to make them immediately visible upon opening the box." Lawsuit in progress.
• Samsung sued Apple for the ability to use internet while making a call. 
• Apple sued Amazon for the use of the term "appstore". Apple lost. 
• Samsung is rumoured to be suing Apple to ban the sale of the iPhone 5 in South Korea, before the phone is even released. Probably as revenge with the Galaxy Phones/Tab being blocked in Europe because of Apple lawsuits.
• And perhaps a future frivolous lawsuit: Google has patented its doodle, as a "method of enticing users to a web site."

Yes, I did just turn a "ideas I've outgrown" essay into a full-scale rant on our patent system. But I think this is just one example of how my worldview has changed since I was ten. There are a lot of problems in the world that aren't apparent when you're younger - a teacher who smiles a lot seems like a good-enough indication of a successful school board. But now, cracks in the system have begun to appear, and I expect to see and learn more as I fly through my twenties. It's a bit saddening at times, but a world in need of repair is arguably each generation's greatest motivation to continue striving to make the world a better place. Let's get to work.