ColinTheRobot.com

Although not technically a holiday anymore, Hallowe’en is one of my favourite days of the year. I associate so many memories, and a general feeling of mystery and spirituality with this day.  It saddens me to see what appears to be a general decline in overall interest in the day.  It seems like there are fewer and fewer houses in my neighborhood decorated for All Hollows’ Eve each year, and this downturn extends to kids trick-or-treating as well.  How children could lose interest in free candy is an idea beyond comprehension.  One can only hope that this is just a slump, and not the beginning of Halloween’s demise. (more…)

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been asked by family and friends who aren’t from Toronto if I feel safe living here, and I have invariably answered yes. Although I still feel safe, I have never felt so alienated by the city I have come to know and love. Sometime between arriving home from work on Wednesday night (October 10th) and when I was awoken by a knock on my door from the superintendent of my buiding, my scooter was vandalized quite extensively. The motivation (or seeming lack there of) for the crime is what bothers me the most. I’m not sure whether this was a calculated revenge against me, or just a completely random act of violence. I filed a report (more…)

Just a reminder to everyone living in Ontario that today is election day, and also referendum day. In addition to electing new representatives in provincial legislature, today’s ballot will also decide whether the province stays with the current electoral system (First-Past-the-Post) or moves to mixed member proportional system, which combines a First-Past-the-Post system and a Proportional Representation system. The new system would require two votes, one to elect a “Local Member” (same as the old system), and one to elect “List Members” who make up the difference to make representation in legislature proportional to how the population voted.

Last week (October 4th 2007) marked the 50th anniversary since the launch of Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth. With it’s successful launch, the Soviet Union ushered in the Space Age. More info is available on NASA’s website here (or just type ’sputnik’ into your favourite search engine). (more…)