http://www.guatemala-times.com/news/guatemala/2545--guatemala-little-headway-against-rampant-malnutrition.html
According to this article, 49.3% of children under 5 in Guatemala are malnourished.
This is the highest rate in Latin America, and one of the highest in the world.
Thousands die every year because they can't get enough to eat. And we complain about the amount of food available in the USA and Canada... I was listening to the CBC the other day. The guest that was speaking was addressing the problems of food shortages, the agricultural industry and how to combat world hunger. One thing that he said completely shocked me: 30% of food in North America is wasted. It never gets eaten. In the USA, the rates can be as high as 50%.
Imagine this: you have a garden. Everything grew wonderfully and it is harvest time. For every tomato you pick, you throw one out. For every potato harvested, one is discarded. They are both healthy, both nutritious, but this is the reality in the USA. There is too much food. No one cares about food or how much they waste. The old adage of "think of the children starving in Africa" (or Guatemala for that matter) apparently isn't very effective. Yet the rates of obesity in the USA are insane. The United States of America: the biggest wasters and the biggest eaters. What does this say for the rest of the world? They waste much less but also eat much less. Ironic.
Let us be thankful about what we have, and wherever possible buy fair trade. It may be more expensive, but are we really eating all that we buy, anyway? So it works two ways: you spend the same, eat less, thereby probably being healthier in this society, and you are supporting someone who needs that fair wage so that he can eat a nutritious meal and also not waste it.
Of course life is much more complicated than that, but I think it is a fairly simple principle. ALWAYS support fair trade whenever possible, including local items. Recently people have been complaining about the huge gaps of income between people in the USA (those who argue it in Canada know nothing about the system: Just under 50% of the tax-paying population made over $50,000 in 2008, 4% over $100,000, and only .4% over $250,000. Clearly the 1-99% ration does not work here. Or maybe they all want to make $175,000 and think that's fair (which would do what to make it more even with the rest of the world?)
Anyway, if over 24 million Canadians are working enough to make $25,000 a year and pay taxes. The world average according to this website: http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2007/10/07/average_earnings_worldwide/ is $7,000 a year (which only 19% of countries actually attain). The world median was $1,700. *cough* So despite rising food and housing prices (which are always on the rise and a constant complaint no matter what year or era) in Canada, the majority of us still make a buttload more money than the average world citizen. Also, if you complain about housing prices, I invite you to live in the Lower Mainland, especially Vancouver. My husband and I were considering buying a house until we realized that we could never afford one in this area. A condo, maybe, but I have 2 horses, 2 cats, a dog, a bunny, and a garden. I am quite happy renting, though I do hope to buy one day, it may have to be in Mexico.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Greed vs. Greed?
Before I start: http://www.thebloggess.com/2011/10/missing-2/ Comic relief :)
A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about the whole capitalism vs. socialism debate. With this Occupy Wall Street movement happening, which honestly I haven't read much about, I'm getting tired of the greedy attitude of everyone involved. The socialists are just as "greedy" as the capitalists.
By the way, I despise putting people and ideas into boxes, labelling them or what have you. Life is too complicated to make such black and white presuppositions, but sometimes it is necessary.
The current trend to view capitalism is such: capitalists are greedy individuals who care nothing about people or the environment. They usually come in the form of corporations that care about nothing except for the bottom line. Life would be better without capitalism. Without capitalism there would be much more equality, everyone would be happy, and no one would go without.
The current trend on socialism is this: socialism fights for the equality of all people. No one is unique, we all should live the same with the same rights, and access to all the same things. No one should ever go without, and no basic necessities denied. A beautiful ideology.
At least, those are the opinions that I have noticed trending through articles, posts on FB, comments to articles, movements, etc. etc.
I saw this quote on Facebook back in early September:
A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about the whole capitalism vs. socialism debate. With this Occupy Wall Street movement happening, which honestly I haven't read much about, I'm getting tired of the greedy attitude of everyone involved. The socialists are just as "greedy" as the capitalists.
By the way, I despise putting people and ideas into boxes, labelling them or what have you. Life is too complicated to make such black and white presuppositions, but sometimes it is necessary.
The current trend to view capitalism is such: capitalists are greedy individuals who care nothing about people or the environment. They usually come in the form of corporations that care about nothing except for the bottom line. Life would be better without capitalism. Without capitalism there would be much more equality, everyone would be happy, and no one would go without.
The current trend on socialism is this: socialism fights for the equality of all people. No one is unique, we all should live the same with the same rights, and access to all the same things. No one should ever go without, and no basic necessities denied. A beautiful ideology.
At least, those are the opinions that I have noticed trending through articles, posts on FB, comments to articles, movements, etc. etc.
I saw this quote on Facebook back in early September:
I thought this was so sad and going in the completely wrong direction. Acknowledging and accepting our poverties is not going to automatically establish community. Each one of us is unique and has something unique to offer the world. No one can please everyone. It is not possible. Why? Because we each have our unique tastes, desires, likes and dislikes. Just like why the quote above disturbs me but fascinates another person. There is nothing wrong with this. It should be embraced and enjoyed. Differences should be celebrated and not forced into one amorphous object.
Perhaps I am biased from my Linguistics background, where we were taught to embrace and respect different cultures and languages. Every language has something to offer, every language has something unique that is not repeated elsewhere. When we lose a language, we lose a lot. This battle to become egalitarian, to make everyone the same, to have us all live in the same type of housing, to be making all the same type of money; it doesn't make sense to me. I compare it to the world slowly being globalized. If not kept in check, we will soon succumb to speaking one language, practicing one culture. We will not remember that there were other ways of doing things. This may be convenient, and "nice", but in my opinion, the worst way to go. In Vancouver, they are pushing to have us all take transit, all live in small apartments, have high density etc. etc. I cannot live like this. I have a whole slew of animals. How could I fit 3 horses, and dog, 2 cats and a rabbit in an apartment? I need a truck to drive the trailer to go horse riding anywhere (because people are nutso on the roads), yet gas prices tell me to f*** off because I should "be taking transit" (15 cent gas tax for transit that is not accessible + 2 cent carbon tax per litre). My lifestyle is considered taboo. My god, I want to live in a house with acreage? Cursed be me! We are all different! We don't all want the exact same things. Let me be and I'll let you be. That is why higher taxes don't work. If you are concerned about medical care, then donate your extra money for that! Just because something interests you does not mean it interests me, just as I wouldn't expect higher taxes to build more equestrian trails throughout the area (though this would be awesome). If we have more access to our money, then we can put it wherever we want it, whether it be charities overseas, charities at home, hobbies, business, or even your greedy old self. No problem for me. Just let me live my life how I want to live it.
Why did I title this blog greed vs. greed? It is because the socialists are just as greedy as the capitalists are, if not more. The capitalists are always aiming higher, sometimes sacrificing people and the environment to make ends meet or to cut costs. The socialists, on the other hand, see what the wealthy have and say: "That's not fair. No one should have that much money at the expense of other people." But in their minds they are thinking "If I can't have that, then no one else should." Granted, I'm sure there are some who truly are bent in the way of social equilibrium. Their lives are dedicated to helping the less fortunate. But honestly, which one of us would not want a raise at work? Or better yet, who would hate to win the lottery? Which one of us would despise a million-dollar-a-year salary? The even bigger question is: if this did happen, what would we do with the money?
Because honestly, the average person in the world lives on less than $10 a day. We in North America (excluding Mexico) are in the top 10% of the world. For those of us not making a whole lot of money, what are we doing with the $20,000 that we do make? How much of that money are we using to support those less fortunate than we? Do we really need internet? Do we really need cable tv? Do we really need computers? Do we really need cell phones? Do we really need cars? Do we really need new clothes? Do we really need to live in nice houses? Do we really need to go to Starbucks every day? Do we really need all that? Most people don't, so why have these become the new "necessities"?
What I figure is this: For those who are complaining about the top 1%, recognize that you are in the top 10%. Whatever you would have the wealthier do, you should do too, because you are much wealthier than the average person in the world.
I most likely will never be rich, but I have nothing against those who are. The wealthy are the patrons of the arts. They are the ones who are able to donate huge amounts of money to keep many charities going. They are the ones who can pay for high quality items that keep artisans and artists in business. They are the supporters of research. A couple of years ago when there wasn't enough money to continue with The Celebration of Light in Vancouver, Scotiabank was able to donate over a million dollars so that this free event that entertains thousands of people could still be put on. This can be seen as frivolous spending, but that is exactly my point. So many enjoyable things would go down the tube if there weren't people with excessive amounts of money. Life would become monotonous, egalitarian, bland. This may be great for some people, but it does not suit me at all.
I think this is a basic principle: if I work hard and am smart about it, I want to be rewarded as such. If I grow a garden and spend a lot of time on it, then I expect to get out about as much as I put into it. The same is with money. If I plant my garden and don't water it, why should I expect anything to grow? If something does grow, then I am fortunate, but I cannot expect food to appear from nowhere if I don't even plant! Yet this is what others want. They either don't want to work, or they buy things that they can't afford. This life that most of us in North America live is extremely privileged. It is not a right. Medical care is not a right, though we are very blessed to have it. In Canada, because it is basically "free". In the USA, because it is generally top-notch care. In Mexico, because there is the option of both.
I need to stop now, because I could go on forever. I will probably write on this again because most aspects of society really bother me. Here is a quick video that a friend sent me asking some questions about the Occupy Wall Street thing: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/Lang_&_O%27Leary_Exchange/1308689786/ID=2149202610
P.S.
My political philosophy leans mostly towards libertarianism, but this does not mean I am socially dead. I volunteer often and give a significant amount of money (compared to what I make) to what I deem worthy causes.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Job Hunting
Once again I am on the hunt for a job. I have just given notice for my current job, so will be out of an income after 2 weeks. This sucks. Why am I quitting? Let's just say it's on the list of the jobs that I don't have enough patience/willpower to keep going.
Here is a list of jobs that I have done that I will not be pursuing a career in anytime soon:
1. Hostessing: I have a semi-phobia of phones, and I'm not very good at the balancing act.
2. Waitressing: I'm somewhat hard of hearing and speak too softly. People don't understand me most of the time, especially in a busy restaurant. When I get embarrassed from speaking too softly, I speak even more softly. Positive feedback. The biology definition, not colloquial.
3. Bird caretaker: as much as I love the birds (and I really do), I started to have nightmares about trying to resuscitate the dead chicks that we feed the birds. I knew then it was time to quit.
4. Work with children: as much as I love children, I can't work with them. They are exhausting!
5. Home support worker: I don't like the 24-hour shifts, and being a servant to someone's every whim, especially when it comes to personal matters.
6. Tutor: though I still work as a tutor, I realize that a lot of the people that need tutors need them because they don't have the motivation to learn on their own. They also don't want to learn with a tutor, and often resent me being there trying to teach them.
7. Teacher: I did my TESL practicum and despised it. Although I know I could suck it up and get the job done, I won't be having a good time, and the students probably won't either.
8. Office Work: again with the phones. Also I feel the pressure to interact positively with the clients. I'm not a big people person, so this is extra difficult.
9. Kitchen Staff: I volunteered in a commercial kitchen for awhile. Not my cup of tea. I need windows!
10. Dealing with mentally unhealthy people: I tried it. I did my best. It is not for me.
Here is a list of what I think I like:
1. Acting/performing: I don't care if it's background work or an actual role. I love it!
2. Animals: I love taking care of animals, especially horses, so long as it doesn't involve the cutting up animals for food.
3. Making things: I have done a bit of manufacturing and actually enjoyed it. The problem with this is that the place where I worked didn't have enough hours for me.
4. Critiquing: I love tearing things apart in the pursuit of perfection. This brings me on to the next one.
5. Editing/proofreading: I love figuring out ways to make things sound better, if I have the time for it. I also find spelling and obvious grammatical errors all of the time in books. I often circle these and ponder sending a list to the editor. I read a lot anyway, so this would be a good career. Maybe.
6. Traveling: I really enjoy seeing new places and experiencing new things.
7. Writing: I do enjoy writing, but none of what I write is good enough for anything monetary, and I'm too impatient to write a novel. I attempted and got through 5 pages.
8. Research: MAYBE. Depends on what kind of research. If it's hands-on, collaborative research that deals with relevant issues, I might actually enjoy it. Ethnography would fit lovingly in here.
9. Learning languages: if I could get paid to learn languages, I would be in heaven.
10. Community development: this is more of a dream, I don't know if I would even enjoy it, but I would like to go into small, distressed communities and help them re-find themselves, revitalize their language and culture, and start a creative process of economic development that would hopefully benefit both the individuals and the entire community.
So I have a little bit to work with. Not sure if I'll find anything suitable from the second list on Craigslist. Tee hee! We'll see though.
Here is a list of jobs that I have done that I will not be pursuing a career in anytime soon:
1. Hostessing: I have a semi-phobia of phones, and I'm not very good at the balancing act.
2. Waitressing: I'm somewhat hard of hearing and speak too softly. People don't understand me most of the time, especially in a busy restaurant. When I get embarrassed from speaking too softly, I speak even more softly. Positive feedback. The biology definition, not colloquial.
3. Bird caretaker: as much as I love the birds (and I really do), I started to have nightmares about trying to resuscitate the dead chicks that we feed the birds. I knew then it was time to quit.
4. Work with children: as much as I love children, I can't work with them. They are exhausting!
5. Home support worker: I don't like the 24-hour shifts, and being a servant to someone's every whim, especially when it comes to personal matters.
6. Tutor: though I still work as a tutor, I realize that a lot of the people that need tutors need them because they don't have the motivation to learn on their own. They also don't want to learn with a tutor, and often resent me being there trying to teach them.
7. Teacher: I did my TESL practicum and despised it. Although I know I could suck it up and get the job done, I won't be having a good time, and the students probably won't either.
8. Office Work: again with the phones. Also I feel the pressure to interact positively with the clients. I'm not a big people person, so this is extra difficult.
9. Kitchen Staff: I volunteered in a commercial kitchen for awhile. Not my cup of tea. I need windows!
10. Dealing with mentally unhealthy people: I tried it. I did my best. It is not for me.
Here is a list of what I think I like:
1. Acting/performing: I don't care if it's background work or an actual role. I love it!
2. Animals: I love taking care of animals, especially horses, so long as it doesn't involve the cutting up animals for food.
3. Making things: I have done a bit of manufacturing and actually enjoyed it. The problem with this is that the place where I worked didn't have enough hours for me.
4. Critiquing: I love tearing things apart in the pursuit of perfection. This brings me on to the next one.
5. Editing/proofreading: I love figuring out ways to make things sound better, if I have the time for it. I also find spelling and obvious grammatical errors all of the time in books. I often circle these and ponder sending a list to the editor. I read a lot anyway, so this would be a good career. Maybe.
6. Traveling: I really enjoy seeing new places and experiencing new things.
7. Writing: I do enjoy writing, but none of what I write is good enough for anything monetary, and I'm too impatient to write a novel. I attempted and got through 5 pages.
8. Research: MAYBE. Depends on what kind of research. If it's hands-on, collaborative research that deals with relevant issues, I might actually enjoy it. Ethnography would fit lovingly in here.
9. Learning languages: if I could get paid to learn languages, I would be in heaven.
10. Community development: this is more of a dream, I don't know if I would even enjoy it, but I would like to go into small, distressed communities and help them re-find themselves, revitalize their language and culture, and start a creative process of economic development that would hopefully benefit both the individuals and the entire community.
So I have a little bit to work with. Not sure if I'll find anything suitable from the second list on Craigslist. Tee hee! We'll see though.
 |
| Pickle and Kita spooning |
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Baby Bunnies :(
The blackberries are delicious right now. It was a late harvest, but they are now juicy and sweet. I decided to pick a bucket full when I got home from work today. I set out with my bucket, happy as a clam, listening to music, my dog running around joyously. That was until she sniffed out some baby bunnies.
I had never heard a bunny scream until that moment.
My husband had warned me that a couple of months ago our dog, Kita, found and ate a few baby bunnies. He was able to rescue one, but the others were goners. "One-bite snacks" as he said.
I suppose this notion was in the back of my mind when I heard the scream. I turned and there was my dog, tail wagging, staring at the ground. I told her off and rushed toward the sound. I saw the thing on the ground and couldn't tell what it was. At first I thought it was a rat, and if it were, I would have nothing to do with it. It didn't take much longer for me to realize it was a bunny. I quickly swooped it up so my curious dog wouldn't bother it anymore. It immediately calmed down, but I noticed a bite mark in its side with dried blood. The mark was too small to be my dog's, the blood to dry to be fresh, but I didn't know for sure, so I went and sat down with it cuddled against my stomach. Then I heard another scream. There was another one! I swooped up that one as well as I noticed a third crawl off somewhere. by the time I was able to grab the third, I couldn't find him. I looked all around for him without any luck. I cuddled them both to me and wondered what I should do. I looked at their injuries: the second one appeared to have a few holes in his head, one eye swollen shut, and a broken foot. I pondered the following:
1. Could I keep them and nurse them back to health?
~ but how old are they? are they old enough not to eat milk?
~ can I take them somewhere? where to take them?
~ should I find their nest and put them back?
I looked for things online. Most sites said DO NOT TRY TO REHABILITATE THEM YOURSELF. But I didn't know where I could bring them. I thought maybe I could put them back in their nest and they would heal on their own. But their wounds were pretty deep. The first one had a hole on his side that revealed something white, probably an intestine?
I started looking again for the nest, and found it. It was in rough shape, so I decided to try and build a new one and leave them there for the mom. As I was building the new nest, I saw the third one. I checked to see if it was breathing, but it wasn't. I picked him up and put him on a rock to see if I could tell how he died. He had blood on him, but not the puncture marks like the other ones did. I thought: If only I had gotten him first! He may not have died! Then I saw a white maggot-like thing crawl from out of his side and then crawl back in. Even if I had gotten to him first, and he didn't die, it wouldn't have been long until he did.
I eventually found a place called Critter Care Wildlife Society, and brought them the bunnies. The wounds were at least a day old, the person there told me, and it looked like cat bites. It was a relief to know that it wasn't my dog that had gotten them. If it weren't for Kita, I wouldn't have found them, and they surely would have died there. They may still die, but at least they have a better chance at survival now than before.
You may be thinking: So what? They're just bunnies. Bunnies reproduce at a rapid rate. If you wouldn't have found them they would have died anyway, so why rescue them? Besides that, they're wild and won't last long before they're eaten by a coyote anyway.
But I couldn't do that. My heart would never let me. I can only hope that they recover and grow up into big, healthy bunnies.
I had never heard a bunny scream until that moment.
My husband had warned me that a couple of months ago our dog, Kita, found and ate a few baby bunnies. He was able to rescue one, but the others were goners. "One-bite snacks" as he said.
I suppose this notion was in the back of my mind when I heard the scream. I turned and there was my dog, tail wagging, staring at the ground. I told her off and rushed toward the sound. I saw the thing on the ground and couldn't tell what it was. At first I thought it was a rat, and if it were, I would have nothing to do with it. It didn't take much longer for me to realize it was a bunny. I quickly swooped it up so my curious dog wouldn't bother it anymore. It immediately calmed down, but I noticed a bite mark in its side with dried blood. The mark was too small to be my dog's, the blood to dry to be fresh, but I didn't know for sure, so I went and sat down with it cuddled against my stomach. Then I heard another scream. There was another one! I swooped up that one as well as I noticed a third crawl off somewhere. by the time I was able to grab the third, I couldn't find him. I looked all around for him without any luck. I cuddled them both to me and wondered what I should do. I looked at their injuries: the second one appeared to have a few holes in his head, one eye swollen shut, and a broken foot. I pondered the following:
1. Could I keep them and nurse them back to health?
~ but how old are they? are they old enough not to eat milk?
~ can I take them somewhere? where to take them?
~ should I find their nest and put them back?
I looked for things online. Most sites said DO NOT TRY TO REHABILITATE THEM YOURSELF. But I didn't know where I could bring them. I thought maybe I could put them back in their nest and they would heal on their own. But their wounds were pretty deep. The first one had a hole on his side that revealed something white, probably an intestine?
I started looking again for the nest, and found it. It was in rough shape, so I decided to try and build a new one and leave them there for the mom. As I was building the new nest, I saw the third one. I checked to see if it was breathing, but it wasn't. I picked him up and put him on a rock to see if I could tell how he died. He had blood on him, but not the puncture marks like the other ones did. I thought: If only I had gotten him first! He may not have died! Then I saw a white maggot-like thing crawl from out of his side and then crawl back in. Even if I had gotten to him first, and he didn't die, it wouldn't have been long until he did.
I eventually found a place called Critter Care Wildlife Society, and brought them the bunnies. The wounds were at least a day old, the person there told me, and it looked like cat bites. It was a relief to know that it wasn't my dog that had gotten them. If it weren't for Kita, I wouldn't have found them, and they surely would have died there. They may still die, but at least they have a better chance at survival now than before.
You may be thinking: So what? They're just bunnies. Bunnies reproduce at a rapid rate. If you wouldn't have found them they would have died anyway, so why rescue them? Besides that, they're wild and won't last long before they're eaten by a coyote anyway.
 |
| #2 (horizontal) I have less hope for this little one, but he was still struggling to live. He liked to hide his head in my fingers. |
 |
| #1 I have much hope for this one. Clean the wound and a little sew job and this guy should be on his way. He was so cute, he would nuzzle me. |
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Spoiled Unions, Spoiled People
Most Canadians know about the postal strike that is currently happening. This is just another occasion to let my blood boil about this age of entitlement in which we currently reside.From what I've read, the issues are mostly work safety (see picture at left), and a reduction of wage for new employees (thereby not affecting any of the current employees). You may be thinking that this is a reduction from an already low wage to minimum wage. You are wrong! It is a reduction from $24 an hour to $17.50! Can you believe it? That is for new employees. I don't know anyone who started making that kind of money when they were first hired. I say get rid of the union and let them hire those of us who would be delighted to make $17.50 an hour and deliver mail in "dangerous" situations. (That dangling mailbox my cut off my hand!)
The fact is, delivering mail is not a difficult job and shouldn't be rewarded as such. The guys who built your house don't make that much. Those poor people fighting for justice don't make nearly as much! Those people harvesting your food don't make even half as much. Why is the post so special? Oh yeah, UNION.
Weren't unions supposed to protect people from being taken advantage of? Well now they just switched roles. They have nothing better to do than see exactly how much money and benefits they can get for nothing. It's ridiculous beyond belief. With this current age of technology (and not to mention the future), the postal system is going to continue to decline and just won't have the capability to support these bogus paycheques for people driving around stuffing paper in mailboxes. If they don't smarten up, they'll lose their jobs anyway. Who knows! They might get stuck making minimum wage somewhere else. (Which until last month was exactly 1/3 of their starting wage).
The thing that pisses me off most, though, is the actual injustice that is thriving in the world, and yet we focus on the most trivial things. There are approximately 9-27 million current SLAVES in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of children being abducted and forced to act as soldiers, killing their own families and friends. There are the drug wars absolutely tearing apart Latin America. There is rampant starvation, exploitation and abuse of MILLIONS worldwide, and yet the people who deliver mail in Canada are whining because crooked mailboxes are "dangerous" (inconvenient), and they want a wage increase. It makes me sick.
But I guess they're not all bad. A Canada Post worker commented:
"Well it looks like the strike is still going ahead. I hope they all lose their jobs in the union. A lot of the workers don't want to strike. It is time these gastapos were dissolved in necessity occupations. No one in the public sector should have to be the kicking dog victim of these greedy individuals who gouge the small businesses. I have no sympathy for any of them. Quit your job if you aren't satisfied. This is communism."
Then again, that group only had 18 members...
DOWN WITH THE AGE OF ENTITLEMENT. LET US OPEN OUR EYES TO THE REAL PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD.
Monday, May 30, 2011
#167 Savage Run
I went to the library book sale quite a few years ago. At the end of the day they had a great deal: all you can carry for $1. I loaded up my arms with bags and boxes and ended up with 55 books of all sorts. There was only an hour until closing, so I didn't get a chance to actually examine the books and see if they were worth reading. This was a moment when I really did judge a book by its cover (or no cover, for that matter, as what happened with one), grabbing anything that looked at least somewhat appealing. This book was one of those.
I must admit I was quite surprised by it. It's one of the dozen or so books that are left from that sale that I still haven't read. I kept avoiding it ironically enough because of the cover. It was the thinnest of the lot of books, so that is why it got picked up this time. Right from the get-go, I was pretty well into it.
The storyline is quite gruesome: the war between the extreme environmentalists and well-off ranchers has gotten out of hand and has led to the embarrassing but untraceable murders of the biggest players on the side of the environmentalists. This book is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Quite a few scenes are too descriptive for my taste and left me rather nauseous. A poor game warden, who is just trying to do his job right, gets caught in the middle of it and ends up being the hero of the day. Box throws in a few twists and turns that you could almost see coming, but are still surprising and not entirely predictable. I enjoyed this book despite its horrific descriptions and give it a total of 7.5/10
I must admit I was quite surprised by it. It's one of the dozen or so books that are left from that sale that I still haven't read. I kept avoiding it ironically enough because of the cover. It was the thinnest of the lot of books, so that is why it got picked up this time. Right from the get-go, I was pretty well into it.
The storyline is quite gruesome: the war between the extreme environmentalists and well-off ranchers has gotten out of hand and has led to the embarrassing but untraceable murders of the biggest players on the side of the environmentalists. This book is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Quite a few scenes are too descriptive for my taste and left me rather nauseous. A poor game warden, who is just trying to do his job right, gets caught in the middle of it and ends up being the hero of the day. Box throws in a few twists and turns that you could almost see coming, but are still surprising and not entirely predictable. I enjoyed this book despite its horrific descriptions and give it a total of 7.5/10
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Math 10
I have briefly considered going into the Animal Health Technician program, which requires Math 11 and Chem 11, two courses I do not have. I decided to do a little updating through TRU, and ordered a Math 10 course, since I haven't studied math in 8 years, I thought it would be smarter to do the level below rather than jump into Math 11.
I went to a private school. There must be something completely wacky between the public and private school systems! What I am studying now is the equivalent of what I learned in grade 5-7, not grade 10! What I was doing in grade 10 was much more complicated and difficult (or at least so I thought at the time). Like the Math 11 Essentials course I took while in High School (instead of Math 11), I don't even need to read the instructions and I get close to 100% on all of the exercises. No, I do not use a calculator. If this is the precursor to Math 11, I should have no problems when I start that course. Hopefully the chemistry course is just as easy. Yay for upgrading and keeping my brain semi-sharp.
I went to a private school. There must be something completely wacky between the public and private school systems! What I am studying now is the equivalent of what I learned in grade 5-7, not grade 10! What I was doing in grade 10 was much more complicated and difficult (or at least so I thought at the time). Like the Math 11 Essentials course I took while in High School (instead of Math 11), I don't even need to read the instructions and I get close to 100% on all of the exercises. No, I do not use a calculator. If this is the precursor to Math 11, I should have no problems when I start that course. Hopefully the chemistry course is just as easy. Yay for upgrading and keeping my brain semi-sharp.
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