Another book read. To Heaven and Back by Mary Neal. This was an account of a medical doctor who drowns while kayaking in Peru. She is dead for several minutes before being revived. While dead she is met by spirits and guided to Heaven. In the book she tells her account of being dead and her time in Heaven.
Interestingly, the Heaven part is only a short passage in the middle of the book. The author writes about her life up to the accident, then the accident when she dies, then another major section of her recovery from the accident and her life in the years after.
It was a very good book. The author writes in an accessible style with short chapters and nice spacing between lines and paragraphs. I was impressed by how spiritual the author is even before her experience with Jesus and angels. I would recommend this book even for those who are skeptical or unsure if God is real.
Neal makes an interesting observation that angels can come in different forms, such as through animals. In her case it was an owl. others report crows carrying messages. a mysterious out of place person who comes seemingly unexpectedly out of nowhere at an opportune time may actually be an angel.
It was a good read for me. I grew up going to church and felt I was religious. sometime around after high school it fell away with me and I've been pretty much disconnected ever since. I still go to church a few times a year but I've never gotten back to the connection I had when I was young. This book was good it got me thinking about spiritual things some.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Friday, January 16, 2015
2015 is come to pass
taking a day off work today. using some of the banked overtime from the death march project that ended 2014. nice relaxing day here.
so 2015 is well begun. for new years I was feeling pretty crummy and sick for over a week before I went back to work. bummer being sick during my time off. oh well darn. so I didn't have much energy. I went to a movie for new years, something I've never done before. I went to see the Hobbit. It was pretty good. I'm not really into the lord of the rings stuff but it was fine. stayed up long enough for the countdown and to bed shortly after.
and 2014 is now in the books. 2015, like 2014 and every previous year, is come to pass. to use the Bible term. it's an important and powerful concept. whatever 2015 brings will end. good or bad, expected or unexpected, good fortune or bad luck. I was told on very good authority to expect change in 2015. so whatever happens will happen. change can be bad but can also be very good. and then there will be a reset and another at least calendar fresh start.
a lot happened in 2014. in the year up to Christmas time, I owned four cars. I had two cars destroyed in accidents by reckless and irresponsible drivers in June and July 2014. driving is still pretty skittish but this current 2010 Corolla I got in July has fortunately been running well. I'm hoping it will get me through 2015 safely and with minimal drama. I'm pleased to be a Corolla driver, that car suits me and my personality.
I also lost my job in 2014. In June my time at RIM was terminated after 6 years there. It's never a true surprise to anyone to get laid off from RIM, still it was an unplanned and abrupt and disruptive life change. Luckily I found work a little over a month later with CGI so it was a relief to get back to work and resume the flow of paycheques. So who would have known in January I'd be working at the site of the former Zellers Bayers Road as December wound down. and so it goes, so much happens during a year and ends up being important that you may have been unaware of or only very vaguely even aware of.
Finally my mother died in December. She had been sick for a long time so it wasn't a shocking or sudden thing. Still back in new years January 2014 I would not have thought at the time this would be Mom's final year.
so all in all I'm glad 2014 ended and now 2015 is begun. and better or worse or in between 2015 will also inescapably come to an end. who knows what this year will bring? what will end up being central this time next year that I'm not even aware of at this time. only time will tell. I can just try to do the right things based on my knowledge and experience, try to be a good person, and hope that positive results will flow from consistently making good life decisions and having a positive attitude.
so 2015 is well begun. for new years I was feeling pretty crummy and sick for over a week before I went back to work. bummer being sick during my time off. oh well darn. so I didn't have much energy. I went to a movie for new years, something I've never done before. I went to see the Hobbit. It was pretty good. I'm not really into the lord of the rings stuff but it was fine. stayed up long enough for the countdown and to bed shortly after.
and 2014 is now in the books. 2015, like 2014 and every previous year, is come to pass. to use the Bible term. it's an important and powerful concept. whatever 2015 brings will end. good or bad, expected or unexpected, good fortune or bad luck. I was told on very good authority to expect change in 2015. so whatever happens will happen. change can be bad but can also be very good. and then there will be a reset and another at least calendar fresh start.
a lot happened in 2014. in the year up to Christmas time, I owned four cars. I had two cars destroyed in accidents by reckless and irresponsible drivers in June and July 2014. driving is still pretty skittish but this current 2010 Corolla I got in July has fortunately been running well. I'm hoping it will get me through 2015 safely and with minimal drama. I'm pleased to be a Corolla driver, that car suits me and my personality.
I also lost my job in 2014. In June my time at RIM was terminated after 6 years there. It's never a true surprise to anyone to get laid off from RIM, still it was an unplanned and abrupt and disruptive life change. Luckily I found work a little over a month later with CGI so it was a relief to get back to work and resume the flow of paycheques. So who would have known in January I'd be working at the site of the former Zellers Bayers Road as December wound down. and so it goes, so much happens during a year and ends up being important that you may have been unaware of or only very vaguely even aware of.
Finally my mother died in December. She had been sick for a long time so it wasn't a shocking or sudden thing. Still back in new years January 2014 I would not have thought at the time this would be Mom's final year.
so all in all I'm glad 2014 ended and now 2015 is begun. and better or worse or in between 2015 will also inescapably come to an end. who knows what this year will bring? what will end up being central this time next year that I'm not even aware of at this time. only time will tell. I can just try to do the right things based on my knowledge and experience, try to be a good person, and hope that positive results will flow from consistently making good life decisions and having a positive attitude.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Mutated by Joe McKinney
I've got through a few books of late. I finished another Joe McKinney Deadworld book. Mutated is pretty good. This picks up the story eight years after Apocalypse of the Dead. He picks up with the Apocalypse characters Nate and Ben. Nate is somehow immune to the zombie infection. As long as they don't tear him to pieces he can take some bites and scratches.
There are some new characters introduced Sylvia, Avery and Niki. At this point 8 years on some survivor settlements have been established. There's also some trade among the settlements along the Mississippi river. Which makes sense since the McKinney zombies drown in deep enough water so that would more likely emerge in the post apocalypse.
A new sinister force has emerged among the zombies. A terrifying Red Man who gets both the zombies and some human black shirt soldiers to work for him. He's overrun 4 of the 5 major survivor compounds. In the story Niki and Nate want to reach a mysterious Dr. Fisher who may be able to turn the tide on the zombies. The Red Man wants to find and eliminate the doctor and wants to use Niki to get to him.
It's a pretty good book. Not as great as Apocalypse of the Dead, but it was satisfying to see Nate again. The new characters are pretty solid. McKinney still captures the terror of the undead well. It's a fast paced read I got through most of it when home sick for a weekend over new years.
I think I have two more Deadworld books to read to complete this series. I'll look for them at the library.
There are some new characters introduced Sylvia, Avery and Niki. At this point 8 years on some survivor settlements have been established. There's also some trade among the settlements along the Mississippi river. Which makes sense since the McKinney zombies drown in deep enough water so that would more likely emerge in the post apocalypse.
A new sinister force has emerged among the zombies. A terrifying Red Man who gets both the zombies and some human black shirt soldiers to work for him. He's overrun 4 of the 5 major survivor compounds. In the story Niki and Nate want to reach a mysterious Dr. Fisher who may be able to turn the tide on the zombies. The Red Man wants to find and eliminate the doctor and wants to use Niki to get to him.
It's a pretty good book. Not as great as Apocalypse of the Dead, but it was satisfying to see Nate again. The new characters are pretty solid. McKinney still captures the terror of the undead well. It's a fast paced read I got through most of it when home sick for a weekend over new years.
I think I have two more Deadworld books to read to complete this series. I'll look for them at the library.
Friday, January 02, 2015
Influx by Daniel Suarez
I've finished another book. It was Influx by Daniel Suarez. It was pretty good. The author is back in form after a disappointing Kill Decision. It's not quite as good as the Daemon, but a fast paced and satisfying read.
The author tackles the question of why there has been so little innovation since the moon landing in 1969. Suarez angle is that there has been plenty of innovation, it's just almost all been suppressed. There is a super secretive Bureau of Technology Control (BTC) that has been controlling the introduction of fantastic innovations such as cold fusion, cure for cancer, human cloning, strong AI, quantum computers. Their justification is that these innovations would be so disruptive that they would cause more harm than good.
The book is about an inventor Jon Grady who invents a device to deflect the force of gravity. a gravity mirror. so the familiar notion of "down" can be inverted within some area and objects will "fall up". Working in a startup, this invention is seized by the BTC and they blow up Grady's lab under the cover of an extremist anti-techology group the winnowers.
Grady is invited to join the BTC as a researcher to continue to work on his gravity mirror for BTC use only. Jon declines and the BTC sends him to a prison known as Hibernity along with other dissenting inventors.
From there lots of things happen and it's a fast paced read as Jon joins some dissenters in BTC to attempt to release the Hibernity prisoners and make their fantastic discoveries public and bring down the BTC. All the while in the crisis the BTC leadership becomes increasingly heavy handed and militant to protect the inventions they have seized.
I could see this being made into a movie. The book was written in a way that would be adaptable to a movie treatment. Such as the golem monster and some fantastic scenes at the climax that would translate very smoothly to a big special effects film.
All in all a good effort by Suarez. I'll continue to watch for this author's titles.
The author tackles the question of why there has been so little innovation since the moon landing in 1969. Suarez angle is that there has been plenty of innovation, it's just almost all been suppressed. There is a super secretive Bureau of Technology Control (BTC) that has been controlling the introduction of fantastic innovations such as cold fusion, cure for cancer, human cloning, strong AI, quantum computers. Their justification is that these innovations would be so disruptive that they would cause more harm than good.
The book is about an inventor Jon Grady who invents a device to deflect the force of gravity. a gravity mirror. so the familiar notion of "down" can be inverted within some area and objects will "fall up". Working in a startup, this invention is seized by the BTC and they blow up Grady's lab under the cover of an extremist anti-techology group the winnowers.
Grady is invited to join the BTC as a researcher to continue to work on his gravity mirror for BTC use only. Jon declines and the BTC sends him to a prison known as Hibernity along with other dissenting inventors.
From there lots of things happen and it's a fast paced read as Jon joins some dissenters in BTC to attempt to release the Hibernity prisoners and make their fantastic discoveries public and bring down the BTC. All the while in the crisis the BTC leadership becomes increasingly heavy handed and militant to protect the inventions they have seized.
I could see this being made into a movie. The book was written in a way that would be adaptable to a movie treatment. Such as the golem monster and some fantastic scenes at the climax that would translate very smoothly to a big special effects film.
All in all a good effort by Suarez. I'll continue to watch for this author's titles.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
So I've finally read Atlas Shrugged. I've known about the book since I was a teenager. I'd been meaning to read it for quite a while. and now I have read it yay. it took a while, several months reading a few pages at a time.
It's one of those books that I'd heard of and knew I should have read. It's an important modern book, written in 1957. It was different some of it was from its time. Everyone smokes and cigarettes even are part of the plot. Achievement is important in this book and none of the major characters have any children to keep in mind as they make sweeping life decisions.
I'm not quite sure after reading it how Rand type thinking somehow came to be a pejorative. Rand is big on personal trade and value. She has no use for the supernatural such as religion, or an unseen collective "society" that works for the best for everyone. So Rand is in a sense a humanist, seeing the reasoning free man as the pinnacle.
In the book the protagonists are all attractive, with movie star legs like Dagny, chiselled features on the faces of the men Hank and Francisco. The villains like Wesley are described as slouching, loose faces, rounded shoulders.
So now I know Who is John Galt. I'm not going to tell you, read the book yourself to find out. It's a worthwhile read, not a short book at over 1000 pages. The dialog is a bit stilted in parts, especially the talks between Francisco and Hank. Still Rand is a good writer, a bit of a romantic I think and surprisingly sensuous.
There are some individual speeches in the book that are epic and would be interesting to see done by talented actors. Still I'm not sure if the book would make a great movie. Just because it's long and so much happens. even a three-hour film would have to cut a lot of important stuff out I would think. what would be interesting for modern times would be a graphical novel approach. that way they could string it out over as many volumes as they need while making the message accessible to additional audiences.
It's one of those books that I'd heard of and knew I should have read. It's an important modern book, written in 1957. It was different some of it was from its time. Everyone smokes and cigarettes even are part of the plot. Achievement is important in this book and none of the major characters have any children to keep in mind as they make sweeping life decisions.
I'm not quite sure after reading it how Rand type thinking somehow came to be a pejorative. Rand is big on personal trade and value. She has no use for the supernatural such as religion, or an unseen collective "society" that works for the best for everyone. So Rand is in a sense a humanist, seeing the reasoning free man as the pinnacle.
In the book the protagonists are all attractive, with movie star legs like Dagny, chiselled features on the faces of the men Hank and Francisco. The villains like Wesley are described as slouching, loose faces, rounded shoulders.
So now I know Who is John Galt. I'm not going to tell you, read the book yourself to find out. It's a worthwhile read, not a short book at over 1000 pages. The dialog is a bit stilted in parts, especially the talks between Francisco and Hank. Still Rand is a good writer, a bit of a romantic I think and surprisingly sensuous.
There are some individual speeches in the book that are epic and would be interesting to see done by talented actors. Still I'm not sure if the book would make a great movie. Just because it's long and so much happens. even a three-hour film would have to cut a lot of important stuff out I would think. what would be interesting for modern times would be a graphical novel approach. that way they could string it out over as many volumes as they need while making the message accessible to additional audiences.
Monday, June 02, 2014
in support of maritime union
For a long time we've heard about the idea of the three maritime provinces in Canada merging to form a single large province. While the idea has never reached a serious discussion it has remained on the radar screen over the years.
The time has now come for the maritime provinces Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to unite. It's a different world today than at Confederation in 1867. What made sense back then doesn't make much sense today.
The three provincial legislatures today have a total of 111 elected representatives. Ontario has seven times the population of the maritime provinces and its provincial legislature has 107 seats. The maritimes are overgoverned.
Nova Scotia in particular is declining and basically failing. Several of the NS municipalities have folded just this year and just had their populations and roads absorbed into the surrounding county. The trend should really writ large with Nova Scotia itself seeking to be absorbed into some larger entity.
The biggest question is the same as when I was a kid. Where should the capital be? Halifax or Moncton. I think that the answer is clearly Moncton. Moncton is within a reasonable 3-4 hour drive for more of the population than Halifax is. thus it would be possible to be on the road early, arrive at a midday meeting and lunch, be back on the road and home for supper without having to stay overnight.
Halifax seems to have a "toxic" effect on the areas around it. While Halifax has prospered and grown, the NS rural areas have shrunk. often seemingly the growth and prosperity of Halifax has come by depopulating the rural areas. with New Brunswick and Moncton it seems better balanced and other centres such as St. John, Fredericton, and the rural areas being more able to hold their own.
The time has now come for the maritime provinces Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island to unite. It's a different world today than at Confederation in 1867. What made sense back then doesn't make much sense today.
The three provincial legislatures today have a total of 111 elected representatives. Ontario has seven times the population of the maritime provinces and its provincial legislature has 107 seats. The maritimes are overgoverned.
Nova Scotia in particular is declining and basically failing. Several of the NS municipalities have folded just this year and just had their populations and roads absorbed into the surrounding county. The trend should really writ large with Nova Scotia itself seeking to be absorbed into some larger entity.
The biggest question is the same as when I was a kid. Where should the capital be? Halifax or Moncton. I think that the answer is clearly Moncton. Moncton is within a reasonable 3-4 hour drive for more of the population than Halifax is. thus it would be possible to be on the road early, arrive at a midday meeting and lunch, be back on the road and home for supper without having to stay overnight.
Halifax seems to have a "toxic" effect on the areas around it. While Halifax has prospered and grown, the NS rural areas have shrunk. often seemingly the growth and prosperity of Halifax has come by depopulating the rural areas. with New Brunswick and Moncton it seems better balanced and other centres such as St. John, Fredericton, and the rural areas being more able to hold their own.
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