Moral-Flexibility.Net

I’ve carried a set of handcuffs for years. Common sense, however, dictates that anything with a simple key, one universal to almost every set of handcuffs in existence, is not going to be that hard to beat. I’ll admit I still didn’t think it’d be that easy.

[From View from North Central Idaho via Says Uncle]

My “binky of the month” award is hereby given to Attorney General of Ontario Michael Bryant for statements made that demonstrate his understanding of gun control issues here in Canada and how they compare to his concealed involvement in a “grass roots” gun control organization.

The gun lobby is clearly furious that the “no gun, no funeral” phrase is gaining traction with the public, he said.

“It’s my phrase; it’s my idea; it’s my website,” Bryant said. “It’s bizarre that people who don’t want to register their guns think I should register my website as a dangerous weapon.”

Not quite jagoff, THIS person that DID register his firearms wants YOU to operate above board. That’s it, that’s the entire complaint. As for the “no gun, no funeral” phrase, I think it’s clever, my own contribution is “no politician, no taxes”, What do you think?

Steve Janke has the goods on an alleged grass roots movement to ban handguns in Canada. Strangely the principle characters behind this group appear to be key members of the Liberal Party, which kind of cancels out that grass roots origin, doesn’t it?

…Why they should be connected through No-Guns-No-Funerals to Nikki Holland and Glenn Brown, who coincidently share names with executives with the federal and Ontario wings of the Liberal Party, and through that site be attached to a phone number that goes to the riding assocaition of gun-ban supporting Liberal Attorney General Michael Bryant…well…I guess coincidences do occur.

Janke sums it up well here;

…You know, none of this would matter if they just plastered the Liberal Party “L” all over the place..

Agreed. You’d have thought the Liberals would have learned something about transparency by now. Guess not. Big shock there.

A quick note here, one of my least favorite jobs in security has got to be writing parking tickets. It seems almost every city has some mechanism where they certify private security to issue city tickets on private property. A good deal for the city, as they incur almost no expense and reap the revenue from these tickets. My present job is no exception, and I’m assured at least one surreal encounter each time I grab the ticket book and wander the parking lots writing tickets.

As our hero begrudgingly saunters through an overfull parking lot ticketing vehicles that are not displaying the appropriate permit, he is approached by what appears to be an intoxicated white male dressed suitably to “hang ten”.

Surfer Dude: Yo buddy (one of my favorite salutations, without doubt), did you give me this ticket?
Respectfully Insolent Me: Quite possible sir, that sounds like something I would do.
SD: -blink- -blink-
RIM: -sigh- Yes sir, is there something I can help with?
SD: You’re an asshole.
RIM: True, but the hours are good and there’s no heavy lifting.
SD: -blink- -blink-
RIM: Was there something else sir? (returning to writing yet another ticket for some unsuspecting driver)
SD: Uh, yeah…take it back!
RIM: -sigh- Does that sound like something an asshole would do, sir?
SD: This isn’t a REAL ticket anyway!
RIM: Ok, it’s not a real ticket. Have a nice night sir.
SD: Take it back!
RIM: Sir, with all due respect, are we having the same conversation?
SD: What? -blink- -blink-
RIM: -sigh- (The sound of my pen scratching across the newest ticket is interrupted only by the “WOOOHOOOO!” mating call of the modern intoxicated urbanite in the distance)
SD: So are you going to take the ticket back?
RIM: No.
SD: (gears visibly mesh in his alcohol addled mind, the usual stuff isn’t working, time to change tactics) What sort of kickback do you get from these?
RIM: (Oh please don’t tell me he’s going to offer me a few bucks to cancel a ticket, that’s just embarrassing) $50 per ticket (There is no kickback sadly, it’s just that I routinely lie about anything money related).
SD: Really? -blink- I’ll give you a beer if you cancel the ticket.
RIM: (Signing the last ticket and walking towards my car) Sir, I can’t cancel the ticket, not even for a beer. I’ll let you in on a secret though.
SD: What secret?
RIM: (now climbing back into my car) Look, you can’t tell anyone, it’d get me in trouble. Just keep a large stuffed purple elephant belted in to the passenger seat when you’re parked illegally, it’s a secret sign, and no bylaw officers will give you a ticket as long as that elephant is there.
SD: Really?
RIM: Sure. It works for carpool lanes as well. G’night.

In case you missed something, it doesn’t work for parking tickets or carpool lanes, but I still keep an eye out for purple stuffed elephants riding shotgun when I’m driving around the city. It helps pass the time.

Rachel Lucas has an interesting post up about why she does not want kids. The short version is “money”, but there’s more, go on over and give it a read. I’ll wait.

Back already? Sure.

The most interesting part of the post, to me, was this;

I started asking every mother I knew (and a few fathers) whether, if they could do it over again, they’d have children….Anyway, the overwhelming majority (all but two) of my respondents gave a big fat NO as their answer. Even the ones who had tons of money (doctor’s wife), the hardcore evangelical Christians, and the ones who had really fantastic kids. They all said it was the loss of freedom and the huge expense that they regretted the most.

No one can argue the responsibilities of parenthood, and both money and freedom have been a big issue for Lisa and I since we became parents just shy of three years ago, but would we do it over again if we could? Speaking for myself here I would absolutely do it the same way if I could do it over again. Would I do it again (ie second child), no.

You see I’ve had this chat with both my brother and with friends that were considering parenthood, and I’ve pointed out the catch-22 of parenthood each and every time. I don’t recommend it but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’ve watched my daughter grow from a small screaming bundle to a largely autonomous being that amazes me each and every day in different ways.

Had Lisa and I not had Jillian we would undoubtedly had more disposable income, I’d have more shiny boomsticks, we could work whatever hours we wanted and I could hibernate with impunity. While all that is rather appealing it counts for absolutely nothing each and every time I look into my daughters eyes. I’d trade this for nothing, she is absolutely worth every sacrifice.

A cliche? Absolutely, but no less true for it.

It’s certainly no party, but it’s the only one I want to attend.

Playing around with new themes again. Feedback is, as always, appreciated.

Random searching found Zombies! A webcomic, tune in for the latest update of ZSI: Zombie Scene Investigator, and find out if the undead are brought to justice.

[From IMAO via Says Uncle]