Mambo Taxi

1) I used to blog regularly, and I miss it. The book of faces has inertia going for it; and I'm not yet pulling the plug there, but I want to try this again, in long form. So welcome! Pull up a chair!

2) In 2012 I started a blog about being Quaker. It's named after work by one of my favourite Quaker poets, and also after one of my favourite Quaker Science Fiction novels. I might also post there, occasionally. We'll see.

3) I became a dual American / Canadian citizen as of June 22, 2007. My partner dan and I moved here from the US in August 2001, so he could take the position of professor of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo.

4) When we moved here, I was a self-employed web application developer, for a much-younger Web. My business-partner and I made our first $2,000 out of a meeting at Comdex in 1996. I look back on those days fondly but definitely don't miss them! I worked for various companies doing Web 1.0 stuff; but I really hated chasing down clients for payment. I started working at the University of Waterloo in November 2004, in a job that was roughly 75% my dream job. Since then I've changed bosses six eight times, but still work for the same unit, Computer Science. My job is currently 100% my dream job. The me-of-half-my-lifetime-ago would be astounded. I expect I will stay at the University until I retire.

5) In July 2002, we adopted the cutest puppy in the world. At the time Rover was six weeks old. It was a few weeks later that we discovered that a certain number of people are offended that we named a girl dog Rover. I was really perplexed. I'm told that her cousin Sonia the Samoyed wanted to know if she's a squeak-toy or a snack. She really was the best dog. She lived to a ripe old 16 years, and we miss her all the time.

In August 2021, we adopted the director of the River Institute who is an absolute delight. And very photogenic. River is learning new things every day; even if it is "what is the best way to arrange my blankets for napping?"

My last 24 hours, in three acts.

Act I

Last night, I wanted a burger for dinner. So I drove to our nearby veggie-burger joint, had a yummy dinner, then discovered the car's battery was flat. Lights on? Nope, it was still sunny when I got there. I opened the hood, the battery's covered in corrosion. Ooookay. So I called Rachel and Robin, Quaker friends who live 3 minutes away, and they drove up and gave me a jump-start. The car started right away. Exeunt both directions, warm fuzzies and happy music.

I took a 30-minute drive around town to recharge the battery, with the windows down, yippee!, got home, parked in front of the house (just in case). Turned off the car, waited a moment, tried to turn on the lights, and it went "click-click-click-click".

Oh. Damn.

Act II

This morning at 8, I walked to the tire-place down the street and swapped batteries. I rolled back home (with battery in a cart; I ain't carrying that thing even 4 blocks.) Put it in, tried to turn on the lights, and it still just goes "click-click-click-click." Grr.

I called the car shop we use; they said Mondays are busy, but yeah, I could drop it off. Now, on Tuesdays we're still leaving the hosue at 7:30, and dan's not yet healthy enough for a walk to work, or even really the walk to/from the bus. So this ain't great. Not a disaster, we have funds, but not great. I got a recommendation for a towing company, called them, they said they'd be 30 minutes.

Then, I asked my local programmer-friends on IRC whether the tow would drop the car off without me going with it, a suggestion from my clever boyfriend (who hasn't ever done that, but thought it was sensible.)

Yes, a friend said, you can do that, especially if the tow company has a relationship with the garage. Yay, I said, they recommended them. And it saves me a trip which I know would take at least 90 minutes, since the bus up there is sporadic.

Then Justin chimed into the IRC conversation, and said this problem sounds strange, it still sounds like a dead battery problem to him. He suggested I take some 400-grit sandpaper to the terminals to make sure it's a clean connection. Good idea! That I did, and also noticed that the positive terminal didn't even have a bolt clamping it on. Which I sort-of fixed. And Lo, the car started. I ran in, called the tow company and canceled, and went back on IRC to tell Justin I owed him one.

Then I heard the sound of a tow-truck backing up outside. Oops! Came out, waving, jumped on the running board to find myself face to face with the butchest woman I've seen in ages. Her head was half-shaved, half long-orange hair, she had a lip piercing, and when I said hi, I'm really sorry, I called a few minutes ago to cancel, she laughed and her tongue piercing didn't look at all out of place. She looked tough. I'm glad she was friendly. And it wasn't until she had left that I realized, I totally should've gotten her name, at least.

Right. So, off to work; got some stuff done, then at 2pm, dan asked if I could take him home.

Out to the car, which... started immediately.

Dropped him home, stopped to run an errand, and... it refused to start again.

This time, I had the jumper cables out and the hood up, at the ready for a quick jump from the next available driver. Yes, I've lost any inhibition against asking just anyone... And y'know, people in this town? They'll jump you just as promptly. At least if you're able to get your hood up quick.

Curtain, before the snickering gets too loud.

Act III:

What now? Maybe alternator, maybe starter, maybe dud battery. Motor's running, at least. Off to the auto shop, on the north side of town, to beg them to maybe fit me in this afternoon somehow?

They were busy; 4 cars had to be finished today. But the head guy said OK, I can wait around and see where they are in an hour. So I sat in the car, windows down, and listened to their radio and machinery. In my short sleeve shirt- OMG this weather! If it wasn't the uncertainty about the car, it would be pretty much divine. I even meditated for a while. And I discovered a pair of sunglasses in the glove compartment, which helped.

90 minutes later, I was back on the road. Here's what I learned:
1) the terminals need to be clamped down so they can't shake off.
2) hand-tight is NOWHERE near good enough, even if that's what they were when I took off the old battery. (Gee, maybe that was the root cause? Not the dying ancient battery? Hm.)
3) gruff car guys are still OK folks. I tipped him, because he didn't even bother writing it up, just said how about $20. And he could've said, no guarantee he'll even be able to look at it today, but he didn't.

And that is, I hope, the end of this story.

It seems Pharma Plus is having a sale on Canadian postage: 10% off a book of ten regular 52-cent stamps. How odd is that? I've never heard of a sale on stamps.

I was suspicious, because Canada Post always raises rates in January, but it turns out the stamps are permanent, so they'll be good. I'm thinking maybe I should buy some more.

I googled and apparently it's Ontario wide. I don't know the ending-date. [ETA: the online flier claims it's through yesterday, but presumably this week's flier includes the same sale, suggesting it's through next Saturday at least.]

*shrug*

I'm official.

Now, time for a nap.

Blame America... and oh yeah, the Jews is a review in this week's Globe and Mail Books section, of a new book, Uncouth Nation: Why Europe Dislikes America by Andrei Markovits. The book sounds challenging: how opinion of the US in Europe has been prejudicially negative (giving a number of "damned if you do, damned if you don't" examples, such as broad public protests in France and Germany against both US globalization and US protectionism). Part of his thesis is that Europe resents America for the dependence Europe had on the US after WWII; and for the changes the US has wrought in Europe since.

But the most challenging part to the book is possibly the chapter on the connections between anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism, in part due to the US's support for Israel, and due to a belief that the US is run by Jews.
Markovits argues that "all the historical ingredients used to demonize Jews are simply transferred to the state of Israel, which -- in the standard diction of anti-Semitism -- behaves Jew-like by grasping for global power, exhibiting Old Testament-like (pre-Christian) vengefulness. It bamboozles the world, as cunning Jews are wont to do, extorts money from hapless victims who have been fooled into seeing the Jews as victims, exhibits capitalist greed and, of course, indulges in constant brutality toward the weak. Israel thus becomes a sort of new Jew, a collective Jew among the world's nations." And that reinforces anti-Americanism, and vice-versa. Ugh. Markovits points to recent and rising cases of anti-Semitism among the European Left, and I'm a bit worried he knows what he's talking about.

Ultimately, too, I don't understand nationalism terribly well; this was drilled into me some time ago by zubatac as he tried to explain the nature of Croatian nationalism as a small country within Europe. But since coming to Canada, I do feel a bit... I guess defensive is the right word, sometimes, when the conversation turns to US offences; which might be very similar conversations to the ones I'd be having back in the US, but the difference... I can see this as a bit of nationalism.

I guess I'd like to understand anti-X-ism better, where X isn't a personality trait or a religion, but rather an entire country, and possibly against the people who live there.

I hope to read this book, even if the cover looks totally stupid, and also the author has received laurels for writing a semi-scholarly book on Soccer and American Exceptionalism. Maybe I'll wait for the NYT to review it.

But also, I'm writing about the reviewer for the Globe and Mail, who sounds like a jerk. His end paragraph concerns anti-Americanism driving America further away from the rest of the West, because America cares too much what other countries think of it: "At stake here, however, is much more than mere vanity. The Americans don't really have much else besides that for which they stand." Ouch. That's not only a harsh blow, it has little to do with the book's thesis or his review before that throwaway line. Seems like sloppy writing and sloppy editing, and I'd have expected better from the Globe and Mail.

...Finally, on a related note, today I got a letter from Citizenship and Immigration. It came in a thick packet, so I was convinced they returned my Citizenship application for missing something. But no, it's a letter acknowledging my application, and a study guide for the test I'll take in 8 to 10 months. Yay!