In a recent episode of the Geek News Central Podcast, Todd discusses a company called 23andMe, listed by wired.com as one of Ten Start-ups worth Watching in 2008. This company can test your DNA to determine (at least to some extent) your predisposition to various diseases.

All well and good, but when I first heard the story my first thought was regarding the insurance implications.  There have been a number of high profile cases where insurance companies in the USA have refused medical coverage to policy holders based on the accusation that the policy holders did not disclose existing medical conditions when applying for the coverage. If you were to get this testing, and the result indicated a predisposition for cancer or heart disease, do you tell an insurance company if you are applying for health insurance?  If the insurance company interprets a genetic disposition to a disease, you could be denied coverage, or charged even higher rates. If you don’t tell the insurance company, you risk a claim denial in the future if the insurance company finds out. Is there anyway you can win?

All in all, if you are in the USA, I’d say it’s safer not to get the testing.

For all its imperfections, I’ll still take the Canadian system of universal coverage.

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Tags: HealthCare, DNA testing, Geek News Central Podcast

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Check out the vintage ad below.

In an era when advertisers take great pains to achieve diversity in their advertising (regardless of the purity of their motives) it is rather creepy to see an ad portraying a seemingly endless array of white men with short hair, white shirts and ties — the only people who could logically be engineers back then, I guess.

Just Like Having 150 *Extra* Engineers | Incredimazing

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Tags: Diversity

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A gift for my daughter

I’ve read this article a few times now, and am still saddened by the irony — the main point it tries to make is that the most important thing you can do for a happy life is to realize that no one owes you anything. Where do I begin?

The obvious flip side of this message is that if no one owes you anything, then you don’t owe anyone anything: no civic responsibility, no need to worry about global warming, since you don’t owe future generations anything, no need to worry about stewardship, etc. If it doesn’t affect you personally and you can get away with it, you can do whatever you want, since you don’t owe anyone the courtesy of acting like a civilized person.

The essence of being civilized is understanding what our shared responsibilities are to the society in which we live; the alternative is a “might is right” nightmare (sort of like U.S. foreign policy). The “no one owes you anything” philosophy can be boiled down to “Screw unto others before others screw unto you.”

I won’t go into a religious rant here; suffice it to say that framing this dog-eat-dog philosophy as a Christmas message  is the saddest irony of all — what did Jesus owe humanity?

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Tags: Christmas

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dicksnjanes: DicksnJanes #131: holysmokes!

In his latest podcast, Scarborough Dude talks about whether or not used Christmas presents are appropriate. In any number of ways, I would say Yes!

Firstly, some people get and/or give antiques for Christmas. What are antiques, except expensive used items, except for things old toys that are valuable because they have never been opened and played with. (How sad, a toy that never brings joy to a child! Imagine Handel’s Messiah losing part of its value every time it was performed and heard!).

Secondly, used presents are environmentally friendly — the antithesis of the single-use, throwaway culture.

Thirdly, in the case of music, I love second hand record/CD shops; the music industry has as its ultimate goal a society in which we pay every time we listen to music, and where the concepts of public domain and fair use are unknown; the second hand store is one way to fight this dystopian view of our cultural heritage.

Finally though, as I look back at this year, I think of the most precious gifts of I have received: new friends, an old friendship renewed, forgiveness, and the opportunity to try new things. These are just a few things that come to mind. None of these cost money, but are all priceless. And in contrast to what some people think about regular presents, “regifting” these gifts is not tacky, but instead merely increases their value.

To experience that which is both free and priceless; to take that which is regrettably rare and increase its value by making it commonplace; to me, that is the ultimate expression of Christmas giving.

Joy to all of you.

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Tags: Christmas, Gifts

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Ottawa cuts song from concert after Christmas controversy

I would like to contrast the travesty above with the experience I had attending my younger daughter’s Holiday concert this past Wednesday night. My younger daughter, like my older daughter before her, has had the privilege of attending William Burgess Public School in Toronto. This public school, located in central Toronto, has an extremely diverse student body; classes tend to look like mini United Nations. All faiths, creeds and traditions are represented at this school.

When it comes to the holiday concert, this school does not censor the word Christmas, or shy away from Christmas songs, even the religious ones. Rather, it makes sure to include music and content representing as many traditions as possible; this concert had references also to Ede, Hanukkah, Diwali, etc. The concert was also interspersed with quotes from various students about what they did at the holidays, and what the holidays meant to them.

The school gym was jam-packed (as always) with parents and other family members, many of course not of a Christian background, and guess what? No race riots, no angry murmurs or grumbling, no picketing of the school etc. Everyone enjoyed the concert, and the students are enriched by the exposure to different traditions.

I think the school in Ottawa could take a lesson from this.

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Tags: Christmas, Political Correctness, School

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This is going to be one of those blog posts that pulls disparate elements together, so hopefully it won’t be too jumbled. I was listening to the latest DicknJanes podcast from Scarborough Dude, and really liked the part about how important Active Listening is to being a mediator, and how he portrayed it as an activity that requires concentration and effort.

This segment then got me to thinking about the seemingly never ending argument about participatory liturgy in mainstream churches, especially when it comes to music. On one extreme, one finds those who seem to feel that the congregation should never be silent, and participate in every musical moment of the service; you can’t be praying unless you’re braying, I guess. On the other side of the argument (where my bias is), the belief is that one can be silent and still be intensively involved in a service; if one is moved by beautiful music, he or she is already involved in a spiritual moment; we don’t need a shouting match to prove the point. And you can’t have this moment without active listening.

The other thread I will try to tie in here starts with a concert I attended last Friday night, put on by The Exultate Chamber Singers of Toronto, with guest Giles Bryant. The program consisted of Giles reading of the entirety of A Child’s Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas, interspersed with fine singing by the choir. It was a magical concert, and truly brought Thomas’s words to life. What ties this to my blog entry is that many years ago my mother attended a panel discussion regarding liturgy, and made the point of how active listening is an act of liturgical participation. Some members of the panel were dismissive of her comments, but Giles spoke up, opening with “Madam, I spring to your defense…” My mother never forgot that moment.

It is many years later now, and my mother, after a devastating aneurysm in 2005, and recently what we suspect are one or more small strokes, now finds it very difficult to speak, and even following a conversation is difficult. In a sad way, she shows us just how much of an effort active listening can be.

Tags: ActiveListening, Dylan Thomas, Exultate, Scarborough Dude

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This morning I returned a car I had rented for a couple of days for a trip out to London. I had requested a midsize, but didn’t specify a model; I don’t really care that much. I was amused when I got a Dodge Avenger.

What a name for a car, and perfect for drivers in Toronto, who seem to love to transform their drives into a cathartic release of frustration and fury, avenging their dead-end job, lack of friends and/or meaningful relationship, small penis etc. by driving like maniacs, trying to regain the illusion of some sense of power and control.

The name Avenger just seems to invite and validate this kind of behaviour.

I want to see more accurate car names; how about an SUV called the Planet Killer? A two-seater sports car called The Mid-Life Crisis? (Available in regular and Erectile Dysfunction models). A high end Luxury Sedan called The Poor Mocker? A Stretch Limo called The More Money Than Taste?

Anyone else with suggestions?

Tags: Cars, Environment.

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Last evening, in what has become a yearly tradition, about ten of us from the morning choir of St. Thomas’s Anglican Church, fresh from a brisk Thursday night choir rehearsal, decided to relax by going to Sarah’s, a pub on the Danforth in Toronto, to do more singing!

The singing was unabashedly Christmas related, and by that I mean Christmas carols. We did not sing Silver Bells, The Christmas Song, Jingle Bell Rock or other songs of that type. What is neat that the reaction has always been very positive in the pub — we haven’t been thrown out, or told to stop singing yet; the other patrons of the pub have always seemed very appreciative. There was no hand-wringing politically correct awkwardness at the Christian content.
Last night was special though; we had a back room reserved, from which the sound of our singing reverberated into the rest of the pub. At one point, another patron stuck his head in and thanked us for our singing, and wished us a Merry Christmas. We returned the holiday wishes and kept singing. When it came time for us to pay our bill, we were told that this man had paid our tab on his way out!

What a nice gesture, and how privileged to be part of a musical moment that obviously meant so much to this man.

Tags: Christmas

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680News – Transit improvements on the way

On its face, this is good news, but I want to see how much of this money gets to the Toronto Transit System, the most underfunded public transit system in North America.

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This story tells the tail of a United Church minister who cannot get her REV JO license plate renewed. So far she has received the following reasons:

1. Encourages Speeding
2. Promotes Christianity
3. Rev is an alcoholic cooler-type beverage

The story also mentions a case from a few years ago of someone who had the plate JEHAD; after 9/11 he was told the plate was offensive, but in the end he got his plate, and an apology. I have no problem with his plate, but it seems a double-standard is in place here. It appears to be another case of what I call Zero-Sum Multiculturalism.

The basic theory is that there is a finite amount of cultural expression or tolerance possible in a society, and in order to promote one, you have to suppress another. This is often seen at Christmas time, with Christmas trees being re-labeled as “Holiday Bushes” and employees in stores being told to say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. Those responsible for such obscenities will at the same time go out of their way to promote every other tradition’ celebration in order to be “inclusive.” I am reminded of the language Police in Quebec, ever vigilant in their search for the illegal use of one of Canada’s official languages, as these P.C. functionaries attempt to stamp out every last sign of the Christian aspect of Christmas from public space.

Whenever any cultural assets are hidden from view, we are all poorer as a result. Why can’t “being inclusive” mean supporting cultural expressions from all cultures, including Anglo-Saxon or Judeo-Christian?

Or is having the word “REV” on a license plate an act of cultural genocide?

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