bradm

If you can find it (try your local public library), "Metamagical Themas" is a really good read, especially as an intro to Hofstadter's writing. As well, because it's a collection of monthly columns (written mostly for Scientific American magazine, when Hofstadter took over Martin Gardner's "Mathematical Games" column, anagramming it to "Metamagical Themas" in the process), they're more self-contained and bite-sized. Aloha, Brad

Mr. Something Something, 2004-07-17, Cafe Dekcuf, Ottawa, ON. Aloha, Brad

Government does treat all religions equally: all of them are avoided altogether. As soon as you have government "treat" (in the sense of not avoiding) a particular religion (or set of religions), it necessarily avoids altogether all the other religions it's not treating, and that is unequal. Aloha, Brad

I can phrase it differently: government is a special group, in that it functions to represent the society that elected it (i.e., the society that grants it special authorities). What the government does, it does in the name of the society it represents. Whether the policies that a particular elected government implements match (i.e., are representative of) the desires of a particular demographic (or group of demographics) doesn't change the fact that the government functions to implement society's will. Anything that a government does in a society necessarily includes the weight of its influence and authority in that society. Aloha, Brad

There are live recordings of Mogwai at http://www.archive.org/details/Mogwai Aloha, Brad

Thanks, Ms. H, I hadn't heard about this. It might make for a good Saturday afternoon stroll, weather permitting. Aloha, Brad

In. Aloha, Brad

Aloha, Brad

I don't know if anyone here has ever heard of it, but there's a game called Nomic that was cooked up by a philosophy professor. I first heard about it in Metamagical Themas, a collection of articles by Douglas Hofstadter, the same guy who wrote Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid. Aloha, Brad

I don't think I've ever heard a secularist (or hard-core "separation of church and state" adherent) express a desire to limit individuals' or groups' abilities to express things like religion or belief (up to and including Christmas decorations and Jesus bumper stickers), or talk about living in fear of what group or individuals will express themselves next. But the government is not just "a person or group", it's a special group, representing the whole of society, and is also granted authority over society (by society itself). So when the government expresses a religious belief (whether it's putting Jesus on license plates or setting up a nativity scene at city hall), that expression necessarily carries along with it the weight of the government's authority, and that's what people object to. Aloha, Brad

What time? Aloha, Brad

Kelp Me - Ottawa's top indie label celebrates 15 years of lovin' it Aloha, Brad

is THAT why I've been getting things cheaper there? I just thought the gal there liked me. Could be both. Aloha, Brad

Happy Day, Hux! Aloha, Brad

Walk. Aloha, Brad

Does http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/en/air/driveclean/ help? I didn't see a listing for test cost, but it might be there somewhere. Aloha, Brad

I was delivered one separate ticket per day of the festival., (Didn't they did that last year as the "transferrable" festival pass, with there also being non-transferrable full-festival wristbands?) Aloha, Brad

My tickets arrived today. Aloha, Brad

http://www.archive.org/details/gtb2009-04-10.lsd2.acm660.flac16 GTB on June 17 in Ottawa event listing Aloha, Brad

I'm interested in exploring ride options to this from (or thru) Ottawa. (I'd also want to bring all my gear and record what I could.) Aloha, Brad

I'm planning a trip to Amsterdam in May (leaving Ottawa May 12, leaving Amsterdam May 18), and some of the flights I've looked at require a plane-change in London, England, which is fine with me. But I just noticed that a couple of bands I like are playing in London on May 20. So what I'd like to do is fly Ottawa > London > Amsterdam on May 12/13, then fly Amsterdam > London on May 18, and London > Ottawa on May 21. Would I be better off to book two separate return tickets (one of them being Ottawa > London / London > Ottawa, the other being London > Amsterdam / Amsterdam London), or should I try to book Ottawa > Amsterdam > London / London > Amsterdam > Ottawa with a couple of days' "split" between arriving in and departing from London on the way back? Any help or advice would be appreciated. Thanks. Aloha, Brad

http://huffestates.ca Aloha, Brad

You need Downtime Aloha, Brad

What file format is it in? If it's in ".WAV" (Wave) format, you could try CDWave which will read in a big Wave file, let you specify the track-split points, and then write out one Wave file per track. Aloha, Brad

I asked him if it would be OK for me to rip my Downtime CD to MP3, ZIP it all up, and upload it to sendspace for people to grab, and he said, "Cool!" http://www.sendspace.com/file/qdq166 It's 20 MB. I'm not sure what the total amount that can be downloaded from that link will be, but a bunch of people should be able to grab it before any limits kick in. Aloha, Brad