Jason's Notes About Stuff

See:  The day oil rained down on Burnaby Ever since I moved to BC, not far from the path of the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion , I've been asked: "What do you think about that pipeline?" My response, from the beginning, has been a very confident: "Pipeline won't get built." "But how can you be so sure?", they ask. "'Cause people won't let it." I sincerely hope that I will be right about this. On March 23rd, 2018, two sitting Members of Parliment from two different political parties joined protesters at Kinder Morgan's gates in non-violent civil disobedience . They were both arrested. I completely support their actions, and those of everyone putting themselves in harm's way to help protect the land and water for future generations. These people are true heroes, selflessly sacrificing their own time and freedom so others can enjoy the safety and comfort of not being poisoned by catastroph...

Everything I'm going to write here seems painfully obvious to me, but apparently is not well known. I've read many recent articles and comments that seem to herald "free market capitalism" as the answer to every problem in society. They all seem to miss one critical factor though. Capitalism only works if there is competition. This seems like a very simple, bland, undeniable statement, and yet as I write it, I hear the collective sound of thousands of people picking up their torches and pitchforks and heading in my general direction. So -- Who disagrees with this statement? Please put up your hands. Now, how many of you that raised your hands understand economics? And I don't mean the philosophy or political nature of economics. I've read  Atlas Shrugged cover-to-cover and I'm not talking about the type of "political economic philosophy" introduced there. I'm talking about straight up basic  Microeconomics and the theor...

This is an open letter to Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. January 23rd, 2017 Dear Justin, You seem like a cool guy. We don't have a lot of time, so I'll get straight to the point. In 2015, you made a very specific promise (which is still online -- kudos for that). It reads: " We will make every vote count. We are committed to ensuring that 2015 will be the last federal election conducted under the first-past-the-post voting system." Time is ticking away, and so far you haven't made very many positive steps towards moving to a PR (Proportional Representation) system that would truly satisfy this promise. Late last year, you released a survey that seemed to be designed to confuse people rather than find out what they really think. More and more, it looks like the Liberal government is preparing to renege on its promise to " make every vote count. " I assure you, this would be a huge mistake . If you decide to keep FP...

This was the first time I've ever bet real money on an election. And I won. Even I'm a bit surprised. But only a bit. In mid-October, I posted " Why Trump Could Still Win " at a time when major news outlets said that a Trump win was virtually impossible . Good ol' Michael Moore  (yeah he's still around) made a far more eloquent prediction at " 5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win ". Of course, way back in July 2015, I took note of Trump's social media campaign, and realized that this election would be won or lost on social media . This was also true for Obama in 2008 and 2012, but one major, major thing had changed: The Facebook and Twitter demographic. It used to be that these were filled to the brim with liberal college students. Now there's a much more diversified crew. The rural "red" states are much better connected, and much easier to reach. My political leanings are complicated. I don't fit nicely into either...

My original title for this post was "Why Trump Will Win." Since then, nearly every major media outlet in the world says that a Trump win is a statistical impossibility . October 17th prediction from fivethirtyeight.com We'll see. I've toned down my prediction for the moment. Keep in mind that these polls have changed drastically over time: There's still another debate, and several weeks before the actual day. As far back as July 2015, I mused on Facebook: "Wow, Trump really knows how to play the social media game. I feel like he might win based on that alone." I think it's easy for upper-middle class, college-educated folks to dismiss the idea of a Trump win, but bear in mind: Clinton is the status quo. A lot of people do not want the status quo. A lot of people are pissed off at the status quo. Nearly every recent election has been won on the promise of significant change .   For better or worse, Trump promises change ...

A recently published article, " The Secret Startup That Saved the Worst Website in America " details some of the problems with the  Healthcare.gov launch fiasco that "so bad it nearly broke the Affordable Care Act." It also outlines how a small team rewrote much of the software "working as a startup within the government and replacing contractor-made apps with ones costing one-fiftieth of the price ." A key point is something I've written about before, namely that one good programmer equals an infinite number of mediocre ones . A handful of bright , motivated programmers can easily beat a massive army of corporate drones , middle managers and bureaucrats. This is related to Brooks' law , which states that " adding manpower to a late software project makes it later. " Or in other words, " nine women can't make a baby in one month. " "The government’s method of running software turned on a sequential des...

This morning I read the following CBC article:  Corporate tax avoidance 'scheme' hurting Canada, expert says . As they mention: "Thirteen per cent of these corporations paid less than 5 per cent in taxes and more than half paid less than 10 per cent . Much of this tax evasion is done secretly." "...the situation has become so serious that some corporations are trying to “put the brakes on” tax cuts, as they witness the effects on critical areas of the Canadian economy, such as education, health care and infrastructure." As I alluded to in a previous posting, " Why make a profit? ", there is a really simple solution to all of these complex schemes. Instead of taxing net revenue (aka. "profit"), we should be taxing gross revenue (aka. "income"). Net revenue, or profit, is what's left over after a corporation pays all of its expenses. This makes it easy to devise complicated corporate structures that move money...

Many have criticized Amazon.com for being unprofitable since inception. If you ask me, they're just being ultra-efficient . Take a look at this chart: Amazon's revenue has grown exponentially, but they've always kept their net profit/loss pretty close to zero. You see, the taxation system in most countries is actually a bit paradoxical . The purpose of a corporation (as defined by law) is to generate a profit , but that is also what is taxed. So if you make a profit, you lose a good chunk of it to taxes . On the other hand, if you re-invest those would-be-profits back into your business for growth, you get to keep it all . Meanwhile, massively profitable companies like Apple and Google end up engaging in complicated IP licensing schemes in tax havens to lower their taxes. Of course, a flat tax could put an end to some of these complex games...

Dear Toronto, Your streetcars have always caused me a lot of grief. First, their schedules are so inconsistent . You don't see any for a half hour, then there's like 3 in a row. Second, they're slow. Like, really slow. The east-west routes on busy streets are often much slower than walking  at times. Third, they're dangerous . You often have to cross a lane of traffic to board and disembark, so you risk death quite a lot. These problem have existed for decades, and nobody seems to care. Meanwhile, the main east-west routes (ie. King, Queen, Dundas, etc.) could be fixed tomorrow in 3 easy steps. 1. No street parking on main routes. Toronto is not (supposed to be) a pissant little rural town where you just drive in and dump your car on Main Street to visit the General Store. The never-ending stopping and parallel parking causes so many problems, it's ridiculous. This is supposed to be the downtown core of a "world class" city. Park t...

As a technologist, the recent Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit  is extremely concerning . I was hoping all of this software patent nonsense would go away, but Apple just proved that the new business model is more about litigation than innovation . As a company that essentially  "stole" the entire desktop GUI and mouse concept from Xerox, you have to wonder how they arrived here. Ironically, this concept was subsequently "re-stolen" by Microsoft to create Windows -- one of the most ubiquitous, profitable pieces of software ever. Naturally, Apple  sued Microsoft in 1988 , a long and bitter lawsuit that wasn't resolved until 1994, when Microsoft won . In the midst of this, Apple was actually sued by Xerox , a suit that was dismissed. In the Apple vs. Microsoft ruling, the court stated: "Apple cannot get patent-like protection for the idea of a graphical user interface, or the idea of a desktop metaphor." They obviously took this to heart, ...

The traditional "for profit" economic model works great for most things . For instance, take the mythical "widget". You research all the different types of widgets, find out the best deal, and purchase it. Manufactures and suppliers compete to offer the best widget for the lowest price . You set a budget, and buy the "most bang for the buck" widget. Now think about healthcare. What if your child has cancer? What is your budget to save them? Are you going to be enticed by a discount coupon or "one day only sale" from one of the local competing hospitals? Are you going to make a rational cost-benefit decision? Or would you be willing to mortgage your house, cash out your RRSP, and sell everything you own , if it meant saving them? That's the problem. The standard "supply and demand" economic model does not apply. Now, I definitely think private healthcare has a role -- for elective and optional procedures. But for...

From the December 2010 issue of Nutrition Action magazine : "...if it's an epidemic, that means it's been triggered by the environment. And what do you do if you have too much malaria? You drain the swamps. What do you do if you have too many deaths on the highway? You impose seat belts. These are public health measures. What do you do when you have an epidemic of obesity? We're going to have to impose taxes on soft drinks and subsidize healthier food. And we need safe neighbourhoods where kids can play. ... My grandmother knew that if you want to lose weight, you have to eat less and exercise more We're still there, but the real trigger of the obesity epidemic is the environment I couldn't agree more.

Update: 2010-06-29 - Record arrived by mail. Was apparently processed 2010-06-18, eight days after I was advised to send (and sent) a second application. So it "only" took them about 70 days, but weren't even able to track whether or not they had received it during the process. Thanks very much for everyone who offered help and support. Remember, this is still a big problem for many Canadians seeking employment and immigration abroad. The CFSS still really needs a major overhaul. I am a Canadian training for a Private Pilot's License (PPL) in New Zealand. A few months ago, my flight instructor recommended I start getting my final paperwork ready.  He mentioned it can often take up to 30 days to obtain this from foreign governments. I obtained my driving record in both countries via the Internet, and my New Zealand criminal record "all clear" report via postal mail, all within the first 3 weeks. Up until December 2009, you could obtain your own Cana...