One Step Closer to God

All this buzz about breakthroughs in stem cell research always makes me wonder. Are stem cells the next "BIG" thing? Will our generation live to see stem cells provide a pratical alternative to aging and disease? The promise of replacement parts grown from our own genetic material is very interesting.

While this breakthrough gives some people feelings of hope, it gives others feelings of dread. Some people fear what they don't know, others fear what they DO know. Some people fear what they can NEVER know. (I think I could use that last bit as lyrics for something!)

I say if you want to be a cry baby and fear everything you belong in a peasant hovel in 11th century Europe. You can sit there in the dark, not wanting to know anything except weather or not your crop of squash is going to fail. You can exist in your cosmic haunted house filled with fairies, specters, ghosts and goblins and gods, all threatening you with retribution should you try to learn what is beyond your current level of comprehension.

That being said, knowledge always comes with a price.

If stem cell research turns our world into a gloomy sifi hell of overpopulation, immortality and demon mutant clone armies, so be it. I'd rather suffer eternally for trying to be a god than die quietly in fear of my own potential.

TRULY UNDERGROUND

A few weeks ago I was riding around in the Toronto subway system. I must say, subways are just about the greatest thing ever. Noisy, smelly, dusty... They are amazing!

The whole display starts with silence.
Then, a groan in the distance. A few seconds later a scream. A light bursts down the tunnel, and is quickly accompanied by a rumbling steel tube. As the train flies past, a musty wind blows through your coat. The train stops for an instant. A packed platform is picked up and swept away in a matter of seconds. The doors close with a hiss and a digital sounding chime. In a few seconds, the platform is empty and silent.

I watched this ritual countless times when I was in Toronto. Perhaps I should go work for the Toronto transit commission. There is something very special about the feeling you get when you are alone on a subway platform waiting for the next train.

The TTC is a great mass transit system. After experiencing it, I now understand why we can't have anything like it in Winnipeg. We don't have enough people, our city isn't big enough, we don't have enough of a tax base to fund the trains.

Mass transit requires a MASS of people who don't want to use cars. Right now Winnipeg is full of people who think the coolest thing in the world is driving up and down the road on a Sunday night. Until commuters, down town parking prices, and population reaches a certain lvl, Orange busses are the best Winnipegers can hope for.

The End of the Beginning

People have been asking me why I ended my blog. To be honest, I didn't know anybody was reading it. There are two reasons I stopped.

1. I keep a real journal. I found that most of my journal time was being vamparized by my blog. I have to censor my thoughts on here so I don't like it as much.

2. The blog was mostly about the progress of my orchestra piece. After it was over, I thought it would be a good time to end.

The solution is shorter and less frequent posts.