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Showing posts from January, 2011

The North African democratic fantasy

Apparently, there is an impending flood of democracy sweeping North Africa. That's what some people seem to think. I don't know what to make of it. While it sounds like a progressive sort of thing, I have my doubts. Recently, the Tunisians managed to chase away their dictatorial leaders out of the country. What started at some unfortunate soul dousing himself in paint thinner and setting fire  to himself (ending in his death a few weeks later) has toppled a government and thrown the whole of North Africa in political chaos. I am not sure what made the rulers of Tunisia flee. My guess is, they had enough funds stashed outside of the country and had a plan on what to do post-ousting. They probably had safe-havens sorted out (apparently some of the crooks are Canadian residents!) and made their way out rather than risk getting killed by popular anger. Perhaps the army said it would no longer support them, perhaps they were wishing for some peace and quite on the golf course somew

Angry birds and assessments

I got my property assessment today. I don't know if I should be excited or sad. My property is worth more than it was worth last year. By a decent percentage. Yay. Of course, that also means that my property taxes go up. Not so yay.  I finally broke down and bought my first ever paid app from the App Store from Apple. Damn. Is Angry Birds ever addictive. I had read about it before and dismissed it as a silly game, but I think it is worth the 99 pennies I paid for it. The guys who created it are dealing in digital crack I think. If you've ever wanted to do something worthwhile with your time while you're stuck in a line, bored at a party or on a bus, train, airplane or just can't go to sleep, play Angry Birds. It will make you happy. And if you have an Android based phone, the game is free (ad supported). Also, I've been watching the last season of Da Vinci's Inquest . This isn't American Law and Order, but its really good. A narcotics cop turned coroner, D