Lifenotes
Chronicling my journey.
One year without TV – Part One
In just a couple of weeks time, it will have been a year since my wife and I last received any kind of TV broadcast into our home. We don’t even own a TV since we moved to Canada.
That’s not to say we don’t watch TV shows, news and movies, it’s just that we’ve been using different technologies to do it. In this first post I will explore why we did it, how we made the transition away from broadcast TV, and what technologies we found to be useful. In part two I’ll look back at our experiences and assess the pros and cons of not having a TV, and discuss where this might lead, for us and for society as a whole. If you’d prefer a shorter version of this post, you can head on over here.
Watching TV at a time that you choose
So, why did we make the switch?
Read MoreMy first swim in Canada
I’m a keen swimmer. But that doesn’t mean the same thing in North America as it does in the UK, or even to everyone back home, so I better explain – I love to go to the swimming pool, cruise up and down at my own pace and let my mind wander. If I’m feeling particularly indulgant I might even relax in the jacuzzi (spa/hottub) or steam room afterwards. I’m not a competitive swimmer and have no interest in lap times or personal bests. For me, it’s a pleasant thing to do that has the happy side effect of giving me some regular exercise.
Which is why it’s really sad that I haven’t been swimming in Montréal since I moved here 9 months ago. The thing is, in Canada, it’s not so easy to just “go swimming”.
Read MoreCanada, land of empty spaces and vast distances
Canada is overwhelmingly big. The distances and emptiness are awesome in the truest sense of the word. I knew this on some level, but it wasn’t until I tried to explore some of it with my family that it began to sink in. Subsequently I did some digging online that gave me an even stronger sense of just how empty it really is. I learnt about many remote places and how hard they are to visit. Eventually I even found an excellent graphic illustrating how most of Canada is uninhabited, which you can find at the bottom of this article.
A week “in Gaspé”
At the start of September, my parents came to visit for a couple of weeks. We decided this was a great opportunity to explore a bit of Canada together, so set aside a week for what would be our biggest trip yet since moving here – exploring the Gaspé peninsula.
Swine flu – From the horse’s mouth
Dispelling the myths about H1N1
Swine flu has been all over the news for the last few months, especially in the UK; You could hardly miss it. But as with many things which are analyzed and deconstructed ad nauseum in the media over several months, the reality is somewhat different from the hype.
Having experienced swine flu first hand, and recovered, I feel compelled to set the record straight:
1) Swine flu is just another form of flu
New flu viruses appear every year, and despite its sinister sounding name, swine flu is just another variant. Most variants don’t get to have their own name outside of scientific circles – this one did for two reasons: Firstly, it originated in pigs not in humans; Secondly, it is extremely virulent. That does *not* mean that it is extremely serious – just that it is easily spread from human to human, more so than is normal for flu.
What seems to have happened is that a great deal of stigma has been attached to the name. “It’s not just flu, it’s SWINE flu, it must be AWFUL!”.
Read MoreLife after IBM
Finding a new path to follow
Every now and then you come to a point in your life when you are at a fork in the road, you have a choice before you and you know that whichever choice you make, your life will probably end up very different – for example, when you decide what University to go to, or move in with a partner. For me, that is exactly how it feels at the moment. Not so much the decision to move to Canada – of course that was a huge decision to make, but more the decision to leave IBM and “do something different” that came with it.
Thoughts on leaving IBM
I know a number of people who’ve left IBM in the last year or two – Roo Reynolds, Robert Berry, Ian Hughes and Alan Lepofsky to name just a few (A search on Google reveals many more). Usually there is a good reason – the offer of a fantastic job or the fruition of a plan to set up your own business. I think there must be a “physical law of IBM”: An employee will tend remain there unless acted on by an external force!
For me, the choice was not a career choice so much as a lifestyle choice – to be with my wife and help her get her career off to the best possible start with a postdoc position in Canada. It wasn’t possible to move to IBM Canada because there was no “pull” from the Canada side. I hoped at first I might do the same job remotely, but that proved impossible. But once I accepted the reality that I would need to leave IBM, thought processes began about what else I might do, I became more and more excited about the possibilities of a fresh start.
Read MoreVive la différence!
Surprising and not-so-surprising differences between life in the UK & Canada
On the whole, life in Canada is pretty similar to life in the UK. That was possibly the biggest surprise. Nonetheless, after our first month here we’ve noticed various things which are definitely different from what we were used to back home – some have a big effect and some are just minor differences which you may find interesting. So without further ado, here are 10 things that I’ve found different living in Canada.
1. Groceries and Food
I always thought that with the combination of American mass-market economics and the French food-loving influence, that it would be easy to buy groceries affordably and cheaply here. It was a big surprise to find out that the price of groceries here is somewhat extortionate! For example, a pack of 3 peppers (capsicums) (which works out cheaper than buying them loose) is $4.99 (just under £3) meaning they are about £1 each – twice the price they are in the UK. And cheese is horrendously expensive, varying between $20-$40 a kilogram (£11-£22) meaning a 250g block of cheese similar to those you might buy at home for under £2 will set you back more like £4 here. And that’s for basic cheddar. If you want some nice French cheeses it’s a lot more.
Another thing that’s disappointing is the quality of the food, the fruit and veg is often tired and doesn’t keep more than a couple of days.