~ Note: The Weekly Bit has been suspended because I got busy and realized these were of little value. See archived bits below or in the linked page for previous posts and my articles on the McGill Tribune for more. ~

Premise: I need to maintain some form of creativity despite my ever-fleeting free time.

Manifestation: a new post every Sunday. Be it a song, album, anecdote or interesting publication I want to share, you can hold me to it that something will show up here by 11:59pm every Sunday (in the local time of wherever I stand).

Every eight bits makes a byte, so I’ll consider shifting gears for each eight-week milestone and will take a week off before the next byte.

Covid-19 PSA (16/03/20)

Here is a plea I felt I could not help but share. I wish you all a safe, empowering and habit-changing climate march on September 27th!

More things to take in while I take a hiatus. This time, they are about Montreal in the age of late 60’s American optimism…

I happened upon these videos from a 2017 article in the Gazette, which dives into what made our metro system special.

Hi all, I’m taking a break from posting for a while, as I move back to Montreal. In the meantime, do a little exploring of the rest of my website - I’m sure there are sections you have missed.

You might even be interested in some of my photography. While I am a middling amateur photographer, I do sell prints on occasion and if there is enough demand at the same time, I might print out a set of post cards or larger format prints. My preferred contact info for that would be my email (linked in the About page).

I leave you with an 8’x2.5’ painting I gifted my roommates in Vancouver as I left the city. It is far from perfect, but my time in Vancouver was finite and I am glad that I was nonetheless able to produce something from a canvas I found in the garbage.

Byte 4, bit 4 (06/08/19): a surfing weekend in Tofino

Little explanation is needed to accompany these photos. My friend Kayla and I went for a fun long weekend of camping, surfing, exploring and laughing on the West coast of Vancouver Island (one of the most westerly locations in Canada). We had an awesome time, we met some interesting people, we saw some great views, Kayla stood up on a surf board on her first ever weekend surfing, I performed my first surfing trick, and all in all, I can’t think of a way our weekend could have been better.

Byte 4, bit 3 (28/07/19): 100 songs and meme spreading

Over five years of guitar playing in my spare time, I have amassed a set of 100 songs that I can play and sing along to into one document (linked here if you didn’t notice) that I practice with. Although I am bound to make changes to this document, I thought I might share it with you to kick-start your guitar playing journey, or at least to inspire you with some new music! Some of my favourite songs to play include Full Circle, Words on the Fire, Brother, In a Blackout, Cherry Wine, and Don’t Think Twice it’s Alright.

My document is incomplete, however. Its keys are modified to fit my specific vocal range, there are many mistakes, there is no apparent order to the songs, and there are a lot of great songs missing from the list. Thus, if you choose to make use of the document, I challenge you to add songs of your own to your downloaded version and pass it on to others if they stand to benefit from it. As I have used this document to improve upon my guitar playing skills, I hope that it will find its way into the hands of someone else who can use it to do the same.

On a somewhat related note, I urge you to contemplate the way in which information spreads in the internet age. It has been suggested (first by Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene), that units of information (eg. ideas, behaviours or styles) often spread between groups similarly to the way by which pathogens or microbes in general infect large groups of people (see video). By this analogy, these units of information (termed memes) go through a sort of Darwinian selection to reach you through complex networks of individual interactions between nodes. Since the term meme was coined in the mid 1970’s, its colloquial use has morphed over time to refer to a type of funny pictures on the internet. If we return to the initial definition of meme and its associated metaphor in the present day, it becomes immediately obvious that at a time when information is shared so easily between people and networks of people on the internet are so unimpinged by geography, we must all do our best to avoid the spread of bad ideas. Even if you think that what you share to your close friends will only make rounds in a small community, there is always a non-negligible chance that a single bleak meme exponentially grows its negative influence around the world. The same goes for good ideas. If we intentionally spread positive memes throughout our communities and do our individual parts to inhibit the spread of bad memes throughout our networks, then we may indeed have a positive influence on the larger state of our world and the collective mental health of all those around us. Although we arrived at this conclusion in different ways, Daniel Dennett touched on this in an interesting lecture three years ago (to be clear, I’m not pretending to put myself in Dennett’s orbit or to have come up with a meaningful paradigm here - this is kind of an obvious idea, but it bears dwelling on if you haven’t already). With that, I hope you have a wonderful week and wish you all the best until next time!

Byte 4, bit 2 (21/07/19): nostalgia

Today, my nuclear family met up with my extended family on a long-held annual trip that I have managed to attend for the past 21 years. While I am having an amazing Summer on the West Coast of North America and have been well aware of the fact that such a departure from my personal tradition would be inevitable at some point, I can not help but think of my family at this time. I had a moment earlier today during which all of the wonderful emotions attached to this annual trip trickled through me as I listened to a song. Thus, I leave you with a link to the Beatles’ Here Comes the Sun. As you listen to this song, try to think back to a great memory you have of Summer, your family, or something else that makes you happy. Although I can’t be there this year, I am grateful for the memories I have with my family and the promise of more memories to be made in future trips.

Byte 4, bit 1 (14/07/19): 50 years on

That’s one small step for man... one... giant leap for mankind.

Neil Armstrong 20/07/1969

Byte 3, bit 8 (30/06/19): letter to a new arrival

As you take your first steps upon this land, 

look forth, for your ubiety is great.

As you make your imprint upon these sands, 

Be mindful of the years which shaped their state.

As you are made from those who built your hands,

Be conscious of the clay from which you’re shaped.

As you, dear guest, come wide-eyed to your stand, 

Take pride in all the past and what awaits.

Two good friends of mine recently had their first child. This news comes almost exactly 50 years after the astronauts of Apollo 11 set foot on the moon and 10 years before we are expected to land humans on Mars; 100 years after Einstein’s solar eclipse and within 3 months of the first image of a black hole being released; 100 years after Bauhaus emerged and 7 years before the completion of the Sagrada Familia; 22 years of Deep Blue beating Kasparov, the same month Elon Musk unveiled Neuralink and 26 years before Ray Kurtzweil predicts we will reach Singularity. The world is changing fast and this little boy will grow up in an increasingly changing world from the one we know today. I can only hope that his friends and his generation as a whole will be interested in the history and future of our world.

A poor attempt at poetry and a curious selection of milestones, I know - these wereon my mind as I wrote them, but I’m sure you could think of your own examples.

Byte 3, bit 7 (23/06/19): pharmacare and the future of Canadian drug coverage

Less than two weeks ago, an advisory council funded by the Liberal government generated an open report that suggests Canada should completely re-structure the way we do drug coverage in Canada. Today, we answer some questions related to Canada’s current and potential future drug insurance systems, in order to better understand how this topic may shape the future of our country.

• How is Canadian PharmaCare (PC) currently structured and does it even exist?

Currently, drug coverage outside of hospitals is determined by individual policies mandated at a provincial level, rather than federally, as described in the Canadian Health Act:

“In addition to the medically necessary hospital and physician services covered by the Canada Health Act, provinces and territories also provide a range of other programs and services. These are provided at provincial and territorial discretion, on their own terms and conditions, and vary from one province or territory to another. Additional services that may be provided include pharmacare, ambulance services and optometric services.” - Canada Health Act 2017-2018 annual report

Therefore, someone who is not privately insured and has been prescribed a life saving drug in Prince Edward Island will pay a drastically different price from what someone with the same condition in Québec will pay for that same drug. Although there are many policies across different provinces that support those in need, there remain wide gaps in these systems that have left many people unprotected by their provinces’ policies. Essentially, what we currently have in Canada is a patchwork of varied levels of private and public coverage that has, in the words of the PC advisory council “left a crucial part of effective health care inconsistently funded and unevenly available, and means too many patients are at risk of not getting the medication they need.” As one of the few developed countries in the world that does not have universal coverage of prescription drugs, and paying more per capita on prescription drugs than any other OECD country (with the United States and Switzerland as exceptions), it is no wonder that some people might want change.

• Why was PC not included in the Canada Health Act of 1984?

Although universal, single payer PC has been repeatedly suggested to the Canadian government from reports as early as the Hall Commission in 1964; prescription medicines played a more limited role in the expenses of health care than did hospitals and physician services at the time of the Medical Care Act in 1966 and the Health Care Act in 1984. While national PC was always intended to be added at a later date to both of these acts, the pitches and yaws of federal and provincial politics have continually sidetracked these efforts in the years since.

• In an ideal world, how would the advisory council like a new federal system to be structured?

In their report, the PC advisory council set out to answer three main questions for how they would ideally structure Canadian PC: who should be covered; what drugs should be covered; and who should pay for it. For a more in-depth analysis, I urge that you read the report for yourself. However, in brief, it would include the creation of a Canadian drug agency that (much like NICE in England) would determine what drugs would be covered, would cover everyone equally (rather than only those who aren’t already covered - a conservative plan that might continue to lead to continued inequalities) and would cost us a good deal in taxes. While the cost of the newly suggested system has been flagged by conservatives as exorbitant, it has been rationalized over the long-term in the report by the mathematically rational concept that it would help Canada’s purchasing power and reduce healthcare spending by preventing avoidable hospital visits from patients who are currently cutting their doses or missing meals because of drug costs. There is no absolute certainty that this plan would work out financially, but the balance sheets laid out in the PC advisory report (p. 44-48 and 85-95) are rational and convincing from my perspective.

• What makes it more likely that we will have PC in the next five years than it was in the last five?

While there have been many reports over the years that have supported a federally mandated universal PC plan, this most recent report was unveiled just four months before a federal election, timing it to be quite an important talking point during the elections. This also comes at a time when the number of high-cost drugs that are highly specific to individual conditions has soared in comparison to the generics of the past (for instance, consider the extreme specificities and exorbitant costs of monoclonal antibodies, which ). Furthermore, the report has focused solely on PC and has laid out a clear road map for how Canada might go about implementing this plan, in comparison to previous reports that were less specific.

• How might the different political parties shape PC in their own vision? Can we be certain it will happen?

There has already been opposition to the proposition, and it is not yet certain whether the Liberal government would even adopt this system in its entirety, despite it coming from a council that it funded. However, apart from the Conservative party, the three parties on the left seem more or less to support the underlying ideas of the proposition and the Conservatives nonetheless offered that they will be focusing on filling in the gaps of our current patchwork system (which, I remind you, would likely lead to a larger deficit, despite looking cheaper in the short-term). No matter what, it looks as though there is likely to be a wider safety net for those in need of PC in the coming years.

Byte 3, bit 6 (16/06/19): the Hong Kong protests and fears of authoritarianism in two (semi-)independent Chinese states

While my recent trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong was geared towards comparing healthcare policies between Taiwan and Canada, I also took the opportunity to explore local opinions on a very interesting ongoing controversy. The two places I visited have a social and economic history strongly tied to rule by mainland China and both states are currently debating the role the central Chinese government should have in their societies.

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) currently holds the world’s largest population in its borders, has been undergoing a rapid increase in economic prosperity for the past two decades, and has recently began the Belt and Road initiative, leading to a mass of international credit. Many political scientists, reporters and politicians have thus argued for over a decade that the PRC will very likely become the pre-eminent superpower of the 21st century. Although this may seem to be an unobtrusive and maybe even fresh shift in global power from the very problematic West, it might serve well to point out that only 15 months ago, the current president of the PRC, Xi Jinping, was granted an indefinite and uninhibited reign over his country with a nearly unanimous vote. Given the country’s growing economic dominance despite its current political leadership, China’s authoritarian government is seen by many as a risk to the spread of Western democracy as the de facto leadership model to strive for in developing countries. Furthermore, China’s worldwide influence has exacerbated the already present damage this model has suffered due to recent populist movements. As there has been an interesting and frankly scary pivot away from liberal democracy in many countries around the world over the last two decades (notably including Hungary, Brazil, Russia and China), the ever-increasing influence of the Chinese model of government in the world should further raise alarms to anyone who believes in the benefits of globalism, freedom of expression, and the representation rights of minorities.

While liberal democratic values are important to the Chinese population, a 2007 report determined that the the majority opinion in China is that “economic growth and social stability [are] more important than freedom of speech, political participation, and other democratic rights.” Thus, censorship of subversive political opinions has been largely accepted by the citizenry of the People’s Republic of China (though possibly in part due to the effectiveness of this censorship or other effective rhetoric).

Hong Kong stands at an interesting position with respect to China, as it is governed by a political leader who was appointed by Xi Jinping, while it retains certain freedoms from mainland China that other provinces do not get to enjoy (due to its recent history as a British overseas territory). The most recent wave of protests in Hong Kong has centered around a proposed extradition bill, which many protesters have argued would codify the already present rendition of china-subversive Hong Kong citizens and would severely limit free-speech in the semi-independent state. Although Hong Kong is set to completely turn over to Chinese rule in 2047, it appears that the PRC has already began the process of overruling the citizenry of Hong Kong, in a bid to hasten the turn-over (masked as a bill to force the extradition of a murderer who is currently protected in Hong Kong). As tensions boil to a steam, it has been proposed that these protests may catalyze the formation of an independent nation of Hong Kong, although I remain skeptical that this might actually happen, given China’s global influence and the lack of democracy in China’s executive branch of government.

Byte 3, bit 5 (11/06/19): excuses and all that

Although I have managed to settle myself down in Vancouver and to find a job for the summer, I have been relatively busy recently with a set of activities that I would not normally consider to take oodles of time… I’ve been out hiking and exploring the West Coast with friends! It may come as no surprise to you that this summer was intended to be a bit of a break from university work before I return in the fall. As such, I have been taking a good deal of time off from many normal things, which include writing the Weekly Bit, in stead catching up on photography and exploring. Enjoy the photos and please excuse the latency of my posts.

Byte 3, bit 4 (26/05/19): Hong Kong

Although I would like to put to words a discussion that I have been having for the last few weeks with locals and friends about the influences of previous (European and Japanese) and current (Chinese) colonialism in both Hong Kong and Taiwan, I will have to put it off for a little while longer. I am currently on a job search in Vancouver and am regularly being distracted by the beautiful mountains and sunsets that no sane photographer can take time away from. While you wait, here are some photos from my twenty-two hour layover in Hong Kong.

If you are interested in the history of Hong Kong and why there seems to be such a strong British influence in the urban architecture and signage, consider watching the two first videos in this reporting mini-series, as well as this short report on Hong Kong’s hand over from British to Chinese rule.

Byte 3, bit 3 (19/05/19): Taiwan

A brief history of Taiwan (adapted from taiwan.gov.tw): early Malayo-Polynesian inhabitants go largely un-touched for many millennia, apart from some Chinese pirates/fishermen and passing Europeans who name the island “Ilha Formosa” (beautiful isle) until 1624, when the Dutch set up a trading post in Anping (South-West Taiwan). The Spanish then set up trading ports near where Taipei is today in 1626. Ming Chinese fleeing the Manchurian conquest later set up in Taiwan and kick out the Dutch in the 1660s. Taiwan is owned by the Ming and later Qing Chinese dynasties until the Japanese annex Taiwan in 1895 and own the island until 1945. At the conclusion of World War II and under the approval of Roosevelt and Churchill, the Japanese sign a treaty and cede the land back to what is then the Republic of China (ROC), run by Chiang Kai-Shek. The early days following the retrocession of Taiwan is a period of civil unrest, largely due to economic mis-management by the ruling party. This unrest climaxed with the 228 incident in 1947 and the proceeding White Terror, 38 years of martial law and suppression of dissidents. At the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the ROC flee Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that has taken over China, to take refuge in Taiwan. Chiang Kai-Shek rules Taiwan until his death in 1975. Twelve years later (in 1987), Taiwan becomes a democratic country, politically divided mainly into two parties: the leading Democratic Progressive Party (DPP - a progressive party that was formed in 1986 and is currently led by the first female president in the Chinese-speaking world) and the opposing Kuomintang (KMT - the same party formed by Sun Yat-Sen in 1911 that fled the CCP in 1949 and maintained martial law until 1987). While the DPP are in charge at the moment, having lead Taiwan to become the first Asian country to legalize gay marriage just two days ago, the KMT still has a firm grip on power and has been toying with the idea of an eventual reunification with mainland China. There is far more to the story, but that is a cursory look at Taiwan, which should hopefully spur in you some further interest.

This is a short album of some of my favourite photos from my recent trip in Taiwan (05-05-19 to 21-05-19). As I am busy in the process of setting myself up in Vancouver for the summer, I am yet to write up some of the things I find most interesting about Taiwan and its healthcare system as soon as more time becomes available to me - I should be back to regular posting by Sunday the 26th of May and am currently considering an exploration into the differences and similarities between Taiwan (the Republic of China) and Hong Kong (a part of China since 1997) as two countries battling with current or recent initiatives to join mainland China. In the meantime, enjoy!

Byte 3, bit 2 (07/04/19): pause

With the aim of continual growth, I often load a few too many things onto my plate and forget to step back and enjoy what I have. Today and maybe for a little while, I am going to take time off from what I would normally spend writing weekly bits and engaging in social media. In stead, I will to properly organize what I am going to do on my trip to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and later Vancouver, so that my summer is more enjoyable and worth sharing. This will hopefully make my summer and my future bits more interesting for us all. If not next week, I will be back on track with some new bits as soon as I have reliable internet on the other side of the world from Montreal.

In the meantime, I hope you will explore my galleries and read through my pages on my travels in Australia and New Zealand, or more from The Weekly Bit below.

Byte 3, bit 1 (31/03/19): exhibitions!

Amongst the constant hum of classes, meetings, papers, presentations, job applications and exams, I managed to fit in showing two of my photos at two separate exhibitions over the last couple weeks. The first was at the McGill University Photography Students’ Society (MUPSS) Winter exhibition, where I showed one of my favourite portraits, called Mirage. The second was at an exhibition by the Fridge Door Gallery that revolved around the theme of each artist’s haven. For the Haven exhibition, I explored the theme with an old photo of mine called Oh Captain.