The political refugees of SYM

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:14 pm

I'm trying to convince my wife to consider a vacation in Canada, somewhere. I don't like the heat, and the Outer Banks (which we leave, tomorrow) is boring beyond description. Sure, it's nice to jump waves (our new eXtreme sport) or hottub, or walk the shores at night, but I prefer mental and physical activity involving discovering new things. If I want to assume a lotus position and meditate, I can do that anywhere; I don't need a beach. But I hear Canada has interesting museums, plenty of hiking territory, lots of fine architecture, and if you want to get insulted by non-English speakers, you can get that there, too, in Quebec.

*snorts and sprays water all over screen*

ROFL.

Anything you want to know about in peticular...?

fable · Post by **fable** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 2:56 pm

I'll take up your offer in a year or two, when we start thinking of another vacation on this side of the Atlantic.

But our 2005 major vacation will be overseas. We're not sure yet where, though there are several leading candidates.

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:16 pm

[QUOTE=hill1]If I had to move, it truly does not matter that my life is as well devoted to science. Almost everywhere around the world is a lab I easily qualify to work in. Therefore I am lucky that I can chose to go where I want to live, instead of where I have to.[/QUOTE]

Yes, molecular biology is highly movable and flexible compared to molecular positron emission tomography. Firstly, I need a particle accelerator, a radiochemistry lab and all the safetly stuff, including a protected building, to deal with radioactivity. Second, I need a system that detects antimatter and reconstruct data in a way that can be analysed. Third, I need a large group of specialists around me, plus people with different diseases and disorders as well as healthy people. Not very portable, and quite expensive.

[quote="Fable]
I'm trying to convince my wife to consider a vacation in Canada [/quote"]

I saw Canada from the air and from the seaside a couple of months ago - I didn't go ashore though, but I would like to go some other time. After Mali, the Gobi desert, Uzbekistan and the Land of Fire

@Canadians: What's Toronto like? Maybe I could go and develop a neurogenetic's program at their PET-lab?

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 3:34 pm

@ CE: Actually, I also work with exotic equipement... its just the process of finding it all thats the problem for us...

Microbiology incoorporates so many tiny side fields that truly almost anywhere I could have a job.

@Canadians: What's Toronto like? Maybe I could go and develop a neurogenetic's program at their PET-lab?

You mean the center of the universe?

Toronto is a city that is sprawling in all directions and is quickly gobbling up all of the smaller cities surrounding it. The downtown section is no not the only area with highrises. When you say downtown, typically you have to say the one you are referring to.

I dont know much about labs in Toronto... I can easily say that I tried not to assosiate myself to much with the labs there... sorry, CE.

Anyways, the air in Ontario is muggy anyways. With all the pollution coming up from the states and the stuff made from Hamilton and Toronto itself, smog is a major fact of life there.

Toronto is a large city, larger than some others, becuase of the total absense of apartment buildings in some areas. Like Calgary, it is a city of suburbia, with some duplex areas added in. They pack as many of these cookie cutter houses to gether as possible. Commuting is a major problem. Leaving the house a half hour for commuting is not unusual, nor is it unusual for it to take longer.

Do not be on the road in the afternoon rush, as everyone goes home...

Toronto also has some scenic areas. Taking the ferry to centerville is worth it. Al;though it is also a small, tree filled amusment park for children, there are sprawling gardens and an amazing atmosphere. The bay isnt the best there is to offer howeever, being so close to a large city.

One of the advantages of living in Ontario is the widespread landforms available. Driving to the south and to the west takes you into beautiful spruce and pine forests and tonnes of dunes. Not to mention the decidous forests and hiking trails everywhere, there are sopme cities worth seeing, such as St. Catherines/Niagra Falls, and London.

Driving in other directions will take you to a variety of lakes and small commiuntiries with beauttiful views and charming attitudes... such a bayfield...

To the north, Gerogian Bay and The shield provide one of the most ruigged, mountainous, and beautifl areas in Canada. Withj Quartsitye mountains set in the backgrounds, rising straight out of lakes, with trees all around, not just evergreens, area such a Kalarney and the bay itself are places to see. The place of 30000 lakes, or something like. You can rent a boat and drive for hours and still not be able to see even a quarter of the area. The sun at night and in the morning are sights to behold.

We also have beaches, some which even let you wakk out for miles before finally sinking before head level.

There are so many places to camp, and so many places to hike. Just not inside of Toronto. The city itself does not matter as much as what you have access to...

I could go on for a while... but I would bore you...

and this is only small part of Canada. It would take a while to see it all...

Chanak · Post by **Chanak** » Sat Oct 01, 2005 5:42 pm

I do believe that I would flee to the Pacific Northwest, either Washington state, or B.C. There's virgin territory out there, and I've spent some time in it. I'd choose temperate or evergreen forest since more tropical locales are rather hostile in comparison. In a nutshell, while there may be plenty of things to eat in the jungle and plenty of material to build shelters with, there are also plenty of things there that could eat you, too, and shelter wouldn't stop them.

I can't base my escape choices on governments nor nations; I don't care for the choices out there, since I know that no matter where I go, problems will exist. My choice is driven by climate and the land. I prefer temperate climes since they offer a good balance between shelter, food, and protection. Myself and a few friends built a pretty sturdy cabin on an abandoned tract of farmland in rural Tennessee using nothing but hand tools, and commenced to spend a few weeks out there clearing out brush and dead trees. My friend's Belgian mare served as our tractor, hauling logs on chains to a series of brush piles we had across the place. No electricity nor running water - just a cold spring not too far from our cabin, and a stream fed by it on the far side of the 200 acre parcel of land.

Eventually we had the well on the property working again, and installed a hand pump. Using some flexible black PVC, we rigged up a solar shower system that gave us hot showers with no electricty or gas needed. We installed a black water resevoir atop the shower house we built behind the cabin, in a big clearing. In the mornings we would take turns filling up the tank from the hand pumped well (that was sweaty work), then go about our job of clearing the property for the new owner. When we returned at the end of the day, the water was piping hot from absorbing the solar energy during the daytime (even on cloudy days, it still worked). We first had tried feeding copper tubing through our wood-burning stove inside of the cabin to create hot water for showers, but that didn't work very well. However, the solar shower idea worked perfectly. That isn't an original idea; we had seen plans for one in Mother Earth magazine earlier that year.

I could live that way again.

Lestat · Post by **Lestat** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 4:53 pm

Oh well, I'm Belgian to the core so I think I would never really leave the mother country behind. It's a bit like this: Imagine being married to a ugly ladydog, but who cooks like a goddess and makes you feel really at home. You might venture in some escapades with better looking, sexy and mysterious women, but in the end you return to your spouse. That's about my relation to my own country and the other countries out there.

Yshania · Post by **Yshania** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:04 pm

[QUOTE=Ravager]Out of curiosity, who would prefer to remain in their own country?

Personally I don't think I know enough about other countries to make a really informed decision on such a thing. But I certainly know there are countries worse than the UK out there.

[/QUOTE]

I might disagree with the politics, and complain about the taxation, but I - too - am happy here in the UK

Half my life ago I moved from a northern pit village to London. Back then it felt like I was emigrating, and I am only now becoming acclimatised - albeit to suburbia and not the big city!

My husband would emigrate at the drop of a hat, I find more reasons to want to stay here

Fiona · Post by **Fiona** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:28 pm

I really think I'd go to France

Lestat · Post by **Lestat** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:56 pm

[QUOTE=Fiona]I really think I'd go to France[/QUOTE]
That would be nice ... for France

Fiona · Post by **Fiona** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 5:58 pm

No I take it back. You know I can't talk to the people. I forgot you knew that

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:04 pm

Why didnt I get the memo of you not be able to talk to people. you could of at least warned me.

If I had to, I would go to France, just no to Paris. Bed experiences there... I went to a restaurant with more poodles than humans. I found the atmosphere in the center kind of... snobby. I enjoyed the back streets more.

Fiona · Post by **Fiona** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:07 pm

Now you got promotion you'll get ALL the memo's. What you got against poodles?

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:12 pm

Its when I have 6 leaning against my table drooling on my food when i find them annoying, and the majority of the population brought dogs. poodles were one of the few that could reach my table...

Promotion? HOJ giving promotions away?

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:38 pm

[QUOTE=Hill-Shatar]I dont know much about labs in Toronto... I can easily say that I tried not to assosiate myself to much with the labs there... sorry, CE. [/quote]

Thanks for the info about Toronto. There is a good molecular PET lab there, that's why I mentioned Toronto. The head of one of the PET groups at this lab is a woman who did her post-doc at my lab. I don't know her since that was before my time, but she has a lot of good publications and the people at my lab who worked with her then, tells me she's very good.

[quote="Chanak]
I can't base my escape choices on governments nor nations; I don't care for the choices out there"]

This I understand, regardless if you go to Antarctica, the world problems will be the same anyway, so any place out of "civilisation" where you are affect yourself, is as good as the other. I however, am not a lonely wolf like you, so I wouldn't like to live alone like a hermite, I would prefer living with a group of other people.

[quote="Hill]
If I had to"]

Not Paris? You must have gone to all the wrong places...I've been to Paris many times, 7-8 perhaps, I love the city. I used to have many friends there where I was younger. Last time I was back was last summer, I had a splendid time, and as usual met some nice and interesting people

One has moved to Canada now, though

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:02 pm

Not Paris? You must have gone to all the wrong places...I've been to Paris many times, 7-8 perhaps, I love the city. I used to have many friends there where I was younger. Last time I was back was last summer, I had a splendid time, and as usual met some nice and interesting people One has moved to Canada now, though

I am totally serious. We went to this fine place, my girlfriend and I, and sat down, the day before we left for the Riviera, which we enjoyed much more. We both spoke fluent French at the time (in 6 years, you tend to forget a language)and a lady came in, and we noticed a leash. We looked around, and everyone had dogs. We asked our waiter and he said that all owners were allowed to briung their dogs into many restaurants.

Watching them eat out of fine china was kind of funny though.

I still would rather be in the Monatare area inside the city... I much profered seeing Notre Dame. Truly beautiful.

What, whats so bad moving to Canada!?!

Fiona · Post by **Fiona** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:06 pm

Nothing, apparently

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/ame ... 317222.ece

C Elegans · Post by **C Elegans** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:13 pm

@Hill: Pity you had such a bad experience in Paris, it's my favorite city in Europe.

Not bad, just funny since we were talking precisely about Paris and Canada.

PS Take a look at my new profile image.

@Fiona: It's consistent with scociological studies of life-quality that have shown Canada is among the top countries. I wonder which 127 cities was in this study?

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:28 pm

@ CE, yes, its also the reason that it isnt on my list of places to flee...

Thank you, CE, may I use it? Mine was a larger image of rotating balls... unfortunately it was 212, instead of 100.

@Fiona: It's consistent with scociological studies of life-quality that have shown Canada is among the top countries. I wonder which 127 cities was in this study?

Pretty much any city of a country included above a certain populatuion, most likely encompassing parts of Europe, North America and Asia, and then again taking only the best from each.

Having been to Vancouver, and I hope Dragon Wench doesnt hurt me for saying so, I find it surprising that it is number 1. Although I guess it does have other qualities then the current attitudes of the residents...

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:33 pm

@CE,
depending on whom you talk to, you will get *very* divergent views on Toronto. Canada, unfortunately, is a nation still steeped in regionalism, and many in both Western and Eastern Canada dislike Toronto intensely. The accusation is that Toronto views itself as "the centre of the Universe." (not unlike common perceptions of Paris

)

Now, personally, I really like Toronto (not as much as Montreal, but I still like it a lot). As far as Canadian cities go, it is quite ethnically diverse. There are, amongst others, large Caribbean, Italian and Portuguese communities in the city. It is very much a cultural mosaic (in general, far more than any Western Canadian city).

The city also has a number of pleasant neighborhoods with lots of tree-lined streets, older (by Cdn standards) homes, cafes, restaurants etc.

The suburbs are not especially attractive, and they are quite boring, but that is true of many cities.

There is probably lots of information on Google, so if you are looking at spend some time in Toronto, it would be worth checking around.

Hill-Shatar · Post by **Hill-Shatar** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 7:46 pm

you are flawed. the two different views of Toronto come from, those from toronto, and those from out of Toronto.

My aunt once refered to me when I was living in London that I was living in the boonies.

There is a steaming dislike for Toronto. Even Missisuaga, a city more recntly annexed, still refers to itself as Missisauga.

Tree lined streets, in toronto? No, go to all the other cities to get tree lined streets. toronto is pretty barren.

Ive been to Toronto thousands of times in my lifetime. I prefer Calgary, London, Niagra, and other ares much more, thank you.