A few weekends ago, my wife and I took in some of the grandsons for a sleepover. It was a chance for their parents to enjoy a summer getaway. It was a chance to wean the grandkids away from Mom and Dad. It was a chance for us to get better acquainted with a bunch of boys under our roof for two or three days. On the first day, we outlined an in-house rule.

“No iPhones, tablets or computers until after 4 p.m.,” I announced.

“That’s the curfew at home,” one of the boys said.

“Same rules here,” I said.

I find it quite amazing that these children – after a year of virtual on-line learning (that is, eyes glued to laptop or desktop computers from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., five days a week) – still have such voracious appetites for video-game content. The topic does not appear in the policy literature of any of the federal political parties. (more…)

120px-Edinburgh_Waverley_station_viewed_from_Edinburgh_Castle_2005-06-17_02 — I remember a train trip from London to Edinburgh in the U.K. once; after about six hours en route, when we pulled into Waverley Station in Edinburgh two minutes late the conductor apologized profusely.

They issue tickets on the internet now. Unlike at the airport, there’s no window overlooking the tracks to see the trains arriving and departing. In fact, even at Union Station in Toronto – perhaps the busiest passenger rail terminal in the country – you can barely hear the clatter of wheels on steel or feel the rumble of the locomotive in the station. They don’t even blow a whistle on departure anymore. And yet VIA Rail’s slogan still reads:

“There is nothing quite like seeing Canada by rail.”

(more…)

Ted Barris

author | journalist

Posts with the laptop tag

The pandemic politicians need to address

Via VIA