quit reading this and
Wednesday, October 10th, 2007
… I know I have.
Archive for the ‘o canada’ Category
gotta say yes to MMP
Tuesday, October 9th, 2007I saw my first anti-MMP flyer today (a postcard from nommp.ca, which appears to be run by a trainspotter from Guelph) and it surprised me that there could be such virulent opposition to what is basically a good idea. MMP, or its local variant, has worked very well in Scotland. So I’m going to vote for MMP.
When the Scottish Parliament got going late last century, it had a proportional representation system from the start. It did allow some minority parties in - like the Scottish Greens and the Socialists - but in doing so more fairly represented the wishes of the Scottish people.
True, there were some unusual antics in the house at first from some of the Socialist members, but I notice that they are no longer represented. Act like a jerk, nobody votes for you again - that’s democracy.
I’m not sure about the rise of the Nats, and the Greens are hanging on by one member, but it seems to work, and ends the “3 years of doing the opposite + 1 year of campaigning” to which majority rule seems to devolve.
one to one
Thursday, September 20th, 2007Whoa, $1 US = $1 Canadian. As Glenn says, it’s not that the loonie is strong, it’s that USD is very, very weak. Way to go, George!
white poppies for 2007
Monday, September 17th, 2007Yesterday Toronto Monthly Meeting approved my request to have white poppies at the meeting house this year.
a serious omission
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007Yeah, so I got to age 38 before I ever heard Neil Young’s Harvest. Sue me. And all because Nichol is teaching me The Needle & The Damage Done on guitar.
And I can add Old Man to my list of “Songs I thought were recent originals, but are in fact old covers”. Thought it was a Wailin’ Jennies original (I know, I should read liner notes). I thought the same of Disguises (original: The Who; cover: Of Montreal) and Waterloo Sunset (original: The Kinks; cover: Robyn Hitchcock).
phew!
Monday, September 3rd, 2007- 4½ days driving
- 5000 km
- 300l of petrol
- 4 provinces (ON, QC, NB, PE)
- 6 states (ME, NE, MA, CT, NY, PA, OH)
In other words, we’re back from our holidays.
a good island
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007We like PEI a lot. No pictures yet - no net connection, mercifully - but there’s a lot of red (mud, lobsters), green (trees, grass, potato plants) and blue (sky, sea) here.
Aha! Pictures are here: Prince Edward Island.
i’ll sing you a song and it’s not very long …
Friday, August 24th, 2007Quebec police admit they went undercover at Montebello protest
One of the organizers, union leader Dave Coles, explained that one reason protesters knew the men’s true identities was because they were wearing the same boots as other police officers.
trash
Thursday, August 9th, 2007The city decided to change its trash collection today, and most of our street (us included) didn’t know. We all got little yellow snarky notes saying that it was the wrong day. As I’ve never got one before when I mistakenly put out the wrong kind on the wrong day, they must’ve been expecting this.
The city really should’ve waited until next month, when last year’s trash calendars would have run out. As is, the reaccoons are going to have a banquet tonight on everyone’s trash at the curbside.
well, there ain’t much else to do
Wednesday, August 8th, 2007In a Swiss Chalet in Waterloo, bored teenage servers are abusing helium balloons so they can talk funny.
The most depressing parenthetical phrase yet written
Saturday, August 4th, 2007The boom in Muskoka over the past decade and a half has produced one of the world’s largest concentrations of wealthy vacationers, whose ranks include captains of industry, movie stars, superstar musicians (Kenny G arrives by float plane), lottery winners, millionaire sports figures and, according to local gossip, a few well-heeled crooks.
— There’s gold in them woods, Globe & Mail, 4 August 2007.
sometimes, I’m ashamed to be canadian
Wednesday, August 1st, 2007you dig?
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007Looks like they’re finding some interesting old building remains on the Shangri-La site at the corner of Simcoe & Adelaide. There are archaeologists all over it!
(did I already say how happy I was to see the monstrous ad-scaffold gone from this site?)
manhunt!
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007There was a full-on police manhunt in our neighbourhood last night. Between about 3:30-4am, a police car vroomed and screeched round the streets with its lights off. Maybe it was a manhunt, or maybe they just had their Starsky & Hutch on.
Gutenberg Canada
Saturday, July 21st, 2007Project Gutenberg Canada / Projet Gutenberg Canada opened its doors a couple of days ago. It’s gone through several organisers since I first heard of its imminent launch in 2002, but I’m glad it got going.
the nuclear family holiday (last) resort
Sunday, July 15th, 2007I’ve been invited onto the committee that looks after a small (and almost full) cemetery in Ajax, so I went out to take a look at it. It’s nice; it’ll last you. One thing I learnt there: RB67 polaroids don’t come out too well if you leave the darkslide in.
On the way back, I headed down Liverpool Road to take pictures of the Pickering wind turbine with the RB67. It’s a strange place, the beachfront at Pickering. There’s beach volleyball with the nuke station lurking toxically in the background.
I don’t know why the town doesn’t rename itself “New Prypiat“, and be done with it.
burning question
Friday, July 13th, 2007What’s the proper name for someone from Saskatchewan?
(apart from “Doug”.)
sustainable much?
Thursday, July 12th, 2007It would seem that Elizabeth May, leader of the Canadian Green Party, is against wind farms on the Nova Scotia coast. This in a province that gets 75% of its energy from imported coal, and has some of the best wind resource in Canada.
shrapnel
Saturday, July 7th, 2007To the Coinstar machine again, to deposit $143.47 in change. Of course, you only get $129.41 of that back. Since I last visited it on 17th November, that’s 62¢/day for the last 232 days.
Nerdly? Me? Just wait until I write about spoon heft …
a landmark day in Ontario
Friday, June 22nd, 2007Tim Hortons finally got Interac in Ontario. Western Canadians will no longer be frustrated with their eastern siblings. (well, I’m sure there will be some other bones of contention ….)
Oh, and we technically implement Kyoto today.
