Ideas that Just Don't Make Sense No More

  • August 25, 2010
And so it was spoken, “It is as it always has been, and thusly shalt it forever be.“ I don’t think city council has worked together soundly over the past three years and by that measure they collectively have not met their potential. There have simply been too many drawn out arguments (eg closing half of Memorial Drive), too many 8-7 split votes with predictable line ups, too many poor decisions (eg Peace Bridge), too little planning (not building the Airport tunnel), too little foresight (surprise funding for the airport tunnel), too little responsiveness (street clearing) and too little discussion and cooperation (all of the above) for my taste. Read More

How to fix city council with one good mayor.

  • August 24, 2010
This may yet be a daily opinion before the week is out. I know I have at least one more day’s worth of ideas to express. — I could have pre-written the question myself, “What have you got against Ric McIver? What do you expect him to say?“ Fundamentally, nothing I wrote yesterday is about Mr. McIver. It was entirely about me and my realization that our city council has not and can not function successfully if it remains locked in a perpetual ideological split. Read More

What I value most from our next mayor

  • August 23, 2010
Ric McIver lost my vote yesterday. Ric McIver was my far and away favoured candidate as the mayoral race started heating up over the past several months. I’ve kept myself firmly in the undecided camp so far, although I certainly have my favourites and my dis-favourites. So I was some surprised this morning when I realized that my first choice has crossed from the favoured to the disfavoured camp. The whole reason is not a clear cut, “I don’t like what he said about such and such” or “So and so has a better idea how to tackle said thorny issue. Read More

I got the coolest email this morning

  • August 22, 2010
Hello You are following me. I am confused. Are you a scientist? Are you interested in space exploration? I am very rare woman aerospace engineer on the Saturn V during Apollo. Here is my book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609110633/ref=cm_cd_asin_lnk Thanks, Sara Howard Well, colour me amazed. I’m a 42 year old renaissance man (or as much as I can manage to be) very keenly interested in space and science. The Apollo era happened just outside my memory, but from it stemmed my love of all things science. Read More

Paul Quarrington: The Songs arrived this morning.

  • June 9, 2010
Hi Rebecca, I got Paul’s CD this morning. I was kinda busy and it was really hard to not rip it open then and there. I held out for about an hour, then put it into my computer at work and listened to the first couple of songs as I could. I try to hold judgment on whether I like or dislike an album until I’ve heard it a couple times. Read More

So after watching the Winter Olympics, you think you want to try curling.

  • February 28, 2010
The sport of curling got a lot of heightened interest this year during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, both in Canada, the United States, Great Britain and around the world. I’ve seen an astounding number of tweets in what I assume are both Japanese and Chinese scripts using the #curling hashtag. (Thankfully I have automatic translation built into my favorite twitter client and I can read what they say.) I’ve been chatting with one of the most amazingly fascinating group of people I can imagine on twitter - most of them have self-grouped into the “space enthusiast” category called the Space Tweep Society. Read More

Top 10 signs skipping might not be for you:

  • February 27, 2010
10. You often mumble, “Hurry–ish.“ 9. You see an easy double and think you need to add a triple axel. 8. You twirl your broom like Fred Astaire waiting for the throw. 7. You consider cross-checking every time that other skip sweeps your rock. 6. The only call you make on the ice is to your mother. 5. http://tr.im/PZsS  4. Every time you throw the rock, it sinks. 3. On the first day of practice, you brought a Swiffer. Read More

A commentary on Alberta's Maintenance Enforcement Program

  • November 23, 2009
On Friday, November 20, 2009 the Executive Director of the Alberta Maintenance Enforcement Program, Manuel da Costa, was interviewed on the Calgary Eyeopener. The interview was preceded by an unfortunate woman who was having difficulty collecting child support from the father of her child. She had lost her apartment and had to move back with her parents. The father was, in her story, doing drugs and avoiding his role as parent to the child. Read More

Remembrance Day 2009

  • November 11, 2009
Life has been so turbulent in the past few months, and particularly the past few weeks, that it’s been a huge struggle lately just to keep my feet on the ground. There are a few things I can count on. Remembrance Day has long since been one of the rocks I can rely on to tie my kite down. Most years I try to take notes and kinda keep track of highlights and particularly good moments or thoughts that are presented. Read More

Letters from Afar

  • October 12, 2009
“I had a dream last night that I had a brick house and you were in the basement inventing weird stuff. “We were wearing accordions and lederhosen that were festooned with croquet mallets. Had to play the accordion and kick legs out to make the mallet heads hit a large rubber ball back and forth. “I don’t think it was polka music.” Read More
Newer
Older
Search
Recent Posts