Mt. St. Helens

That there in the distance, barely visible is Mt. St. Helens as seen from a BMW travelling at about 140km/h

Better look out: she’s gonna blow!

This isn’t the house I want, but it’s pretty cool

Dilbert’s ultimate house is out, and if nothing else this is why you should check it out:

Any decent engineer could tell you that the way to design a house is to first gather the requirements about the occupant’s lifestyle and THEN design the house, taking into consideration the best thinking in energy efficiency, economy, and maintenance. So that’s what we did, sort of…

It’s the “sort of” that I really like there, becuase anybody who’s ever developed software in any context knows that the “sort of” is an integral part of the process.

Adrienne Clarkson stays on as Governor General

Citing the instability caused by his minority government, the Martin government is apparently asking Adrienne Clarkson to stay on as Governor General for another year.

Is there going to be a salary cap imposed here? I doubt Mrs. Clarkson will be travelling the world in the same luxurious manner that she has been doing, but who knows.

Another question is if Mr. Martin has asked the Governor General to stay until next September, does this mean that we can expect the collapse of parliament sometime around then?

Better the devil you know, as they say.

Fort Lewis, Washington State

Driving past Fort Lewis I can’t help but think about how many of these kids have died in Iraq. Too many.

Paul Martin has opened up the Quebec issue

I said it during the election campaign and I’ve said it since; Paul Martin would open up the Quebec issue, and Quebec nationalism would rise again.

From the Globe and Mail web site today:
Former ministers Maurizio Bevilacqua and John Manley — both said to be building leadership teams — said the deal would tie Ottawa’s fiscal hands for years to come. They also questioned the wisdom of signing a separate side deal with Quebec.
The health accord is a step toward getting Quebec’s signature on the Constitution, Mr. Martin suggested Friday.
“I would very much like to see Quebec sign, I think we all would,” Mr. Martin said.

Quebec nationalism will be an issue in the next election; I guarantee it. Why Martin feels a need to drag this out into the open again, I don’t know.

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Today is September 24th

I know that saying today is September 24th seems like a statement of the obvious, but this is a meaningful day for me.

It is—or was— my grandfather’s birthday.

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What a great flag

I’ve taken lots of pictures of Canadian flags, but this is probably my favourite one. Taken on the Bowen Island ferry on a gloomy, overcast day.

Gestapo like? Hardly.

Only in Vancouver would shutting down a store selling marijuana over the counter be considered “gestapo” like.

Only in Vancouver.

It’s protests like this that make me wonder about people who think that being a police officer is an easy job. It’s not, and the occassional problem notwithstanding, these guys deserve a tonne of respect for doing one of the hardest jobs around.

Nobody ever protests against firefighters becuase they’re putting out a fire; paramedics and doctors rarely get criticized for saving a life; cops raid a store openly selling an illegal substance, and they get called “gestapo like.”

This town is crazy.

The Liberals ignored warnings about Groupaction

According to today’s Globe & Mail, the Liberal government received repeated warnings about Groupaction, but chose to ignore them; a senior bureaucrat describes teh experience of working with Groupaction as “wretched.”

My favourite, direct quote, from the email from Michael Calcott:
Why is the Government of Canada continuing a major contract with an incompetent supplier? Could I please receive a copy of the contract with Groupaction. There must be an escape clause somewhere.

Isn’t the answer obvious? They’re Liberals.

Movable Type Galleries

Fiddling around with Movable Type to deploy picture galleries; I’m likely to use some variation on this for a commercial deployment in the next couple of days, since it’s fairly adaptable.

So a new photos section with photo galleries. I’m not at this point going to apologize for having photos in two locations, but am going to think about how to integrate these, or label them appropriately.

Autumn’s here

I’ve been conceptually a fan of Hawksley Workman for a while, but I now have a new favourite song.

Autumn’s Here is just an awesome tune, perfectly suited for this time of year. Buy it, don’t steal it.

Larry Campbell wants a safe crack house

That slippery slope just got worse.

Larry Campbell is applying for a licence to open a safe crack smoking location.

But here’s my burning question of the day: Adrienne Clarkson toured the downtown east side yesterday, conveniently avoiding the seediest of locations but taking in the safe injection site.

So do you think Adrienne shot up?

Rock Creek Fair 2004

This wasn’t my first time at the Rock Creek Fair, but it was a bit different this year.

For one thing, it rained off and on all day Saturday. This did little to dampen spirits, but did cut back on some activities.

The guy at the right was all smiles though, even if it was a little hard to tell at times.

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Our safe injection site is working…

According to today’s Vancouver Sun, our safe injection site has “exceeded expectations” and is “making a difference” after only a year of operation.

Tell that to the people who live in the area.

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I still like the rain; a lot

It’s fall in Vancouver, and that means the rainy season has started. September’s not yet over and we’ve already broken not only the record for the month but also for a single day in Vancouver.

I like the rain though; I sought it out a few days ago, traipsing around North Vancouver with neither an umbrella or a rain coat on. Rain brings the forest to life, and it won’t be long until spring again.

Christy Clark resigned

British Columbia’s Deputy Premier & former Education Minister Christy Clark has resigned, citing “deeply personal” reasons.

Is anybody falling for this?

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The Globe and Mail web site has slid rapidly to a payment model

It seems like in just the last few weeks, pretty much everything on the Globe & Mail web site has moved towards a pay-per-use model. This doesn’t bode well.

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I’d rather be doing this

Portrait, Killarney Provincial Park

Paul Martin gets frustrated

And it’s about time.

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Ralph Klein wants $65 billion

Ralph has come up with $65 Billion as his number for the amount of money that the Liberal government needs to hand over to provinces for healthcare. This amount of money would bring Federal funding to 25% in the healthcare sector, at least by Ralph’s math.

Your NDP…er…Liberal health minister, meanwhile, is crowing because his party only promised $9 Billion and is now offering $13 Billion.

What’s wrong with this picture?

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Canada’s Minister of Industry slams free trade

David Emerson was the guest speaker at the North Vancouver Liberal Party Annual General Meeting today, and he just slammed free trade pretty hard.

Is this a good thing?

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The Hidden Agenda doesn’t exist…why bother hiding it?

Anybody with an active interest in the last federal election should read this month’s issue of the Walrus.

Tom Flanagan was the national campaign manager, and a long time associate and friend of Stephen Harper’s. The Walrus has done a profile on the man, and it’s extremely interesting.

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Today is my brother’s birthday

And I had hoped to be in Ottawa by this time to celebrate with him. Things conspired to prevent it from happening, but maybe some time in the not too distant future.

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Graffiti: Vancouver style

Politics slips further in a Simpsons direction

I realize this will tag me permanently as a geek, but it’s too funny not to comment on.

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Labour Day Weekend 2004

I always look like this when I get back from Bowen Island with my friends the Rogers’ and their family; this photo was taken by a little boy named Kai, and I couldn’t think of a better group of people or a better way to end the summer.

This trip was a little different though; it happened on two wheels and a new friend was thrown into the mix.

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Self Portrait at Joffre Lakes

Unity and the B.C. Conservatives Merge

Two of our provincial political parties - the Unity Party and the B.C. Conservatives - have announced a merger today. This isn’t a total surprise, but the question is will it make a difference?

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New iMac

Apple has finally introduced the new G5 iMac, and this is a beautiful machine; maybe too beautiful.

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