fog in shaughnessy

The great thing about having a dog, is the way it forces you out in the mornings and at night. No matter how tired you are personally, this thing needs to get out for a walk.

So with that, I headed out for a walk yesterday; the city was so completely fogged in that it was hard to see in front of you at all. What a beautiful day.

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Your Heroes at their Best

Far be it from me to dismiss the importance of collective bargaining and union contracts, but I could help take a picture of this - one of Vancouver’s finest banking while on duty.

And yes, that’s a fire truck stopping traffic on 1st Ave. - the busiest street in the city - so that this guy can pull cash out of an ATM.

today

today thousands of people died around the world as one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history shook the continent of asia and moved the overwhelming force of the seas in unpredictable directions

today somebody got very mad at me becuase we sold out of a five dollar optical mouse that was advertised in the vancouver sun

one of these things says an awful lot about the state of our world

one of these things says an awful lot about our place in it

How to find you, maybe by your singing

From today’s National Post comes this headline:

Solitary whale serenades the West Coast

VANCOUVER — A mystery whale singing a never-heard-before song has been passing within 100 kilometres of the B.C. coast, the U.S. Navy has found.

If I were to ever compile a list of the most poignant headlines I’d ever read, I’d probably put this on or near the top of the list. Some of the moments after 9/11 would be there, Pierre Trudeau’s retirement would certainly be there.

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Slate Magazine is changing hands

According to this article on Slate the publication is changing hands. Bill Gates is out of the content business.

I like Slate. I think that while Salon Magazine grew by appealing to our eternal interest in all things sexual, Slate tried to stay above the fray (not coincidentally the name of its discussion forums.)

Congratulations to the new owners, and I only hope that the content remains publicly available. I’m sure the new owners — the Washington Post — have a plan to start charging for content, I still firmly believe that there’s a viable audience for free news on the web. We just have to get the advertising mix right.

The Minister of Privatization Capitulates to Quebec

“You cannot just look at a company that’s in a crisis point and say, ‘Well, we’re going to let it die, and live with the ripple effects…I for one am not going to stand by and watch that happen to a very important sector of Canadian Industry.”
- Minister of Industry, David Emerson on Paul Tellier’s resignation from Bombardier, December 14th, 2004

With this, the man who privatized BC Ferries (an essential resource, as the Supreme Court has designated the Newfoundland ferry system) and the Vancouver Airport (essential for entirely different reasons) has crossed the line from being a small-c Liberal to being a large-C Communist. Well, maybe not quite — but his mind has certainly snapped somewhere.

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Friends of Larry Campbell? Well, I guess there are a lot of coffee shops.

“I’m not leaving COPE; however it’s time to move forward in a direction that builds on the COPE legacy”

And with that, Larry waffled.

Is he in? Is he out?

Does Larry have any friends?

Pins and needles my friends; pins and needles.

Geoff Berner at the Railway Club

Great show. Great cider. Great night. Great live album.

A new one coming soon apparently. Can’t wait.

what a weird, long week it’s been

This McJob thing is tiring, especially when combined with another new job. The new job may or may not be a real job, but we’ll see. It’s a bit more real than the McJob, it just doesn’t pay like a real job should.

But I’m tired.

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I want to be in the Ukraine

I want to be in a country where people are passionate enough about their right to vote that 200,000 of them take the streets to protest a fraudulent election.

I want to be in a place where people know that the man they choose to lead their country is important, and can have a major effect on their lives.

The Ukraine must be an exciting place today.

Lyrics are Funny

I’ve always been a fan of lyrics; always liked the idea of songs and songwriters, with the performance coming second. My favourite songs have been the ones where the lyrics matched a great performance: U2’s Bad comes to mind (and gets my choice as the best song of the 80s), as does Bullet the Blue Sky; Wilco’s Ashes of American Dreams is high on this list, and has been mentioned before.

Sometimes lyrics have to be taken out of their original context to be appreciated. Johnny Cash’s cover of Hurt did this with a Nine Inch Nails song.

But this is maybe the weirdest example yet…

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rm -R IBM PC*

There are so many stories circulating that IBM is negotiating with Chinese manufacturers to get out of the PC business that it’s hard no to believe them.

is this the end of an era?

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Pierre Berton has passed away

Pierre Berton has passed away, just days after the CBC selected their “Greatest Canadian” - a contest that might not have been possible without Pierre.

Canada is a young country, and Pierre was a big part of establishing our national identity. His books brought history to life for many (and put many others to sleep) and defined out history for a generation. Along with Peter C. Newman, Berton was one of our great storytellers.

I guess I’m going to have to read the National Dream next; it’s on a shelf here somewhere.

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