South East False Creek, Vancouver’s Olympic Village

During the Olympics, South East False Creek was off limits. Home to the athletes village, only those with appropriate security clearances could visit. It’s since been opened up for public access, and one of the parks that was built is a necessary detour on my current bike route.

Politics is no Place for Grownups

Kraftwerk: Musique Non Stop

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Cycling is Mainstream Transportation

In the densely packed urban wilderness of New York City cycling is on the rise rapidly.

More Than 200,000 a Day Are Now Cycling
April 26, 2010, 5:05 AM, By J. DAVID GOODMAN

Build it and they will ride. That’s the message conveyed in the latest annual estimate of the number of bicyclists in New York City by Transportation Alternatives, which found roughly 236,000 New Yorkers riding each day in 2009, up 28 percent from 185,000 daily riders the year before.

“More and better designed bike lanes, that’s clearly what’s fueling this growth,” said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for the bicycling and pedestrian advocacy group, which has conducted an annual cycling estimate for nearly two decades.

The estimate was extrapolated from cyclist counts performed by the city Department of Transportation at various downtown entry points — including East River bridge crossings, the Hudson Greenway and the Staten Island Ferry.

Sometimes Political Satire Can Go Too Far

I’m wiling to bet that if you asked the dog’s owner he’d claim this as an act of political protest of sorts. Something along the lines of “A dog could do as good a job as the politicians we’ve had” no doubt. Sometimes, however, you can take these things too far. Trying to register your dog as a candidate for mayor…yeah, that’s too far.

Dog ‘isn’t a person,’ can’t run for mayor of Clarington, Ont.
Posted: April 20, 2010, 1:15 AM by Kenyon Wallace

The municipality of Clarington, about 80 kilometres east of Toronto, says dogs aren’t welcome in local politics, after Genny, a three-year-old black Lab, was defeated in her bid to run for mayor.

Genny’s owner, Marven Whidden, says he tried to file election nomination papers for his friendly canine yesterday, but was told that Genny, pictured, “isn’t a person” so does not qualify to run under the municipal elections act. Mr. Whidden says he is contemplating putting together a petition or a letter-writing campaign to get Genny’s name on the ballot.

Grandma, April 2010

Trenton, Redux

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Trenton

We’re Apparently Experimenting with Business Models Again

I suspect the rise of the Apple App Store, proving as it does the existence of an appetite for small snippets of software at prices that are generally less than five dollars, is part of the impetus behind this. Rolling Stone is apparently going to start asking people to pay for some content.

It’s probable that the iPad is viewed as an opportunity here as well: Rolling Stone may be doing this on its website in anticipation of selling back issues to enthusiastic iPad owners around the world.

With rumours suggesting that Hulu is going to try the same thing for viewing television online (and who wouldn’t pay to watch old episodes of Alf) it seems that a second wave of pay based sites is upon us.

Maybe it will work this time. It would be very interesting to see if they generate more revenue from their own site or from those iPad sales I’m speculating about.

Rolling Stone’s archive going online, for a price

Magazine to launch new site, which will remain mostly free
Andrew Vanacore, New York — The Associated Press
Published on Friday, Apr. 16, 2010 9:07AM EDT

For the first time Rolling Stone is inviting its readers on the long, strange trip though the magazine’s 43-year archive, putting complete digital replicas online along with the latest edition. But you’ll have to pay to see it all.

With a new site launching Monday, Rolling Stone will become one of the most prominent magazines to decide that adding a “pay wall” is the best way to make money on the Web.

This isn’t Why Helena Guergis was Kicked Out of Cabinet

There’s something else going on. This is nothing, though it’s also entirely unsurprising.

A former chauffeur of Helena Guergis alleges the cashiered cabinet minister routinely let her husband, former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer, use her government car and driver for his own personal use.

The allegation, which raises serious questions about the possible abuse of tax dollars, arrives as new information reveals that Ms. Guergis and Mr. Jaffer were vacationing in the Caribbean when she was forced from cabinet last week.

Sinead O’Connor: War (live on Saturday Night Live)

Sinéad O’Connor - WAR - SNL