West Coast Chaos

eRepublik

2010-12-21T22:46:00.000-08:00

Your Country Needs You!

Life in a Northern Town - Dream Academy

2007-09-05T21:18:00.000-07:00

Just because I felt like it.

Pink Floyd: High Hopes

2007-07-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

The endless river...

forever and ever...

Happy Canada Day 2007

2007-07-01T14:32:00.000-07:00

On this day I will celebrate the beauty of this land, the many wonders that you will not find anywhere else, and the great people that call this place home.
The important thing really is the freedom available to act. The freedom to write hilariously biting commentary and not fear for your life is something many in this world do not have.

Happy Canada Day.

I'm Back

2007-06-30T01:09:00.000-07:00

Well, my withdrawal into obscurity has finally proved unsatisfactory, so I'm back to say a few words. No guarantee I'll be posting regularly here on West Coast, as much as I appreciate my good friend Temujin and the platform he offers here . . . but just wanted to test the waters with an initial re-exploration into the blogging world. My focus now will be theological, although I dare say a comment or two every now and then on sports and music will likely enter the picture. Hope the West Coast faithfuls have been doing well!

Terrace man killed while cycling

2007-06-13T17:42:00.001-07:00

Oh how awful:

A 23-year-old local man was struck and killed by a dump truck at the corner of Keith Ave. and Kenney St. at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 12. Police said the truck was carrying rip rap to Kerr St. at the time of the accident.

A friend of mine was flagging that road at the time of the accident. She said she waived the fully-loaded Moxy truck through and watched in horror as a cyclist drove through the opposing flaggers signal. He got caught underneath a front tire and was ran over (probably twice - by the front and rear tire, according to my friend). She said it appeared the cyclist was wearing an ipod, which would possibly explain why the cyclist didn't hear my friend screaming at the top of her lungs for him to get off the road. The driver of the truck had virtually no way of knowing where the cyclist was, and in my opinion probably didn't even know the cyclist was near him until it was too late. My friend said the truck driver came over to her and gave her a hug when he found out what had happened.

The poor guy was only 23 years old.

Moricetown Canyon, Skeena/Bulkley Confluence, and Telkwa River pictures

2007-06-08T19:37:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some pictures and video I took from around the Bulkley Valley today. These pictures are in order as the river flows.

First up, the Bulkley River (first) meets the Telkwa River (second) at the village of Telkwa. A couple of nights ago a friend and I walked onto the train bridge over the Telkwa River. You could here boulders smashing and rumbling their way down, and there were plenty of trees floating along as well.

Eddy Park in Telkwa is nearly flooded right out, and there is one area where the water has seeped onto the highway.

Next, are a couple of pics of the Bulkley as it funnels into the Moricetown Canyon. I've uploaded a 30 second video as well, to give you a real idea of just how much water is being forced below that bridge.

Further downstream the Bulkley flows under the Hagwilgit bridge in Hazelton. Notice the abundance of trees swirling around on the left hand side.

Here are a couple of pictures of the confluence of the Bulkley and Skeena rivers. The Skeena comes in from the far right... it's a little tough to see, but you get the idea. Water. Lots of it. The last two images are taken from the entrance to the K'san historical indian village. Typically it is not under water.

I know there isn't a lot of death and destruction here, but at least you can get an idea of why people who live near the river are so freaked. It has stopped raining, but the weather is very nice and it is quite warm out. I don't think the waters will be receding anytime soon.

Flooding in Smithers

2007-06-07T18:37:00.000-07:00

I finally managed enough time to snap a few pics of the Bulkley river in Smithers. The first two are taken from the Bulkley bridge (facing north and south respectively)

The next two are of the ~~River Flooded~~Riverside Par Three Golf Course. The tenth hole (click to enlarge and you can see the flag center-left).

Hole 12 (foreground) and I'm thinking holes 15 and 16 in the background:

I'm supposed to be doing some work in Hazelton tomorrow, and I'll bring along my camera and take some pictures and update this post. Apparently the Moricetown canyon looks incredible (it is downstream of these pictures), and Old Hazelton is the location where the Bulkley meets the Skeena river. I can only imagine what that must look like.

As well, I'll have to go to Telkwa later on in the day, and I should be able to get some shots of Eddy Park (where the sandbaggers have been quite busy), as well as the Coalmine Road Bridge (which spans the Bulkley), and the train bridge that crosses Telkwa River.

Inquest into the death of Ian Bush

2007-05-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

Update May 26, 8:00 am: You can read Dawson Bush's comments of the inquest here, as well as the testimony of Darren Woroshelo, training officer of Paul Koester.

Update 6:30pm, May 24th 2007: Picture of the Community Hall where the proceedings are taking place, and two images of the "Meedja" (CTV and Global News vans). I heard on CBC Radio an interview with Renee Bush, sister of Ian Bush. She was talking about what the coroner's testimony was, and how he described the condition of Ian Bush's body. God, that can't have been easy for the family.

This week the inquest into the shooting death of Ian Bush at the RCMP detachment began at the Community Hall in Houston. While I was driving in my work van I heard the reports of Constable Paul Koester's testimony. This is the Vancouver Province is reporting:

HOUSTON -- An RCMP expert on blood-spatter evidence told an inquest into the death of Ian Bush yesterday that the police version of the shooting is far-fetched but not impossible.

On the radio, it was reported that Koester testified to being punched several times, including while he attempted to grab his baton, and while he tried to call for help. The Province continues:

Const. Paul Koester told homicide investigators last year he feared Bush, 22, was about to choke him into unconsciousness, telling the rookie police officer to "take [his] last breath." With Bush on Koester's back, Koester said he pulled his pistol as a last resort, reached behind Bush, hit him with the barrel a few times and then shot him once in the back of the head on Oct. 29, 2005.

****

Coroner's counsel Mitch Houg said he expects Koester to say he arrested Bush outside the Houston hockey arena for having open liquor in the parking lot.

Houg said Bush gave Koester a false name, which the constable knew right away was false, so he took him into custody for two offences -- having open liquor and providing a false name.

Houg said Koester is expected to say that relations with Bush were cordial and then Bush became abusive and a fight broke out.

"Const. Koester received a blow to the head with sufficient force to stun him," Houg said.

They wrestled until they landed on a couch with Bush on top of Koester.

Bush's chest was forcing down on Koester's back, said Houg.

"Mr. Bush had one or both arms around [Koester's] neck."

Houg said Koester withdrew his pistol and reached around to bludgeon Bush with the barrel end.

"He decided he was not able to extricate himself from the [choke hold] and . . . made his decision to discharge his weapon," said Houg.

Koester will continue to be cross-examined this week. If the events described by Koester that night in October 2005 are truthful, then I believe he was justified in what he did. When it comes to a matter of life or death, one must do whatever it takes to protect oneself. You cannot simply assault an officer like that.

However.

The reasons for his arrest and detainment are certainly questionable. One of the charges included "having open alcohol" in a public place, although seems the bottle of beer he held was unopened. He also gave police a false name when asked for identification. It seems as though the officers were familiar with Bush, and knew it was him. Bush obviously thought it was humourous to say he was someone else. Although the toxicology reports stated that Bush's "blood alcohol" level was .17, that doesn't necessarily mean Bush was a raving drunken lunatic at the time. That is certainly enough alcohol to impair ones judgment,and probably explains why he gave a false name. But unless he was being aggressive at the time, I'm not sure why the officers couldn't have told him to leave the arena and go home. If they had, none of this would have happened.

Intoxicated or not, that doesn't excuse attacking a police officer. It's also no excuse to lie to the police. "Joking around" with them is a sure way get yourself into trouble.

I'll be paying attention to this over the next few days, as more testimony is reported.

70th Anniversary of Hindenburg Disaster

2007-05-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

This photo has always seemed surreal to me.

Oh, the humanity.

Drunken fool eats his own tongue.

2007-04-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

M'heh. This is too good not to share:

An intoxicated man ate a portion of his own tongue on the weekend before police could stop him. The man was involved in an altercation at a downtown Vancouver bar Saturday, where he apparently bit through his tongue after being punched, said

Const. Howard Chow. Police arrived to find the man bleeding from the mouth, part of his tongue mostly severed. An ambulance was called.

Before police could intervene, the grabbed some nearby chicken and ate it, along with the chunk of tongue.

You couldn't make this stuff up.

Luongo + Linden =

2007-04-23T23:45:00.002-07:00

HAMMERED!

Three Stars?

You're Damn Right!

Saturday Quote of the Day

2007-04-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

...if that bastard ever walks again, he will roll out of the hospital and straight to the news cameras parked at the front door with a redeemed zeal for seat belt jihad like you never saw before.

-William J. Beck of Two--Four

Update 6:35pm - QOTD #2:

This is a statement of such pristine and perfect idiocy that it surely must be emblazoned in stone across the entrance to the Physics Imbecile wing of the Moron Museum of Natural History.

-Bill Whittle of Eject! Eject! Eject!

The Tradition Continues

2007-04-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

From these brave men:

To these brave men:

I shall not forget.

Ever.

...the Trench Line had remained static from 1914 until this time. The Canadian victory proved that this line could be moved, that there was an alternative to stalemate. The city of Arras was relieved. The defeat was demoralizing for the Germans who had viewed the Ridge as one of their most impregnable strong points. The Canadians held the Ridge following their victory, offering a strategic point at times behind German lines. It provided a firm anchor for the British drive against the Germans that would occur in 1918.

Leafs falling in Spring? Just in time for Golf Season!

2007-04-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

The Poke Check Heard 'Round The World.

A sad day, indeed.

2007-04-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

Oh no.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Six Canadian soldiers died Sunday in southern Afghanistan as a result of injuries sustained when the vehicle they were travelling in hit an explosive device.

In an hour so I'll be watching the Canucks final regular season game, and probably enjoying a cold one while I'm at it.

I can do so because I live in a country that is is not run by tyrants or dictators, religious fanatics or otherwise.

The timing of this tragedy is not lost on me.

90 years ago... ring a bell?

Unfortunately six families will be receiving horrible news this day. Today I am grateful for the work of those soldiers, and my thoughts will continue to be with those families. They were involving in good and noble endeavors in Afghanistan. There is a minority in that country that wants us to fold up our tents and leave. If history is any indicator, the people from this geographical location known as Canada will not cower in fear. We will not run like scalded dogs. We will not let the thugs intimidate us.

We shall finish the job. We must finish the job.

RIP

Stanley Cup Ring to Darcey for the heads-up on the story. "Damn" is right.

102 year old woman hits hole-in-one

2007-04-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

For better or worse, this is just the kind of story that encourages me to dust off the ol' clubs in preparation for golf season:

Elsie McLean thought she might have lost her ball on the par-3, 100-yard fourth hole at Bidwell Park. Instead, the 102-year-old Chico woman became the oldest golfer ever to make a hole-in-one on a regulation course.

There is a nice par three golf course just east of Smithers that I'm quite fond of. There is also the Smithers Golf and Country Club, but the level of frustration at the Par Three course is a lot less (as is the cost of a round!).

If Elsie McLean can get an ace, then I can too. Progress report will be forthcoming as soon as the course opens.

Easter Funny

2007-04-03T18:13:00.000-07:00

Bwahahahaha!

Stolen from a hapless Oiler Fan on their message board.

Skydiver Video

2007-04-01T23:42:00.000-07:00

This is nine minutes of the most amazing skydiving footage I think I've ever seen. The dive at the three minute mark made me go "whoa!".

Just watch the whole thing, you'll be glad you did. Note: language warning, circa 8:30.

Offensive clothing to be banned

2007-03-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

Mike Farnworth, MLA for Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain (NDP), has tabled a bill that calls for a ban on clothing considered "intimidating and threatening".

Mike Farnworth said his bill would make it illegal for members of motorcycle gangs to wear their distinctive jackets in bars, pubs or anywhere liquor is served.

He said gang members often use the clothing to intimidate and threaten other people.

No word on whether softball uniforms and bowling league jerseys will also be banned.

A Parody of Parity

2007-03-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

I've yet to see the League's post-lockout parody.

That guy playing the role of Paul Kariya is amazing. It looks just like him.
I wonder who will play the Sedin Twins?

Update: the image has been removed now, but I caught it before The Hockey News' editors! :-)

Liberalism is a Mental Disorder Day

2007-03-24T17:33:00.000-07:00

Darcey has proclaimed March 24th as Liberalism is a Mental Disorder Day. His idea is come up with as many bizarre news stories involving liberals and their ilk. They don't even have to be true! I've added my two cents, but there are so many real and honest examples of liberal insanity, that one doesn't have to invent anything. In that vein, I present to you a story of ultimate social-liberal ~~bullshit~~ optimism:

UN Security Council unanimously approves new sanctions against Iran

The UN Security Council voted unanimously Saturday to impose moderately tougher sanctions against Iran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

The sanctions — intended to show Tehran defiance will leave it increasingly isolated — include banning Iranian arms exports and freezing the assets of 28 people and organizations involved in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

"Moderately tougher sanctions". Wouldn't want to offend anyone, would we? If this isn't a prime example of cognitive dissonance, then I don't know what is. You can probably guess what the Iranian response is. They are going to shut down all their uranium enrichment facilities, cease encouraging acts of terrorism, recognize Israel as a nation, and allow religious and personal freedom for every man, woman, and child Iran.

*Sigh*

And if you believe that, then you are clearly suffering from a mental disorder as well.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki rejected the sanctions and said Iran has no intention of suspending its enrichment program.

“The world must know — and it does — that even the harshest political and economic sanctions or other threats are far too weak to coerce the Iranian nation to retreat from their legal and legitimate demands,” Mottaki told the Security Council after the vote.

“Suspension is neither an option nor a solution.”

Awesome! Weeks of bureaucratic posturing and self-congratulatory flagellation and what do we have? A Big Bucket of Liberal Piss!

“It’s a significant international rebuke to Iran and it’s a significant tightening of international pressure on Iran,” (R. Nicholas Burns, U.S. undersecretary for political affairs) said.

“We do believe it’s going to leave Iran even more isolated than it has been.”

Does anyone with seven synapses firing really believe this "international time-out" is going to have any effect on Iran's position? In case you didn't quite understand, lets review Iran's response to these sanctions:

Iran responded by expanding enrichment and has insisted the sanctions will only motivate it further to pursue nuclear power.

I know, I know, I know! Shocking!

The new sanctions — already a compromise between the stronger measures favoured by the United States and the Western Europeans and the softer approach advocated by Russian and China — are considered modest. The ban on exports is among the harshest measures but many of Iran’s arms sales may not be affected because they are illicitly sent to militant groups like Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Shiite Muslim militias in Iraq.

Colour me shocked. Actually, you know what? Don't colour me anything except utterly bemused by this brainless turn of events. The moderate sanctions are nothing more than smokescreens and mirrors designed to make it appear as though the UN and their liberal do-gooder supporters are accomplishing anything other than wasting time, money, and precious oxygen.

Yes, but did he hurt anyone?

2007-03-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Tony La Russa has been charged with drunk driving:

La Russa gave two breath samples and had a blood alcohol content of 0.093 percent, Jupiter police said in a statement. Florida's legal driving limit is 0.08 percent.

.093 isn't exactly hammered. He was sleeping inside his vehicle!

The SUV was in drive and running, with La Russa's foot on the brake, police said. When he woke up, the officers asked him to get out of the SUV. La Russa was cooperative during his arrest, police said.

Heh, they should have just told him to park his car in the nearest spot and sleep it off.

The people I hate

2007-03-21T23:57:00.000-07:00

I hate these bastards. None of them know how to play poker.

Especially that maggot on the left... I don't want to say who he is, but he is a dishonourable piece of filth!

I don't know whether to laugh or shout "Blasphemy!"

2007-03-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

Courtesy MSNBC, Hayden Panetierre desecrates Lord Stanley's mug.

Two questions immediately come to my mind:

Isn't there a Canadian law against this sort of thing?

Does she know where that cup has been?

She should be arrested and have her mouth washed out with soap.

No Red Ensign at the Vimy Ridge Memorial?

2007-03-19T13:30:00.000-07:00

Update March 21: I've learned via the Flea that the Red Ensign will, in fact, fly at Vimy. Kudos to Harper for making such a statement. He may be enjoying his little vote-buying spending spree right now, but at least he's got a sense of history!

Nicolas alerted me to a most pressing issue, one that has my full attention:

It's the flag the Canadians carried into battle when they captured Vimy Ridge in 1917. And it's the flag that should be flying when thousands assemble at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial next month for the unveiling of the restored monument to mark the 90th anniversary of the battle, say members of a campaign to get the Red Ensign to Vimy Ridge for the ceremony.

Well well well, Captain Obvious has made an appearance! You would think the Red Ensign would be most welcome at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. After all, the Red Ensign was the flag that Canadian troops marched under during this crucial battle of World War One. You'd be wrong though. No Red Ensign here, folks. Move along.

...Veterans Affairs has told Mr. Bishop and Mr. Heyes, who both had grandfathers who fought in the First World War, there is no plan to fly the Red Ensign flag at Vimy.
The ceremony is a Canadian government event and will therefore feature only the Maple Leaf, they were told.

Leave it to the bureaucrats to forget our shared history and screw up the memorial to a battle that forged our nation.

Mr. Bishop said you can't change the fact that the Red Ensign was the flag under which Canadians fought. "You can't change history and it was so important to the First World War guys."

Mr. Bishop said that when he tells older people -- those who remember the Red Ensign -- that that flag doesn't fly at the Vimy memorial, they're always surprised. "It's part of our heritage," he said.

Mr. Bishop is absolutely correct. But don't you dare tell the Canadian government that:

The ceremony is a Canadian government event and will therefore feature only the Maple Leaf

I've written an email to the Vimy Memorial branch of Veterans Affairs, and I'd encourage you to as well.

Awww, how sweet.

2007-03-10T13:37:00.000-08:00

Man Saves Bulldog With Mouth-to-Snout Resuscitation:

Lucy had jumped into a partly frozen lake in pursuit of ducks and geese, but the water was too cold for her.

When Gurchin edged onto the ice and pulled Lucy out of the water, she was unresponsive and her face and paws were blue.

He closed her mouth, put his mouth over her nose, breathed air into her lungs and pushed on her chest, and after about a minute she began shallow breaths.

I can't say I'd do the same :-)

They do it on purpose... to make me laugh

2007-03-08T17:40:00.000-08:00

I think this poll at TSN is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. The hits just keep on coming for the hapless Oil and their downtrodden fans.

One wonders why Lupul and Pisani are not on the list of potential "faces".

Vancouver 2010: The Untold Horror

2007-03-08T12:15:00.000-08:00

Instead of spending public funds on the 2010 games, perhaps the government of BC could pay some heed to those who have been marginalized in our society.

Sea to Sky Highway upgrades? Downtown development? Increased tourism dollars?

What about the Death Star? Won't somebody please think of the Death Star?

(Star Wars still sucks, btw)

Star Trek XI

2007-03-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

The newest film in the Star Trek series will begin filming this fall, with a scheduled release for late 2008.

The screenplay, which reportedly will be a prequel revolving around a young James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock...

As a big Trek fan, I'm pleased to hear that a new movie is in the works, but I cannot help but feel a little deflated.

A prequel?

Involving Kirk and Spock?

Did they learn nothing from the low-rated prequel Enterprise series? Granted, a lot of classic Trek fans will surely come out to see a story of Kirk and Spock. But you can guarantee the comparisons to Shatner and Nimoy will abound. I'm certainly interested in who will be cast in those two roles.

I would have preferred a new Trek movie based on new characters. Or at the very least, a chronologically later movie with characters from the Deep Space Nine or Voyager. The fascination with remembering the past is quite lost on me. It seems so... so... so blatantly star wars. It's such a disgusting thought that I cannot even bring myself to capitalize that vile "series" of movies.

But take courage, fellow Star Trek buffs! You can be sure there will not be a Klingon character named Jar-Jar Binks in Star Trek XI.

She was catching a few Z's

2007-03-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

File this one under: two teens that need a severe beating:

Police in suburban Fort Worth, Texas, said a videotape found in a search for stolen goods appears to show two teenagers persuading a 2-year-old boy and his 5-year-old brother to smoke marijuana.

***

The boys' mother... has told police she was sleeping in the back bedroom during the incident. She has not been charged, Ure said.

Now, I'm no expert in raising children, and I have no kids of my own. But I'm gonna go out on a limb here and offer up the following advice to mothers out there: if your brother is a seventeen year old dope-smoking loser known to police as a thief... leaving him in charge of your children is a poor idea. Perhaps you shouldn't be sleeping during times like these.

But, what do I know?

Weekend Activity

2007-03-04T01:07:00.000-08:00

That's me on the far side of the table.

;-)

Answering your own question

2007-03-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

As seen on Sportsnet's website:

Where did it go? Oh, right... there it went.

I think Sportsnet is purposely trying to torture Oiler fans. And I love it.

I feel a lot better about myself now

2007-03-02T21:21:00.000-08:00

There, that's better.

Botched Funeral

2007-03-02T16:09:00.000-08:00

What a despicable thing to do:

State regulators have revoked the license of a funeral home owner they say failed to properly prepare the body of a decorated military veteran whose remains were found shrouded by little more than a bloody covering in the casket.

***

The board said that at the Oct. 17, 2005 funeral, Williams refused to open the casket for viewing, even though Helen White had paid for an open-casket visitation. Her husband was a former Marine awarded two Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War. When she insisted on an open casket, Williams let her view the body briefly after the service.

The body was found wrapped in a stained sheet or blanket and was not wearing the suit that Williams had provided, the board said. His face lacked makeup and appeared swollen.

***

When Helen White demanded that Williams let her find another funeral home, Williams drove off with the body and disappeared, according to police and the report.

Police later found the body at the mortuary and another funeral director properly prepared White's body for public viewing.

There is low, and then there is really low. I'd say this qualifies as the latter.

Temujin goes crazy

2007-03-02T02:40:00.000-08:00

Watch as Temujin goes crazy in the comments section over at Dust My Broom.

Warning! Extreme Bad Taste Alert! Foul Language is used often and without remorse!

In my defense, it was a really touchy subject. Evil asbestos my ass.

F*ckers.

The Soul of Nowhere

2007-03-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

From A Theory of Ice:

We do not say hockey is a business on jersey retirement nights, we do not say it when we speak of our favorite players and most memorable playoff series. The team that wins the Cup will not say, we are victorious due to our vastly superior business sense! We will not say such things on Hockey Day in Canada, we will not say it in the debate that follows a particularly nasty brawl, nor when a gorgeous goal makes us gasp. In the fleeting final seconds of a tied game, we do not think, what a business this is. No, for these occasions, we will define hockey in different ways. We will speak of speed, excitement, and joy, of passion and skill and grace, of heart and grit and determination, of leadership, and cruelty, and honor. We will say hockey is a war or hockey is a tradition, we will make of hockey a metonym for nations and cities and every virtue or vice humanly possible.

RTWT

Stanley Cup Ring to Doogie, who pointed this out in the BoA comments section here

This reminds me of the biblical character Job

2007-02-28T23:49:00.000-08:00

A man who lost his wife and three daughters in the 2004 tsunami is now the father of triplets:

Darmi Ali lost his three daughters and wife to the 2004 tsunami. The 44-year-old remarried, and last week became a father again — of triplets, all of them female.

"I am overjoyed," said Ali, a police officer who was back at work Wednesday at regional headquarters in Aceh, the Indonesian province worst hit by the giant waves. "I lost my three daughters, and now they have been replaced by three other girls."

In the Biblical book of Job, the main character is stricken with numerous diseases. his wife essentially abandons him and he loses his children, land, and livestock. At the end of the story, Job's faithfulness is rewarded by God and his health is restored. He becomes the father of ten children to replace the ten that died, and he is given double the wealth he previously had.

I am certain the daughters of Darmi Ali will be among the most beautiful in the land.

His three new daughters will remain in hospital until they gain weight — the smallest weighs just 2.43 pounds.
"I hope they all survive," said Ali's wife, Mariati, as she took a break from breast-feeding.

I hope they all survive, too.

Bladders Full to the Brim; Shortage of Public Restrooms Blamed

2007-02-28T06:07:00.000-08:00

The dreadful shortage of public restrooms in London, England is causing all sorts of problems for that progressive country.

Elaine Gennard-Levy spent 20 minutes searching for a bathroom while shopping on London's Oxford Street. She decided it would be easier to build her own.

``I said to my husband, there must be a better way,'' Gennard-Levy said. ``The loos are awful in this country.''

Not only is there a massive shortage, but the ones they do have are simply awful!

In December, she opened a luxury ladies' room on Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping area. Use of the toilet and powder room at the facility costs 5 pounds ($10).
The facility, called WC1, is helping to fill the gap left by a decline in public bathrooms in London. The number of toilets dropped 40 percent from 2000 to 2005, leaving 415 to serve a population of 7.5 million, government figures show. That's not including the 28 million people who visit the U.K. capital each year.

Well, good on her for recognizing the need and using market forces to supply a product to consumers!

Local authorities say they can't afford to maintain and modernize restrooms. Many have been sold to property developers, who convert them into more profitable uses, including apartments and nightclubs. Those that remain often are so dirty or rundown that they're mostly used by drug addicts and homeless people.

Oh, the humanity!

In Beijing, where the average salary is a 10th of London's, there are 7,700 toilets, or one for every 1,948 people. China's capital plans to renovate 3,700 in time for the 2008 Olympics. London, which will host the 2012 games and has one toilet per 18,000 residents, has no such plans.

See how the brave and noble Chinese have sacrificed for the sake of bladders and bowels!? One wonders where all the Chinese drug addicts and homeless people are currently "residing". How fortunate that they will soon have public restroom facilities to use at their leisure!

Guidebooks including ones from the TimeOut and Cadogan series recommend that visitors look for restrooms in department stores, pubs and shops. The proliferation of Starbucks Corp. cafes and other coffee shops makes buying a latte in exchange for lavatory use a popular strategy.

This is certainly a strategy I employ when I am in downtown Vancouver. Often times I will use the lavatory and not even purchase anything from the Starbucks. A vile and dishonourable act to be sure, but it solves the most pressing issue of the moment.

Still, it's not an option for everyone. Sean, who has been driving a black cab for 10 years, keeps a plastic bottle handy in case he needs to urinate at an inconvenient moment.

``A lot of the public toilets shut at night and the shops don't like you using theirs unless you buy something,'' he said, declining to give his last name. ``It's just what cabbies have to resort to these days.''

Clearly the cab drivers in London never take any breaks of any kind during the day. Good on them for working through their lunch hours and coffee breaks. That's the spirit!

Others take more drastic steps. Research by ENCAMS, an environmental charity, showed 95 percent of Britons had urinated, vomited or defecated in public because no toilet was available.

The stats speak for themselves! You can't go anywhere in downtown London without stepping in vomit or feces. It's terrible.

The shortage belies London's history as an exemplary provider of public toilets. Its first public lavatory was built in the 12th century at the site of what is now the Royal Bank of Canada's offices. During the Victorian era, public bathrooms multiplied, and often boasted mosaic tiling and copper pipes.

It's funny, because I've never thought of London as a shining beacon for free restroom service. Who knew that it was at one time their legacy to the world. I guess it's a history Londoners can be proud of?

Such facilities have sometimes fallen afoul of new laws. The Disability Act, which came into force in 2004, requires that public toilets be accessible to wheelchair users or have suitable alternatives nearby. Rather than invest in ramps and elevators, some authorities have shut or sold older restrooms.

But no one is going to question the need to remove the very laws that created the problem in the first place. Oh, no. Just give us more of your money.

The use of toilets by drug users, prostitutes and the homeless has also made maintenance more difficult. Some local government councils have fit bathrooms with blue fluorescent lights that obscure the veins to discourage heroin addicts.

Wonder how that strategy is working out?

Gennard-Levy's luxury loo on Oxford Street cost 1.25 million pounds to build. After starting with a flat price of 5 pounds, it now charges 1 pound for use of the toilet only and 5 pounds for a ``pampering'' that includes a hand massage or touching up makeup.

``I would have been happy to pay the full price,'' said Catherine Snow, a book publisher leaving WC1. ``I've had to run into horrible pubs and hope they didn't see me.''

The shame! The horror!

The hilarity.

The Al Gore Effect... in effect

2007-02-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

At next years Oscar's you can guarantee they'll have the Hummers, stretch limos, and other gas-guzzling vehicles bringing the celebs to the big show. It was so chilly last night in Hollywood, they are going to start campaigning for global warming. To quote Jodie Foster,

It’s freezing! Are you kidding me?"

Aerosol containers and SUV's for everyone!

Weak and Shit

2007-02-26T00:43:00.000-08:00

Pardon the rather vulgar title, but ten minutes of your time would be well spent watching this video.

No matter your thoughts on the "War on Drugs".

Celebs going Green

2007-02-24T23:18:00.000-08:00

Thankfully we have such heroic leaders to show us the way to a cleaner, greener tomorrow.

Hollywood A-listers such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Kidman will be shuttled to the Academy Awards today in electric sports cars and plug-in hybrids, and the line of limousines waiting their turn to drop stars off at the event will idle on cleaner fuels than ever before.

Studies show that 97% of hot gas rises into the atmosphere during these self-congratulating award shows and other Hollywood VIP gatherings. Unfortunately the scientists forget to mention that it's not the vehicles causing the excessive hot air.

Staffers who know details of the ceremony were tight-lipped all week, but some Tinseltown insiders have hinted there may be an announcement during the show about just how environmentally friendly the awards are.

Lest anyone question their motivations, the announcement will not be made until just before the award for Best Picture is given. You know, so everyone will be able to see that they didn't go green for any reason other than they really care about the environment. No word on whether the stage lighting, air conditioning, and large television screens are energy efficient or environmentally hazardous.

"An Inconvenient Truth," former Vice President Al Gore's film about global warming, is favored to win the Best Documentary Feature category.

No Way!?!!?!?!11?!!?!?1111?!!?1!? Whod've thunk it?

But sources said the Democrat plans to make news today during the first half of the awards program regardless of whether his film is recognized.

Listening to eco-geeko Gore might be about the only worthwhile part of the whole show. Guaranteed to be good for at least a few laughs.

Perhaps he'll talk about how he invented eco-friendly technology.

"By arriving in fuel-efficient green vehicles instead of gas-guzzling limousines, celebrities are helping showcase smart solutions to global warming -- what we drive, as well as how we live," said Matt Peterson, president of the environmental group.

As well as how they live? Really? Al Gore lives in a 10,000-square-foot, 20-room, eight-bathroom home, and when he isn't there he is vacationing in 4000 square foot "shack" in the "great outdoors" in Arlington, Virginia. Gwyneth Paltrow lives in a six million dollar palace, while Nicole Kidman recently purchased a 12 million dollar townhouse in West London.

But no greenhouse gases or other emissions were released during the building of those homes.

And if they were, they were offset by investments in solar power!

Among the celebrities planning to ride in eco-style is Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, who said, "It's urgent that we all take steps in our lives to reduce our impact on the environment."

Note the personal suffering DiCaprio has endured in order to reduce his impact on the environment:

If that's what it takes to help our environment, then sign me up! I'd take a palace like that any day of the week.

All in the name of reducing greenhouse gases, of course.

"Global warming is threatening us all," said Penelope Cruz, a Best Actress nominee who will show up in an eco-friendly car. "Fortunately, there are many simple things we can all do such as driving greener cars or changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs, which can dramatically save energy and reduce global-warming pollution."

I wonder how many fluorescent light bulbs are in her house?

Hypocrisy abounds! But perhaps no more than in the actions of The Man Himself:

Mr. and Mrs. Gore will appear at the hottest tickets in town after the awards -- the Vanity Fair party and the swanky Governor's Ball.

No word on whether there will be fluorescent bulbs, green carpets, and carbon-less emissions at both of those gatherings.

Suicide Bomber "Succeeds"

2007-02-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

It's not often I smile when a suicide bomber detonates himself, but this story made me grin, just a little.

Although the enemy insurgent was shot several times, he managed to continue running in the vicinity of the crowd. The US Army Sergeant chased after him, shot him again a number of times point blank and tackled him to the ground. The enemy insurgent, now on the ground with the US Army Sergeant on top of him, began chanting prayers and reached for his detonator. Quickly assessing the situation, the US Army Sergeant observed that the crowd had dispersed due to the gun shots being fired at this enemy insurgent. In a matter of seconds, the US Army Sergeant pushed the insurgent away from him and rolled away as quickly as possible. The enemy insurgent detonated the suicide vest and "assumed outside temperature!" (Nice way of saying he died). The US Army Sergeant received non-life threatening wounds as a result of the explosion along with 5 others.

Thankfully no one was killed.
No one of any importance, that is.

Miracle turtle

2007-02-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

A pet turtle survived nearly ten minutes inside a stomach after it became an appetizer for a dog:

Shelby insisted on a rescue mission and, on the advice of a vet, her parents made Bella vomit. Out came Pepper (turtle), still alive despite a shattered shell and an estimated 10 minutes inside (dog) Bella's belly.

That's one tough turtle!

"The turtle would definitely have caused an obstruction," Thomassy said. "Without cutting it out directly, it eventually would have killed the dog."

Yet more evidence that dogs are stupid and make terrible pets. Get a cat, people!

"Routine" Surgery

2007-02-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning, I went into the Bulkley Valley District hospital for what was supposed to be a routine hernia repair. I've had the operation before, almost two years ago to the day, actually. It went very well and I was back on my feet in no time.

Unfortunately, there were some complications this time around, and my "day" surgery turned into a five day ordeal complete with blood clots, internal bleeding, a Foley catheter (which really builds character in a man... really.), a swollen and bruised mid-section, and enough drugs to stun a horse.

Sufficed to say, I have returned home in an exceedingly weary state, and won't be up for much of anything the next little while. Perhaps I'll post more of the ugly details later, but maybe not.

Thankfully the Canucks hung on last night. That brings me a little bit of joy in the midst of all this shunt.

Canucks PPV Prize

2007-02-06T16:42:00.000-08:00

Last week, during the pay-per-view Canucks game against the Blue Jackets, I used my cell phone and texted a message to be shown on the ticker at the bottom of the screen. Unbeknownst to me, everytime you text message Canucks PPV, your cell number gets entered into a draw for Canucks merchandise. This past thursday, A fine young lady from Canucks marketing phoned me and made me aware that I had won an autographed Canucks flag! I checked my mail today, and Whooopeeee Dooooooo!

It's a standard sized flag, and has 22 autographs, including my hero, Roberto Luongo.

Truly, it is a Good Day!

Astronaut attempts kidnapping; flees to outer space

2007-02-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, not really, but there are all sorts of punch lines you could write for this story:

A NASA astronaut charged with attempting to kidnap a romantic rival in a love triangle with another astronaut was ordered released on bail Tuesday on the condition that she not contact the alleged victim.

No telephone calls.
No conversations.
No phaser exhanges.

Nothing.

Nowak, a married mother of three, stood in a jail uniform, usually facing down during the hearing. She planned to return home to Houston, and the judge ordered her to wear a tracking device.

The 43-year-old robotics specialist faces charges including attempted kidnapping, attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery.

Her poor husband must be exceedingly embarrassed. And if she is a robotics specialist, and is forced to wear an electronic TRACKING DEVICE, don't you think she knows how to disable it? Hmmmmm...

Police said she drove 900 miles, donned a disguise and was armed with a BB gun and pepper spray when she confronted a woman she believed was a competitor for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, an unmarried fellow astronaut.

Should have taken the shuttlecraft. She'd have been home in time to make dinner for her husband and kids.

Seriously though. A BB gun and pepper spray? What was she going to do? Shoot her in the ass and blind her with the spray?

According to authorities, Nowak believed another woman, Colleen Shipman, was romantically involved with Oefelein. When Nowak found out Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, Nowak decided to confront her early Monday, according to the arrest affidavit.

Seems like a long way to drive! But the real kicker here... the very best part of the whole story... and I mean Very. Best. Part:

Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers in the car so she wouldn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.

Erhm. Mmph. Grmmphmpph... BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh dear. Oh my, oh, oh, oh hehehehehehehehehe! That's just... AAAAAH HA HA HA HA!

There is more to the story, but I couldn't finish it due to continuous laughter and the tears streaming down my face.

Bow before your new God

2007-01-29T08:04:00.000-08:00

Photoshop-friendly Zanstorm has provided the faithful brethren (and sistren) with an icon to our new lord.

We worship the Almighty Luon-god.

He hath done great things, bless his holy name.

Birthday Card Blog Burst

2007-01-25T16:38:00.000-08:00

Andrew at Bound by Gravity is giving everyone the head-up on a great little project for a ~~five~~eight-year old boy on his birthday. Won't you take $4.50 + $.51 + a little bit of your time, and contribute?

Stanley Cup Ring to the Libertarian with a heart, Jay.

He was for the election before he was against it

2007-01-24T23:36:00.002-08:00

Hehehe, John Kerry has decided not to enter the 2008 Presidential race. Wonder why he decided not to run?

"Two years ago, I sought the presidency to lead us on a different course," he said on the Senate floor. "We came close, Mr. President, certainly close enough to be tempted to try again. There are powerful reasons to want to continue that fight now. But I have concluded this isn't the time for me to mount a presidential campaign."

Who think ol' Botox will change his mind within the next year? This may not be the time to mount his campaign, but things always have a way of changing with Kerry. Perhaps August will the time.

Instead, Kerry said he will continue to try to change the Bush administration's Iraq policy from the Senate. Officials said he would run for a fifth six-year term in the Senate.

"We have to find a way to end this misguided war and bring our troops home," he said.

The war he voted for, but then argued against. This has been said a billion times before, but it bares repeating again. He's a waffling flip-flopper and there is really no good reason to trust him, even when he says he won't run for President!

Though he never formed a committee or took any other legal steps, Kerry clearly had been eying a second run for the White House, CBS News correspondent Bob Fuss reports. But following a week in which two other Democratic senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, announced their intentions to great fanfare, Kerry decided to bow out.

So I wonder who he will throw his support behind? Surely it will be seen as a negative thing for the poor candidate! And what of poor John Edwards, Kerry's running mate in '04. He throws his hat into the ring and might not even get the support of Kerry... yikes!

Still, Democratic strategist Mark Mellman, who served as a senior Kerry adviser in 2004, says the senator would have been a "serious contender" in 2008. Mellman notes that Kerry received more votes and raised more money than any Democratic nominee in history and maintains "a lot of assets." As to where those assets go, Mellman tells CBSNews.com there will be a competition among contenders for Kerry's long list of staffers, donors and volunteers but doesn't see any individual Democratic hopeful gaining an immediate advantage.

You would think Kerry would have a bit more say in where the money goes, but I guess not. John Edwards could not ever carry his home state in 2004, so I don't expect a huge groundswell of support for him,

Here we are, still nearly two years away from an election, yet the Dems are tripping over each other announcing their intentions.

Darcy Tucker Montage

2007-01-22T23:27:00.000-08:00

Just because I can. It's the All Star Break, after all!

Muahahaha.

Just in time for the Conservative's Environment plan to kick in

2007-01-22T16:55:00.000-08:00

Glaciers May Vanish From Alps by 2050

Glaciers will all but disappear from the Alps by 2050, scientists warned Monday, basing their bleak outlook on mounting evidence of slow but steady melting of the continental ice sheets.

But at least the scientists are being sensible about the cause of this melting:

Experts at a regional conference on the Alps, held annually in the mountain resort of Alpbach, stopped short of blaming global warming. But they called for a review of preventive measures to protect people living in valleys at risk of dangerous flooding.

***

"Glaciers have been in a general retreat worldwide since the end of the last Ice Age," he said.

Forecasting their demise is problematic "because we don't know what scenarios there will be, and there are a range of scenarios. This isn't a weather forecast. But we are seeing an accelerated glacial melting."

In the 13 years spanning 1991-2004, twice as much glacial ice melted away in Europe than in the 30 preceding years from 1961-1990, climatologists say.

Perhaps this will increase the number of tourists at Ski Smithers, where there is 30 centimetres (a foot) of fresh snow last night, bringing the total accumulation to over 500 cm (over 16 feet).

Green: The color of confidence?

2007-01-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

Jason of True North asks an interesting question regarding Green party leader Elizabeth May. She hasn't decided which Cape Breton riding she will run in, but told reporters that she'd love to beat Peter Mackay.

Having not even won a seat yet, how can she be so confident that she could topple a Cabinet Minister "if she had the time"?

Perhaps the clean maritime air has clouded her judgment?

Unfinished Business.

2007-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

Today I went back to the scene of the crime, so to speak, and made sure that no one will ever be injured by that filthy, dishonourable commode again.

We eyed each other up for several minutes. I approached cautiously, knowing full well that he could strike without notice. They are dangerous enough in the wild as it is, but when they are wounded... well, let's just say I was prepared to defend myself this time. I faked left, dodged right, and went in for the kill. It was touch and go there for a minute, but in the end I was victorious.

In the game of life there are winners and there are losers.

Today, ol' Temujin came out on top.

In a week my stitches will be removed, but this picture will last a cyber-lifetime. Truly, the day is mine.

If it wasn't for bad luck...

2007-01-17T13:41:00.000-08:00

For the most part, I really enjoy my job. I get to travel all around the Bulkley Valley doing everything from Mold Remediation to water and smoke damage restoration to residential and commercial carpet cleaning. Although the job can get repetitive and frustrating, it can also be quite rewarding. And not just on a financial level either. It's very satisfying to come after a day of work knowing that you have genuinely helped someone, or provided a service to the best of your ability.

Today I was injured on the job site. But not just any injury. This was a unique injury. In fact, I can nearly guarantee you've never heard anything like this before.

Over the past year or so the company I work for has been doing a lot of work in Moricetown, BC. It is a First Nations reserve about thirty kilometers west of Smithers. Many of those homes were shabbily built in the 1970's and 1980's and have been subjected to all sorts of water damage. We've been given the task of working with local coordinators to ensure the damage gets repaired. Long story short: we tear-out anything wet/moldy.

Today started out like any other day, except the house we were working in was exceptionally bad. So bad, in fact, that it has been vacant for at least a year. Upon entering the house, it became obvious to my co-worker and I that this was a local party shack. Little wonder why it was no longer occupied.

We set to work removing debris and discarded the drywall. After a short time, I set my sights on the bathroom and decided to begin working on the toilet. Since there was no power or heat to the house, the toilet water was frozen solid inside, making it impossible to simply remove like I normally do. The toilet already had several cracks and chips, and it was obvious to me that a replacement would be needed, so I was not concerned with saving it. I took my trusty large pry bar, and thought about how exciting it would be to play "Smashy-Smashy" with the porcelain. A few bangs, a little clean-up, and that toilet would be as good as gone.

I wound up, and sent half the seat flying with a loud crash. Sweet

My second swing was not so fun.

The angle of my swing was a little more golf-like, and it caused a piece of the toilet to pop straight up, clipping me slightly to the right of the center of my forehead. I staggered back a little bit, and tried to push the sting out of my mind. It hurt slightly more than I expected it to, but as I regained my composure I figured I'd be able to shake it off and continue. How wrong I was! I stood up straight, and the pain shot through me and I had to bend over and rest my hands on my knees. Just then, I could feel the surge of blood, and a substantial river began to flow onto the exposed subflooring below me. I placed my hand to my head and wandered over to wear my co-worker was.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit...

My co-worker searched frantically for something to place against my head, but I wasn't too interested in putting anything found in a condemned house on my injury. He ran out to the van and found a couple of spare rags, and helped me place pressure on the wound.

I should be okay once the bleeding stops.

After about five minutes, I removed the blood-stained cloth, only to experience the rather unrivaled feeling of of a steady stream of blood fall over my eyes and down my cheek.

Well, I guess we're not staying here anymore.

The very sight of a company van parked in an abandoned house in a small community is bound to draw attention. I suspect it is like this in any small town, but perhaps even more so on a reserve. Just as I situated myself in the van, a neighbor began talking to my co-worker, mumbling on about something or other. He was just being friendly, but to me he was taking up valuable time. I looked at my co-worker, who was attempting to collect our belongings and ensure we had all our equipment, but continued to get distracted by our friend from down the road.

Time's a factor here, bud!

We packed up and went on our way back to Smithers. Fortunately the roads were not too slick, and my co-worker was able to make good time to the hospital.

The receptionist at the hospital is someone I am familiar with, as I have done plenty of work for her in the last month. In fact, she is in the middle of an insurance claim that I have been involved with. Of course, she wanted to know all the details of how it happened.

I like to think I'm a pretty humorous fellow. In fact, I like cracking jokes and one-liners and when things get hectic and hairy, I frequently try to inject humor into the situation. Upon telling her the story, she burst into a rather unsympathetic laughter.

If you think my forehead looks bad, you should see the toilet.

She told me to take a seat and the nurse would be right with me. It wasn't two minutes when the nurse came through the door announced she was ready for me.

A toilet to the head? Come on in.

She removed the now blood-soaked cloths from my head and immediately the blood began flowing. She attempted to clean the would as best she could, but it was certainly not a one-person job. She fought with it quite a lot as we discussed how it happened. Apparently, it is difficult to clean a wound when your sides are splitting from laughter. Somehow she managed to freeze the wound. The pain from the needle was excruciating, but all I could do was laugh. And it was an honest-to-goodness, actual, full-bodied laugh. The whole scenario was really quite funny.

After calling for assistance from another nurse, she put a sterile pad on my wound and diagnosed the problem.

You've got a real gusher here.

The nurse came shortly thereafter, and was amazed by what she saw.

How did that happen?

Naturally.

The say that three times are a charm, so I repeated my comedic story from the very beginning. After calming herself down and catching her breath, Nurse Two asked me if I was alright. Nurse One chimed in at that point.

He's fine, but he nearly killed himself laughing during the freezing.

Nurse Two did her best to help Nurse One as she installed two interior stitches and four exterior ones. The blood ceased to flow almost immediately after the first stitch when in. A few wipes here, and a little clean-up there, and I was ready to face the outside world once again.

I'm not entirely sure how to end my little tale of hilarity, but I think the moral of this story could be: A toilet is not a baseball.

Or perhaps: Laugh and the hospital laughs with you. Bleed, and you bleed alone.

Nathan Cullen: Putting an End to Global Warming in the Bulkley Valley

2007-01-13T15:56:00.000-08:00

It's been -25 celcius in Smithers this weekend, and Nathan Cullen has vowed to put an end to the unbearable heat:

Smithers – Residents of Skeena-Bulkley Valley are invited to watch the recently released film An Inconvenient Truth with Member of Parliament Nathan Cullen later this month and discuss the film’s sobering message about the deadly progress of global warming.

The Progress of Global Warming? That's a lot like the honesty of politicians. Or the talent of the Maple Leafs.

That is to say, I don't see much evidence of it!

“We are hosting film and discussion evenings around Al Gore’s film in five different communities,” said Cullen, who has been NDP national environment critic since being elected in 2004.

“I want to hear from my constituents about the planetary emergency scientists say we are facing, so that when I return to Ottawa, I can carrry (sic) the message of the northwest into this national debate.”

When the underlying assumption is that we are facing a planetary climate crisis, it it's hard to imagine any contrary views being offered up. It's unfortunate that there will be no Global Warming skeptics invited to share their view.

You would think if Cullen truly wants to have a national debate on climate change, he would allow for a thorough rebuttal of Al Gore's documentary.

...it is a moral challenge facing all of global civilization.

When a statement like this is made, it ignores the fact that Earth's climate has been changing (warming and cooling) since before humans could fashion arrows out of sticks and tools out of stone. Was global warming a moral challenge facing Neanderthal Bob and Cro-Magnon Sally?

“The impact of global warming will be felt in Smithers and Kitimat as much as at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro or the Antartica,” he said.

Just like it did ten thousand years ago when scientists believe the last ice age ended. But life on this planet didn't have much say in that, now did it?

This "The Sky is Falling/Chicken Little" view is starting to get a bit old.

Smart Like Dump Truck

2007-01-12T00:00:00.000-08:00

M'heh!

Franklyn Pigott Jr. set his home ablaze Wednesday while attempting to destroy a nest of bees that had formed outside the home, the Fort Myers News-Press reported Thursday.

When Pigott, 38, mixed a product called Real Kill Indoor Fogger with WD-40, it became a "flame-thrower" and melted the home's vinyl siding, according thttp://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page1619.htmlo a police incident report.

I suspect he's still got a bee problem. And they are now the last thing on his mind.

What's wrong with the traditional method of killing bees?

Last time I checked, this stuff (or something similar) works just fine!

I'm Freaked.

2007-01-09T01:00:00.001-08:00

“Decisive, quick action on climate change is absolutely critical. Canadians are freaking out at this weird weather we’re having,” - Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence.

If there are any Canadians out there who are "freaking out" over the weird weather we're having, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email and I'll include it a the bottom of this post.

It's time we freaks stood together and freaked out in unison! The weather condition eerily known as winter must be stopped at all costs. If we don't stop it now, what's next? Spring? Summer???

Or worse, Autumn.

My God.

It freaks me out to even type the word.

Surely there is another term I could use... like Fall! Yes, "Fall". No one wants to see "Fall" climate. No one. Freaks of Canada, Unite!

Update 8:00am - Darcey's freaking out big time, and the hysterics continue in his comment section.

Terrorist eggs on other Terrorist

2007-01-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

"Let Hamas shoot me" - Mohammed Dahlan

Neither Hamas nor Fatah is capable of governing a responsible, respectable nation. Here's one more example of that.

Protests in Cuba

2007-01-06T22:11:00.000-08:00

Humans rights activists have flown to Cuba this week to protest the terrible conditions, sub-standard treatment, and lack of freedom that occurs there.

Of course, none of it will be directed at the Communist dictatorship or the country's dreadful leader. Oh no, the activists aren't interested in those human rights violations:

HAVANA — American "peace mom" Cindy Sheehan called for the closure of the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as she and other activists arrived here Saturday to draw attention to the nearly 400 terror suspects held at the remote site.

No mention of the eleven million Cubans living under the heel of a thug and a tyrant, of course.

"What is more important is the inhumanity that my government is perpetrating at Guantanamo," she told reporters.

She should ask someone working in the sugar cane fields if they think it is more important.

Benjamin said group members believed they were exempt from U.S. travel restrictions on Cuba because they were traveling as professional human rights activists who will attend a day-long international conference in the Cuban city of Guantanamo on Wednesday, the eve of their protest.

An international conference. On human rights. In Cuba. With no mention of Castro or his regime.

The mind boggles.

A pre-curser

2007-01-05T13:03:00.000-08:00

First the World Junior Hockey Championships, next the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The preparations for invasion are nearly ready. The Ruskies won't even know what hit 'em.

Compare and Contrast

2006-12-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

From MSNBC:

Somali troops enter capital unopposed
Somalis cheer as military rolls in, ending six months of Islamist domination

From the Guardian:

Return of warlords as Somali capital is captured
· Islamists retreat in face of Ethiopian tanks
· Looting begins as control of city is reclaimed

Same story, different spin.

MSNBC has never been considered much of a conservative news agency, but they look positively right wing when compared to the Guardian.

I'm glad that the Islamic crazies had been routed from the capital, but this is a region of the world where "stability" isn't even found in the dictionary. Here's hoping the UN doesn't decide to get involved.

At least then the people there might have a fighting chance at freedom.

RIP James Brown

2006-12-27T01:09:00.000-08:00

(Bumped to top, December 27th)

In Memoriam... Now is that time at WCC when we dance:

James Brown has Died.

Too bad, he was one of the best entertainers of all time, and he was supposed to come to Prince George in January (link may be no good).

Plenty of online eulogies will no doubt begin with the words "Ow! I feel bad/dead"

RIP Gerald Ford

2006-12-26T21:22:00.000-08:00

Gerald Ford has died.

Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America's history, has died, his wife, Betty, said Tuesday. He was 93.

***

"His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country.

Not much more needs to be said, I suppose, although I wonder how he would've fared as President if he had the same congress in the 1970's that George Bush had during his first term.

The New Blogger

2006-12-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

So this is the New Blogger, eh?

I just received my "confirmation email", and everything seems to be working fine.

In other news, Team Canada won their first game at the World Junior Hockey Championships, and we won our first game at the Spengler Cup too!

Sweden has felt our wrath.

Vote For Rory

2006-12-25T00:25:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late in posting about this, but I've been voting for Rory Fitzpatrick to go to the NHL All-Star Game. Back in October when I was at the Canucks/Capitals game, I snapped a picture of the Canucks bench, and much to my surprise, ol' Rory was standing up at the end of the bench! Click the images to enlarge:

Heh, Vote for Rory!

Christmas Greetings

2006-12-24T23:11:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas, folks.

Go Canada Go.

Go Canada Go.

Go Canada Go.

This holiday season, I'll be thinking of others before myself :-)

Seems Logical to Me.

2006-12-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

Inevitably, the only way to rebalance the mission is to reduce the enemy.

Is it too late to nominate this for Quote of the Year?

Update: If you are in the market for some hockey sticks, may I suggest checking out Flarrow Hockey. When those folks support the troops, they really support the troops:

As luck would have it, Billing's father works for Flarrow Hockey -- a Canadian company that manufactures hockey sticks -- and when his boss found out about the special request, two hockey sticks bound for Kandahar, Afghanistan, became 50.

And these weren't just any sticks. Flarrow decided to manufacture a special "Support Our Troops" model: a flame-red hardwood shaft reinforced with fiberglass, graphite and Kevlar to ensure that the blade could stand the abuse.

"I thought it would be kind of neat if we did a special stick," said Denis Flarrow, owner of Flarrow Hockey. "It would mean more to the troops."

Flarrow then decided to take it one step further, producing 10,000 of the special "S.O.T. 2000" hockey sticks, emblazoned with the words "Support Our Troops" near the blade of the stick.

It brings a tear to my eye. Great job, Flarrow.

Operation Baaz Tsuka

2006-12-18T00:04:00.000-08:00

Go kick some ass, boys.

On Saturday, an unknown number of leaflets were dropped over a widespread area of the Panjwaii district. There was no writing on the pamphlets since many Afghans cannot read. Instead, the message was simple: a picture of a dead Taliban member with an X through it.

Kerry going to Iraq

2006-12-13T22:40:00.000-08:00

I wonder how the troops will welcome him.

Hopefully with a lot of signs and fanfare.

New Land Speed Record?

2006-12-13T18:10:00.000-08:00

I'd like to go for a spin with this guy sometime:

VALPARAISO, Ind. - A teenager charged with driving 142 mph along a four-lane divided highway said he was speeding home so his parents wouldn't be mad at him for being late, police said.

Brandon D. Raap, 16, faces speeding and misdemeanor reckless driving charges and could have his license suspended, police said.

Suspended license? Misdemeanor charge? Screw that nonsense! Get this kid a contract with Newman-Haas or Team Penske.

It might be the fastest speed ever recorded on the northwestern Indiana county's roads, said Porter County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Emmons.

"Most people's cars won't go that fast," he said.

Raap told police he was late getting home and didn't want his parents to be angry, Deputy John Brubaker said in his report.

In the dark and late at night, no less! I'd trust this kid to drive me around anytime.

Punks rob Amish man

2006-12-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

Here's hoping these two wastes of skin get what is coming to them:

Police say two men armed with a .50 caliber muzzleloading rifle held up an Amish buggy driver and made off with a pipe, tobacco and flashlight.

Gee, that's quite the loot! Next they'll be after anyone with Oneida cookware.

Sheriff's deputies say 19-year-old Levi Hershberger was driving his buggy along County Route 15 when a car pulled alongside him and two men inside asked if he had any drugs. He said he didn't and they drove off, only to come back and ask him again for drugs.

***

When the two men returned a second time, they told Hershberger they were undercover state troopers, police said, reports the Watertown Daily Times.

Deputies say the men forced Hershberger out of the buggy at gunpoint and searched the vehicle. Later, when Hershberger got home, the men drove into his driveway and he ran to a neighbor's to call police while the men woke his father and again demanded drugs.

Couple of real winners.

Both men have previously pleaded guilty to burglary charges and are on probation, reports the Watertown Daily Times.

Can they please receive more than a slap on the wrist?

Bob Gainey's daughter

2006-12-10T12:01:00.000-08:00

Oh no, how horrific:

HALIFAX -- The United States Coast Guard said today its search for Laura Gainey, 25, daughter of Montreal Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey, is at a crucial stage.

As of 9 a.m. this morning, Laura Gainey had been in the water 30 hours after being swept by a wave from the tall sailing ship Picton Castle in rough seas about 750 kilometres southeast of Cape Cod, Mass.

***

Dan Moreland, managing captain of the Picton Castle, said Laura Gainey was not believed to have been wearing a lifejacket at the time of the incident.

Wearing one is not standard practice for mates performing regular duties on deck, he said.

It was not known exactly what she was doing at the time she was swept away, but she might have been straightening sail lines or walking to the toilet room, he said.

***

Laura Gainey was an advanced apprentice on the ship, having trained on it for months.

She sailed from Cape Town, South Africa to Lunenburg, N.S. in May, then trained on it while in the Great Lakes this summer. The current trip departed Lunenburg Dec. 5, headed for St. George’s, Grenada.

Laura Gainey was to continue her training for five months before returning to Canada in May.

Laura Gainey, who battled drug addiction as a teenager after her mother died of a brain tunor(sic) when Laura was barely 10, had expressed an interest in sailing as a profession, Moreland said.

Even an experienced swimmer would have trouble after being in the water for 30 hours. Bob Gainey must be having a terrible time right now, not knowing her fate. Foxnews is saying that a person would succumb to hypothermia after 36 hours.

"She is hardworking, someone who wanted to turn her life around. She was passionate about sailing, loves it and worked very hard," he said. "She was no slouch."

There is nothing on the Habs website yet, but I'd expect them to put something up shortly. What a shame for such a fine young woman who had cleaned herself up and was succeeding in life.

Carter slams Canada

2006-12-10T07:31:00.000-08:00

Jimmy Carter has thrust himself back into the spotlight recently with his new book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid". It's bad enough he goes around coddling terrorists and encouraging their "leaders", but now he's attacking Canada for withdrawing funds that would have gone to Hamas.

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter says the decision by Canada and other nations to withhold money from the Hamas-led Palestinian government is "a crime."

***

"It's a crime against the people of Palestine," Carter told CBC News in an exclusive interview from New York.

"For Canada and others to punish the Palestinian people because they voted for their candidates of choice, I think is literally a crime."

I think the former President is literally a loon. If the Palestinians want Hamas to lead them so badly, then this is the result of having their candidates of choice in power. But it's obviously Canada's fault that the leadership of Hamas couldn't lead their way out of a wet paper bag. If they could, perhaps they'd consider finding ways of improving the lives of their people, rather than continually spitting vitriol and hatred at their neighbours.

But no, Carter needs to blame Canada, blame Canada...

"I deplore the Palestinian suicide bombings as much or more than anything than I do what Israel has done against the Palestinian people. It's horrible on both sides and should be eliminated. But you have to look at the facts."

He said that by the time Hamas was elected in January, the Palestinian authority had already been brought to bankruptcy and couldn't pay police officers, firefighters and government employees.

Or suicide bombers, or the families of suicide bombers, or contribute to the insurgency in Iraq, etc.
Carter seems to suggest that it is not Hamas' fault for the social woes in Palestine, and that they were voted in to pick up the pieces. But the fact is Hamas has funded terrorism, they have never truly renounced violence against Israel, and they have not done anything to improve the lives of average Palestinians.
They cannot be trusted to use our charitable funds in responsible and appropriate ways.

Even the leaders of the Democratic Party are distancing themselves from Carter:

Carter's latest book has drawn stern rebukes from current Democratic leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean.

"With all due respect to former president Carter, he does not speak for the Democratic party on Israel," Pelosi said in a statement.

This is certainly a positive thing, but I can't help but think that there are many Democrats who share Carter's views on the situation in the Middle East.

The Vaunted Canadian Health Care System

2006-12-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

Vaunted, or vaulted? I'd like to see it vaulted somewhere after I read stories like this one:

A 23-year-old single mom claims she was made to wait nearly two days at Surrey Memorial Hospital before doctors repaired her broken leg.

How impatient can that woman be! Why the big rush? I mean, it's not like her injury was life threatening.

Sandy Southwell says she broke her fibula in a fall on an icy sidewalk just before midnight Sunday. She was admitted to Surrey Memorial shortly after.

"They said my surgery would be in the morning [Monday]," Southwell said. But the hours dragged on and the operation to put a plate on the damaged bone was delayed.

I'm sure Sandy would have been willing to fork over some extra cash if it meant getting treatment in a timely manner. Or if her insurance coverage wasn't "universal" (read: lousy for everyone) perhaps she could have called her independent insurance company they could have found a way of getting her treated right away.

"I was getting scared," she said. "I felt like going to a different hospital, but what can I do. I was scared and shaking."
Southwell said doctors finally operated about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Have you ever had a broken leg before? Here a fun game to play: break your leg, and then wait around for two days before you get it fixed! This could be the start of a Christmas tradition!

Lisa Thibault of the Fraser Health Authority insists Southwell was treated for her injuries within 24 hours of being admitted. But Southwell's mother (also named Sandy) disagrees.

"She called me at 9 o'clock Tuesday night and they told her she had to get off the phone because she was going into surgery," the elder Southwell said.

Earlier, Thibault had said a wait of two days for surgery to repair a broken leg is not abnormal.

A wait. Of two Days. To repair a broken leg. IS NOT ABNORMAL.

"More urgent cases would have been seen first," she said. Surrey Memorial's orthopedic caseload was stacked over the weekend with injuries caused by people falling in slippery conditions.

It's a pandemic! We need a study group! How about a governmental think tank that focuses on finding a treatment for this unexpected rash of slippery fallery.

Sandy Southwell's ordeal came just days after another patient, Susy Horna, described an excruciating four-day wait for broken-leg surgery at Surrey Memorial.

Southwell says she was hooked up to morphine and given painkillers but was fed only once -- a measly meal of soggy noodles, Jell-O and tiny sandwiches after her surgery.

Obviously this outbreak of Slippery-Fallery has caused a food shortage as well.

The next time someone pulls out the "40 millions Americans have no health care Insurance" line on you in an attempt to convince you of the wonders of socialized medicine, tell them they will get what they pay for.

Which is to say, "free" health care is anything but free.

Welcome Hawkins Readers!

2006-12-09T03:24:00.000-08:00

Right Wing News has been a daily read of mine for nearly two years now. It's a little odd since I'm a Canadian and a lot of what John blogs about is about as relevant to me as polar bears are to African elephants.

At any rate, feel free to search around the ol' blog. The Red Ensign brigade on the right hand sidebar consists of several of my favourite (with a U) blogs, so please check some of 'em out.

And I wouldn't be too upset if you decided to check back tomorrow or the next day.

BAD Canucks Win!

2006-12-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

In between heart attacks during the Canucks/Canes game tonight, I was enjoying the comment thread at Darcey's weekly Friday Night Blues & Beer. Over 200 comments, Wow!

I'm WAY far behind Darcey and the boys in the booze consumption department, but I'm starting this evening off right. Sleeman's Original Dark that I've been saving for just such an occasion as this. I'm not much for reviews but let me just say it tastes great. Tons of body and a flavour that hangs around, but won't wear out its welcome. Not to mention the cool Stella Glass I got last week free with a case...

Darcey will have petered out long before I've hit my stride :-) Nonetheless, I raise a glass to you all. May the National Beer Policy grow exponentially!

Subsidies

2006-12-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

NDP leader Jack Layton made a small grammatical error during Question Period in the House of Commons yesterday. Hilarity ensues.

Nice to hear that Stephen Harper will get to the bottom of this pressing issue.

Pastor of Genocide released from prison.

2006-12-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

Is there any justice in the world? Why should this man go free?

The Seventh Day Adventist clergyman was accused of personally driving Hutu attackers to places where Tutsis had taken refuge.

***

As a respected member of the Seventh Adventist Day Church, some fellow clergymen hiding in the complex sent him a letter begging him for help.

The letter asked him as a man of God to intercede.

"We wish to inform you that tomorrow, we will be killed along with our families," it read.

Instead, the pastor transported the attackers to the hospital complex and also ordered the roof of a church ripped off, so that the unarmed men, women and children inside could be more easily killed.

Emphasis mine.

And may I emphasize that I think this guy deserves a sound beating. And I'm sure the lions in the plains of Rwanda would enjoy feasting on his flesh.

Coward.

More Sunday Sadness

2006-12-03T10:52:00.000-08:00

Oh geez, this is tragic. The poor family:

One witness said that the boy had been seated on the float with his feet dangling from the side and fell off when the trailer appeared to hit a bump in the road.

The boy landed in the path of the trailer's wheels and was run over...

What a terrible accident. The driver of the float must feel absolutely horrible.

Sunday Morning Sadness

2006-12-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

This story saddened me quite a bit. "You just lost your route":

It’s the kind of holiday mail that might have been tossed aside, discarded like any other piece of junk mail: a special offer for a facial at a local spa.

Only the address on the letter no longer exists. And the woman the letter is addressed to died more than five years ago in the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

***

Rafael Feliciano delivered mail to floors 78 through 100 of the south tower for three years. He watched the tower collapse on television from a bar several blocks away with a co-worker.

“He turned to me and said, ’You just lost your route,”’ Feliciano recalled.

Defence, Development, Diplomacy

2006-11-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

Damian at The Torch has complied a list of Canadian accomplishments in Afghanistan.

It's long past time that Canadians be made fully aware of our actions in rebuilding Afghanistan. Our men and women are doing good and noble work over there. They deserve our praise, our respect, and our admiration.

The least we can do is get the word out.

Showing mercy

2006-11-25T00:19:00.000-08:00

An act of mercy or casting pearls before swine?

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Congregants of a church that was badly vandalized have collected "love baskets" full of electronics for the three suspects.

"The judge will give them consequences, but as a congregation we want to reach out and extend love and mercy to them," said Jason Reimer, a pastor at the South Hills Evangelical Church. "A lot of us, whether we're churchgoers or not, have been in their shoes before and have made some bad choices. But God forgives us."

Giving gifts to those who vandalized their church certainly makes a statement. I know I'd be inclined to throw the book at them. I doubt this will bring about a life chance in those teens, nor do I think it will spur them to consider spiritual things. But I guess that's not the point.

I hope those people didn't just throw away a bunch of money on three snobby, spoiled, ignorant little ingrates.

Collector's Item

2006-11-23T21:42:00.000-08:00

Got US $8000 kicking around?

Well, look what you can have.

And I bet he sells it, too.

File under: Strange

2006-11-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

Offered for your perusal, an anti-smoking crusader for kids gets busted for ~~polygamy~~ bigamy.

A man who dresses up as a giant cigarette and uses hip-hop music to encourage children in Lynchburg and beyond to avoid smoking pleaded guilty Tuesday to bigamy. Phillip Dale Williams, 37, had as many as four wives at the same time, Chuck Felmlee, deputy commonwealth's attorney, said.

********

Williams was known locally for playing "Douglas 'Dude' Cigarette," a character he created in 1996. He has performed in about a dozen states.

Williams faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced March 9.

10 years in prison... for the crime of ~~marrying four people~~ being married to several people at once? That seems a little harsh, especially since it sounds like one of his wives is going to be looking for compensation. Seems more of a punishment to set him free!

Government does it again

2006-11-21T23:35:00.001-08:00

At the risk of sounding like a Libertarian in Jardinian Fashion, I'm going to ask a simple yet profound question:

Can government ever do anything right?

In addition to retailers claiming an inordinate number of lottery wins, CBC News has learned that Ontario's lottery corporation has also been battling problems related to instant scratch tickets.

I have a sneaking suspicion that if the BC ~~tax for those who cannot do math~~ Lottery Corporation were completely honest, they would admit to having the same problems. It seems amazing to me that such a huge cash cow for provincial governments would be so shabbily produced.

Last month it was revealed that in the past seven years Ontario clerks and retailers have claimed lottery victories nearly 200 times. University of Toronto statistician Jeffery Rosenthal said statistically the number should have been closer to 57, and was a statistical anomaly nearly impossible to achieve.

I'm not sure exactly what "game" this refers to, but I am assuming Lotto 6/49, as the big jackpot is not won very often.

OLG CEO Duncan Brown reiterated to CBC Tuesday night that the corporation has since put in new, more stringent security measures in place for all of its games.

"We're committed to doing better and we want to make sure that we retain that public trust," Brown said.

Our games are now completely foolproof... and this time we mean it!

Toronto statistician Mohan Srivastava also discovered a way the tickets could be decoded to predict a winner on the game "Tic Tac Toe" nearly three years ago.

Srivastava would look at the numbers on the ticket, and if a sequence of numbers was lined up in tic-tac-toe fashion and were not repeated anywhere else on the ticket, it was likely a winner.

After graduating high school, I took a job at the local 7-Eleven. I remember one customer in particular enjoyed playing the $3 crossword puzzles, but he had a system that at the time seemed quirky. He noticed that whenever the word "Zucchini" appeared on the ticket, it was never a winner. He also noticed this with certain city names like "Kamloops" that were printed on certain tickets. He would scan the ticket before paying for it to ensure he did not receive one with those words on it. Once, I heckled him for making such a big deal out of it. He told me to pay for one and scan it to see if it was a winner. Hoping to prove him wrong, I shelled out three loonies and scanned the ticket with word "Zucchini". Lo and behold, it was not a winner.

According to OLG documents, investigators looking into allegations of insider scratch ticket wins routinely checked for "pin-pricking," where a card is scratched very lightly to see if it contains a winning code.

It would have been exceptionally easy to do this sort of trickery when I worked in retail. The system in BC may be different now, but at the time all you needed to validate a ticket was three bold numbers, usually found in the corner of the "scratch 'n win" ticket. I can say with relative certainty that a majority of scratch ticket customers I dealt with were not aware of this, and would not notice if such a small section of their ticket were lightly scratched out.

"If someone explained the trick to you, I think, I actually know, a child could do it," Srivastava said.

Are you listening out there, provincial lottery corporations?

Red Ensign Standard #46

2006-11-21T21:38:00.000-08:00

Oops, I forgot to mention the latest Standard is up.

Hey, thanks Scott! Great job with that.

"The MADD people are as whacko as PETA."

2006-11-21T07:33:00.000-08:00

Some interesting comments on drinking & driving over at Dust my Broom today. Lisa sarcastically notes in her post:

Collective “rights” and “protections” are prior to the rights of individuals. There is nothing obtrusive about forcing global warming contributors to blow into a tube before they are permitted to start their vehicle as we are each and everyone responsible to everyone.

Left Behind

2006-11-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

...and I'm not talking about any rapture...

ATTENTION

ALIENS ARE COMING TO
ABDUCT ALL THE GOOD LOOKING AND SEXY PEOPLE.

YOU WILL BE SAFE, I'M JUST
EMAILING TO SAY GOODBYE

Classic.

B-List, Baby!

2006-11-19T11:56:00.000-08:00

I guess it helps to have a sidebar the length of the Bulkley River!

Stanley Cup Ring to Harvey, who is also a B-Lister!

You Will Urinate Here.

2006-11-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

The taxpayers of Victoria are paying for this?

"...we will find out whether or not we can train people to use the urinals."

This is wrong on so many levels.

That's one expensive bottle opener

2006-11-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

Amazing!

I NEED ONE!

Stanley Cup Ring to Samantha Burns.

The Idiot Test

2006-11-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

I made it through the Idiot Test on my very first try. No joke.

Can you pass the Idiot Test? Comments regarding your status are welcome!

"Shorty" Gordon

2006-11-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

What a story. What a life.

Rest in Peace, Shorty.

One-Liner Headliner

2006-11-14T08:04:00.000-08:00

I'm shocked, shocked by this headline.

Hamas Says It Won't Recognize Israel

Naturally, the first comment at the end of the story is "Good for Hamas!"

Remembrance Day round-up

2006-11-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

Patriotic.

That's what I'm feeling right now.

I went to the Veteran's Peace Park in Smithers to observe the Remembrance Day ceremony, thinking that 10:40 would be a good time to arrive and find a good spot to stand. Boy, was I wrong! There must have been four to five hundred people there, and I was relegated to rear status for the proceedings, so I didn't get to snap as many pictures as I had hoped.

There are plenty of bloggers who have more eloquent words describing what Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day means to them, so I'll just leave you with this picture, worth at least a thousand words:

There were many children playing in the snow and enjoying the winter weather. Several were not even born in the 20th century!

All this made possible by those who went before us.

John has a great post up, "I am among giants."

So does Alan, and Andrew.

A day of silence at The Monarchist.

Good stuff today over at the Torch, and Canadian Heroes says thanks.

And I'd be quite foolish if I neglected to point out this little gem over at Dust my Broom. I'm weeping and bursting with pride: There is one thing that we can be proud of & that is that he & nearly all of our battalion that were left never gave up an inch, but died fighting against tremendous odds. They outnumbered us 75 to 1, as it is estimated that 9000 came over & there were only about 120 of our boys left to face them. The other Canadian battalions just walloped the Jesus out of them a few days later & took back all the lost ground & inflicted awful losses on the Huns.

Lest We Forget

2006-11-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

Thank You, Heroes.

I'm going to the ceremony at the cenotaph in Smithers shortly. Pictures will be posted later.

Lest We Forget.

State Funeral for our Heroes

2006-11-09T15:57:00.000-08:00

Please take twenty-five seconds of your life to sign this petition, which urges the Prime Minister to offer a state funeral for the last veteran of World War One.

And if you needed anymore convincing, then take two minutes of your life and read this post. An exceprt:

As reported in today’s Globe and Mail, barely a third of our fellow citizens can name the battle of Vimy Ridge as a key Canadian victory in the First World War, even when the answer is hinted at in the question. One in four respondents thought Douglas Macarthur, not Sir Arthur Currie, was a great Canadian general in World War One; a result that reveals a stunning lack of awareness of both chronology and nationality. Equally disconcerting, less than half of 18 to 24 year olds surveyed were familiar with Capitan John McRae’s immortal (or maybe not) war poem, In Flanders Fields.

Monday Morning Surprise

2006-11-06T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is not the kind of thing you want to wake up to on a Monday morning.
Alas, this is what occurs when one is plowing snow and one backs up without paying attention to what is behind one's truck.

The insurance company told me my deductible will get waived as soon as the driver of the truck files his claim. I talked to him on the phone and he said he'd put it on his insurance. He'd better, or they'll be hell to pay, West Coast Chaos style, heh!

The body shop has a new windshield on order for me, but it probably won't be available for installation until Wednesday. As for the body damage, I'd sure like to get a new door out of the deal, but as long as they can make it look the way it was before, I'll be happy. Unfortunately I do not see them being able to repair it for a couple of weeks at least. This time of year is always busy for collision repair shops (of course), and normally I can be patient about such things. But in this case, it wasn't even my fault! If I had been driving like a maniac in winter conditions and crashed my car, well okay then it's my own problem. But this was brought on me by external forces that are beyond my control, which makes it even more difficult to stomach.

Do you have any ICBC stories you want to share? Any crashes that were someone else's fault? Your own fault?

I had one pretty bad one eight years ago that nearly totaled my car. I was driving too fast in the snow and hit a no-post! But insurance covered it and my rates went sky high for a couple of years. Apart from that, I've been in two fender-benders that were not my fault: one in Smithers when I was and one while driving through Fraser Lake.

The John Kerry we all know and love

2006-11-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

This story about John Kerry is absolutely priceless:

So as most of you know I travel for work. Last week, Friday morning in fact, I was on a United flight from Pittsburgh to Washington Dulles. Sitting in 1A (first class of course) was John Kerry. I was in 2A (and Ruben Studdard was in 2F, but that's beside the point).

***

The flight attendent, as they are wont to do in the front of the plane, came round a few times for some pre-flight beverage orders. Senator Kerry simply ignored the poor stewardess who was just trying to do her job. She must have asked him 3 or 4 times, hovering near his shoulder and whispering so as not to disturb his call. He finally waved her away with a careless flap of his hand, an outright dismissal of the airline worker. That irritated me some more. But whatever, perhaps he was just in a bad mood. The Senator continued to talk on his Blackberry, long after the cabin door was closed and the plane was in motion, taxiing to the runway. This is in direct violation of Federal law as the flight attendants clearly pointed out in the pre-flight safety announcements.

***

He took off his jacket and held it on his lap until the plane leveled and the flight attendent was up and about. He then discarded the jacket to her with one hand held out while his head was down rummaging in the bag he had at his feet. It looked like this poor girl was his personal assistant as she grabbed the jacket and hung it up. Not so much of a thank you or anything from the Senator. Also keep in mind that being in 1A, he was not supposed to have a bag at his feet. That is a bulkhead seat and there is no seat in front of him. It is one of those pesky Federal laws again.

***

He also started fussing with his hair. I mean, it wasn't just a 'oh let me make sure my hair isn't sticking up' tussle of the hair, this was a full-on, constant-motion, self-grooming that lasted the rest of the flight. As far as I could tell, it looked fine to begin with and none of his self-grooming had the least bit of effect. Perhaps it made him feel better though.

***

I shook his hand. It confirmed everything that I felt about him in my gut. It was akin to grabbing hold of a damp towel. Or more to the point, you know that memory foam at Brookstone that they make pillows and mattresses out of? You know, the stuff you put your hand in and the impression of your hand stays there for a few minutes? Yeah, that was what his hand shake was like. I nearly recoiled in horror. He felt...dead. I mean, it was cold out and his hand was cold and it was limp cause he's a puss and well I guess he just felt...dead.

I've quote just sample of the entire story. The whole thing is just so typical Kerry! This guy will never be President. Ever.