Yet another downside to the tattoo craze (is it dying out yet? I hope so).
If you have tattoos...
AND you are asked to be in a wedding party..
PLEASE, do not go with the strapless dress.
Seeing the hearts, Celtic designs and other nonsense spread across your arms, shoulders, neck, etc. is not pleasant. We are not impressed with your toughness. We don't get the message, whatever it is you are trying to say.
What's that? It was a private tattoo? Then KEEP IT THAT WAY. Cover it up!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Cutty Sark - Clipper Queen
Early Monday morning a fire ravaged the Cutty Sark, the first ship to be preserved in dry dock from the great British Maritime heritage. My father is a huge fan of the ship, once owning several models. I myself visited the ship at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich in 1991 on my honeymoon. It was a beautiful ship, very sleek, truly one of a kind. Police are investigating arson. A little piece of history has disappeared. They may rebuild her, but it will not be quite the same. I hope they catch the yobs that did this.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Second Sign of the Apocalypse
A Manitoba Indian Chief is calling for more rail blockades this summer, up to a month long. Apparently he is not happy with CN filing a lawsuit against the Mohawks in Deseronto (see earlier post).
"... There are only two ways of dealing with the white man. One, either you pick up a gun, or you stand between the white man and his money," said Terry Nelson of the Roseau River First Nation. Someone has also posted a video on YouTube, on how to go about blocking a rail line (hint: wear gloves).
"... There are only two ways of dealing with the white man. One, either you pick up a gun, or you stand between the white man and his money," said Terry Nelson of the Roseau River First Nation. Someone has also posted a video on YouTube, on how to go about blocking a rail line (hint: wear gloves).
Reacting in Ottawa, Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said rail blockades are illegal, would be counterproductive and squander goodwill with non-native Canadians.
"I continue to say blockades are not acceptable or necessary because we are making progress on land claims disputes," he said. "I am fearful someone will be hurt. I call on all chiefs, the national chief in particular, to ensure that does not happen."
All true. Indians/Natives/First Nations had better be careful. By calling for arms against the "white man", they may just get what they are asking for eventually. They want to be nations? Nations have a way of settling disputes when diplomacy and negotiation fail.One Sign of the Apocalypse
The Alberta Court of Appeal has decided that photographs on a driver's license is an infringement of the religious freedoms guaranteed under the Charter of Rights. The case was brought by the Wilson Colony Hutterites, who believe that having their photograph taken is a sin.
This is nuts. What else do you expect from a Charter case?
A driver's license is not a mandatory requirement that can infringe on your rights. You want to drive, you have to play by the rules. And the rules are there, clearly stated. You can choose to comply, or you can go without a driver's license. Effectively, driving is now considered a right, instead of a privilege.
If not having anyone in the Colony with a driver's license is a problem, then I guess you have to find some other way to get around. Maybe hire someone who does have a license?!?!
What's next? They have to attend some convention of Hutterites outside the country? Will they demand photo-less passports? Good luck getting the Americans to accept that!
This is nuts. What else do you expect from a Charter case?
A driver's license is not a mandatory requirement that can infringe on your rights. You want to drive, you have to play by the rules. And the rules are there, clearly stated. You can choose to comply, or you can go without a driver's license. Effectively, driving is now considered a right, instead of a privilege.
If not having anyone in the Colony with a driver's license is a problem, then I guess you have to find some other way to get around. Maybe hire someone who does have a license?!?!
What's next? They have to attend some convention of Hutterites outside the country? Will they demand photo-less passports? Good luck getting the Americans to accept that!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
It’s About Time
The CBC is reporting that CN Rail has filed a lawsuit against the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory band council and other individuals involved in the protest near Deseronto, Ont. CN claims that the blockade of rail traffic disrupted $100M of goods being transported. Rail passengers had to be shifted to buses to get around the blockade.
At least some action is being taken. By resorting to the courts, CN is attempting to hold people accountable for their actions. Since the police and Federal Government seem unwilling to move quickly against illegal protests (the dispute at Caledonia, Ont. has been ongoing for more than a year, despite court orders), perhaps lawsuits will succeed where the rule of law is failing.
By not enforcing court orders, governments and police are empowering native protesters to be even bolder in the future, without fear of retribution. By selectively enforcing laws, the rights and freedoms of all citizens are diminished. Kudos to CN Rail for doing their part. If only the Government would do theirs.
At least some action is being taken. By resorting to the courts, CN is attempting to hold people accountable for their actions. Since the police and Federal Government seem unwilling to move quickly against illegal protests (the dispute at Caledonia, Ont. has been ongoing for more than a year, despite court orders), perhaps lawsuits will succeed where the rule of law is failing.
By not enforcing court orders, governments and police are empowering native protesters to be even bolder in the future, without fear of retribution. By selectively enforcing laws, the rights and freedoms of all citizens are diminished. Kudos to CN Rail for doing their part. If only the Government would do theirs.
Monday, May 7, 2007
A Little Sense, please
Why do some companies not get it? I am buying something online tonight, and when they ask for my credit card and expiry date, the drop down list STARTS at 2001 !?!?!! Have they not looked at their web site in 5 years or so? Would the system accept a credit card that has been expired for 5 years? (It would be an interesting test - would the website catch on entry, or pass it to the bank?)
Do not underestimate the power of a good Quality Assurance person!
Do not underestimate the power of a good Quality Assurance person!
Saturday, May 5, 2007
This is so wrong
The Queen of the North is a BC Ferry that sank on March 22, 2006. The Globe and Mail is reporting that three crewmen, who refused to talk about the final 14 minutes of the journey, have been fired for failing to keep a proper lookout.
Their union now says it will grieve the dismissals.
Fail to do your job properly. Ram your ship into an island, sink it while killing two people. Refuse to talk to your employer or the Transportation Safety Board about what happened.
And the union defends this??? What the hell?
The union can grieve the dismissals. The families are still grieving as well. Shame to the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union.
Their union now says it will grieve the dismissals.
Fail to do your job properly. Ram your ship into an island, sink it while killing two people. Refuse to talk to your employer or the Transportation Safety Board about what happened.
And the union defends this??? What the hell?
The union can grieve the dismissals. The families are still grieving as well. Shame to the BC Ferry and Marine Workers' Union.
It's Not a lie if....
How this for a howler...The General Manager of the Blue Jays admitted that their closer, BJ Ryan, does not have a back injury as they claimed to the press in spring training. During a radio interview:
Ricciardi denied he ever lied about the nature of Ryan's injury.
"It's not lies if we know the truth," he said. Source: globesports.com
Hmmm...let's see...the definition of a lie is 'a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive' OR 'something intended or serving to convey a false impression' OR 'an inaccurate or false statement'.
Yes, it is a lie BECAUSE you know the truth.
God, this irritates me. I am not a baseball fan, I really don't care about their closer's health. But if they are going to lie, at least admit it if you get caught! Or better yet, don't lie in the first place! Is that so hard?
Those of us who worked for a small software company here in Calgary know the consequences of a management style that believes "it's not a lie if we know the truth".
Thursday, May 3, 2007
SaveDoan.ca
http://www.savedoan.ca/
Sign the petition. Give the politicians a 5 minute major, a 10 minute misconduct, a game misconduct, and a gross misconduct. (The only downside - Gary Bettman gets to decide supplemental discipline)
The "leader" of the Bloc Quebecois does not want Quebecers to be treated 'like second class citizens'. FINE. Here's my plan.
All the Premiers present legislation in the Rest of Canada affirming the Constitution and Charter of Rights, as they are today, and further that any Province that has not signed the Constitution is not recognized as a Province, and the Federal Government should pull out all employees, programming and transfer from such non-Provinces.
Either it passes everywhere, we have then effectively kicked them out of Canada.
Even if it doesn't pass, I would say that Quebec would quickly hold a referendum and this time succeed in the vote.
Either way, Canada wins.
Sign the petition. Give the politicians a 5 minute major, a 10 minute misconduct, a game misconduct, and a gross misconduct. (The only downside - Gary Bettman gets to decide supplemental discipline)
The "leader" of the Bloc Quebecois does not want Quebecers to be treated 'like second class citizens'. FINE. Here's my plan.
All the Premiers present legislation in the Rest of Canada affirming the Constitution and Charter of Rights, as they are today, and further that any Province that has not signed the Constitution is not recognized as a Province, and the Federal Government should pull out all employees, programming and transfer from such non-Provinces.
Either it passes everywhere, we have then effectively kicked them out of Canada.
Even if it doesn't pass, I would say that Quebec would quickly hold a referendum and this time succeed in the vote.
Either way, Canada wins.
Calgary Transit Thoughts
Members of the Amalgamated Transit Union want to hit Calgary Transit with a strike. Do the members not remember how successful their last strike was? After 50 days or so they had to call in leadership from head office and settled for less than the last offer before the strike. That’s successful bargaining.
The ATA is saying now that a full strike may not happen, but that they may target the Federation of Cdn. Municipalities conference in early June, the ‘big cities mayors conference’ the week before, and the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators, also the week before – do they really think the mayors and officials coming to the city for a conference take public transit? Shouldn’t they be targeting the city residents, the ones who ultimately pay their salaries? Better yet, shouldn’t they realize that it is not worth striking over 1% or 2%? Lose more than a couple of days of work, and you are behind.
The ATA may also target Stampede Parade day – union president Mike Mahar said it would be a “nasty day” to have mgmt running the LRT (source: Cgy Sun). That’s the sort of mature discourse we expect from union leadership. They are already targeting students with a work to rule campaign that has hit school runs hardest. Now they want to target parents, small children and grandparents? Nice work! Fools.
Apparently they have been working to rule – who can tell? Service is just as bad as always. This week I got the LRT driver from hell, who could only snarl “stand clear of the doors!”, rather than say it nicely.
It is no secret that Calgary is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. City Council has a deliberate policy of restricting all day parking in the core, to encourage transit use. If this doesn’t make transit an essential service, what does?
More CT:
What is it with people parking cars? Is it really that hard? Today I pull into the parking lot and someone decided that they would park far away from other cars. Apparently their Sunfire is too precious, too special, or something to be near other cars. Except this is transit – the lot fills up eventually. Naturally, they parked too close to someone, and too far away from someone else, so that effectively a space is wasted. Smarten up, idiot! Just park reasonably close next to another vehicle. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so…
The ATA is saying now that a full strike may not happen, but that they may target the Federation of Cdn. Municipalities conference in early June, the ‘big cities mayors conference’ the week before, and the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators, also the week before – do they really think the mayors and officials coming to the city for a conference take public transit? Shouldn’t they be targeting the city residents, the ones who ultimately pay their salaries? Better yet, shouldn’t they realize that it is not worth striking over 1% or 2%? Lose more than a couple of days of work, and you are behind.
The ATA may also target Stampede Parade day – union president Mike Mahar said it would be a “nasty day” to have mgmt running the LRT (source: Cgy Sun). That’s the sort of mature discourse we expect from union leadership. They are already targeting students with a work to rule campaign that has hit school runs hardest. Now they want to target parents, small children and grandparents? Nice work! Fools.
Apparently they have been working to rule – who can tell? Service is just as bad as always. This week I got the LRT driver from hell, who could only snarl “stand clear of the doors!”, rather than say it nicely.
It is no secret that Calgary is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. City Council has a deliberate policy of restricting all day parking in the core, to encourage transit use. If this doesn’t make transit an essential service, what does?
More CT:
What is it with people parking cars? Is it really that hard? Today I pull into the parking lot and someone decided that they would park far away from other cars. Apparently their Sunfire is too precious, too special, or something to be near other cars. Except this is transit – the lot fills up eventually. Naturally, they parked too close to someone, and too far away from someone else, so that effectively a space is wasted. Smarten up, idiot! Just park reasonably close next to another vehicle. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so…
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Making It So Easy to Not Vote
Members of Parliament are holding a special hearing under the Official Languages Committee to investigate Shane Doan being named captain of Team Canada for the IIHF World Hockey Championships in Russia (see here for links).
Members of Parliament - Making it EASY to not vote !!!
Do we have nothing better to discuss in Parliament? How about the RCMP scandals (sponsorship, Arar, now pensions...what next?). Afghanistan. Iraq. Russia and nukes. Immigration. Climate change. The Budget. Income trusts. Competitiveness. ANYTHING but this.
Shame to all members, all parties. Shame.
Members of Parliament - Making it EASY to not vote !!!
Do we have nothing better to discuss in Parliament? How about the RCMP scandals (sponsorship, Arar, now pensions...what next?). Afghanistan. Iraq. Russia and nukes. Immigration. Climate change. The Budget. Income trusts. Competitiveness. ANYTHING but this.
Shame to all members, all parties. Shame.
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