Author: Alan

Voting

Except for maybe the Federal election in 1997, I don’t vote for winners. I’ve usually voted NDP but have voted Green and even for the almost upset for Hec Clouthier (MP 1997-2000) as Independent Liberal in, what, 1993 or so. I think I said to “No” to the 1992 Charlottetown Accord, a constitutional referendum.  Can’t recall why but I was with the majority there – probably just could not bear voting with Mulroney.

A month after the call, with everyone seemingly on the throw-the-bums-out bandwagon, this is a perfect opportunity in this Ontario provincial election to avoid the mass migration to the not-so-worst-choice Liberals and give some wing-nut false hope. Sadly, the only wack-job running here is from the Family Coalition Party which, although its a nice churchy bunch, believe that the country was founded on Christian principles and not by graft, corruption, monopoly, booze and patronage. Plus they don’t like gay marriage. They’ll burn in Hell for that even if they don’t know it – Satan works that way, you see.

That leaves NDP or Green: high school teachers v. university professors, strike sign wavers v. tree hugging road blockers, draft jug drinkers v. real ale drinkers, steel workers v. frankenfood warners. Leaning Green. Like others. No chance of NDP win here and they’ll do OK over all anyway after it was thought Hampton won the debate [despite my initial reaction.] Too bad some of these parties didn’t run here – where the same guy is leader, president and sole candidate and he believes one other leftie guy from the 19th or 20th century had it all right and everyone one else on the planet is wrong, wrong, wrong. That’s my style. Or this is.

Hogmanay Voodoo

I hope you all paid strict attention to the Scots pagan requirements of last evening’s ringing in of the New Year. These are a few of my grannie’s requirements:

  • replace all salt in the house,
  • change all bed sheets,
  • rotate all clocks forward 12 hours
  • kick the tallest darkest haired man out of the house before midnight and have him return with gifts immediately after midnight,
  • keep going until you drop – my grandfather fell asleep at a tee off on the 4th of January or so many years ago

Oh, yea, one more thing – don’t forget to burn something big.

A Fund for George (II)

Going through the Yahoo Group I mentioned that Brian Cormier set up for remembering George Earles, I noticed that there was a photos section and I saw this. First week of third fourth year out to Peggy’s Cove to drink bad white wine and watch waves. Luanne would be soproud to know I am a Mason. [I still think its fairly foolish but you can’t take it away from me – except if I get caught saying its foolish.] Who took the photo?

How could I have been so thin, I thought when I saw the picture…nineteen years ago. Well there was that thing called summer unemployment which saw me humping my increasingly diminishing arse all over Halifax looking for jobs that were not there until I had to go back to Truro to mow lawns. Good old George. Didn’t get to get old. Makes me as sad as I was when I heard he died seeing that picture.

Send to the fund: (902) 422-1271. They take VISA.

Back / Juan

Timbaaaa!!!You would have noticed I was down. My servers sit happily on PEI where hurricane Juan tore through last night knocking out electricity. I am in Ontario, 1500 km to the west. If you click on my favoured bloggers to your right (my left) you will find some other bloggers there getting up over the afternoon – Kevo is already up but as he runs the ISP there (where my web email sits) you would expect he’d be first.

ELMA - ESS JUAN - WHERE ARE YOU????My folks in Rusticoville said it was like a truck hitting the cottage constantly for 2 hours at the worst of it. Lots of trees down and there is a ship in trouble off Anticosti Island in the Gulf. It is also election day....sad to see... Halifax got hit with even stronger winds up to 150 km per hour. I do not know the name the sailing ship which is shown here sunk at its wharf. On CBC’s Maritime Noon, I heard tales of trees older than 200 years being ripped apart and many of those at the Public Gardens being badly damaged. I am waiting for Mike Campbell’s blog to get up and updated to read his prespective from inside the city.

Big ups or props or… whatever the young folk are saying these days…to silverorange for getting this up so fast care of the hunking Honda generator. Gas powered inter-provincial blogging in addition to awards for usability. Lots of pictures from Charlottetown here. Here is another Juan related graphic for the hurricane nerds out there:

Juan's aim

Ottawa

neat-oWas up in Ottawa overnight last night at brother Dougie’s. Played a little 1980’s Coleco and a little 1960’s Munroe, if you know what I mean. The old sets are getting a little tired but I still smoked him. He and me are hockey junk nerds and I took the opportunity to scan a few things including this dandy Golden Seals patch just like the ones I wore on my jeans jacket in elementary school. Made at Voyageur Eblems, New Hamburg, Ontario between Kitchener and Stratford and sold at every Canadian Tire front counter in the mid-70’s.

Took the kiddlies to the Canadian Museum of Civilization – and again wondered why there are not regional Federal museum branches with this stuff moving across the land rather than playing to pretty empty houses in Ottawa. Up on the fourth floor there was a pretty neat-o exhibit on the 1570’s summer iron ore mining expeditions of Martin Frobisher, namesake of my cat, to Baffin Island. [Did anyone call Martin “Frobie” and scratch his belly?] Exactly the kind of small exhibit that could move from province to province every 4 months or so on a tour.

Bag of real bagels for lunch.

Rats: “See ya, Ship!”

From Brother Iain’s yellow press:

As Ontario’s Conservatives continued to trail in public opinion polls, dozens of Tory aides, including senior staff, have been shopping their resumes around ahead of the Oct. 2 election. Among them are members of the office of Premier Ernie Eves, senior members of Finance Minister Janet Ecker’s staff, and an administrative assistant in Education Minister Elizabeth Witmer’s office. Many of the resumes — posted electronically on workopolis.com or monster.ca — [Emphasis mine] have been updated in the past week or two, and several in just the past few days.

Good web savvy reporting.