Second Gen (2003-2016, 2016- )
I like my job. I get to work with firemen, police, sewer builders and others I collectively call the Tonkas because there is big neato component to what they do. They do big. The other day I noticed this great, almost medieval, bit of book rack design in one of their buildings. Beefy.
Not that far from rocket house is spaceship house…or sombrero house…or mushroom house:
They are in the same neighbourhood – maybe it was oneupsmanship circa 1898:
Her: The Smiths are building a rocket designed in the Turkish style into their house, Jim. What are we going to do? What are we going to doooooooooooooo!?!
Him: Don’t worry, honey…your turret will look like a paella dish piled high with the most famous dinner of our homeland…with a sombrero on top…maybe.
However, we must ask from their future – what price pride?
From this morning’s Globe and Mail:
An Ipsos-Reid poll shows that 47 per cent of Canadians think the Prime Minister and his Liberals deserve to be re-elected. This represents a jump of 18 points since the question was asked during last spring’s federal election campaign, which saw the Liberals reduced to minority status.
But Martin cannot break into the Parliamentary majority range – the Liberals at still stuck at 37% nationally according to this poll. Given that the Tories are still mired in the 20% range due to…hmmm…the fact that they stand for so many things the vast majority of Canadians do not want, they cannot afford to force an election to try to push Martin out. Catch 22.
So that means in the impending Liberal budget, we can expect a well-deserved payback for twenty years of restraint, cuts and downsizing – things Canadians want and have paid for. What has got me excited? More for the CBC if it is spent on radio and regional broadcasting. The cuts have left the CBC in an awful state. One has to only listen to the morning radio to be bombarded by blandness and repetative broadcasts of the same show: another panel on the future of short story writing on the Prairies anyone?
I am hopeful. Hidden in a CBC Feburary 2005 presentation is the idea of a CBC radio station for Kingston. Right now we get the Ontario wide rural morning show, and the excellent but a little irrelevant Ottawa drive home show hosted most days by the formidible Brent Bambury. Given the catchment of about 350,000 from Belleville to Brockville up to highway 7, a station is due here. It would cause a shake up for sure as a local morning and afternoon show would add 15 or more hours of news to the local market every week driving well-paid, quality journalists to find the story, shaking up the venerable but could be shaken Whig-Standard newspaper as well as region-covering CKWS-TV along the way. Too bad it is set for a 2007-08 opening but that means it will be in place in time for the next NHL playoffs.
Saturday sees hockey on the rink built over the last two weeks on Market Square behind work. From the tenuously linkability of the Whig:
Confirmed for Saturday’s Limestone Classic tournament, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the ice at Market Square, are: hockey hall of famer Dale Hawerchuk; retired Toronto Maple Leaf legend Wendel Clark; Joe Nieuwendyk of the Maple Leafs; Brenden Morrow and Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars; Mike Keane of the Vancouver Canucks; Matt Bradley of the Pittsburgh Penguins; former Leafs Dave Gagner, Nick Kypreos and Dave Ellett; former New Jersey Devils John MacLean and Joe Cirella; player agent and onetime Boston Bruin Mike Gillis; Hockey Night in Canada personality Ron MacLean, and Gord Downie, Gord Sinclair and Paul Langlois of the Tragically Hip.
Who would I like to say hi to? Wendel.
Sun Up
I have only seen freezing fog or mist once before in Halifax on Christmas 1989 or 1990. Crystals of snowy frost build up on every living surface. Hope the dog was brought in.
Much sadness met the news last week that Cards Bakery on King Street suffered from a fire. Cards was (and hopefully will be again) the home of the unreasonably large pastry. Like any good bakery they had day-olds for a ridiculously low price which, despite the apparent petrification the high sugar content rapidly imposed on this otherwise delightful cinnamon roll, were rejuvinated with about 12 seconds in the microwave. Shown in only partly grotesque larger format with a mere click upon the image to the right, this puppy weighed in at probably over a pound of yeast risen cakey perfection. Six cost $2.50 as day olds – under 42 cents Canadian each. Nothing.
When I bought this one and the other five that went before it, I joked whether it was scientifically possible to get more sugar and butter into one object. The clerk said that they would give me a side dish of sugar for dipping if I wanted one. Rumour has it there is a branch in the burbs.
I just like this bear and I am not telling you where it is. Inuit carving made of petrified bone. Click for a biggie.
I do not write much about work because I quite like my work and it is usually not that good an idea to write about your work. But I would be missing a great sadness not to note the very surprising passing of the CAO of Kingston, my boss’s boss’s boss, Bert Meunier, whose obituary in the Whig-Standard this morning captures many of the qualities I got to know in working with him. Here is the Whig’s take on his career, much of which is a noting of events before my time. If I was to add anything it would be that, as set out in the articles, the principles that he clearly fought for have been adopted and are being brought into day to day action.
After a day of heavy rain and strong wind, this was quite the sight leaving work.
Just in case you thought this was not Canada, that I would be able to continue to wear shorts and woolie socks until the spring, it’s windchill -32 out there tonight. That is fairly close to no difference between °F and °C. Relief by Tuesday.