Living a 'Prime Life'

Since I was 16 years old, I've been a 'theist' -  a word of my own making. A theist stands in opposite to a deiest. A deiest believes in God but believe that God created the world and then it was pretty much done. Maybe a few miracles now and again, but doesn't believe that God has much to do in our day to day lives. Myself, I've always believed that God has a lot to do in our day to day lives. I have many personal examples and I could fill my blog proclaiming all the blessings I've received. That's not the point of this blog though.

Since I believe that God does play a part in our lives, it can be hard to justify the crappy things that happen in people's lives. Crappy situations exist for everyone, but some people seem to have more bad luck than others. Now, for a while I believed that everyone gets equal portions of good luck (blessings) and bad luck (challenges) in their lives. It was the individual choice what they did with their blessings and challenges and that created their outlook on life. But lately, I'm not so sure. I'm still a very strong believer in free choice and I still believe that God has a place in our lives, but some people just appear to have undeniably bad luck while others seem to just walk into blessings after blessings.

Before I write anymore a quickish disclaimer. I'm no theologian. I'm also no quantum physicist. I've watched 'What the Bleep do We Know?' and a lot of that movie made sense to me. But my understanding of quantum physics is limited. My understanding of theology is limited to what little of the Bible I read and little pieces of sermons from some priests and preachers that make sense and fit into my own set of values. I'm not writing this to convert anyone, but I am writing this to share. And this still very much a work in progress.

As a wannabe creative writer there is an idea from quantum physics that has caught my imagination. The idea that there are multiple realities that exist paralell to ours. An atom could of bumped left instead of right. I could have went to coffee today or for a walk instead. I could have stayed in Canada and developed some opportunities here instead of traveling around Asia for 4-5 years. All these possibilities could exist. It makes for good sci-fi. But does it fit spiritually?

I believe that God plays a role in our lives, but God does so in ways that ways that we may not understand. God is infinite, all powerful and all knowing. We ascribe human attributes to God because that's the only way for us to understand it. I believe that one God exists across these all multiple realities. God lets us make our choices.

Now this where I start to get a little shaky. Since there might be an infinite different possible 'me' out there, I believe that there might be one that takes the experiences of all these 'me' and uses those experiences to create a Prime Life. A prime life is someone who appears to lead a blessed life. Someone who's bread always seems to land butter side up. Now I believe that blessings are not things like being rich or being a movie star. Blessings coming in the form little things that you live your life according to your values where you reach your own personal happiness. There will be times when crappy things happen, but this all informs us and helps us to make better decisions in the future. Whether it is in this reality or perhaps it somehow informs another realitiy. I think somehow the experiences of the many different realities somehow converge and this creates a Prime Life.

Since we have no idea where this Prime Life exisits, I believe we need to live our life now, today, as the Prime Life. We need to make good decisions as best we can and help people the best we can. We need to see people who appear to be having bad luck and learn from their life. I do hope that somewhere they are experiencing a Prime Life, but my life now may not interact with their Prime. But since I am living my life now as a Prime, I hope that my example will be a witness to help them in their struggles. I believe that we can help each other. And I believe that is what God wants us to do.

This idea is my own. I just wish to share my idea. Its not fully formed. I don't read Deepak Chopra, I don't stand on a soap box on the corner of Bloor and Yonge in Toronto. My idea just is. It changes, it shifts to fit my observations of this world. If you reject all I have to say, great. I plan on posting more on my own personal experiences of trying to live a Prime Life and other thoughts I have about my different interest areas. I'm always open to thoughtful discussion.

A new vision for the Blog

I've been struggling a bit to keep this blog up to date. While I am still interested in posting about Red Deer issues, its not something that motivates me everyday. My interests are quite varied so I am planning on changing this blog to reflect that.

I changed the name (yet again) and I am going to try and post around 3 central themes - Alberta Labour Market Information (Alberta LMI); The Prime Life (I'll explain more about that in a later post) and My Community/Politics. This gives me a wide range of topics that I can post on.

The biggest problem I am having is keeping motivated. My goal is to write a blog that people will read and discuss. But the topics I have been using the last few years have just not inspired me. So I hope that by unifying my interest areas under the theme of 'Seeking Truth' I can write something that motivates me and that people will want to read.

So I am going to experiment with the blog layout a bit. So every time you check back you'll see a different lay out over the next couple of weeks. Blogger is very easy to customize, so I'm just going to experiment a bit. I hope these changes will keep you all reading and feel free to leave comments!

Mr. Average Red Deer

So the official Red Deer census is out. Back in the Spring of 2011 we had 91,877 human souls living in Red Deer. Males and females were split almost half (.1% more females). The average age is 33 years old. Red Deer grew compared to 2010, by 1793. Did I ever mention that I like stats? All the details are right here!

And zzzzz goes what limited audience I already have.

What I found most interesting is the average age. 33. I'm the average age! I've never been 'average' at much of anything. I'm below average height, I make below the average household salary, I married a minority, and I studied sociology/history in University. Even my own mother calls me a wee bit eccentric. But if I take a closer look at the people I meet in Red Deer, I do see that I have a fair bit in common with others that live here.

By 33 a lot of men have started their families. On Canada Day at Bower Ponds you'd think the whole city was run over by kids under the age of 5. I personally have a 4 year old and we are expecting another. Having such a young population means that there are a lot of kids. With so many kids, it means the parents tend to hang out at similar places - the playgrounds, Collicut Centre, attend the same events like the City Market or Canada Day, etc. Given that Red Deer isn't that big, you even start to see the same faces now and again.

At 33 years old, you tend to be fairly healthy, but not perfect. I've been for some minor treatments and while most of the people I see in the hospital tend to be my parents age or older, you do see the occasional younger face. But we don't overtax the health system. I was with a cousin this weekend at my parents house and he's the same age as I am. When our parents were 35-45 we remember them to be fairly heavy smokers and drinkers. Neither my cousin or I smoke. Our drinking is a couple of beers on a hot day with friends or family. My cousin runs half marathons (none of our elders are competitive in much of anything but the couch potato games), and I try to hike a mountain every now and again. While we both have a small gut, I think we do lead healthier lifestyles than our parents.

Another interesting thing is the age spread. Males tend to outnumber females until the age of 55 (except the 15-19 year cohort, they are almost exactly even) and then the ladies consistantly outnumber the men. I think this really speaks to our economy. While not every oilfield job is exclusively filled by men, there is certainly a domination of the Y chromosone in that industry. And that industry does tend to dominate the economy in this town.

I once heard a demographer say that statistics explain about 70% of the story. I agree with this. The quantitative side tells a good part of the story, but the qualitative side rounds it out, finishes it. While I am Mr Average, its my story and everyone else's story that makes this city so darn interesting.

A Big Black Cloud

On Canada Day, if anyone was outside after 6:30pm in Red Deer and area you couldn't miss the big black cloud that came from an oilfield transport company fire. Some people went to watch, but I decided to let the fire department(s) do their job tried to find out more information from home.

I access most of my news from the internet. In theory it should be the quickest way to get information out and ready to read. I don't bother with TV unless its a big national event and I only listen to radio in the car. I subscribe to the Advocate but I only have time to read a few articles a day. Call me ADHD but the internet satisfies my need for news.

So, there was plenty of pictures and broadcasts on Twitter and Facebook. But I couldn't get the full story. While social media is great for getting the news out, it not really accurate. This is why there is still a need for traditional media. We need professional reporters who are able to investigate a situation and give us an accurate portrayal.

There has been a lot of lamenting about losing the TV station. We've had a number of radion station fill the void, but they are music centred and I find that their news departments are lacking. Its also very hard to check like 8 different radio stations. The Advocate has moved to a pay format for local information but I didn't get any information about the fire until the next morning when I got the paper. Maybe I didn't check back late enough. This fire didn't even register a hit on the national media.

Its hard to find out what is going on in Central Alberta. This saddens me. We have a drawing area of close to 200,000 people. In Canada, this is not a small population centre, although it does get dwarfed by the two 1 million people centres to the north and south of us. There is a lot of things going on here in Central Alberta. But very little is being said about it. I wonder if an all news/talk radio station would work for Red Deer and area. As a news/political junkie, I would listen to it. I wonder if anyone else would.

Paying for quality

The Red Deer Advocate, the local daily paper announced last week  that it was making its online local content available by subscription. Paying for internet content has always bothered some people. After all, we pay our internet bill like our cable bill and we have to put up with advertising right? But the internet is different than traditional media. You still have to pay the staff, and you have to pay them competitively. In order to pay staff, you need to make money (and lets face it, profit is also a factor) and paying 5cents a hit in advertising doesn't exactly equal a lot of money.

So I will pay for online subscriptions. Its like a traditional magazine. And internet subscriptions tend to be substantially cheaper than magazines. But I think the most important thing when it comes to paying for internet content is that it has to demonstrate quality. Since there is so much competition with free sources, the paid source needs to be substantially better than the free source. I see a lot of internet sites that ask for subscriptions or 'donations' and I give to very few. The truth is that the free sources out there are of just as good of quality.

So the Advocate has just raised the bar for itself. If it wants to attract readers (and not loose the ones it has) it has to make sure that the local news that is available online is just as good, if not better, than what is in print. And to be honest, most of their online local content wasn't that good before it went subscriper based - it was better in the newspaper. Other media sources in town are already boasting that they will keep their local online information. The gauntlet has been dropped. So what I hope is that the Advocate will rise to the challenge and Red Deer will see better online information available.

The City Market - Change is good?

So I finally got out to explore the Red Deer City Market yesterday. We went last weekend, but we were only able to run and grab our sausage on a bun and then we ran back to the car without getting too soaked. With the nicer weather yesterday, we were able to hang out a bit. My son got to go for a bounce in the bouncy castle, we got our breakfast (all 3 of us - sausage on a bun) and I saw an old teacher. We didn't have a whole lot of time, but we got to look around a bit, and I always enjoy that.

The market has a certain vibe to it. Most Red Deerians like to check it out and many make it part of their summer Saturday morning routine. Everyone has particular vendors they like to visit and those vendors are missed if they aren't there. Its unusual not to bump into at least one person you know. The market is an important part of Red Deer and area culture.
Now there is talk of making the market year round. They want to put the market indoors at the old bus barns west of downtown. Now, I like the location choice, its a chance to revitalize a scenic but underused area of the city. Right now the debate in council is centred around ownership. But we need to keep an eye on the overall vision. We need to make it a market that Red Deerians will want to visit. Part of the attraction of the current market for me is that its only available in the summer. Outside. Most Albertans (and Canadians for that matter) try and take advantage of as much outdoor time as possible once the snow melts and tempuratures make it comfortable to stay outside without a moonsuit.

Making the market year round will also affect the vendors. Many vendors have full time shops and jobs, and make the summer sacrifice to get their name out and make a little extra money. How will making the market year round change their business planning? Will this keep away some vendors that are currently staples at the market but who just don't have the energy to do this year round?

The City Market is an important cultural part of our city. Even if you don't go every weekend, its something most Red Deerians go to at least once from May long weekend to Thanksgiving. So, I will be keep a close eye on this debate, and encourage everyone else. Because sometimes decisions are made that do not work for the majority if the majority do not raise their voices.

Enough with the rain!

I've been trying to figure out what to post in my blog, its been a while. I have been busy, but I've also lost a bit of motivation. But motivation comes from the heart. I was thinking of posting some comments on the Vancouver riots, but that's about Vancouver. I want to write about Red Deer. So instead, I'll do something very Canadian and complain about the weather.

Red Deer is beautiful in the summer time. Its a very green city. I used to live in Oriole Park when I was growing up and going down Taylor Hill towards downtown was always a favorite site. Its a sea of green with some buildings popping out. Now, we're certainly having a green summer, but we only need so much rain! The river is overflowing. I have to stay inside most of the time. When we do go outside in the fleeting moments of sunshine, there is water everywhere! There is so much to do outdoors during the summer and yet we can't do that much because of the frakkin rain!

We want to go to the City Market and then I want to go to Fort Normandeau. I really hope that the rain holds off for a little bit this morning and afternoon. We stayed inside long enough during the winter time, now its time to get outside!

An affront to democracy

Yesterday during the throne speech a page stood up during the middle of the speech holding up a small poster shaped like a stop sign that said 'Stop Harper'. Now, this young lady got her 5 minutes of fame, which is far more than she of got. But before this is put to rest, I want to add my comments about this event.

For those few people who follow my blog know that I do not like a Harper government. He has no hidden agenda, with his majority government he's going to implement as much of his neo-conservative values as he can get away with. He's going to get rid of the Canada Wheat Board - a market insturment which gives us a distinct advantage over the Americans when selling our grains. He's going to make life difficult for our national broadcaster, the CBC. He's going to cut social services in favor of tax cuts. He's going to do very little about the environment. I went to  the UofC when Harper was teaching there, there were a group of Neo-conservatives that were preaching exactly all that. Now Harper has tried to minimize these issues and make his platform about Canadian families and fiscal stewardship. Sure, he has some ideas to help families, but I would prefer that he would not gut the institutions that I as a Canadian value.

But Harper still won a majority in the last election. For now, Canadians want to give Mr Harper a try. It is up to the opposition parties and Canadians who oppose Mr Harper engage in the democratic discourse. If there is a neo-conservative plank he is trying to implement, then we need to make our voices heard. We need to ensure that the opposition puts itself in a position so that in 4 years Mr. Harper is running against someone else who is a viable alternative to become Prime Minister.

But what the page did was out of pure arrogance. She rejected the fact that Canadians actually want Mr Harper to govern and she pissed on the floor of the Senate. She sullied the honorable position and trust that are bestowed onto the young pages. She showed that she is a spoiled brat who who thinks she knows better than anyone else in Canada what is right for this country. Some people called her courageous. She afterall gave up a job serving the most powerful people in this country. But I see her as a spotlight stealer, using a position of trust to represent a point of view that did not win the last election. She is a sore loser.

Now, I have to admit, while I talk the talk of wanting to replace Harper, I haven't done much to make that a reality. I live in a very solid Conservative riding. I have to admit, I don't know right now what I can do in Red Deer to bring attention to any alternative to the Tories. I have this blog, but I am certainly not in any position to set myself up as a candidate in the next election. I don't even have a political party that speaks to my own values. Right now though, I want to focus on local issues. With a young family, this is what is near and dear to my heart. And over these 4 years hopefully my voice can be added to the opposition discourse.

The College and The City - futures intertwined?

Now, I'm not an alumni of Red Deer College (RDC), but there is no denying that the college is an important part of this city. I've been to day camps there as a kid, saw many a performance in the Arts Centre, used its library when I was in University and visiting home, know countless family and friends who have attended (and some even graduated!) and have been to community events hosted there since I have returned to the city. The recent additions are excellent (although sometimes a bit confusing to navigate) and enhance the College as an important part of our community.

The community as a whole is excited about the Donald School of Business being located in a downtown campus. Indeed, I think this is a good idea for the downtown. But I have a bigger question I can't figure out: Why do we specifically need a business school in Red Deer?

Taking a look at the classified ads in the Red Deer Advocate and it is obvious that the jobs in Red Deer centre around 3 areas - Service sector, oil & gas and trades. The Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada is predicting huge shortages of skilled workers in the oilfield. The oilfield is a very important part of Red Deer's economy. These companies in Red Deer seem to fall within two categories though - small local businesses or field offices of major international companies.

Now, marketing and accounting are good skills to have, I'm just not sure how relevant they are in a city which outsources those things to Calgary or Edmonton or beyond. There is a demand for Human Resource professionals in this city, but most companies in Red Deer only need one or two (if any) of these trained professionals. Again, a lot of the HR staff appear to come out of... Calgary or Edmonton. Maybe the College has the idea that if they train the people in Red Deer, the companies will keep them in the city. But I'm not sure that 'if you build it, they will come' will work in this situation.

Red Deer has a demand for skilled workers. But I think the demand is for the trades (something that RDC does very well already) or for technical diplomas. In Alberta, NAIT and SAIT seem to have almost a monopoly on these diplomas. But Red Deer needs these workers now and we're having to send people away to other cities for 2 years in the hope that once they complete, they'll return to Red Deer.

I think a downtown campus is a good idea, but instead of business classes, why not other social sciences? There will always be some demand for Bachelor of Arts. Ok, I'm a little biased, as a BA graduate in Sociology. But I see the Donald of School of Business training people so that they can move to other cities. And then we're shipping away students who could be employed in Red Deer to Calgary or Edmonton to be trained. It doesn't really make sense to me.

Degree granting status has been a dream of RDC and this community for years. Many people dream that RDC will someday be RDU. The current administration at the College still hopes for this, but is realistic.We're right smack in the middle of two major Universities and two smaller ones. But the diploma classes at NAIT and SAIT are always full. It would be great if the College could look at offering diplomas like Civil, Mechanical or Welding Engineering Technology. We need these jobs here and not everyone can move to attend NAIT or SAIT. And not all programs can be offered by distance.

I welcome a discussion on this. Is the Donald School of Business going to fill an important gap in this City? Or should the college be looking at other options?

Just random

You know, sometimes you just don't feel 'inspired' but discipline kicks in and you feel like you just have to write something. That's tonight. So here are some random thoughts.

Tomorrow is my son's 4th birthday. I won't post any pics of him on a public blog, but those who are friends of me on Facebook know how cute he is!

The other day the police report a possible attempted kidnapping in Blackfalds. Turns out to be a misunderstanding. Not sure how an elementary school child would misunderstand such a thing, but thankfuly, everything worked out. Probably a bit embarrassing for the accussed though.

Going to Rotary Park for Ben's birthday tomorrow. Good deal, $28 bucks to rent the picnic shelter in Rotary Park. Close to a great playground. Free firewood. Mmmm, hotdog roast.

Cloudy most of the week. The week before that we had gale force winds. Can we PLEASE see some sun?!?

The Alberta Party is electing their leader this weekend. And somehow life goes on. In related news, the Alberta Liberal Party is also having a leadership contest and again, nobody cares. Progressives need to stop just talking and actually work together to find a good leader.

We had the ultra-sound for our newest child this week. So cool to see its feet! And we got a good profile picture too.

Ben was born in Vietnam by emergency c-section. I still remember very well the first time I saw him. I shared that story to Ben tonight and he thought it was funny. Especially when I told him that the first thing he did when he saw me was stick out his tongue. There is actually quite a story about Ben's birth. I'll try and share some other post.

My wife and I are into 'How I met your Mother' DVD series. The protoganists are the same age as me, so I can relate. Except all the gratuitous sex.

Work has been busy. But at least by the end of the week, I felt I had crossed more off my list than what I started with. Now comes next week!

Ok, I think that's good for my random thoughts tonight. Going to go watch How I met your Mother. And then tomorrow, its a 4 year old birthday party!

City Hall Open House - A chance to participate

Democracy is much more than elections. It is about participation, about getting involved in your community. One of the easiest ways to get involved is at the municipal level. The politicians and decision makers are much accessible. Red Deer is doing a good job at ensuring that our local decision makers are accessible and the City Hall Open House (On May 18, 2011) is a great example of this.

It was obvious that they planned for a small event and they got a small crowd. But this did ensure that City Hall staff, councilors, managers and the Mayor were easily accessible. I wish more people would participate in these events. Its a great opportunity to learn more about how our city operates. And some staff were genuinely there to listen to feedback. Its a place to ensure your voice is heard.

Red Deer has so much going for it. Its easy to get around, it has amazing recreation facilities and the infrastructure is kept in pretty good shape. I was able to share this tonight with city staff and counselors. I found out why we are still stuck with a city hall that was built for a city of 40,000 people. My wife was amazed that 36% of the city's budget is spent on policing and emergency services. And city staff, like myself are very proud of our park system.

I had an interesting discussion with another citizen who wants to enhance our facilities for competitive sport. Now, I am purely a recreatational user. I have no idea if my children will be interested in competitive sport. He said that recreational users will use competitive facilities but competitive users can't use recreational facilities. I see his point, but I am unsure if we have the density to fully use competitive facilities. But I think we should try and prioritize a full use aquatics centre. We just need to make sure we can afford it.

So I hope the city hosts more of these events and that Red Deerians will seize on this opportunity to learn more about the services in our city and provide feedback to city staff and politicians.

Hope shines in tragedy

Ever since I heard about the evacuation of Slave Lake on Twitter on Sunday night, I've been keeping a close eye on this incident. I can't imagine what the residents of Slave Lake might be feeling right now. It must be horrible, especially if your house was in the 40% of the town that burned down. But not only did many residents lose their homes, much of the town's institutions and businesses were also destroyed. For Alberta, I have never seen such a large portion of such a large town destroyed. Slave Lake is the major centre for a large area in Northern Alberta, the large scale destruction in the area is going to have wide ranging economic effects for this region.

I want to give credit where credit is due. Over 7000 people were evacuated in a very short period of time with no fatalities or injuries. This fact makes me very proud to be Albertan. Our emergency response plan works. Now, I'm sure the evacuation was chaotic and better decisions could have been made in the moment, but given the sure speed of the fire and the prevailing weather conditions, the fact that so many people got in such a short period of time is a major accomplishment on the part of our emergency services personnell. When they finish fighting the fires and everything else that needs to be done in order to make the town even semi-habital - take off your hats and take a bow. You make this province proud.

Albertans have opened their hearts. This doesn't come as a surprise, Albertans (and by extension Canadians, and indeed human beings) always give what they can in disasters. Since the disaster is so close to home opens up their hearts and wallets even further. Emergency centres have asked people to hold off on their in-kind donations until they can better assess what Albertans need. Already major fundraising drives are being undertaken by radio stations and the internet.

To lose everything must be very hard. Fortunately, many people did have insurance and the province is already talking about compensation for those that don't. It won't be quite the same as before the fire, but at least there will be something. It will take time for these things to put in place of course, but you can count on the generosity of Albertans and the best efforts of politicians and bureacrats to ensure that the money is flowing as quick as it can.

I don't think Alberta has seen such devastation in its modern history, but large scale fires are fairly common in human history. Humans have a tenacity that drives them to rebuild bigger and better. As human beings, we unite in tragedy. I hope the immediate needs of Slave Lake residents are met, and then when everything is ready, we can work together to rebuild Slave Lake.

Not quite the end of the world...

My predictions on elections are always wrong. I let my bias get in the way. I usually get the local feeling right, but I have trouble predicting what people in other regions might be thinking. I don't do enough research about other localities.

But I don't think anyone really predicted the results on Monday night's election. Sure, Tories were predicting a Conservative majority and ND's were predicting they would win at least the opposition, but few people could have predicted that Liberals would lose so many seats or that the NDP would sweep Quebec so completely. This is what makes elections so much fun and why I am such a junkie. Canadian elections are truly an example of local level decision making carrying over to the macro level. For me, its better than watching a sports final because it has so much more relevant to our lives than sport.

Now, as a former Liberal and a Anything But Harper voter, one would think I might be quite disappointed with the election results. But that's the will of the people. I learnt long ago that I don't carry the same opinions as everyone else, but democracy is democracy. Sometimes democracy is about consensus making and sometimes its about bold leadership. But the common thread is the ability for anyone in the society to say what they want and to make a decision about who they want to represent them.

So I will watch this government. I will criticisize this government. Sometimes I might even agree. In the next four years I hope that another party will  start saying things that other Western Canadians will listen to. It took 20 years for the Quebecers to open their ears, hopefully it won't be that much longer for Western Canadians to open theirs. Enjoy your 4 years Harper, with luck, they will be your last.

I respected the blackout and my predictions before I tune in

Canada has a quirky little election law that was created because of our vast size and to try and to keep the vote free from the influence of others. It is against the law to report election results from one time zone where the polls have close to another where they have not closed yet. Now, this is becoming hard to police in the digital age, but most outlets respect it and so do I. I think the anticipation is fun. Its part of election day. Its a most certain deadline that when you turn on the tv or start surfing you will be updated about the results at the same time as just about everyone else.

So a quick prediction before I start surfing - Conservative minority with an NDP official opposition. But who knows, this night might be full of surprises. I hope it is.

My twitter feed is @trvthseeker78 and I will be tweeting after 8pm MST.

Giving up on the Federal Liberals

Since I was 18 years old I have been a member of the Federal Liberal party. During the late 90's and early 2000's I was very active in the Young Liberals, both provincial and federal. I was a Liberal in Alberta and I was proud of it. But things have changed. It was a gradual change, not one event changed the party in Alberta, but since Paul Martin, I feel the federal party has given up on Alberta. And Albertans have given on the Liberal Party.

This election exemplifies it. In Red Deer they needed to parachute in a candidate from Edmonton - Andrew Lineker. A guy who placed 7 out of 8 in the Edmonton mayoral election. While he might have good credentials in another riding, he has none in Red Deer (although I doubt it since he place so low in the Edmonton mayoral). Now, I understand the need for a parachute candidates, but Red Deer is a major city in Alberta. Our city council is actually quite progressive. But the party has done nothing to build up support here. I have talked to my old friends and they agree that besides for a few targetted ridings in Calgary and Edmonton, the Liberals are not nominating quality candidates.

Now, to be a candidate is not an easy thing. My hat goes off to anyone who tries their hand at it. But, as my years of training in the Young Liberals have shown me, some people make good candidates, others don't. Campaigning is certainly a skill you can learn, but as the people's representative you need to have a vision that matches the people you wish to represent. People need to buy into that vision because it speaks to them.

Earl Dreeshen is a good candidate. But he follows the Tory party line far too closely (although I'm not sure if he has a choice). Harper runs counter to what I believe this country can accomplish, so I cannot vote for him. Ignatieff is alright and if there was a worthwhile candidate here in Red Deer, I would consider voting Liberal again. Now, like a lot of Canadians Layton has caught my attention. I can at least stomach his vision, although I am not sure what he will do economically, especially with our most important economic engine - the oil sands. But the NDP candidate here in Red Deer, Stuart Sommerville, appears to be a pleasant young man. I haven't been able to go to the forums but I've been reading what he has to say and it works for me.

So for this election, I believe I am going to vote NDP. Now, this won't have any effect on the results in Red Deer. The tories have a lock here. But I am still expressing my voice. And I am saying 'GET A CLUE LIBERAL PARTY OF CANADA!'.

Finally a reboot!

I let this blog languish for a while. I just couldn't find the inspiration to write. But I've been contemplating my values for the last while and I knew that in order to better follow what I believe, I needed to express myself. The final kick in the pants came when I heard a radio host that I quite like to listen (Chad Daniels from the Zed Drive Home) say that he wasn't going to vote. Finally, my muse woke up. Now I just gotta keep it talking.

I made a really good decision to move from Edmonton to Red Deer. For my career, it was a definite step up. For my family, it was a step in tune to our values. The other night I took my boy swimming at the Dawe Centre. I was a bit nervouse that we would be pushed out by swimming lessons and adults trying to do laps in the pool. But the renos at the Dawe have done wonders for the old place. I wasn't the only dad bringing his child at 6pm on a weeknight. Ben even played ball with a boy his age. Yes, the swimming lessons were present, but it felt like a family place. In Edmonton I wasn't far from Grant McEwan, but the times I went swimming, we were the only family in the pool. Other places we went were dominated by teenagers that failed to see the toddler in the wading end of the pool. But even the Collicut Centre has plenty of young kids playing with their parents while the teenagers enjoy the wave pool.

So I want to contribute back to Red Deer. I want to get the discussion going about this great city. I'm going to try and write something at least once a week. I'm also on Twitter @trvthseeker78. Red Deer is not alone in this big country and small world, so I welcome those from around the world to also contribute. We should all be proud of where we are from, and this is why I am writing.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I listen to Zed 99 in Red Deer, especially on the drive home (for a total of like 7 minutes) b/c I like the two deejays - Drock and Daniels. Chad Daniels is a guy around my age, and he's a pretty good voice and the chemistry with the two guys makes me smile. But today, he disappointed me. Today he said he wasn't going to vote.

Now, I've heard the arguements that this election isn't going to matter. And by all indications we will probably end up with another Tory minority and go to the polls yet again in 2 more years (or less). The race in Red Deer is a foregone conclusion.  I'm hearing from everyone that they are fed up with the antics in Ottawa or Edmonton or Washington DC. People want change. People may disagree with the type of change they want, but they still want it. But without expressing our voice in and outside of the campaign, this just becomes grumbling. Without quality candidates running for the parties, incumbents walk right past the post and into the House of Commons.

But elections have a way to surprise us. It is the people's voice after all, and if enough people speak up, they will be heard. But instead, people are looking at this election as a waste of time. It could be an opportunity. It could be an opportunity to tell the status quo that we are not happy. But instead people are sitting on the couch instead, more interested in the playoffs than the future of health care, or ethics in government, or the environment.

So, here is to Election 2011 - a self-fulfilling prophecy!