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!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
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.
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.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
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.
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.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, May 2, 2011
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
