Politics, Gas and the World... · Wednesday May 2, 2007 by colin newell
So. A panel of 3 people set out to decide what kind of money British Columbian MLA’s should get…
and the best they could come up with was 29%
for the MLA’s no less.
Don’t ask what they have suggested for the Premier…
link
Okay. 53%.
A 53% increase for the leader of the Liberal party and our Province’s Premier.
Sick people are sleeping in hospital corridors and this is on the table.
In other news, gas prices are increasing in Canada almost daily. For some reason the price of gas in Vancouver is just shy of $1.30/litre.
There is a 35 cent variation in the price across Canada.
Meantime the weasels in the refining industry claim the following reasons for high prices at the pumps.
-fires at the refinery
-refinery is down for maintainence
-the dog ate the refinery.
Whale Oil Beef Hooked anyway.
Oil companies are reaping mind boggling profits and we are taking it up the hoo-hoo.
Sing a happy song.
I had a friend head down to Australia for a couple of weeks. They had to transit through LAX on their way from Vancouver to Honolulu and Fiji. While in LAX they were forced to give finger prints and a retinal scan…
One more reason we will not be travelling to America anytime soon. I have another dear friend and colleague who is travelling overseas via the U.S.A. and will go through the same intrusive song and dance over what?
As Naomi Wolf writes in her blog on HuffingtonPost.Com – America is taking one significant step after another down an obvious path to a police state.
We shouldn’t be afraid friends. We should be angry… very angry.
Mister Bigley`s big adventure · Sunday August 27, 2006 by colin newell
It has taken 3 or 4 years of gentle prodding by my wife to get me to upgrade my (our) home mobile phone.
3 to 4 years…
Of gentle prodding.
So I broke down a month ago and got a Motorola Razor.
A damn fine phone.
A tough phone.
A phone up for some adventure.
And so it was to be.
While at Jordan River and Port Renfrew this weekend (with one fully loaded camera bag), my shiny new phone went sailing.
Without my knowledge.
Sailed right out of my bag.
Into the air.
Landing on a rock.
Without me hearing a thing.
It was only an hour later when we got back to the cabin that I noticed that it was not snuggled in my Lowe-Pro mini-trekker anymore.
Within minutes of this discovery, I was on the phone to Telus Mobility, cancelling my service.
I guess you might say I was crestfallen.
I mean, what is the likelihood of recoverying a phone lost on the wild west coast?
Higher than I thought.
24 hours later and the phone rings.
“Hello Sir, this is Telus Mobility calling…”
“We found your phone… you can pick it up at the downtown store…”
Within a half-hour I am cradling my little phone again…
and buying a 26er of Irish Whiskey for the guy at Telus Mobility for bringing me such good news.
Ladies – his name is Connor and he is single, 21 – looks a little like Keanu Reeves… works at the Bay Centre in downtown Victoria and he will keep a lid on that bottle of Irish Whiskey til you come down and introduce yourself.
Tell him I sent you!
Meantime, our phone (now nicknamed Mister Bigley ) is back home, safe and sound.
To whomever or whatever brought the phone back, thanks!
Regina, Saskatchewan Coffee - the short report · Thursday August 17, 2006 by colin newell
I had been warned about Regina, Saskatchewan – about their coffee scene at least.
And there are two ways of looking at this folks.
It may be the least evolved urban coffee centre in Canada.
It also provides a golden opportunity for anyone with a lick of business sense to open a cafe concept that will kick ass.
What I saw in Regina could be summed up thusly:
The people running the cafes here…
no wait. Let me start again.
I do not believe I actually experienced Specialty Coffee in Regina, Saskatchewan.
I experienced lunch places, that just so happened to have an espresso machine.
Or Coffee places that thought they were espresso places but were lacking the skill or identity to pull it off.
You see, espresso places should not necessarily sell; art… or stick candy… or jams and jellies… or country art.
This is called an identity crisis.
Regina cafes do not know what they want to be.
Solution: The owners or potential owners should jump on a plane and come to Vancouver, Seattle or Victoria… or Calgary even.
There is a stunningly brilliant opportunity for coffee-house success in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Finally, think about this:
If you were served a bad glass of beer in a pub or a cold meal or raw steak in a restaurant, what would you do?
You would raise a fuss.
How is it then, that a insipid, bitter, battery-acid tasting shot of coffee can be served in a nice little town like Regina without the Barista even flinching or asking the simple: How is your espresso, Sir?
Exactly!
Comment [3]
Mister Bigley, Jack Russell · Wednesday August 9, 2006 by colin newell
An interesting lesson I learned a few weekends ago…
Andrea and I have been doing 4 day weeks every week during
the summer…
different things on the weekends… a cabin here, a resort there..
2 weekends ago we did a cabin on Salt Spring Island
on a 14 acre waterfront place – North Island.
It was wonderful.
While there we had a companion, named Mister Bigley…
a short hair Jack Russell Terrier who pretty
much hung out with us the whole time…
apparently his job on the property.
Both my sisters have (and have had) dogs of every stripe.
I have not had a pet to call my own since 1976.
My really got attached to Mister Bigley by Day three.
Mister Bigley is, like, 13 years old… which in doggie
years is like 80.
An eighty year old man. Deaf at that.
He mooched a bit but I was extremely careful not to feed him anything.
By day 3 we were totally hooked.
And it was SO sad to leave…
Thankfully, Mister Bigley was asleep on the sofa as we
packed to leave.
Truth be told, I think Bigley is an old hand at meeting, greeting
and saying goodbye to new friends.
Not me. I am a sap.
You never forget the kindness and loyalty of a dog.
