The Herblog

2011-08-17T08:59:00.002-04:00

We've talked it over and it is down to a few models and lots of location luck:

1. 2006 Saab 9-3 2.0T Sedan

Auto; 96k; leather.
It's a quirky car. Saab's are not all that common. It was well built by the GM era. It's safe, rides well and has some power.
Asking 9,995. We'll see if they will take 7,995. There is no warranty, there is no dealership network. When we drive off the lot that's it with this orphan car. Hey, we're doing them a favour by taking it off their hands.

Since we will be in the area, I decided to look at what they also have on the lot and across the street.

2007 Volkswagen Golf 2.0

Auto; 71k; asking 8,300.

2008 Mazda MAZDA3 GX

102k; auto; asking 9,995

2007 Toyota Corolla CE

Auto; 64k; asking 10,990.

2007 Mazda Mazda5 GS

Auto; 69k; asking 9,995

Hey, we don't like the feel of any of them, there always 50 Honda Civics available for about 10,000.

2011-08-12T11:33:00.010-04:00

Our Second Car

The need for daycare is fast approaching. This means, with juggling late work hours, commutes and the baby, we'll need a second car to make things work.

So, here are our parameters for a second, previously owned car:

1. cash limit of 10k (not including tax, license etc..)
2. less than 100,000km
3. automatic
4. car (minimum of 4 doors)
5. 2003 or newer (for safety standards, Isofix anchors for child seats were mandatory late 2002 onwards, safely go with 2003 models).
6. within 100km radius of the GTA

There are almost 2,200 in the GTA that fit that criteria so how do you choose.

1. "image"
The Mrs. doesn't appear inclined to being viewed as an "old" person even though this is a second car that would be driven infrequently (weekends for runabouts and twice, three times a month in the evenings). Nevertheless, I'd rather be happy than right, and I'm a happy, happy man. So, say goodbye to 300s| Allures | Crown Vics | Impalas | LaCrosses.

2. "size"
A philosophical and subjective matter here. Do you want something big and roomy and comfortable or something small but fuel efficient and easy to park. Given we already have a Honda CR-V, we don't need another big car. So, I think we're siding with small and fuel-efficient. This brings in: Accent | Astra | Aveo | Civic | Cobalt | Corolla | CSX | Fit | Focus | Golf | Matrix | Mazda3 | Optra | PT Cruiser | Rabbit | Swift | SX4 | Versa | Vibe

3. "enough with the rationale - just buy on emotion"
The Mrs. had a great experience driving a friend's Saab. She loved the ride quality and the feel so, yes, we are considering also 2006 Saab 9-3 2.0T and the Wagon. Who knows, it definitely makes you stand out in that quirky and charming way. The 2006 XC70 is also in this same category. Bigger car but ride quality and uniqueness, in this part of world, makes you stand out.

Summary:

It basically boils down to:

A) Another Honda product (Civic, CSX or Fit)
B) Unique (9-3 or XC70)
C) Incredible deal or drive experience that makes us push for a Rabbit or Mazda3 Hatchback

Winnipeg Jets unveil new logo

2011-07-25T08:59:00.000-04:00

Winnipeg Jets unveil new logo: "The Winnipeg Jets have opted for a sleek fighter jet as the centrepiece of their new logo. The design has the jet pointed north over a red Maple Leaf in a blue and grey circle."

I like the emblem for two reasons:

1. Colours are consistent with the 1996 Jets. Winnipeg will like the connection with the old franchise and people who want to bring their retro jerseys to the games will blend in nicely.

2. A kid could draw that logo. That isn't a bad thing at all. You can capture a child's imagination with a simply drawn logo. If you can get them young, they will be life-long fans.

I'm sure the Winnipeg organization has done their due dilligence and talked to the RCAF to make sure this isn't an infringement on their trademarks.

2011-05-02T12:38:00.000-04:00

This is how our world works...

Obama Trumps Donald Trump Yet Again

from Deadline.com by NELLIE ANDREEVA

1 person liked this -

This just isn't Donald Trump's weekend. First on Saturday he was skewered by President Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents Dinner because of Trump's relentless attacks relating to Obama's birth certificate. Then tonight, the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed by an Obama-ordered U.S. Navy Seals mission broke in the middle of Trump's Celebrity Apprentice boardroom scene on the East Coast. The broadcast networks all interrupted their regular programming around 10:45 PM ET. Quipped one Twitter user: "Donald Trump demands Osama Bin Laden's death certificate." The broadcast networks also pre-empted their programming to carry President Obama's address to the nation about Bin Laden's death at around 8:30 PM PT (11:30 PM ET). By 9 PM PT, the regular lineups had returned except on ABC, which stuck with news coverage over Desperate Housewives. A new episode of the dramedy started at 10 PM. As for the actual news of Bin Laden's killing, like so many other big stories these days, it was not broken by a news organization but by Twitter. Keith Urbahn, the chief of staff for former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, was the first to tweet it some 20 minutes before the networks announced it.

2011-04-28T09:33:00.000-04:00

Sunday Book Review

Ice-T, Living Out Loud

David Corio/Redferns,via Getty Images

Hip-hop's Horatio Alger: Ice-T in New York, 1993.

By BAZ DREISINGER

Published: April 22, 2011

The flourishing field of hip-hop studies has lately come to resemble a college English department circa 1950. There are canonical studies, like Jeff Chang’s “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation.” There’s a school of New Criticism, devoted to formalist analysis of texts, er, lyrics; its bible is either the much-ballyhooed “Anthology of Rap,” which codifies hundreds of songs, or Jay-Z’s best-selling “Decoded,” which is lackluster as an autobiography — that feted lyricist proves about as introspective as Tony Montana — but stellar as a work of critical rap reading. And most recently there’s Marxist criticism, concerned with dollars and sense: Zack O’Malley Greenburg’s “Empire State of Mind: How Jay-Z Went From Street Corner to Corner Office” and Dan Charnas’s exhaustive yet vigorous book, “The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop.”

ICE

A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption — From South Central to Hollywood

By Ice-T and Douglas Century

Illustrated. 251 pp. One World/Ballantine Books. $25.

Into this mix comes Ice-T’s “Ice,” which dabbles in all of the above but is least like “Decoded.” Jay-Z gave us all artistry and little artist; Ice-T, with help from the journalist Douglas Century, turns that formula on its head. That’s apt, because this 53-year-old rapper and actor matters more for his life than his lyrics. No one, after all, better embodies the darling “hip-hop as Horatio Alger myth” narrative than someone who’s gone, to cite his subtitle, from South Central to Hollywood — from robbing people to rhyming for them, from singing about killing cops to playing a cop on camera, from being blasted by the president to winning an N.A.A.C.P. Image Award. Ice-T, in short, is someone hip-hop might have invented if he hadn’t invented himself.

This, his second book (“The Ice Opinion,” from 1994, was a wide-ranging soapbox on paper), is a goes-down-easy mélange of memoir, self-help and amateur criminology. Virtually all of Ice-T’s firsts are here, and they abound. He wrote what’s widely considered the first gangsta-rap song, “6 in the Mornin’,” which kicked off his career (and which Ice-T prefers to label “reality rap,” a descendant of “hustlers toasting, putting their fly talk to rhyme”). He claims he was the first rapper to put “on wax” those unprintable words for which hip-hop earns its heftiest public whippings. He was, after signing with Warner Brothers and attaining stardom, one of the first rappers to sit on Oprah’s couch; the first to become a bona fide rocker (with his band Body Count, in 1990); the first to land a serious starring role in a major Hollywood film, “New Jack City” (1991) — not to mention his long-running TV show, “Law & Order: SVU,” which Ice-T says made cops some of his “biggest fans.” That’s ironic, because he may be best known for “Cop Killer,” a lyrically and melodically challenged song that in 1992 became hip-hop’s scapegoat du jour: assailed by everyone from Charlton Heston to President George H. W. Bush as proof that hip-hop was an axis of evil (never mind that the track was rock, not rap).

But if you’ve read even one interview with the voluble rapper, this is familiar stuff. Redeeming an otherwise predictable narrative are sporadic surprises. The book starts not in South Central Los Angeles but in suburban New Jersey, where Tracy Marrow — before both his parents died of heart attacks and he was shipped off to relatives in California — lived “a real middle-American life” and “first learned I was black” around the age of 7. “I was a late bloomer in this criminal game,” this onetime member of the Crenshaw High gymnastics team writes. Most would be surprised, too, to learn that Ice-T met his first real pimp in Hawaii, when he was in the United States Army, and that he credits his entire career to the inspiring provocations of a sergeant who called him a “loser.”

Ice-T’s charismatic voice comes across loudest and clearest when he’s speaking with scholarly precision about his favorite subject, gangsterism. Inspired by his namesake, Iceberg Slim — “There were a thousand pimps on the street but I liked Iceberg because he was able to articulate the life,” he writes — Ice-T offers a sociology of crime made from both clichés and insightful morsels (as when the rapper studiously explicates the difference between gangbanging and hustling: in short, power versus money). His tone here walks the line between “been there done that” wisdom and “those were some crazy old days” nostalgia. He waxes academic about pimping, for instance, while being quick to remind us that it “is not by any means an honorable hustle”; he admits that he and his robbery crew “wreaked havoc” for a while, but asserts, “I never had any allegiance to crime.”

Ice-T never got tattoos, either, or did drugs, or “got formally inducted” into a gang, or considered being drunk cool. He thinks monogamy is “the bomb,” doles out relationship advice — “Love is a great thing but you also have to admire your mate” — and has none of what hip-hop calls beef: not with Time Warner, which didn’t have his back during the “Cop Killer” controversy; not with a childhood friend who later robbed him; not with his two children or their mothers. His self-help aphorisms are irresistibly sensible — “It’s not hard to convince the streets you’re a gangster. It’s hard to convince the feds you’re not” — and he’s generally mellower than he was in “The Ice Opinion” (in which, for instance, he called Bryant Gumbel “the epitome of a black-skinned white person”).

Ultimately, “Ice” showcases an eminently reasonable, positively likable guy, the gangsta rapper even a parent could love. So if the expanding hip-hop library speaks to the genre’s ever-mounting campaign for middle-aged respectability — which climaxed when Jay-Z decoded “Decoded” alongside Cornel West at the New York Public Library in November — then Ice-T is doing his part for the cause. Jay-Z may have won over the academics, but Ice-T’s got another constituency under hip-hop’s belt: Mom and Dad.

Baz Dreisinger, an associate professor of English at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, is a journalist and the author of “Near Black: White-to-Black Passing in American Culture.”

2011-03-28T08:50:00.000-04:00

AgendaCamp Hamilton is Underway Posted on: 27 March 2011 by Steve Paikin I'll tell you one of the best things about taking our program on the road and mounting our AgendaCamps --- it's the best focus group you'll ever encounter. If you want to know what issues engaged citizens care about, just hang out at one of our AgendaCamps and watch the process unfold. Last month, in Ottawa, many of us were surprised when jobs, the economy, the deficit, and health care all took a back seat to the energy file. The majority of AgendaCamp participants there agreed that the next government had to ensure a safe, reliable, clean, and affordable energy supply for the province. There was concern that wasn't currently happening. Democratic reform came in second, as participants debated the merits of first-past-the-post vs. proportional representation, etc Will Hamilton be different? We'll see as AgendaCamp participants have started to gather at McMaster University's Innovation Park. This part of the city is as emblematic as anything of how much Hamilton has changed since I lived here 30 years ago. This innovation park is spectacular. It's cutting edge. And it's replaced an old Westinghouse manufacturing plant that was here years ago. That, in fact, is Hamilton's story. Everyone thinks steel is still the biggest employer in town, but it hasn't been for years. In fact, health care and innovation are now the largest employers. While everyone regrets the loss of all those good-paying manufacturing jobs, the fact is, Hamilton's unemployment rate is less than Toronto's and the future looks bright for this city of half a million. But that's only part of the story. We all look forward to hearing the rest of it throughout this day. Please follow my tweets throughout the day, and we hope you'll be watching our live broadcast tomorrow night at 8 o'clock from the Liuna Station.

2011-03-28T08:27:00.000-04:00

Internet pioneer Paul Baran passes away Mr Baran was recognised for his work in 2007 when he was awarded a National Medal of Technology US scientist Paul Baran, whose work in the 1960s helped pave the way for the internet, has died aged 84. Mr Baran thought up the idea of making communication networks resilient to attack or traffic surges by splitting the data sent over them into chunks. His pioneering work was carried out in connection with Cold War military research. It would later form the basis of the academic network Arpanet which eventually led to the internet.Nuclear strike Mr Baran first put forward the idea of slicing data into "message blocks" and using a distributed system of nodes to pass them on when working at the Rand Corporation in the mid-1960s. In his initial conception, Mr Baran said the system would operate by what he called "hot-potato routing". The work was done as part of a project to keep telecommunications networks operating even if a large part of them was knocked out by a first strike nuclear attack. The system would be better able to withstand an attack because it lacked a central hub through which all data or messages passed. This work found new relevance during the early days of the Arpanet, a network designed to aid US scientists communicate and which laid the foundations of the modern-day internet. Contributions from British scientist Donald Davies led to Mr Baran's ideas being adapted into a technology known as packet switching. This cuts data up into small chunks that are then despatched around the network. "Paul wasn't afraid to go in directions counter to what everyone else thought was the right or only thing to do," Vinton Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet and a longtime friend of Baran, told the New York Times. Mr Baran died at home in Palo Alto, California from complications caused by lung cancer. "He was a man of infinite patience," said his son David Baran. He added that his father had recently shown him a paper written in 1966 which speculated about what people would do with the telecommunication networks in the future. "It spelled out this idea that by the year 2000 that people would be using online networks for shopping and news," he said. "It was an absolute lunatic fringe idea."

2011-03-24T10:06:00.000-04:00

Editorial

A Nucleated Century

Published: March 22, 2011

If you asked someone to draw an atom, he or she would probably draw something like a cockeyed solar system. The sun — the nucleus — is at the center, and the planets — the electrons — orbit in several different planes.

The critical discovery in this atomic model emerged a century ago in a talk before the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society in March 1911 and a paper published soon after in the Philosophical Magazine. Both were by Ernest Rutherford, who had won the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in part for his discovery of the alpha particle, which he later proved was the nucleus of a helium atom.

By 1911, scientists had already measured the charge and mass of an electron. But no one was sure how the atom was structured. Among his endless contributions to atomic theory, Rutherford explained a curious phenomenon. When fired at an extremely thin sheet of gold foil, some alpha particles scattered at surprising angles.

A few even bounced straight back at the observer, which Rutherford said was as unexpected as firing a cannon shell at tissue paper and having it come back and hit you.

The answer, Rutherford wrote, is that “the atom consists of a central charge” that is “concentrated at a point” — a point soon called the nucleus. A near collision with the nucleus caused the alpha particle to deflect. A direct collision caused it to bounce straight back. Compared to the whole atom, Rutherford said, the nucleus was like “a fly in a cathedral.”

As the scientist Freeman Dyson later wrote, finding the nucleus was the start of nuclear physics, which has transformed our picture of the atom. Now it looks something like a composite of quarks surrounded by clouds of uncertainty. More accurate. Much harder to draw.

2011-03-21T08:51:00.000-04:00

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

St. Patrick's Day: The eco-guide to responsible drinking.

2011-03-17T07:36:00.000-04:00

St. Patrick's Day: The eco-guide to responsible drinking.: "The eco-guide to responsible drinking.

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March Madness is here. How did the tournament get that nickname?

2011-03-16T10:43:00.000-04:00

March Madness is here. How did the tournament get that nickname?: "How did the NCAA Tournament get its nickname?

[more ...]

"

2010-11-05T08:40:00.004-04:00

Further to my rooting for Chrysler:

Below are two pictures. The first is the 200 C concept that was released way back in 2009.

Looks nothing like the Sebring which it replaces in 2011. Looks more like a North American BMW 3 series - in a good way!

For the actual production model, this is what Chrysler is showing us so far. I just can't tell if they've kept the BMW proportions or if they've let the Sebring rear end to come back into play. At least they have a smooth hood and got rid of those ridges.

Still, the nameplate and grill remind me more of an Aston (similar to the new 300C). So, perhaps this 200C will be JUST like the 300C in design rip offs (a little Bentley, Aston and Audi lights).

I'm just hoping it doesn't have any connection at all, at least in design, to the Sebring.

Oh, and one last thing Chrysler, only because I'm rooting for you, I'm telling you straight up to get rid of that awful, awful 200C website you have right now. I don't care if you have cool music! The photos are terrible and don't show us anything; the mouse navigation is making me have motion sickness. Just stop it already!

2010-11-05T08:34:00.003-04:00

I'm rooting for Chrysler to make it - honestly. But, come on! This is suppose to be the new Chrysler 300C? Is there any point in making revamps to cars? It looks like Bentley met Aston Martin met Audi.

2010-11-04T11:27:00.003-04:00

At only 1 day old.
At 1 month - and growing fast!

At 2 months.

It has been far too long since my last posting. As you can see, our little one is now 2 months old!

2010-08-24T10:39:00.002-04:00

This news from Truth About Cars caught my eye:

Do Canadians Hate Hybrids?
Honda will be dropping the Insight and Civic hybrid models, due to poor sales. Only 748 Insights have found Canuck buyers, and even fewer Civic Hybrids. Honda had planned to sell 10k Insights in Canada this year.

I have a few personal reasons why I didn't go with a hybrid on my most recent auto purchase:

1. They are costed way too high. The 10-30% premium on a hybrid model is just ridiculous here in southern Ontario. Crossing the border into western New York isn't appealing these days what with security clearances and redtape. I'll just stick with a diesel or a high-efficiency gas powered model and you know, not drive it like I'm from Quebec.

2. Cold weather efficiency. Yes, thanks to global warming, southern Ontario may have one or two days of really cold weather in the winter (-30C). But still, at a moderate (-10-15C) for several months, isn't the hybrid going to be running on the gas engine anyway? What are the effects of salt on the batteries? Since bodies only like 10years on these salt-slush roads we have, will I get value for money and efficiency out of the car. My gut tells me no.

3. Travel patterns include everything. You get a hybrid because in stop-n-go traffic it is more efficient. And you get to enjoy that efficiency because that is the majority of driving you do. What if only half the kilometers you put on the car are like that? What if the other half are driving at top speed on major highways for hundreds of kilometers at a time? That's what the typical hybrid demographic driver in southern Ontario would be doing. The weekday commute would be stop and go but come Friday night, they would dart onto the QEW or 400 to their cottages as fast as they could. The hybrid wouldn't be efficient in that respect. In fact with no space for kids stuff or brining a cooler to the cottage you're talking about an even less efficient car.

2010-08-20T12:45:00.003-04:00

Should it be West Harbour or Kirkendall?

The latest coming out of Hamilton is that the stadium might get a second look at the Chedoke Golf Course in the Kirkendall neighbourhood of Hamilton.

Above there's a map that shows both the West Harbour and Kirkendall sites.

Are they both viable?
How would each of these sites work?
I can't recall any serious business cases being done for the Kirkendall/Chedoke site. Can that be done in the short amount of time needed?
Are the Ti-Cats even considering this site?

University of Waterloo - Athletic Department announces football plans, educational initiatives

2010-08-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

University of Waterloo - Athletic Department announces football plans, educational initiatives

2010-08-05T10:19:00.002-04:00

We are picking out baby names. I came across this website that puts the whole baby-naming process into perspective. Here's a sample:

here are some names i saw today

kaytaquana
alliwen
camianne
shaynelna
karlakenya
adanah
leezi
mays
karjovon
brandnel
jaslera
breedee
tylee
allikaylor
tylera
shairani

I'm guessing (hoping, praying) these are names you saw today while you were hitting random keys on the computer at Bellevue just before the Thorazine kicked in. Wait, let me try:

huvven
woakam
euwher
iluhad
joofenkel (for boy or girl)
jofwern
mu'ulf
opiuren
puj
yubjibi
roowp
qimwoup
Abcadeffgheejecklemenopqrestuvwexiz (the most incredible word I've ever seen!)

2010-06-28T11:48:00.005-04:00

We've done it - we've bought a new car.

Well, new to us anyway. It is a 2008 Honda CR-V EX. Looks like this, blue, tinted windows.

We take delivery next Monday. Good bye 2001 Honda Civic EX. You've served us well and we thank you.

2010-05-31T10:16:00.002-04:00

Trucks my parents owned.

Here is a quick listing from my memory of the trucks my parents owned. They live in harsh climate in a rural area that required the use of a truck on a pretty regular basis. These were trucks that were going to be worked in fields, dirt roads, gravel roads with weekly use on highways to and from work. They had to strike the right balance between being useful on the weekends doing real work and being smooth rides and economical during the week for commutes. A tough combination and over time that factors change. Here's some thoughts I had on them:

Late 1970s Mazda B-Series

I don't recall anything about this truck other than family photos. It looks like a small quick utility truck good for getting parts to tractors stuck in the fields and hauling small loads. I bet it had ok fuel economy with no A/C, no cruise, manual transmission and a small 4-cylinder engine.

Late 1970s Ford F-150

A workhorse of a truck. It was big, lumbering, hard to maneouvre but hauled so much for so long. I remember the bed rusting to bits before the engine even hinted as needed a tune-up. We didn't really use a tractor-wagon combination when we had this instead. It was a great full-time hauling truck and if you had a good enough paying job, you could afford the gas for commutes to work.

Late 1980s Dodge Dakota:

My dad still raves about this truck. At his point in his career and his weekend/farm work, this particular truck struck the right balance for him. It hauled the right size of stuff on the weekends, had enough clearance and suspension to get into the fields but drove and handled like a nice Chrysler should on the highways. He really enjoyed his 1st Generation Dakota.

1990s Chevy Cheyenne, extended cab:

A beast to say the least. With the extended cab and regular bed, the universal joint was overextended and it took a few seconds to move into gear. We found that it worked well with a heavy load in the bed. That extra weight actually forced the u-joint to work better and it was easier to move in regular gear instead of overdrive all the time. Yes, it was an automatic. But, for daily commutes it was a hassle. Such a gas pig and terrible to park. After a couple of replacements of the u-joint, and the soaring gas prices, it was time to move the tank off the farm.

Late 1990s Ford Ranger

In reaction to fuel prices and not doing as hard farm labour as in the past, we opted for the nimble Ford Ranger. Overall, a disappointment for a few reasons: A) fuel economy was a let down. Coming from the tank that was the Chevy Cheyenne, we were thinking of getting awesome fuel economy. When the results were just average, it was a let down. Maybe it had something to do with a small 4-cylinder engine constantly working and a really high aspirated engine which leads to, B) It was a small, light, two-seater that revved really high and jerked into gear. Combine that kind of sudden power with gravel or dirt roads, let along snow or icey conditions and it was not fun to drive at all. More scary than fun. But, it was reliable with no mechanical issues.

2005 Mazda B-Series Truck Extended Cab 4x4

The current choice of utility vehicles my parents have going for themselves. My parents continue to do not as much farm hauling so, they require a small utility truck for light hauls rather than a lumbering workhorse so this size suits them just fine. The beauty about the Mazdas are that they are basically Rangers at a discount. My parents have experienced any mechanical issues with this truck and i don't anticipate any in the future. The extended cab in this version offers a little more flexibility for storage and with quality radials and 4x4 option now, it provides a little more stability on treacherous roads. Still, fuel economy isn't awesome but, for a small utility truck it does the job.

I think my parents are like many weekend warriors or suburban dwellers out there that need something fundamentally utilitarian. They want to find that truck-based auto that combines the utility of hauling relatively small loads with the smooth ride and fuel economy of a car. I think this is why my dad still thinks fondly of the 1st Generation Dodge Dakota. In the North American market, we have limited availability of compact trucks (Ranger and B-Series) and the moderate trucks are getting bigger every year (2010 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab looks as big as the F-150) and if you are charging MORE for the small truck than the standard, why would you want a smaller truck?

I think my parents, in the next 5 years, should look for something in the coupe utility segment. Something like that Subaru Baja that combines car handling with utility for hauling small loads.

2010-05-31T09:37:00.002-04:00

Cars my parents owned:

From my recollection, this is the history of my parents' automobile purchases for the last 30+ years. I should point out that, the roads and climate cars have to deal with where my parents live are harsh - hence the turnover in models. My parents have also never bought a car brand new. Always used and always from their trusted mechanic that really hasn't screwed them over. The cars we bought have always been in the best possible condition for the price.

I've included my thoughts on each one.

1980s Pontiac Acadian:

A terrible, terrible car. A shopping cart as my mom called it. A coffin on wheels as my dad called it. We went to a family wedding in a black 4-door version of this and it was traumatic. The heat, the lack of fans, no A/C, no space. The only thing it had going for it was fuel economy. Of course, back in the 1980s, who cared about fuel economy! The ride was stiff and the lack of ground clearance made this car a junkie in no time flat.

9th Generation (1980s) Chrysler New Yorker:

With the experience of the Chevette behind us, we went upmarket with a comfortable, power windowed Chrysler land yatch. All I remember about this car was the comfortable baby-blue seats, smooth highway driving and cursive "New Yorker" badge.

1980s Oldsmobile Cutlass:

The Olds was fine actually. My mom described the sightlines and clearance as great. For all her cars, she really wants to know where the trunk and hood ends. For parking in tight spaces I can now appreciate this metric. I wish current manufactures would consider that when they make the back end 5 feet tall with no rear windows. Alas, I digress. Getting back to the Oldsmobile, it had comfortable seats, reliable engine, power windows and A/C. This was the first car I drove with a license. I remember the handling as being very numb and excelration non-existent but, nothing really to complain about having driven tractors as my reference point.

1990s Buick LeSabre:

What struck me, and my parents, about this car was just how reliable it was. The road conditions and climate tear cars to shreds but this one kept on trucking. It had good sightlines my mom enjoyed, it was ok on fuel economy, it had cruise control and a comfortable highway drive. I must say, I formed a positive impression of Buick with this car and have nothing to complain about that brand. It makes me really root for the new Buick Regal coming out this year.

1st Generation Chrysler Intrepid (Dodge)

What a hunk of crap. Seriously, you'd think owning a land yatch like this would be cool. It would be the quality of a Cadillac with the price of a Taurus. No sir, reliability issues from the start. Suspension was always iffy, fuel economy was terrible, gas line problems, transmission problems. This version of the Intrepid didn't last long. The only thing going for it, for Chrysler products in general for that matter, is that if you are on the highway cruising along, it does have a smooth comfortable ride. If you can get it to cruise that is.

2nd Generation Chrysler Intrepid:

My parents current choice of automotive transport. The only reason they went back to the Chrysler well was because of the ridiculous deal they got on this model with such low mileage. I have come to think that that is Chrysler's strategy for all their models now. The reliability issues are a little better on this generation compared to the first. It is still a land yatch and handles as such; it is still a fuel pig but man, put it on the highway and it cruises for days and is lovely to have.

I think the current Intrepid will last my parents a few more years. When that cycle is over, I anticipate they will want something more fuel efficient, less bulky, better sightlines for my mom and with some higher clearance. Perhaps a Crossover?

2010-04-28T15:35:00.000-04:00

I have moved offices at work. Not really a big stretch - just across and down the hall. The same job, same assignments, same everything really.

I'm actually looking forward to work from now on. We will have new staff to take up the slack; we have talented people all over the place. It should work out I think.

2010-04-07T08:59:00.002-04:00

Back from Easter long weekend. We went up north to see my parents. While up there we did some minor chores around the properties and played some cards and visited family.

Now back to the grind and I've shifted my workout routines to include a local gym next to work instead of close to home. I've found that I'm too tired and want to stay home in the evenings, or I have softball or dodgeball and those nights I do go out it is for those things.

I have time over lunch to get a quick 30min workout in so we'll see how this plays out.

2010-03-15T09:02:00.002-04:00

New GO Transit schedules are coming out soon. This made me think about all kinds of transit fares and schedules and I thought it would be fun to see how much a TTC weekly pass or monthly pass would be - perhaps it would be cheaper to buy in bulk - was my thinking.

Well, it isn't.

Cash fare is $3. This makes sense. You want to encourage people to use passes and tokens and not have drivers and workers fiddle around with change and lose time.

Tokens work out to be $2.50 each. Getting a little better. There are a bunch of dispensing machines at the major stations and they are easy to handle and count. Great for the casual rider.

Monthly Pass is $121. What?? This works out to be over $3/ride at the standard 40 ride month. Hmmm...clearly discourages the casual or work week only rider from using the monthly pass. Clearly, monthly passes are for people that live and breath the transit system and use it either multiple times during the week (more than twice a day) AND use it on the weekends.

Even when you throw in the Federal Transit Tax Credit (15%) it works out to be $2.57/ride at 40 ride month.

TTC has this Metropass Discount Pass which is a guarantee 12-month pass that is a direct-deposit system. The deal is, you get a discount ($111/month) but you have to sign up for 12 consecutive months. Clearly, for the urban, heavy user that doesn't take vacations beyond city limits. Work it out for a 40-ride month and it is (including the Federal Tax Credit) $2.35.

I was tempted by the Discount Pass but, that means you HAVE to use the TTC every month. Not too much flexibility there.

That leaves the weekly pass. This is unlimited rides for a 7-day period. With the Federal Transit Tax based on a 10-ride week it works out to be $3.06. The weekly pass is MORE EXPENSIVE than the cash fare.

As a work-week only, casual rider, why in the world would the weekly pass ever appeal to me? I think the TTC is definitely NOT marketing the weekly pass to me. I think they are marketing the weekly pass to the tourist that will be hoping on and off the system while they are on vacation in the city for a few days.

So, to summarize the price points and a quick analysis, let's see what we got:

A) $3.06/ride - weekly pass. Clearly for the short term tourism industry
B) $3/ride - monthly pass. Clearly for the heavy user that includes weekend/multiple trips
C) $3/ride - cash. Clearly for the person that pays the stupid tax for not planning ahead.
D) $2.50/ride - tokens. For the casual rider.
E) $2.35/ride - mdp pass. For the heavy user that doesn't take vacations AND has multiple/weekend trips.

From what I can see, it looks like I'll continue using my tokens or better yet - just take the extra 10 minutes and walk to work from Union Station.

2010-03-08T09:57:00.003-05:00

Sorry I've neglected you blog. Here are some highlights for this week:

PDAC is running in Toronto. If you are trying to get a hotel room downtown, don't even bother until at least Wednesday.

I'm going to Peterborough tomorrow for a workshop being held by some colleagues of mine. Should be lots of fun.

Thursday and Friday I have morning meetings up on Bloor. Looks like I'm wearing the suit all week.

2010-01-29T08:18:00.001-05:00

More exciting GO adventures!

from GO E-News Alerts
to GO E-News Alerts dateThu, Jan 28, 2010 at 7:17 PM
subjectGO Train Delay

7:17 PM

Lakeshore West Update: The inoperable CN freight train west of the Mimico GO Station has been cleared. We are currently experiencing delays of up to 40 minutes while we work towards returning to your regularly scheduled GO Train service. We apologize for the disruption to your travel plans this evening. Please visit our Service Updates page at gotransit.com or click the following link for updates: http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/updates/status.aspx

2010-01-26T10:43:00.001-05:00

I've been off the past couple of days with the stomach flu. I'm feeling much better today and I may even venture outside for an afternoon walk.

2009-12-17T14:57:00.001-05:00

My my my, winter is here for the Toronto Area:

GO E-News Alerts

show details Dec 15 (2 days ago)

Due to an inoperable freight train at Clarkson GO station resulting in a single track being available, passengers on the Lakeshore West line, you may experience delays of 15 - 20 minutes to your commute today.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

This message was sent on: 12/15/2009 4:49 PM

Please do not reply to this email. This is an outgoing message only. To unsubscribe, go to:
http://enews-gotransit.com/unsubscribe.aspx

GO E-News Alerts

show details Dec 15 (2 days ago)

The Union 16:30 - Hamilton 17:39 train trip is delayed 24 minutes east of Port Credit due to an inoperable freight train.

This message was sent on: 12/15/2009 5:13 PM

GO E-News Alerts

show details Dec 15 (2 days ago)

Update: Due to an inoperable freight train at Clarkson GO station resulting in a single track being available, passengers on the Lakeshore West line, you may experience delays of 30 - 40 minutes to your commute today.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

This message was sent on: 12/15/2009 5:35 PM

GO E-News Alerts

show details Dec 15 (2 days ago)

The Union 17:02 - Hamilton 18:16 train trip is delayed 60 minutes from Clarkson due to an inoperable freight train. We apologize for the inconvenience.

This message was sent on: 12/15/2009 6:26 PM

2009-12-17T08:44:00.002-05:00

This story drives me nuts. It is quintessential NHL thinking. It is reported today that Commissioner Gary Bettman says the NHL is looking to create a second outdoor game that will be played in Canada next season, potentially around CBC’s Hockey Day in Canada in February.

Look, I understand the rationale for this move:

A) CBC although Canadian, is a major network broadcaster of the NHL and it makes business sense to maximize the CBC's marketing of hockey with a partnership scheme.

B) The Winter Classic game is a winner by NHL standards. It competes with US college bowl games on New Year's Day and draws a substantial TV crowd from the US (albeit, mostly from either the northeast or from NHL towns that don't have a college in a bowl).

C) NHL's brand has taken its lumps this year with the Balsille friction and the confusion around the NHL's position on the future of possible Canadian (Quebec, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Southern Ontario) franchises. They need a good-news PR story to placate the significant turnstile fan base in Canada.

This is why the NHL's decision is wrong:

A) As important as the CBC is to the broadcasting of hockey, it isn't the only game in town. Other Canadian broadcaster, most notably BellGlobemedia (CTV and TSN) cover a major portion of the weekday schedule. And let's not forget what the NHL's objective is - to land a network contract in the US. Putting time and resources into the CBC partnership doesn't get you closer to your media objective. It is a horizontal move at best since the Canadian media market is already tied up.

B) The Winter Classic is special because it is an annual, one-off experience. It is that uniqueness that brings in the casual fan (especially in the US). It is that uniqueness that brings in a sports fan that would normally watch a bowl game but now will switch to watch this product. Once you start diluting the product with multiple showings, fans' interest will also be diluted and will diminish. And let's not kid ourselves over the strength of this product from the outset compared to bowl games offered on New Year's Day. This is definitely the Mouse compared to the US College Bowl Elephant. You have to still nurture this spark of interest in the US, accept that this will be a niche opportunity to showcase to the casual fan something unique while bowl game commercials are running for 2.5 minutes. Don't pull a Who Wants to be a Millionaire and overexpose it to death.

C) If the objective is to generate some good PR in Canada, there are other ways the NHL can make rather minor moves to smooth out the Canuck feathers while at the same time, won't take away resources from other objectives (see A) or dilute a niche but great potential product (see B).

Option 1
The NHL could pass a resolution dictating that the Winter Classic will be played annually and alternate between a Canadian and American venue. Make that announcement on CBC's Hockey Day programme or Hockeyville contest or at the Winter Classic in Boston on NBC or your own press conference with all media attending. To the Canadian fan, parity with the US for venue hosting would be warmly welcomed (pardon the pun). The NHL would have a locked-in solid fan base to draw from for a live audience and it creates the foundation to make this niche product into a tradition to build upon.

Option 2
The NHL could pass a resolution indicating that the structure of the NHL is being changed and, in addition to a Commissioner, the NHL will now have a President. An NHL-NHLPA process will take place and ultimately install Wayne Gretzky as President. Much like a President and Prime Minister relationship, President Gretzky will be the head of state for the NHL. The face of the NHL and ambassador of the league. Commissioner Bettman will retain his powers as head of government if you will. The collective bargaining, the rule changes, the enforcement, all the daily operations of the league will continue to be the Commissioner's responsibility. Canadians would be thrilled with a Canuck as President. Gretzky would be thrilled to be honoured by the league in this way. Instant praise from Canadian fans and media.

Option 3
The NHL could launch a communications campaign with the objective of clearly articulating the necessary steps a prospective owner (and possibly host community) would have to go through to re-locate an NHL franchise. I stress re-locate because this is a different process and, more attainable for most Canadian markets than an expansion option although Bettman seems to be hell bent on not focusing on this option. Campaign would stress the need for the latest in venue accommodations, infrastructure requirements, market size, investment capital (all in USD) and explain how the NHL would decide on the re-location. A significant perception with fans is that the NHL has an opaque, Byzantine system that determines re-location that the fans can't comprehend and/or don't trust. A communication campaign (Bettman doing the sports media circuit, online documentation, site visits with mayors and business associations etc...) would accomplish two things: create a climate of trust that the NHL is speaking directly to fan concerns in a transparent fashion and secondly, create a business climate that provides certainty to existing owners and prospective ones that the NHL is a reputable and transparent operation with consistent application of rules.

There are risks to each of these options - especially Option 3 given Bettman's stance on re-location. But, these are attainable, low cost moves the NHL can make with immediate benefit to short term objectives it needs to accomplish.

2009-12-15T08:38:00.000-05:00

Maclean's has a good Caption Challenge going on here:

can you think of a good caption for this photo?

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/12/15/caption-challenge-no-3-your-move-democracy/

2009-11-30T10:37:00.003-05:00

Congratulations Montreal on the Grey Cup win.

What a game! So many storylines:
* The "Buffalo Bills" of the CFL finally push through and win the cup.
* David Duvall overcomes game underperformance to clinch the winning field goal for his team.

Of course, what would a CFL story be without reference to expansion, contraction or relocation?

First, relocation. Well, not a dramatic relocation but still, an interesting venture being posed by the Toronto Argonauts to move from Roger's SkyDome to BMO Field. I recall stories about this being tossed about when they built BMO for the World Junior Soccer Championships. I remember the Argos wanting a more intimate venue when Varsity stadium was being re-designed. Now, the latest twist in this saga is the return of BMO as a venue of choice.

Pros:
* Already built and city-owned
* Already has transit access
* Has a great playing surface (real grass this spring)

Cons:
* Toronto FC (Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment) doesn't want to share a venue they manage
* It was soccer-specific built so the dimensions are hard to shoehorn
* It was soccer-specific built so the seating capacity isn't up to CFL standards
* This in no way actually helps Toronto improve their field performance

Look, Toronto Argos averaged 26,000 a game this season. With a terrible, terrible performance on the field, they still had a solid attendance by CFL standards. Why move to BMO? If BMO only holds 20,000 now, you will push 6,000 fans away from the games? Or, are the Argos planning on sinking money into the venue for another 10,000 seats so the same 26,000 can watch the game 400 yards from where they were last season for about the same quality of play? Where is the business case for this?

I can understand the emotional side of it. You want your fans to be excited. You want that initmate feel you get in Montreal or Hamilton. I can appreciate that, I'm just saying, the challenges are there both on the balance sheet and the football field. I don't know how they'll make that goose fly.

2009-11-25T12:56:00.005-05:00

Ontario has some decisions to make. Here is an illustration of one of those decisions. Sometimes, those decisions will be made explicitly and sometimes, implicitly. I'd like to hear from you about how Ontario should handle the evolution of this situation.

1. Ontario has committed to protecting AT LEAST HALF of the Far North of this province.

2. Protecting it means the Ministry of Natural Resources and local First Nation communities will develop Land Use Plans. There will be regional land use plans and local land use plans. The hope is, the local land use plans will fit into the regional ones. The local ones will be developed by First Nations for their local areas and the regional ones by MNR. The caveat is that, if there is a difference of opinion on specific land uses, the regional one will prevail.

3. Scientists have consistently said that, in order for this to be truly effective in protecting species like Woodland Caribou, protection must be contigous. Meaning, all the protected areas have be linked somehow instead of just little patchwork islands. That protection must also focus on protecting species. So, that contigous land will be targetted in certain regions.

4. Following me so far - now here comes the problem:

The picture above is a recent shot of a mineral staking rush dubbed "Ring of Fire." What mineral exploration companies are looking for is a wide variety of minerals like chromite, nickel, iron ore etc... This area is slightly smaller than southern Ontario and has the potential to be as big of an economic impact as the Sudbury basin.

5. If you'll notice on the map, there are two lines going straight up and down from this "ring" formation. You could call that "linear" in shape. It is anticipated that this could be the precurssor for transport development (road or rail) that would service this area because, you know, you need roads to get big bulky things like iron ore and nickel out of the ground to refine. Incedentally, these "linear" mineral claims are being developed by local First Nations in partnership with companies.

6. Very recently, mineral exploration companies have been talking to mineral development companies about this project. Development companies are announcing take-over plans and buying the properties and contemplating development plants in Thunder Bay. These companies have also made arrangements with local First Nations to ensure continued economic development opportunities for their communities. The end result is, the pressure is on from First Nations, northerners and industry to make all this hypothetical development a reality and a lot sooner by anybody's timetables.

7. So, here's how it works: You got a government commitment to protect land from development. That protection must be contiguous and that protection must abide by regional plans developed by MNR. That land also has to be targetted to protect species. On the other hand, you have exploration companies talking to development companies about putting in infrastructure for a development region that would spur thousands of jobs for decades to come.

8. What do you do?

2009-11-23T12:42:00.002-05:00

Why does Chrysler suck so much?

I checked out Chrysler's 5 year plan from Jalopnik and wow - just, wow! And not in a good way "wow."

1. Where is the electric, hybrid stuff? Sure, part of it is bandwagon hyperbole but, there is a kernel of self-preservation truth under all of that. Gasoline powered autos are going through an evoluation right now. It will be slow, painful with missteps along the way but, inevitably, either one or several non-fossil fuel based auto technologies will become the norm while I'm still around to buy one. Why is Chrysler not going down that path? Are they banking on the fact they can pick up other people's technologies on the fly and let them pay for the R/D and errors and loss in consumer confidence? I think they simply can't afford it period. That's a sign that, even with bailout bucks, this company is in serious trouble.

2. Why are you keeping the Sebring? Does GM still have the Chevette? You know why GM doesn't have that thing around anymore? It wasn't because it was small or not a gold mine; it was simply because of the humiliation. Honestly, how many jokes have you heard about driving a "shopping cart" or a "coffin on wheels." Regardless of how deserving those jokes were, the image the consumer was receiving was sub-par product not to buy. Sebring is Chrysler's Chevette. I don't want to hear about cab-forward design and "cheapest Mercedes you can buy" or "cheapest convertible you can buy" pitches. The image the consumers have is one of disaster. Pull the plug and start a fresh with the Chrysler 200 concept. Don't run them side by side.

3. 300 and 300C is not having a minor or major redesign until after 2014. What are you thinking? Chrysler is importing a brand new small car, a new compact car, killing the PT Cruiser, a new midsized Crossover and even redoing the mini-van. The ONLY thing that isn't being touched (implicitly because it is "perfect"???) is the 300. Come on! 300 is an impressive looking full sized sedan and saved the company (well, bought it more time) for a few years but, you need to improve, to evolve it. What about tinkering with the suspension? What about better mileage, what about handling? Is Chrysler ALWAYS going to have the Mercedes E-class foundation to this thing?

4. Dodge truck was a good division. Don't screw it up. Killing off the Dakota and replacing it with a unibody midsized truck gets me nervous. Will it be a truck or will it be like the Honda Ridgeline - looking like a truck but not really giving you the payload, towing or power that that sized auto should be. I'm not saying this a terrible idea out of the blocks, I just hope they've done their research and know what they are doing. Oh wait, R/D is too costly so, nope, they haven't done it, sooooo good luck Dodge!

5. I've rented Dodge Calibers and Avengers. They are terrible cars. Why would Chrysler choose to keep these designs in dealerships until at least 2012 for the Caliber and indefinitely for the Avenger.

6. Why buy a Nitro when I can buy a Jeep? Is the redesign slated for 2011 going to put a Jeep badge on it? That would be awesome.

7. Speaking about Jeep - stop expanding! You had a gem of a niche market but you've screwed it up with all these multiple models in the same segments. You're competing amongst yourselves and against the decent competition. How about, because I think Jeep will still be only a niche market, cut it down to only one model per segment. So, one Small Jeep (like now - not 2013), one compact Jeep (combine the Patriot and Compass into one coherent auto); one mid-sized Jeep (since you got the Nitro going at Dodge, would the Liberty be a good re-badge?); finally, one full sized Jeep (obvious choice is the Grand Cherokee for name recognition).

I think Chrysler is working on borrowed time. I'm not thrilled with this 5 year plan but, like all 5 year plans, they change rather rapidly.

2009-10-20T14:09:00.001-04:00

I found this rather shocking...

The Pope invites disaffected Anglicans to join the Catholic Church

Historic move a response to Canterbury’s stance on female clergy and homosexuality

Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:11am - 6 Comments

In an unprecedented move, Pope Benedict XVI has opened the doors of the Roman Catholic church to a growing number of Anglicans left disaffected by Canterbury’s liberalism. Thousands of Anglicans have already left the church in response to its stance on homosexuality and female clergy. The historic move means that disillusioned Anglicans will be able to convert to Roman Catholicism while holding onto some of their religious doctrine rather than form small breakaway churches. While married Anglican pastors will be able to become Catholic priests, they will not be allowed to become bishops.

London Telegraph

2009-10-20T12:36:00.002-04:00

With the best out of the way, here are the worst cars:

1. Chevy Chevette - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Chevette

2. Buick Skyhawk - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Skyhawk

3. Buick Century - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Century

4. Pontiac Phoenix - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Phoenix

5. Ford Fiesta Mark I - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fiesta

6. Dodge Omni - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Omni

7. Dodge Challenger (2nd Generation) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Challenger

2009-10-19T13:02:00.003-04:00

Jalopnik.com has an interesting question out there: What car would you want from your birth year?

http://jalopnik.com/5384908/what-car-from-your-birth-year-do-you-want

An interesting proposal. Here are my top 5 (in no particular order)

1. Chevy Camaro - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-generation_Chevrolet_Camaro#1979

2. Chevy Corvette - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Corvette_C3

3. Pontiac Firebird (trans-am) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Firebird#Second_generation_.281970.E2.80.931981.29

4. Chrysler Cordoba - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Cordoba

5. Lincoln Continental - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Continental

My Canadian fairness may have creeped in here to give Chrysler a pity spot. Everything else I'm all for.

Here's my rationale:

The Camaro/Trans-Am duo was really THE statement in muscle car performance of the late 70s. Mustang was in serious decline and frankly, didn't really turn it around until the 90s to the present. It was the cars of the time. Flamboyant, gas guzzling, solid cars that could be tuned in your backyard.

The Corvette was in a class all by itself for sports car/super car at the time. That quintessential design, two-seater outlay still marks it as the marquis in North American sports performance.

Sometimes going fast isn't the joy. Sometimes getting there is the joy - hence the Cordobra/Continential choices. What better way to express 20c oil and North American domiance than to make a car as big as a continent (and only two doors!!). It is simply a brilliant expression of 70s grandeur and optimism.

Update Alert!!!

I completely forgot about the beauty of the Jaguar XJ-S!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_XJS

It had the power of the V12, the gas consumption of a 70s tank AND retained the flare and grandeur appropriate for its times. A beautiful and powerful car that still retains authentic beauty today unlike say the Continental that has "cheese" appeal or even the trans-am or camaro that has the halo of classic 80s action TV.

2009-10-01T10:05:00.003-04:00

To all Make It Seven supporters:

From the beginning, my attempt to relocate the Coyotes to Hamilton has been about Canadian hockey fans and Canadian hockey. It was a chance to realize a dream. All I wanted was a fair chance to bring a seventh NHL team to Canada, to serve the best unserved hockey fans in the world. I believe I got that chance. I respect the court's decision, and I will not be putting forward an appeal.

Nobody can deny that we are now a big step closer to having a seventh NHL team in Canada. It doesn't matter who owns that team. When that day comes, I will be the first in line to buy a ticket to the home opener.

I want to take this opportunity to thank my family for all their love and support. I also want to thank the more than 200,000 fans who supported the bid online and the countless others who contacted me personally to show their support. This bid always was about the game we all love.

Thank you,

Jim Balsillie

Canadian Press

September 30, 2009

The Canadian Press
TORONTO (September 30, 2009) – The following statement regarding the court ruling in the case of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy proceeding was issued tonight by Jim Balsillie in response to media inquiries:

“From the beginning, my attempt to relocate the Coyotes to Hamilton has been about Canadian hockey fans and Canadian hockey. It was a chance to realize a dream. All I wanted was a fair chance to bring a seventh NHL team to Canada, to serve the best unserved hockey fans in the world. I believe I got that chance. I respect the court’s decision, and I will not be putting forward an appeal.”

“Nobody can deny that we are now a big step closer to having a seventh NHL team in Canada. It doesn’t matter who owns that team. When that day comes, I will be the first in line to buy a ticket to the home opener.”

“I want to take this opportunity to thank my family for all their love and support. I also want to thank the more than 200,000 fans who supported the bid online and the countless others who contacted me personally to show their support. This bid always was about the game we all love.”

Hamilton's Brave Face Reaction - The Spectator

No NHL for now, but city preparing for next opportunity

By Kevin Werner/News staff

News

Oct 01, 2009

Hamilton may have lost this game, but city officials are preparing for the next contest to secure an NHL franchise.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger refused to characterize the decision by Arizona bankruptcy judge Redfield Baum rejecting Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie’s offer “with prejudice” to purchase the financially-strapped Arizona Coyotes as a “blow” to the city.

Instead, the mayor and the rest of the city’s politicians wanted to look at Hamilton’s future prospects to acquire an NHL franchise.

“No, not at all,” said Mr. Eisenberger. “Hamiltonians always knew there was only a 50-50 chance of Mr. Balsillie succeeding. It didn’t pan out. But I firmly believe there are other opportunities out there. We are in a fabulous position.”

Mr. Balsillie, who was denied an opportunity to buy an NHL franchise for the third time, said in a statement he will not appeal Judge Baum’s decision, which rejected both his $242.5 million bid and the NHL’s $140 million offer.

“From the beginning, my attempt to relocate the Coyotes to Hamilton has been about Canadian hockey fans and Canadian hockey,” said Mr. Balsillie in a statement on the Make It Seven website. “It was a chance to realize a dream. All I wanted was a fair chance to bring a seventh NHL team to Canada. I respect the court’s decision and I will not be putting forward an appeal.”

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly was “pleased” the “Bankruptcy Court has confirmed the league’s right to select its owners and the locations of its franchises. It remains our goal to secure the long-term stability of the Coyotes.”

Mr. Eisenberger said he was scheduled to talk to Mr. Balsillie Oct. 1. But the next move for the city, said the mayor and other councillors is to build bridges with the NHL in the hopes of acquiring an NHL either through an expansion process or relocating an existing franchise.
“There are nine NHL teams in the (U.S.) south that are in trouble,” said Mayor Eisenberger. “There are opportunities there.”

Mayor Eisenberger said he expects the city’s exclusive agreement with Mr. Balsillie signed last spring will expire after it ends at the end of October. The agreement allowed Mr. Balsillie to take over Copps Coliseum and Hamilton Entertainment Convention and Facilities Inc. Mr. Balsillie had unveiled a $5 million plan to upgrade the 1985 arena to NHL standards.
The mayor confirmed again that the city will “look at other options”, and that city officials have had discussions with other representatives to locate an NHL team in Hamilton. He refused to divulge any details.

Ward 8 (west Mountain) councillor Terry Whitehead, chair of the city’s NHL sub-committee, said the city should reach out to the NHL, including commissioner Gary Bettman.

“They have stated that Hamilton is a viable hockey market,” said Coun. Whitehead. “We should talk to them to see how we can secure a team.”

The mayor and other politicians applauded Mr. Balsillie for his efforts to buy the Coyotes, which, they said, not only raised the profile of Hamilton throughout North America, but also proved the city can support an NHL franchise.

“He has done a spectacular job highlighting Hamilton,” said Mayor Eisenberger. “We have a much better hope of securing an NHL franchise.
?Added Mr. Whitehead, “The NHL has acknowledged by there is a need and a vacuum in Hamilton that needs to be filled. All Mr. Balsillie wanted was to be given a fair chance.”
Mountain councillor Tom Jackson said Judge Baum “took the easy way out” by deciding against both the NHL and Mr. Balsillie.

“It’s a real shame. The powers that be took hold.”

Ancaster councillor Lloyd Ferguson said a great “sigh” could be heard throughout Hamilton after the judge’s decision Sept. 30.

“It’s (the NHL’s) club. It’s their rules.”

Judge Baum seemed to side with the NHL in his 28-page decision. His decision leaves the fate of the Coyotes in the NHL’s hands, even though it didn’t win outright.
“In hockey parlance, the court is passing the puck to the NHL, who can decide to take another shot at the sale net or it can pass off the puck,” Judge Baum wrote in his decision.

The judge wrote Mr. Balsillie’s bid was rejected because the entrepreneur could not get the approval of the NHL to move the Coyotes to Hamilton.

“In the final analysis, the court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL,” wrote Judge Baum.

2009-09-29T08:48:00.001-04:00

I wasn't even born when all this Roman Polanski stuff went down but, for your interests, here is a good summary of the 4 decade long saga.

What's "Unlawful Sexual Intercourse"?And other questions from the Explainer's Roman Polanski roundup.

By Brian PalmerPosted Monday, Sept. 28, 2009, at 7:18 PM ET

Roman PolanskiFilm director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on Saturday and faces possible extradition to the United States. In 1977, Polanski drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl in the home of actor Jack Nicholson. The sensational case raises a variety of questions, answered herewith.

Polanski hasn't exactly been lying low for the last three decades—he even won an Oscar in 2002 for The Pianist. Why didn't the French government ever hand him over?
Because he's a French citizen. Under the current U.S. extradition treaty with France (PDF), either country may refuse to extradite its own citizens. (Polanski was born in Paris.) This sort of exemption is a widespread and time-honored aspect of international relations. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans would extradite their own. In the modern era, France has been the strongest advocate for this provision. (The United States did manage to strong-arm the French into dropping the policy in 1843, but France changed its mind a few years later.) Some extradition treaties override the provision when it comes to heinous crimes. A citizen might be extradited, for example, if he were accused of murder or rape.

Why did the Swiss choose this moment to arrest Polanski?
Because the United States asked them to. The authorities over there might have nabbed Polanski in years past, given that he owns a home in a Swiss skiing town and travels there regularly. State and federal prosecutors in the United States may have begun tracking the director's movements more carefully this year after Polanski tried in December to have his case dismissed from abroad. (Moving to have your criminal charges dropped while you're still on the run is a good way to infuriate prosecutors.) When the United States asked for him to be arrested, the Swiss authorities had little choice but to comply with the terms of our extradition treaty.

Polanski pleaded guilty to "unlawful sexual intercourse" with a minor. What's the difference between that and statutory rape?
They're synonymous. Only a few states—Georgia, Missouri, and North Carolina—actually use the term "statutory rape" in their penal codes. Other legal euphemisms for having sex with someone who's underage include "Rape in the Third Degree" (New York), "Felonious Sexual Assault" (New Hampshire), and "Carnal Knowledge of a Child" (Virginia).

The California Penal Code currently defines unlawful sexual intercourse as sexual contact with anyone under 18. The penalties become more severe as the age gap widens.

Some news sources have reported that at the time of Polanski's crime, the age of consent was either 14 or 16. This is incorrect. California's first penal code in 1850 proscribed sex with girls under the age of 10. The age of consent was raised to 14 in 1889, to 16 in 1897, and finally to 18 in 1913, where it has remained since that time.

Related in Slate

Bryan Curtis reviewed The Pianist and Roman Polanski's career. Troy Patterson watched Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. Kim Masters explained what the documentary got wrong.

Polanski molested his victim more than 30 years ago. Hasn't the statute of limitations run on his crime?
No. The statute of limitations for a crime requires the state to make a formal charge against the defendant within a certain timeframe. Polanski was charged within a few weeks of the crime and pleaded guilty. At this point, he is a fugitive from justice who is awaiting sentencing. Once you're a fugitive, the statute of limitations clock stops ticking.

Some articles note that Polanski wants the charges against him dropped because the judge engaged in misconduct. What's that about?
In 1977, Polanski agreed to plead guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse. The presiding judge, Laurence Rittenband, was to decide Polanski's sentence after reviewing a report from the Probation Department and holding a hearing with attorneys for each side. All parties expected Polanski to get only probation.

According to a recent documentary, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney David Wells, who was not involved in the case, intervened with Rittenband. Wells thought Polanski was being cavalier about the charges against him and should serve time for his misdeed. (Wells showed the judge photographs of Polanski partying in Munich with his arms around two young women who Wells claimed were underage.) Rittenband seemed to be convinced and suggested to Polanski's attorneys that he would send the director to prison and order him deported. At that time, Polanski fled.

While Wells was not himself an attorney of record in the case, he was a lawyer for one of the parties—the state of California. The California Code of Judicial Ethics (PDF) forbids judges to engage in ex parte communications—discussions where only one side is represented.

There is no question that Rittenband violated the ethics code. The question of whether his conversations with Wells are sufficient grounds for dismissal of the charges against Polanski is an open question. There is very little law on the subject to guide the judge who's now presiding over the case. Outright dismissal is an exceedingly rare remedy for ex parte communications, especially when the communications came after the plea agreement was reached. It's far more common for the plea agreement to stand, with a new judge brought in to preside over the sentencing. The original judge could also face sanctions. (Judge Rittenband is deceased, so there's a good chance the unethical contacts will have no impact.)

Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Gerald F. Uelmen of Santa Clara Law and Charles D. Weisselberg of Berkeley Law.

2009-09-28T12:36:00.002-04:00

A good weekend had by all.

Friday - nothing much happened. Watched the Ti-Cats loose (badley) to the Als on TV.

Saturday did some gardening and went to a wedding in the evening in Toronto. It rained but all in all - a fantastic time. It reminded me a little of my wedding: the outdoor setting, the tent, the open bar etc...

Sunday did some more gardening and went up to the SPCA for week 2 of dog training. Cleanned the house, did the dishes, went out to East Side's for dinner with family in the evening.

This week I'm uber determined to get back to the gym. I'm paying for it, I need to make it work for me. I vow to go 3 times this week. Starting Monday, why not!

Goal is to loose 10lbs by Christmas. I think that is manageable. I have 13 weeks. That is just less than a 1 pound a week. A manageable goal. I remember from my highschool science classes that there are 3,500 calories in one pound of body fat. If I don't gorge myself on donuts and full fat lattes of the next 3 months, that would mean having a 1,167 calorie workout, 3 times a week to maintain that goal of 1lb/week. Knowing that there is Thanksgiving in there and Oktoberfest, I'll aim for a round 1,500 calorie burning session, 3 times a week.

2009-09-22T09:47:00.001-04:00

The Coyotes saga just won't end! The Spectator has a great little chronology graph of the saga if you need to catch up on the twists and turns of this Dynasty/Pelican Brief drama.

2009-09-04T08:04:00.001-04:00

The Centre of the Centre of the Universe is just a complete knob. I HAVE to leave downtown before this happens.

U of T parade will clog traffic during Friday afternoon rush

680News staff Toronto | Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 9:33 pm

Toronto - Traffic will be disrupted on many downtown streets, Friday afternoon, as a parade for new University of Toronto students is set to take-over.

The parade is slated to begin at 4 p.m.

It will proceed along the following route from Tower Rd.:

West on Hoskin Ave. to St. George St.
North to Bloor St. W.
East to Yonge St.
South to Wellesley St. W.
West into the U of Toronto grounds
North on Tower Rd.
West on Hoskin Ave.
North on Devonshire Place to Varsity Stadium

Vehicles will be allowed to pass through gaps in the parade, but police have said drivers should expect delays

2009-09-03T08:54:00.002-04:00

As some of you know, I'm involved in the mineral exploration and development industry here in Ontario. I thought this article was a really neat link between our urban, cosmopolitan aspirations to be seen as environmentally friendly with the cold hard reality that, to make stuff, you need to get your hands dirty and break a few (rather rare and getting rarer) eggs to make that eco-friendly omelette.

Prius Has Enough Neodymium To Crush Your Hand, Stress World Reserves [I Feel Gassy]

from Jalopnik by Ben Wojdyla

Hybrids have become the public perception of the pinnacle of efficiency, though they may become victims of their own success. A recent Reuters report details how hybrid sales growth is spurring fears of shortages in the rare earth elements market.

These fears of shortage have been aired in the past, but towards key battery elements lithium and nickel. However, now, with Toyota projecting sales of 100,000 units of its mild child this year, it's becoming increasingly important to look at the more unusual mined elements in a hybrid, where they're used, and how much of it it takes to make just a single Prius.

Popout
Rare Earth Element: Neodymium
Amount per Prius: 1 kilogram (2.2 lb)
Use: Powerful magnetic element used in compact electric motors. The shiny button magnets that keep little motors going an clasp clever covers. In large enough quantities, as in one kilo of magnet, there's plenty of force to crush your little piggies with great vengeance.
Trouble: Neodymium is a magnificent material with a high magnetism to volume rating. So for every cubic something of neodymium, you get a great bang for the buck in magnetism compared to traditional magnets. It also means there's a lot of competition with the consumer electronics biz, which is in a brutal competition to modernize and micro-size any and all components, including magnet-based speakers, as a start. Add to that the recent surge in interest over wind power from turbines, which also use neodymium magnets, and you've got the makings of market trouble.

Rare Earth Element: Lanthanum.
Amount per Prius: 10 to 15 kg (22-33 lb)
Use: The intermetallic element in nickel-metal hydride batteries, the amount of lanthanum is proportional to the number of cells per battery. Also alloyed with neodymium to stabilize the high magnetic field.
Trouble: The volume of material used in the Prius battery is only an estimate, but it puts into stark contrast the production capability of current suppliers. It's been estimated there's a total of 40,000 kg mined per year

The current mining giant is China as this graph representing rare earth element mining shows, however, it's difficult to say exactly how much material is being mined at any given time as there's no formal trading market. With the previous juggernaut of Mountain Pass planned to be reopened in some capacity in California in 2012, along with Avalon mines in Canada's Northwest Territories there will be additional supplies opening up, but only to the tune of about a 2-5% increase.

Not all of the 15 rare earth elements are appropriate for automotive use, only the two we've mentioned are used in any quantity along with terbium and dysprosium used in trace amount for alloying. Like other cars, the Prius grabs its fair share of precious metals like platinum, gold, silver, palladium as well as the common elements and refined petroleum products like plastics. When taken in context, a years worth of material to supply production for any mass market automobile takes on staggering proportions. Calling any car "green" over any other is an exercise in self-delusion, it's just that ironically, the "greenest" of publicly perceived cars is one that may drive some commodities markets to the brink.

(Thanks to Jack Lifton, independent commodities consultant and strategic metals expert, for assisting with this article)

2009-09-02T13:03:00.001-04:00

A great overview of the latest round of articles on the soap opera/courtroom drama known as Days of our Hockey Lives....

Balsillie's battle for hockey

September 02, 2009

NHL sweetens Coyotes offer

The showdown between NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie began at noon with the league sweetening its offer for the Phoenix Coyotes. Read here.

Decision day in the desert

It has been more than 30 years in the making but most recently has involved four months of debate, some 100 lawyers, 300 court briefs, 10,000 pages of arguments and one Waterloo billionaire with formidable zeal and zest to win the improbable. Read here.

The key players

Who they are, what they want and what's at stake. Read here.

What they said

A lot has been said over the past four months pertaining to the plight of the Phoenix Coyotes and Hamilton's NHL dream. Here's a look at some of the more memorable quotes. Read here.

Andlauer, Balsillie: A mangled message?

Jim Balsillie says he has the full backing and complete support of Hamilton Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer in his quest to bring an NHL team to Hamilton. Read here.

2009-09-02T11:22:00.001-04:00

Wow, Jack has a really good collection of just recent stories that have graced the pages of Canada's news cycles. Although I think his options are bit extreme, he is on the money with his analysis I think.

First Nations seek to make Canada last nation in mining

September 2, 2009 by Jack Caldwell

Never before have I seen the “front page” of InfoMine, i.e., the Home Page with stories on only one topic: opposition to mining by Canadian First Nations. Here are summaries of and links to the stories on today’s home page:

First Nation moves to halt Osisko Mine:

The head of a Quebec First Nation’s council says the planned construction of an open-pit gold mine by Osisko Mining Corp. in the province’s Abitibi-Temiscamingue region breaches his people’s ancestral land rights and is seeking legal action to halt the project unless his group is offered a stake in the venture. Mr. Wabanonik said his council doesn’t have a dollar amount that it is requesting from the company, but is looking for “discussions with content” on the project and wants to form a partnership with Osisko.

Natives, mining firm dig in their heels

In purely physical terms, it was a duel between a Beaver floatplane and a small aluminum skiff. But the symbolic heft of the brief standoff on Nemeigusabins Lake last Wednesday was far greater. In the boat sat a lone man, Donny Morris, chief of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, a fly-in community 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay that has vowed to stop a mining company drilling for platinum on their traditional lands. “We can’t negotiate the treaty, we can’t speak to first-nations rights,” said Mr. Trusler [of Platinex, the company seeking to develop the mine and flying hte plane to try to access what he considers his legal property]. “Only the government can deal with that and they have been sidestepping the issue for long time. Meanwhile, this is our flagship investment. We have people going without pay while this goes on. We are right down on our knees.” Mr. Trusler said he won’t give up on his claims, despite Mr. Morris’s presence on the lake. “We will continue to embarrass this government unless we get access or some kind of value out of this property.”

Alberta, Shell try to quash aboriginal challenge to oilsands leases

In late 2006 and early 2007, the provincial government sold five oilsands exploration leases to Shell Canada that were all within 20 kilometres of the band’s reserve. They are also on land band members have long used for ceremonial and subsistence purposes. Lawyers for the province and Shell argued that the application should be thrown out because the band didn’t file its objections until well after the six-month period allowed under Alberta law. Shell lawyer Bruce Mellett said businesses need to know that once decisions are made, they can’t be unmade. Government lawyer Stephanie Latimer pointed out that the information on lease sales is published on the Internet. She also said the band was told in June 2006 about an online link that detailed land about to come up for lease sale. “The duty to consult cannot insulate First Nations from their own need for due diligence,” she said. The nature of the lease sales, however, oblige Alberta to consult with area aboriginals, the band argues in court filings.

Chief kill B.C. aboriginal rights law

Now Grand Chief Ed John of the First Nations Summit said the province has no authority to move forward. “The lack of trust in htis government forced people to say no.”

On the face of it, these reports present a sad and sorry spectacle that is bad for Canadian mining. The inability of Canadians to settle land issues that impede mining is as pathetic as the USA’s inability to deal with health care.

In both cases we appear to have gready and intrasigent men in positions of influence seeking to get more or to avoid letting anybody else benefit in the way they already do.

The Canadian Supreme Court has clarified the law: consult with First Nations, Natives, and Aboriginals, i.e., those whose ancestors entered into treaties as sovereign nations with Britain, another sovereign nation. The law is clear. What is lacking is the will power to obey the law reasonably and effectively. And what is lacking is a willingness to consult in standard terms.

These stories and the quotes I select tell tales of greedy, desperate men intent on breaking the law, of men just too damn lazy to get off their butts and do what is needed to progress. The people at the center of these tragedies appear to be venial and incompetent in the face of law and morality.

The mining folk are not representative of the greater mining industry, but they besmirch its better parts. Their impatience with law and politics is understandable in the light of delay and rising costs. But other have suceeded via negotiation, And they must recognize others claim the land, were there before them, and have the law on their side (maybe.)

I cannot characterize the Indians as in the right, much as one admires the felllow in the boat driving off some nasty folk in a plane. I cannot sympathize with a tribe that fails to consult the web when they know somebody is coming to seize their land. Although I can understand why that happens. Maybe they should invest more in education and use of the computer?

The seeming failure of the politicians of BC, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec to resolve these issue makes you wonder why they get elected or paid. Maybe they would be better off in the lame Canadian senate where they could brag about inactivity as a badge of seniority. At least the American senators are fighting tooth and nail in a debate that must be fought. And today we hear the federal Liberals have decided to bring down the government. So much for the myth of Canadian compromise and good government. No wonder the juniors are looking elsewhere.

The BC native chief saying they will establish a task force to look at how they can advance their cause through other channels, including rasing their issues while international media attention is focused on BC during the 2010 Winter Olympic Games is no more than a childish snarl not worthy of a so-called leader in any society. It is enough to make one feel they deserve to fail if their response to serious issues based on fixed law is a decision not to consult but a decision to protest like drug-addled hippies. (I did that in the sixties, but times have changed, for goodness sake. Mere protest did not suceed then; it will not succeed now.)

Do the BC chiefs really believe that disrupting traffic bouncing around in feathers and shouting “womp, womp” to a monotonous drum-beat is going to advance their cause in serious brains. No doubt it will make good photo-journalism and dramatic headlines in Libya and Cuba. But will it make any right-thinking adult respect them as leaders or adults. I doubt it. It will just make venial mining men and smart lawyers more contemptuous.

What is to be done? Here are some suggestions (remember this is a blog, not a white paper):

Call in a team of Las Vegas lawyers who seem to have suceeded in making agreements with the US Indians to run casinos. Maybe their skills can change the tide in Canada in bringing mines to fruition.
Tell the miners to recognize others got there before them and must be consulted. Emphasize that many of these “others” live in desperate poverty. Remind them that “royalty” payments occur in most jurisdictions.
Recall Tony Hodges from the ICMM. As a professor at Queens he was supposed to solve these issues. But he decamped to the sumptuous saloons of London and the swill of luxury before achieving anything.
Tell the aboriginals to study; to reform their undemocratic systems; and seek the good of their people rather than rest on their grievances and hopes for personal gain.
Reform the political systems to introduce more debate—start with the Senate and minority governments.
Face the fact that Canada is large and even South Africa was able to change to acknowledge native rights.
Have an all-out air-water battle with a final bomb. And let the winner take all.

Seriously, each of these stories has its own peculiarities and no doubt it own optimum solution. No doubt there are three happier, but unreported stories, for each of these tragedies. There are good men and women who are willing and waiting to participate and negotiate and advance the common good. At least we hope so. For the alternative is a conclusion that Canada is devolving into a myriad of small, selfish constituencies pitted against others with all seeking self-benefit regardless of any concept of nation or common benefit. We shudder at the thought of Canada as a broken glass ball become shards used by adversaries to slash and bleed neighbours. We cannot become a place where great issues are “solved” by pitting a small plane against a lone oarsman in a tiny boat on a cold lake.

2009-08-20T14:52:00.003-04:00

Look at how far PC (MasterCard) Points have come along:

2007 Rewards Package:

* online home & living rewards
* travel rewards
* PC points and PETRO-POINTS exchange
* gift cards or certificates for:
o Indigo/Chapters/Coles
o Rona
o St-Hubert Restaurants
o Jumbo Video/le club videotron
o Roots
o Photolab
o Librarie Renaud Bray
o The Home Depot®

2008 Rewards Package:

* BLOCKBUSTER GiftCards®
* Cineplex Entertainment Movie Tickets
* President’s Choice Children’s Charity

2009 Rewards Package:
* President’s Choice Children’s Charity

In fairness, you have always had the option of redeeming your points for groceries and certain in-store purchases (at participating PC stores).

There are two schools of thought when it comes to Credit Cards and why people choose one over the other. One is that they are just a convenient way to purchase what you need, build up some credit history (positive one would hope) and that is the end of it. You sign up with the credit card that if affiliated with your banking institution because it is convenient and just pay the monthly bills. The other camp is that, why should I have a credit card if online banking, cash, interac and other methods of payment are so prevalent (and free) - the credit card company has to offer more to lure my business to them.

I'm in camp 2 on this. I chose PC because of their benefits. I could have very well chose A Visa-related card, another M/C-related product or AMEX etc... but, I chose PC because it offered something that the competition didn't and that offer appealed to me. Now, that offer seems to be not available anymore. Why should I continue using this particular credit card if the specific benefit I was looking for isn't there anymore?

The trend also indicates to me that PC was trying to lure customers away with a massive package of benefits and slowly, but methodically and relentlessly, is dissolving those benefits and forcing their lured customers to either accept the fact that they can only redeem their PC points in-store or, force them to start looking elsewhere for those benefits they were initially drawn to. It is my guess that those credit card holders who would fall into Camp 1 have probably also switched their banking to PCFinancial and will just accept that the benefits have changed and continue on their merry way because hey, that PC M/C is still pretty convenient.

The camp 2 followers (like me) are saying, credit cards are a dime a dozen - it is the benefits that keep customers' loyalty. Time to start researching other cards that have the right benefit package for me.

I'm sure, there is some very bright forecasters at PCFinancial or CIBC that has done the math and this is the risk analysis and recommendation they've sold to management. I think it is a short term solution they'll have to revisit when the in-store promo goes stale and when people realize they can still get the same watermelon for the same price AND collect points for something they actually want with ANOTHER credit card.

2009-08-17T08:21:00.002-04:00

What a great Anniversary weekend we had.

We went up to Stratford to see Cyrano de Bergerac and West Side Story at the Festival Theatre. Our seats for Cyrano were dead centre balcony and for West Side we got rush tickets for the side balcony. Both performances were great. I'm not going to compare since one was a play and the other a musical. But, it was totally worth it!

After the night performance we toured around downtown Stratford and had a quick drink before going back to our B&B "At 26 Inn". I recommend it. Walking distance to the Festival theatre, newly renovated, lots of A/C, a little kitchenette and parking.

Sunday we toured Stratford again to check out the downtown shops and then went down by the Avon River to see the Art in the Park. We then headed home and made it back to Hamilton around 2:40 and picked up Possum and had enough time to do some groceries and weed some of the vegetable garden before going over to the mother-in-laws for a lovely dinner.

While we were over there, we used the academic connections and took the plunge and bought a MacBook Pro. The bonus deal was a free iPod Touch. That sealed the deal for me.

Imagine, it was over a year ago that we got married. How fast does a year go by! We got married, we got Possum, we became an uncle and aunt, the Leafs missed the playoffs - so many memories it just flew right by.

2009-08-06T13:11:00.002-04:00

We had a great long weekend.

We left early on Thursday after work. Friday we had dinner at my aunt and uncle's. Saturday was my mom's birthday party and we had dinner at our place with some extended family coming over. Sunday we stayed home and for dinner went over to some more extended family that are down at the cottages. They couldn't make it to the birthday party because they had some horseshoes to throw. Monday we stayed home and got some books packed and the place cleaned up. Tuesday we went back home and packed up the car. We stopped by Jeannine's and picked up lots of veggies and stopped by my sister's place to see all the renovations and we made it home before 6pm.

I got back to work on Wednesday and checked messages and my friend Duncan started his job out in Rexdale. Apparently, it takes over 90min to get from Victoria Park Station to Carrier Dr. and Albion in Rexdale. That's only 36km. Wow! It takes me 90min to get from Stanley Ave. in Hamilton to Wellesley Ave. in Toronto. That's over 75km. I guess I shouldn't complain too much about the service GO provides.

2009-07-30T09:52:00.002-04:00

I've been feeling under the weather since last Friday night. It all started with an itchy throat. It then moved to my sinuses and stayed there for most of the weekend. I took Monday off to recover.

I've been back at work for Wednesday and Thursday. I've taken this Friday off as vacation. I'm feeling 95% healthy but still a stuffy nose.

Last Friday, we saw the Proposal. I was surprised at how funny it actually was. We had a gift certificate for Kelsey's and coupons for the movie so the whole evening cost us $3. Saturday we went into Toronto and saw the Blue Jays blow a 7-0 lead to lose to the Rays 10-9 in extra innings. Hopeless team. Sunday we had breakfast with the new baby niece and family and just hung out and recovered in the afternoon and played Monopoly with Rob and Diana Sunday night.

Monday I was off recovering and Tuesday was a vacation day for me which leads to Wednesday back at the office. I left a little early and slept on the bus and then took a 2hr nap once I got home. Thursday is here and I have a bookclub to lead at lunch.

Tonight after work I think we are going to pack things up and go up north for a few days over the long weekend. We'll get to see my parents and sister and extended family. Hopefully it will be sunny and warm.

I just have to shake this cold and we're set!

2009-07-23T13:29:00.001-04:00

This article from Vanity Fair brings back my days doing grading of undergrad papers. Remember people, Palin does have a degree in communications!

----

Sarah Palin’s resignation speech was hardly eloquent so Vanity Fair decided to let its team have a go at it and shape it up to its “publishable” standard. Executive literary editor Wayne Lawson, along with representatives from research and copy departments took a stab at Palin’s speech.

2009-07-21T12:47:00.003-04:00

London Free Press is reporting that the head of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Peladeau, is turning his attention to a Quebec City NHL franchise. The article indicates that the main difficulty in bringing a new NHL franchise to the city would be finding a place for it to play, as the Coliseum is no longer seen as fit for a professional team. Quotes indicate the new ownership would need $300 million at the very least for a new arena and team.

This story comes on the heels of the never-ending Pheonix Coyotes bankruptcy auction process. Globe and Mail reported on the weekend that a group of Canadian and American businessmen is ready to field an offer for the Phoenix Coyotes this week in another effort to keep the beleaguered franchise in Arizona. This is in addition to the Reinsdorf bid and the Balsillie conditional offer which isn't in play just yet.

Is Quebec City, Hamilton and Pheonix good locales for NHL-level hockey? Can they turn a profit?

Let's look at the stats on my lunch break:

Population
Quebec City - Population of 491,142, and the metropolitan area has a population of 715,515.
Hamilton - Population of 647,634, and the metropolitan area has a population of 692,911.
Phoenix - Population of 1,567,924 and the metropolitan area has a population of 4,281,899.

Past Hockey History
Quebec City - The Quebec Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1979 and then in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to 1995, maintaining a strong rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens, and the Buffalo Sabres.

Hamilton - Hamilton hosted an NHL team in the 1920s called the Hamilton Tigers. The team folded after a player's strike in 1925.

Phoenix - The Phoenix Coyotes (currently bankrupt) of the National Hockey League moved to the area in 1996; they were formerly the Winnipeg Jets franchise. They play at Jobing.com Arena, adjacent to University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

Current Economic Environment
Quebec City - Most jobs in Quebec City are concentrated in public administration, defence, services, commerce, and transport. As the provincial capital, the city benefits from being a regional administrative and services centre: apropos, the provincial government is the largest employer in the city, employing 27,900 people as of 2007. CHUQ (the local hospital network) is the city's largest institutional employer, with more than 10,000 employees in 2007. In 2008, the unemployment rate in Quebec City was 4.5%, well below provincial and national averages (7.3% and 6.6%, respectively).

Hamilton - The most important economic activity in Ontario is manufacturing, and the Toronto-Hamilton region is the most highly industrialized section of the country. The area from Oshawa, Ontario around the west end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls is known as the “Golden Horseshoe” and the centre of it is Hamilton. According to Canadian Business magazine, September, 2008 edition, Hamilton ranks as the third best location in English Canada for doing business. The local unemployment rate was 5.6 per cent in January 2008.

Phoenix - Phoenix is currently home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The military has a significant presence in Phoenix with Luke Air Force Base located in the western suburbs. Arizona posted the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate for the first quarter 2009, with one in every 54 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. Foreclosure filings were reported on 49,119 Arizona properties in the first quarter of 2009, the third highest total among the states, and 41,296 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2009, the fourth highest total among the states. In May 2008 the unemployment rate in Phoenix was 4.2% in May 2009 it was 7.3%.

So, it looks like from these three criteria - Quebec City has a pretty good shot at making the case to bring a team back. The key issues will be start up costs to build a new arena and the chronically weak Canadian dollar against the USD. For 20 years this has kept the NHL out of hockey-mad Quebec so things are going to have to change dramatically for a shift in NHL brass thinking.

2009-07-21T11:45:00.002-04:00

Day 10 and no name for the new niece. To kill time on a teleconference, I found an interesting name site.

http://www.babynamewizard.com/

Other birthday boys/girls on July 11th

Birthdays

Thomas Bowdler 1754
John Quincy Adams (U.S.) 1767
John Wanamaker 1838
E.B. White 1899
Harry Von Zell 1906
Yul Brynner 1915
Gene Evans 1924
Brett Somers 1927
Theodore Harold Maiman 1927
Paul Harney 1929
Tab Hunter 1931
Giorgio Armani 1934
Bobby Rice 1944
Beverly Todd 1946
Jeff Hanna (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) 1947
Bonnie Pointer (Pointer Sisters) 1951
Stephen Lang 1952
Leon Spinks 1953
Mindy Sterling 1953
Sela Ward 1956
Peter Murphy (Bauhaus) 1957
Michael Rose (Black Uhuru) 1957
Mark Lester 1958
Suzanne Vega 1959
Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi) 1960
Debbie Dunning 1966
Michael Rosenbaum 1972
Lil' Kim 1975

2009-07-14T11:49:00.002-04:00

I like Toronto's efforts to improve mass transit. I like the regional plans' efforts to improve transit. By and large, I think the gameplan is sound: a) improve existing service; b) build on those existing arteries; and c) make those existing and expanded services more efficient by building up multiple uses in close proximity (e.g. residential, commerical, retail, offices etc...).

Here are my few suggestions for improvement:

1. Toronto Light Rail Transit - Sheppard Line
You missed an opportunity with the Sheppard line Toronto. Look at the map attached for the proposed LRT lines. The North-South lines make complete sense. For one, they are continous. There are no transfers involved and run in a straight line more or less. Second, they move from Toronto and into the suburbs. They draw people in from the outer rim beyond Toronto. The East-West Sheppard Line doesn't do these things. There is no guarantee that the Sheppard LRT will go into Durham region in the East. The Sheppard line stops aburptly at Yonge and then you have to transfer North or South to continue going West. This will add time, confusion and stress on the transit system.

I would have preferred if you continued the Sheppard line (in either subway or LRT form) on Sheppard going West. Make that the artery going into Peel and the Airport. Oh well, implementation is still decades away.

2. Toronto Light Rail - Eglinton Line
What the hell is the purpose of this line again? If it's suppose to be another East-West line that links up with Mississauga that's great! If it's suppose to link the Jane, Spadina, Yonge and Don Mills North-South lines that's great too! However, this line doesn't do any of that. If just goes through a third of the city and just stops. Toronto isn't even hinting it would be expanded. Just a waste of money and time if it doesn't maximize the flow of people.

2009-07-10T15:08:00.001-04:00

Nothing much planned this weekend.

Friday just going home and playing with the dog and watching a movie at home.

Saturday going to Mississauga for some shopping and dinner with my aunt and uncle.

Nothing planned for Sunday - perhaps some laundry?

My brother-in-laws' graduation ceremony was last night. He is now an official volunteer firefighter and I can't be happier for him. Their baby is expected on Saturday or even later tonight! Excitement for sure for them!

2009-07-06T10:25:00.002-04:00

A great weekend!

Friday - had some gourmet pizza with the mother-in-law. After dinner I started uploading pictures of Chicago onto Facebook and one of my aunts popped online and invited me to her son's Lacrosse game in Cambridge on Saturday.

Saturday - did some gardening with my better half and took out 5 bags of weeds from the garden. Felt really good about cleaning up that jungle. I left Saturday afternoon for the Lacrosse game and got to see some good games and hung out with my uncle and aunt and cousins.

Sunday - did some laundry and cleaned the house and then went over to some friends' place for dinner. Played with their adorable newborn girl and made it home around 10:30 in the rain!

Monday - back to work and it is fairly quiet around the office being summer time and all.

I have softball on Monday night and Tuesday night this weekend. I think this weekend I'll try and get up north and see the family.

2009-07-03T09:35:00.001-04:00

Back from Chicago!

A great city, a great trip, a definite place to return to. I'll write more about it later. I'm back at work to catch up on e-mails. So far, so good...

2009-06-26T14:41:00.001-04:00

Chicago this weekend! Well, Sunday it begins.

Can't wait to see Taste of Chicago and the Barenaked Ladies! The Presidential Bike Tour will be awesome too.

Many pictures will be taken of the Sears (Willis) Tower and other sites.

2009-06-22T10:14:00.002-04:00

What a fantastic weekend!

Friday was our 5 year "round two" anniversary. We went out to dinner at Bar on Locke (always amazing food) walked across the street to get some ice cream and came home and played Scrabble.

Saturday was overcast and raining but we made the best of it with a walk through Westdale and their farmer's market.

Sunday the girls went shopping in Buffalo and it was a sunny day so I did some gardening. I weeded and cleaned the backyard. I cleaned and vacuumed the car and did some laundry. They came home in the evening with all their treasures.

I also called my dad and wished him a happy father's day. They mentioned they are planning on coming down to Toronto at the end of September for a couple of days so, I may play hooky from work and hang out with them.

2009-06-17T10:07:00.001-04:00

What a freakin' whimp!

First you threaten to ruin my summer by bringing this government down, then you are made complacent by the smallest of bones - a "blue" ribbon panel. You can't even make the Tories call it a red ribbon panel?

Iggy - you're turning into a Dion faster than the YouTube video makers can edit footage together.

2009-06-04T10:35:00.001-04:00

I thought this little image from Despair Inc. was awesome. Hmm..Blogging is somewhere in there I think.

2009-06-03T08:39:00.003-04:00

For a while now, all I've heard about the Phoenix-Hamilton NHL saga has been coming from Jim's side. He has that website, makeitseven.ca and has had LOTS of press in the Canadian media.

Last night however, was the first time I heard the NHL's side of the story. Hockey Night in Canada had an 11 minute interview with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and discussed the deal.

I thought Gary's performance was lack lustre. There were moments where he had a strong argument. For example, at the start of the Coyotes segment of the interview (he really visibly tensed up but, that beside the point), he referred to the whole legal proceedings as being very similar to other franchiser-franchisee litigation that you find in retail and food like Tim Horton's, Buger King, GM and their dealers etc... Gary's point was this is a matter of franchise law, who gets to control and who owns a franchise (the franchiser (NHL) ) and who gets to make the final decision on where that franchise is located (the franchiser again).

He then went off the rails. Ron Maclean had some interesting, but unfocused, questions about the viability of Phoenix, why Jerry Moyes was allowed to remain as owner, and how much money Jim was going to throw at it. Gary wanted to match every detail Ron brought up with nitpicky answers that came off as petty. There was also some contradictory statements Gary made about the viability of Winnipeg and Quebec City. Earlier in the week, the NHL indicated they would be open to having discussions about Winnipeg coming back to the NHL but, in the interview, Gary explained why ownership in Winnipeg wasn't viable. Huh?

No doubt, Gary is a smart man who knows his business and in a boardroom or behind the scenes I bet he excels. In front of the camera for 11 minutes he wilted and it just made Jim's argument stronger I think.

Oh, one last thing about Gary's argument about keeping the team in Phoenix. Gary's main financial argument was that he wants to find a stable ownership group. A stable ownership group will attract the trust of local governments and other investors to build new stadiums and infrastructure or cut a sweetheart deal on taxes. The NHL's goal for Phoenix is to find a new stable ownership group to take over the ownership of this franchise for the league so they can maintain that relationship with other investors. Gary failed to mention that, as much fun as building new arenas is (and Canadian governments tend not to give sports franchises golden handshakes hence why Winnipeg and Quebec City moved) that isn't the freakin' point of the NHL franchise. The point of an NHL franchise is to make money. Be profitable from year to year and not just on capital gains when it comes to reselling them 5-10 years down the road. Phoenix has clearly demonstrated (even taking into consideration the start-up costs), that they are a money losing franchise at the operations level. Having a stable ownership group is a necessary but not overriding requirement to have a franchise operate. I think that point Gary was misleading on.

2009-06-01T10:23:00.001-04:00

The parents had a great time down south this weekend. Of course, hearing about snow back home was interesting also.

This week is softball and going to the cottage. Can't wait for yet another weekend!

2009-05-29T08:11:00.003-04:00

For Pete's sake, don't come to Toronto today.

1.Clinton and Bush II will be at the Toronto Convention Centre today taking money from rich people.

2. Blue Jays game this evening against the Red Sox will draw a big crowd.

3. Giselle is playing at the Four Seasons. Well, not a big crowd but still, all downtown.

Anyway, throw in commuters getting out of the city early for the weekend and you got a big mess on your hands.

Update - CBC is finally cluing in on the fact that Toronto is screwed today. I hope I can get out of here.

2009-05-27T09:34:00.002-04:00

For NHL fans out there:

Special Report from Forbes

NHL Team Valuations 2007-08 Season

10.29.08, 6:00 PM ET

Rank	Team	Current Value ¹ ($mil)	1-Yr Value Change (%)	Debt/Value ² (%)	Revenue ($mil)	Operating Income ³ ($mil)
1	Toronto Maple Leafs	448	9	35	160	66.4
2	New York Rangers	411	12	0	137	30.7
3	Montreal Canadiens	334	18	72	139	39.6
4	Detroit Red Wings	303	3	0	110	13.4
5	Philadelphia Flyers	275	13	24	102	-1.8
6	Dallas Stars	273	8	73	105	14.2
7	Boston Bruins	263	8	46	97	-3.0
8	Vancouver Canucks	236	12	47	107	19.2
9	Colorado Avalanche	231	8	21	91	2.3
10	New Jersey Devils	222	14	113	97	1.9
11	Minnesota Wild	217	21	52	94	0.7
12	Los Angeles Kings	210	0	87	91	1.2
13	Ottawa Senators	207	12	63	96	4.7
14	Chicago Blackhawks	205	14	0	79	1.4
15	Calgary Flames	203	24	15	97	7.4
16	Anaheim Ducks	202	3	17	90	1.0
17	Tampa Bay Lightning	200	1	53	84	1.2
18	Pittsburgh Penguins	195	26	51	87	5.1
19	San Jose Sharks	179	9	25	85	2.4
20	Edmonton Oilers	175	11	0	85	11.8
21	Buffalo Sabres	169	4	30	76	-8.9
22	Carolina Hurricanes	168	8	54	75	-11.5
23	Nashville Predators	164	14	49	70	-1.3
24	Florida Panthers	163	8	49	74	-9.4
25	St Louis Blues	162	12	74	73	-8.6
26	Washington Capitals	160	10	43	73	-6.9
27	Atlanta Thrashers	158	6	44	70	-6.1
28	Columbus Blue Jackets	157	4	29	71	-7.1
29	New York Islanders	154	3	65	64	-8.8
30	Phoenix Coyotes	142	-3	63	68	-9.7

For comparison's sake -

Last place NFL team for the 2007 Season was the Vikings at $839M
Last place MLB team for the 2008 Season was the Marlins at $277M
Last place NBA team for the 2007-08 Season was the Bucks at $278M

2009-05-26T08:46:00.002-04:00

A big reason why the Phoenix/Glendale Coyotes is losing money is that everyone is losing money out in the desert these days. In fact, one of the worst-hit subprime cities in the United States is Phoenix, Ariz.

As of February, prices there had fallen 35.2 per cent in a year, and by slightly more than half from their peak in June 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index. That annual decline is the worst in the country. One in 40 Phoenix homes received foreclosure notices in the first quarter, according to RealtyTrac, which monitors U.S. foreclosure data, the country’s ninth-highest rate—visible on the desert cityscape as discrete patches of unwatered browns amidst a checkerboard of green lawns.

2009-05-19T13:11:00.002-04:00

Had a great long weekend around the house. Did some gardening, cleaned up the laundry, went for some walks with the dog, planned some of the Chicago trip later this summer, had some dinner over at a friends' place and just relaxed.

Now I'm back at work and going full steam ahead. I'm trying to organize a book club for the summer months at work.

I also have a lot of paperwork to catch up on so, I should go and get some of that done.

This week is more softball so, I'll rest up for that slug-fest.

2009-05-11T10:05:00.002-04:00

More drama when it comes to the NHL and Hamilton.

1. Court Date is set for the Phoenix bankruptcy proceedings.
2. City of Hamilton has also had discussions with a Vancouver ownership group regarding the possible relocation of the Atlanta franchise to Hamilton.

You can the Spectator on the all the drama around the Phoenix move. Here's an interesting take on the Atlanta problems worth repeating here.

Top 10 reasons for not moving to Hamilton:

1) Let me say it again: the Thrashers are just not for sale. Nor can they be right now. The nine owners can’t agree on whether to order Chinese or Italian in for lunch or what the team is worth to buy out renegade partner Steve Belkin. Do you really expect them to be able to agree to sell the team to anyone until the legal saga is settled?

Seriously? The same group of fueding owners who couldn’t agree on whether to trade for Joe Johnson?

2) Hamilton? Why not just move to Akron, Ohio instead? I don’t care how much fervor and passion Canadians have for the sport of hockey, but Hamilton is not a big market. In fact, if placed in the United States, Hamilton’s metropolitan area would rank 73rd overall behind such “major league” towns like Columbia, South Carolina, Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Rochester, New York.

Do the economics really work? You’re going from a metropolitan area with a population of 5,376,285 to one of just under 700,000. Akron, Ohio is similar in size. Would you seriously consider moving a team to Akron?

If you’re going to move a franchise, why not at least to Las Vegas, Houston, Seattle or Portland? All those markets boast well over 1.8 million people, a large corporate base and, with the exception of Sin City, a world-class sporting venue that is as good or better than Hamilton's Copps Coliseum.

3) Coyote ugly. Let’s face it, the Phoenix Coyotes are in a lot worse shape than the Thrashers. If any team is destined to move to some tiny town in Canada, it’s the Coyotes. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s arch-nemesis Jim Balsillie – you know the Blackberry guy – has plenty of money and a score to settle with the commish for not letting him move the Nashville Predators to Hamilton. (My money is still on Bettman in that one).

4) It’d be a nightmare on Marietta Street. Untangling the Thrashers from the Atlanta Hawks and the Philips Arena operating rights would be troublesome for the Atlanta Spirit almost to the point of being economic suicide.

5) It’s all about the name “P-H-I-L-I-P-S.” There are $9.25 million very good reasons why the Thrashers are staying here.

When the arena was completed in time for the 1999-2000 campaign, Royal Philips Electronics signed a 20-year, $185 million naming rights deal. The Thrashers and Hawks are required to both play in the arena or Philips can walk away.

Gee, do you think they would bolt in this economy?

Finding a replacement won't be easy.

The Washington Nationals still haven’t synergized with a corporate partner for their new ballpark. (They still haven’t found a way to win yet either).

The Miami Dolphins signed a one-year deal to name their digs Land Shark Stadium (a terrible beer by the way).

Simply put, that market ain’t what it used to be.

6) What will Brown Do? The Atlanta Spirit’s other signature corporate partners: Delta, Home Depot, UPS, etc. will most likely be able to weasel out of their sponsorships, which again were signed at the height of the sponsorship boom. Good luck finding corporations willing to fork over similar monies in this economy.

7) Living in the lap of luxury. Philips Arena has a ton of luxury boxes that are under long-term leases to corporations, which were entered into during the boom times at the turn of the millennium. Most of those leases were signed for -- you guessed it -- both the Hawks and the Thrashers. Lose the Thrashers, you may give belt-tightening corporations a chance to get out of the deal and save some ducats.

8) Fill that operational void. Keep in mind that the Atlanta Spirit not only owns the Hawks and the Thrashers, but they also own the operating rights to Philips Arena (a great way to claim that your hockey and basketball teams are losing money by the way).

Lose the Thrashers and you lose 45-50 dates on that schedule, forego rent, concessions and parking, etc. on those days. That’s a lot of Miley Cyrus concerts. There aren’t enough tweens out there to make that model work.

9) The Thrashers are not the Flames. Yes, the Thrashers average attendance of 14,626 was worse than any team not named the New York Islanders in the 2008-09 campaign. However, the Atlanta Flames woes were much worse.

The Omni, which housed the Flames from 1972-1980 sat 17,000 people. The arena did not have the revenue generating luxury suites that Philips does, nor did the team have a local TV contract to rely upon. The Thrashers have the benefit of both.

Attendance sagged for the Flames and Tom Cousins, the real-estate mogul owner of the team, sold it to the Canadian consortium for $16 million, double what any local group was willing to pay for the club.

10) Gary Bettman won’t let it happen. It was Bettman’s pet project to expand the league to the Sun Belt and there’s no way Mr. Bettman will let his experiment go awry, just yet.

Phoenix is in turmoil and litigation abounds as to whether the team’s owner had the authority to declare bankruptcy in an end-around attempt to move the franchise to Canada. However, the league has put the kibosh on any relocation request since the Hartford Whalers became the Carolina Hurricanes in the 1997-98 campaign and has come out swinging against the Coyotes.

Bettman gave the following test for any likely future team relocation to Hockey Night in Canada Radio (as reported by Yahoo Sports’ Puck Daddy).

"The biggest litmus test ultimately was that no one wanted to own the team there,” Bettman said referencing the moves of the Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. “When the marketplace decides that they don't want to own a team there, it has no future.”

Using the Coyotes as an example, the league would rather find an owner to keep the team in Glendale (rumored to be Jerry Reinsdorf of the Chicago Bulls and White Sox fame) than to move it elsewhere.

The Thrashers haven’t even been offered for sale on the open market more or less offered to Atlanta-area investors.

Sorry Hamilton, the impending sale of the Thrashers appears to be just plain tabloid fodder.

I guess that date with Cuthbert isn’t looking so good, either.

2009-05-05T09:54:00.001-04:00

Ok, sick on Sunday and took Monday off. Back to work today.

Summer is getting booked up with holidays, travel, parties. If you want to have some face time better put your requests in pronto.

2009-04-28T09:36:00.002-04:00

The Calgary Flames were ousted from the NHL playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks last night. This is an embarrassing first round exit for one of the top Western Conference teams. I salute the Hawks. They had youth, power, speed, power play skill and Kipper was just dull in this series for Calgary.

And speaking about Canadian cities with NHL clubs, the rumour mills are churning forward about possible NHL expansion/displacement.

In Canada, the story is all over the map. The Calgary Herald ran a run down on April 14th about the ability of the Winnipeg franchise coming back.

The southern Ontario option has also been raised a few times this winter as a good alternative (either Hamilton, Vaughn, Toronto, Waterloo Region)

In America, the Sunday New York Times rolled with a story about the possible viability of the Hartford Whalers coming back. In Kansas City, with a new arena, there was talk of the Predators or the Penguins going there. With the demise of the star investor, that likelyhood has faded.

I'm wondering what the deal is with all these speculations about franchises moving? Is the economic conditions of the Sun Belt teams really that bad? Is hockey really not that popular anywhere except for the north? I don't know, but I do know one thing: things aren't going to change for the foreseeable future and here's why:

The NHL knows full well we are in a major recession. Luxury spending is way down and paying for hockey tickets is a luxury item that is the first to get axed. They can't afford for a relocation to fail and moving a franchise in these economic times is bad news and too much of a risk to take.

I think this is why the NHL leadership is throwing cold water on any proposal from any person. And to some extent, I think this is why the NHLPA is going all cheerleader on any idea that says there will be more teams and more players. It is a war of public words between NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly to shape the public expectation of an NHL franchise coming to an arena near you.

2009-04-16T10:14:00.001-04:00

From Slate: April - a nutty month.

April is the wing-nuttiest month—the month that draws out the paranoid, the delusional, and the copycats who revere them. Next week we will commemorate the 16^th anniversary of the Waco standoff (76 dead); the 14^th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing (168 dead); and the 10^th anniversary of the shootings at Columbine (13 dead). Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre (32 dead). Each of these events connects to the next in a deliberate chain of attention-craving and terror. And binding them all together is the slew of smaller copycat killings we've nearly forgotten: in Taber, Canada (1 dead); in Santee, Calif. (2 dead); at the Red Lake Chippewa Reservation in Minnesota (10 dead); and in Montreal, Quebec (1 dead).

This April has already proven one of the most lethal in recent memory: It includes the slaughter by Jiverly Wong of 13 at a community center in Binghamton, N.Y., on April 3 and Richard Poplawski's cold-blooded murder of three Pittsburgh police officers on April 4. (Both were wearing body armor and described as "pseudo commandos"—seeking out a showdown with the police.) In Washington state, also on April 4, a father killed his five children, some in their beds. Two more killings in Charlotte. N.C., over Easter weekend. And we haven't yet hit the middle of the month—the 19^th, 20^th and, 21^st—when deranged dreams of immortality tend to come into full blossom.

It says so much about this country that we respond to Bernard Madoff with outrage and to mass shootings with teddy bears and candles. Frustrated columns are written and written and written and written. But we collectively refuse to connect one killing spree to the next or to accept that these events aren't random; like falling meteors from the sky. These events are the outgrowth of legal and policy choices we make every single day and the choices we avoid making year after year. We're willing to roll the dice with our children and our neighbors—because we want to think it only happens to other people's children and other people's neighbors—on the principle that guns have nothing to do with gun deaths. The American debate about gun regulation begins and ends with a tacit agreement that the occasional massacre is the price we pay for freedom. No wonder teddy bears and candles are the only national gun policy we have.

Even if we aren't brave enough to do anything about people with guns, can we at least evince outrage when people with guns are casually incited to use them? The National Rifle Association has, for instance, been responsible for disseminating a thoroughly debunked claim that President Obama has a "10 Point Plan To 'Change' the Second Amendment." The group has contended Obama intends to "ban use of firearms for home defense, ban possession and manufacture of handguns, close 90 percent of gun shops and ban hunting ammunition." And long after it became clear that there was simply no evidence for most of these claims, the NRA continued to assert, "We believe our facts."

Lucky for the NRA, many other Americans believe these "facts," too. They are getting them straight from Glenn Beck, who was frothing in March about an Obama conspiracy to take guns away, and from Andrew Napolitano, who hosted a Fox News segment featuring Alex Jones "exposing" the New World Order and Obama's "agenda" for gun confiscation. As Eric Boehlert pointed out in this smart piece connecting the incitement to the violence, "what Fox News is now programming on a daily (unhinged) basis is unprecedented in the history of American television." A national news show regularly accuses the president of socialism, fascism, Marxism, and the desire to destroy America.

Rep. Michele Bachmann announced last month that she wanted residents of her state "armed and dangerous" in response to Obama's plan to reduce global warming. And when elected representatives and TV pundits warn citizens to take up arms, citizens cannot really be faulted for taking up arms in response.

Richard Poplawski—the Pittsburgh cop killer—was quite clear about what inspired his killing spree. He feared "the Obama gun ban that's on the way" and "didn't like our rights being infringed upon." (His aunt, Marianne Klimczyk, told reporters that his machine gun, rifles, and handguns were "recreational and for deer hunting.") Jiverly Wong, the Binghamton killer, cheerfully told a co-worker before the election that he'd shoot either Obama or McCain. And Jim David Adkisson left a four-page manifesto explaining precisely why he opened fire inside a Knoxville, Tenn., church last year: "This was a hate crime," he wrote. He simply wanted to kill the "generals" of the liberal movement: "Who I wanted to kill was every Democrat in the Senate and House, the 100 people in Bernard Goldberg's book. I'd like to kill everyone in the mainstream media. But I knew these people were inaccessible to me."

Nobody has taken responsibility for the content of the books, blogs, and news clips that contributed to the paranoid and violent views of these killers. And why would they? Books and newscasts don't kill people. People kill people.

Nor do the constant drumbeats about the president's anti-gun, anti-freedom, New World Order agenda fuel merely the suicidal, the psychotic, and the sociopathic. The Christian Science Monitor reports this week that Main Street America is on a "massive gun-and-ammunition buying spree" that has left gun shops short on assault-style weapons and ammunition. Those hoarding guns and ammunition share Poplawski's fear of Obama's (nonexistent) gun control initiative as well as the belief that America is facing a (nonexistent) crime wave. Never mind FBI numbers—cited in the same story—that reflect a decline in crime. As Tom Lee, a member of the Virginia Citizen Militia, explains to the Christian Science Monitor: "People are seeing a looming economic collapse that will lead to a prolonged and possibly worsening breakdown of law and order and, eventually, a We-the-People vs. armed-government-enforcers scenario."

The right wing has lost its mind today over a new report from the Department of Homeland Security warning of a surge in "rightwing extremist activity" and a danger of increased militia activity. As Glenn Greenwald notes, it's a little late for their tears on the privacy front. But as the far right worries that the president's storm troopers might trample their petunia beds, it's silent on the question of whether a nation full of disaffected, frightened, and rage-filled citizens should be packing heat.

And where is the Obama administration in all this? Obama has been kinder to the Second Amendment than most of his Democratic predecessors. He has said that he believes in the Second Amendment right to own a gun, "subject to reasonable regulations," and claims to want only modest gun control measures. When his press secretary, Robert Gibbs, was asked about the Binghamton and Pittsburgh killings and what the administration's plans were to confront gun violence, Gibbs said something about how great it was that "the Recovery Act put more police officers on the street to keep us safe." The administration hasn't even been clear about whether it intends to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired under President Bush. What's Obama to do? Sixty-five Democrats in the House of Representatives have asked him not to push for the assault weapons ban.

The extreme hysteria that surrounds discussions of gun control leads to absurd arguments about causation. Nobody claims that Glenn Beck is responsible for killing people. Nobody thinks guns are inherently evil. But how can there be an honest national debate over gun violence if we cannot even acknowledge the connections between people who admonish us to become "armed and dangerous" and a citizen's decision to arm himself and kill? Our annual April shooting sprees have many complicated causes, and no single factor is fully to blame. But it's willful blindness to fail to see any connections between the rising number of guns in America, the decline in gun regulation, and the screaming nightly predictions about the rise of an apocalyptic totalitarian police state. Until we can recognize that these connections exist, there will be more killings in the coming weeks and years. You bring the candles. I'll bring the teddy bears.

2009-04-07T10:24:00.002-04:00

This George Galloway thing was quite the circus up here.

For a re-cap of the official story, here is the National Post. This story got legs fast. It even reached Nova Roma with Christopher Hitchens opining about our draconian laws in Slate.

Then there is Terry Glavin. He is completely unhinged from the accepted storyline of this drama. That's what got my attention. He's a conservationist, a journalist and of left-leaning persuasion so you'd think he'd be all over Galloway and wanting him in etc..

That's not the point of this article. And I'm glad there is at least one journalist left in this country.

2009-04-06T13:54:00.002-04:00

The weekend was spent in Elmira at their maple syrup festival on Saturday and then a quick trip to Costco afterwards with Tina.

Sunday was a sunny, glorious day spent printing off the tax returns and doing some gardening and walking.

Monday is back to work in some cold, terrible weather but, the upside is that I'm going to the Jays home opener against the Tigers with Mike and Chris.

Tuesday I'm having coffee with Rob and working out.

Wednesday there will be rush cleaning and errands to do in preparation for Easter.

Thursday we are having people over for an early Easter party. Thursday I'm also having a job interview.

Friday to Monday we'll be off. A short but intense couple of weeks for us.

2009-03-25T09:40:00.002-04:00

This story is just too weird to ignore. Thanks Tom for bringing this to my attention.

If I follow the Globe's line correctly, it looks like Justice Canada is being pressured by Vancouver's Board of Trade to measure annual crime rates through random victim surveys, rather than relying solely on reports filed with police.

The reasoning is that “Police reports, especially at a time when many people aren't reporting crimes, are not an accurate way of determining your crime rate,” Mr. Toews said.

Let's try and follow the bouncing ball of logic. You can't trust the police reports because people don't report crime. However, you can trust random victim surveys because they'll tell the government about being the victim of a crime?

First, if people aren't reporting crime, how are you going to get at this invisible victim statements? You'll just be surveying those people who do come forward to report crime so you don't accomplish your goal of getting at the "invisible crime."

Second, police reports are standardized and unbiased. Their numbers are just that - factual numbers and statistics based on third party reports. Random victim surveys are asking the victims of crime to describe how they felt about being victimized. There is no control in this scenario. Of course someone is going to feel personally violated, abused and the world has ended. This is the whole idea why we have a court system instead of lynch mobs! Using random victim surveys will only skew the data towards a more severe reaction than what third party reports tabulate them as. It serves no purpose whatsoever in getting more accurate data.

If the Board's true intention is to lobby Justice Minister Rob Nicholson, senior public servants, MPs and senators that action on crime should continue to be a priority, even while the political focus is on the economy, well, that's fine. It should continue to be a priority. It isn't like in a recession the RCMP takes a respite or something. To manipulate data just to emphasize your point (not even prove it) is just a waste of time.

I think Comartin nailed it when he said, “you can't do public policy based on perception.”

I also think these views are shared by a lot Canadians judging by the comment section of the article.

2009-03-16T10:09:00.003-04:00

What to do with the CBC.

This issues has been brewing since well, the CBC was created in 1936. The latest round of discussions is being pushed by a weakened economy and the public looking to "cut the fat" from any level or place of public spending. It doesn't help when the public broadcaster goes to the federal government asking for more money either.

The CBC is literally a big bullseye for people to aim at.

In the National Post of all places, is the latest article in defense of spending taxpayer money on the CBC here by Robert Cushman.

Speaking about the CBC, Conrad Black has voiced some wise advice on what the CBC should be focusing on here. I don't particularly believe his assessment of Gywnne Dyer is just but, that's just one man's opinion.

Phantom Observer and other Blogging Tories have been trying to put some perspective on spending at the CBC and what that spending should be focused on here.

Then the other extreme where people are outright advocating that the CBC should recieve no public funding and well be done with altogether.

I think the CBC does serve a purpose that no other private broadcaster in Canada can really accomplish.

The 1991 Broadcasting Act states that...

...the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide radio and television services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains; ...the programming provided by the Corporation should:

be predominantly and distinctively Canadian,
reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions,
actively contribute to the flow and exchange of cultural expression,
be in English and in French, reflecting the different needs and circumstances of each official language community, including the particular needs and circumstances of English and French linguistic minorities,
strive to be of equivalent quality in English and French,
contribute to shared national consciousness and identity,
be made available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means and as resources become available for the purpose, and
reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada

Given that the CBC has this mandate it has to fulfill - and no other broadcaster in Canada has these stipulations, it can't possibly compete toe-to-toe with American or Canadian private broadcasters. Unless the public is willing to give up all regulation of Canadian or regional content in broadcasting, the CBC is here to stay as a public broadcaster.

The real pragmatic question to ask is how can the CBC balance:

fulfilling its mandate;
still be relevant in the modern media world; and
be prudent and transparent with taxpayer dollars.

First, on the mandate part, the infrastructure is there to accomplish this. It has regional afflitates, it has radio and television media, it has dual lingual services etc...

Second, on being relevant, the CBC has to find its niche in the Canadian market and it has some good foundations for that. It has excellent news coverage, it has extensive experience - and success - in documentaries, investigative journalism and public affairs programming. The CBC has that foundation and knows how to do those things well.

This leads to the third point, perhaps it is time for the CBC to focus on the fundamentals of public broadcasting. The focus on Canadian content, public affairs, investigative journalism and documentaries. It would demonstrate that the broadcaster is being prudent with its public dollars while also being transparent with what it is developing. The downside would be even less market share than it already has but at the same time, it would focus its resources more and become a more effective organization.

2009-03-13T13:51:00.002-04:00

Fight night is over. Stewart, as expected, in his own ring, won hands down. Of course, as Slate put it, Cramer wasn't there to win. He was there to save his career which I think he did with his mea culpa and darn-shucks attitude that mollified the crowd.

Here are the reviews from Slate, Maclean's and Salon.

2009-03-12T08:51:00.002-04:00

Tonight, Jon Stewart will have Jim Cramer on his Daily Show.

Usually, I (and the vast majority of commie, homo-loving sun-of-a-gun viewers) wouldn't really post about who is on Stewart on a given night. Who cares that Paul Rudd was on last night with the intention of promoting his new movie and well, didn't even talk about it other than pushing the merchandise.

No, this is a week-long soap opera that will have its CNN Crossfire moment.

I'm too lazy to fill you in on the drama between these two. Mother Jones and Salon and The Star can do that.

I'll be watching it tonight baby! It's fight night ding ding!

2009-03-09T15:35:00.000-04:00

Andrea Horwath is the new leader! Hooray for that! I helped out with her booth at the Convention and I'm really happy for the team.

2009-03-06T08:46:00.002-05:00

Ontario NDP Convention on this weekend in Hamilton.

Leadership contenders are:

Gilles Bisson
Andrea Horwath
Michael Prue
Peter Tabuns

I'll be at the convention for Friday night and most of Saturday.

2009-03-03T09:51:00.002-05:00

March came in sunny and cold. Perhaps it will now leave all blustering and mild? We'll see at the end of the month.

The weekend was a blast for everyone. Friday night I joined the Gym on Locke. I am one of their "founding members" so I got a little bit of a deal on the membership and start up costs. The space looks really well done. Very close to home and good machinery from what I could see. And it is cheaper than the YMCA! I think I'll enjoy this new place.

Saturday I went to some thrift stores and Value Villages and picked up some sweats and a nice Clairborne tie for work. I also picked up some groceries and made some appetizers for the Murder Mystery night Rob planned. I got to see Tom after his New Orleans conference and his friend Maryam who is also doing research at UW.

Sunday I slept in and just cleaned up around the house before driving up to KW to pick up Aly after the shopping tour in Port Huron. After a little visit we came back and stopped by Jake and Emily's because Aly had presents. After that we came home and had a relaxing evening before the start of the work week.

This week is killer. Monday night was the Ontario reception for the PDAC. Tuesday there are two forums I have to attend which will drag on past 5pm so I'll be home late most likely. Wednesday some more Aboriginal meetings. Thursday only one teleconference meeting which then slides into Friday with no big plans expect to finish my work that I can't do because I'm going to all these meetings.

2009-02-27T09:02:00.002-05:00

The weekend is almost here!

Friday - I'll be flying solo this weekend as my better half is out on a shopping tour with the girls - good luck doll!! I've made arrangements with Rob to check out Gym on Locke. I'm excited to finally have a gym that is closer to home than the YMCA.

Saturday - Must make a good appetizer for the Murder Mystery Night I'm going to in the evening. Also a chance to catch up with Tom and see how his New Orleans trip went.

Sunday - Around noon I might head up to KW to see Mike and hang out before the girls get back.

Now, I have meetings at MOE I have to get to. I'll update later.

2009-02-19T10:16:00.001-05:00

The Saturn Eulogy

Yesterday, GM announced the Saturn brand will cease to exist at the end of this product cycle. Let's take a look back at the reasons why "a different kind of car company" failed.

In many ways, Saturn's short history, bland products and ultimate failure are emblematic of the wrong thinking and flawed practices that got GM and the American car industry into such trouble in the first place. Established in 1985 (sales began in 1990) to offer a riposte to the growing success of small imports, Saturn's first products adopted the bland economy of cars like the Toyota Corolla, but combined it with the kind of lackadaisical attitude that was rife throughout GM.

Touted as a "new idea, using the tag line "A brand about people" and "a different kind of car company, a different kind of car," you'd have expected Saturn to offer a genuinely revolutionary product. Unfortunately, the one genuine innovation was an all-plastic, dent resistant body, which Saturn originally claimed would allow for frequent restylings of its vehicles; something it didn't take advantage of until 1997, then dropped altogether in 2001.

Saturn's first line of cars was the S Series, available as a sedan, coupe or wagon. Power was provided by a small inline-four with either single or double overhead camshafts. The former made 84 HP, while the latter produced a sparkling 124 HP. The trade-off for limited performance was good fuel economy, which exceeded 40 MPG for the less powerful, manual transmission-equipped cars.

Sales were initially strong. It seemed there was a desire for appealing, small, economical cars and a small audience of American consumers believed Saturn was actually selling those vehicles. As the ‘90s drew to a close and it became apparent that GM wasn't bothering to significantly update, much less redesign the range, buyers finally caught on and sales weakened — except for a small, but still-rabid rag-tag group of fans.

The first significant new product came in the form of the 2000 L Series mid-size. It was based on the Opel Vectra, a car so horrendously bland Jeremy Clarkson was famously banned (we're told) from reviewing GM products after he said, "One of my least favorite cars in the world. I've always hated it because I've always felt it was designed in a coffee break by people who couldn't care less about cars. One of the worst chassis I've ever come across." Since Americans, at the time, had neither Top Gear nor an honest source for car reviews, some actually made the mistake of buying an L Series, encouraging GM to base future Saturn models on equally horrendous Opels. We now have the re-badged Antera (Vue), a re-badged Opel GT (Sky), a re-badged Opel Astra (Astra) and a version of the new Vectra (Aura). There's also a crossover called the Outlook, but since it's shared by almost every other brand under the GM banner, I'm not going to write anything more about it.

Thus ends our description of Saturn's products because, as you can tell, it was never a brand about product. Saturn was a brand about people. Mostly about exploiting them.

The "unique labor contract" that defined the brand's beginning was defined by such revolutionary ideas as allowing workers the flexibility to perform non job-specific tasks. For example, a welder might be allowed the freedom to sweep up his work area the end of the shift, thus allowing one worker to perform the job of two. Sales staff and factory workers were also encouraged to interact and share ideas. Workers also had the freedom to earn less money than their equivalents at traditional plants, but make up for that loss with production-based bonuses of up to $10,000. Unfortunately, those bonuses only lasted while sales were up and the most revolutionary part of the arrangement seemed to be the brand's ads that featured happy workers in lieu of appealing products. The agreement was dissolved in 2004.

Much was also made of Saturn's "no haggle" pricing and friendly dealership experience. The former disappeared as soon as sales started to slump, while the latter has been matched, if not exceeded by current market practice. The customer-tracking feature advertised in the famous "Jelly Donut" ad, for instance, highlights nothing but the integration of computer networks into service centers that took place throughout the industry in the ‘90s.

Along with Saturn, we also hope the US auto industry loses it's assumption that the US car buyer is easily manipulated by marketing and will happily accept sub par products even while far better are offered by foreign competitors. Judging by GM's latest enthusiast products — the Corvette ZR1, Cadillac CTS-V and Pontiac G8 GXP - not only does someone at GM know that consumers want good products, but also how to make ones that are better than anything else in the world. It's that kind of thinking that might keep the rest of GM's brands intact.

2009-02-19T10:14:00.001-05:00

This Eulogy from Jalopnik is the best overview of Pontiac I've seen:

Welcome, friends. We're here today to bid farewell to GM's Pontiac. Once a re-badged middle ground between Chevy and Buick, it attempted to build excitement. Now, it is gone in a blaze of platform prostitution.

The Beginning
Pontiac started life as part of the General's mid-20s "companion" program, which the once-massive automaker implemented to create a sensible cost difference between their cars. Pontiac models were to be produced by then Oakland Motor Car Company, a quality six-cylinder line of cars, and designed to be placed between Chevrolet and Buick. Pontiac cars sold well but, when the market crashed, the companion program was discontinued, Oakland was folded and GM severely cut back on their offerings.

What helped Pontiac survive, beyond its popularity, was the cheap production cost attained by combining components with Chevrolet. When GM was forced to reduce itself to three divisions, Pontiac was rolled into Buick and Oldsmobile with dealers forced to sell all three if they were going to sell one. This would save the brands but set a precedent partially to blame for their inevitable downfalls.

As a brand, Pontiac followed the movement of the market in design and offerings, eventually moving up to eight-cylinder engines including the 249 cubic-inch straight-eight, which served in Pontiacs until the mid 1950s. During this whole time what Pontiac always managed to keep was its sporty design, including the classic "speed streaks" along the fenders and other sharp metallic trim. Still, until the 1960s Pontiac remained an also-ran company.

The DeLorean Era
Pontiac's fortunes quickly changed under the management of Bunkie Knudsen and car enthusiasts-turned executives Pete Estes and John DeLorean. Knudsen had the vision to see Pontiac as something other than merely slightly nicer Chevrolets and the idea to bring young blood like Estes and DeLorean into the fold.

This plan started out rather simply, with the introduction of a convertible based on the Pontiac Star Chief in 1957. The most expensive Pontiac to date, the car had a bored-out and powerful V8 and sharp looks. Though heavy and somewhat slow, the few cars produced were placed in dealerships and raised awareness of the brand's sporting nature. What would really turn on buyers came seven years later with the introduction of the Pontiac GTO.

The story, as repeated numerous times, goes like this: when GM put a ban on divisions participating in auto racing, Pontiac felt its newly cultivated image as a performance brand would be ruined. In order to win fans among gearheads DeLorean, along with a few others, decided to offer a Pontiac Tempest with a 389 cubic-inch V8 as an "option" package hoping there would be a market for a racer's engine in a teacher's car. The name came from DeLorean's appreaciate of the Ferrari acronym for a homolgated race car. It was a gutsy move but one that paid off huge.

The rest of the 60s included a consolidation of the brand's concept, though they continued to sell vehicles with less power and less performance. In 1968, the Pontiac Firebird would give the brand a Camaro-based pony car and in 1971 the Pontiac Firebird Trans Am would set the name for a long history of performance cars. And then the 1970s happened.

High on success, Pontiac attempted to show up Chevy in the 1970s by doing more, which meant more production and more competitive pricing. Unfortunately, this movement of Pontiac models all around confused buyers and the company's sales sagged. The rapid increase in gas prices and the Malaise Era didn't help either. Pontiac didn't have a small car and had to readapt the Chevy Nova into a Ventura. The performance brand would soon become more and more the other Chevy, though not especially luxurious or perceptibly sportier. With the exception of the Firebird Trans Am, there wasn't much to be excited about.

Driving Excitement
The 1980s would prove equally uninteresting with two exceptions: the continued production of the Firebird and the Pontiac Fiero. The Fiero was innovative — as far as 'merican cars were concerned. It had been decades since an American automaker built a two-seater, mass production car other than Corvette. It was also the first mid-engine production car to come out of Detroit. But innovation can't be rushed, and what was actually produced was cool to look at but miserable and uncomfortable to drive. By 1988 the car was sorted out, but it wouldn't matter. It was already dead.

The exciting promise of the Fiero, though never fully fulfilled, did inspire Pontiac in the 1990s to at least mimic what they once were. The new Firebird, though funky, had its appeal among American muscle car fans. The redesigned Pontiac Grand Am added athletic flair to boring GM platforms, helping the brand to become a sales success again. Even the Bonneville, which had sunk to unsexy lows, got a new rounder treatment with cat's-eye headlights and almost a Hoffmeister Kink at the rear. The addition of the SSEi supercharged model almost created a true competitor to foreign makes.

Unfortunately, by the late 1990s any sense of a performance-orineted brand faded away. The new lines of the early 90s were bloated into the ugly body-cladding we all learned to hate. Rather than offering sportier Chevys, the brand started offering uglier Chevys.

By the mid-2000s this turned into perhaps the ugliest Pontiac of the modern era: the fifth-generation Pontiac GT, which was a misshaped, FWD, underpowered, ugly coupe with as much cladding as you could possibly imagine and had one of the worst car interiors ever.

2000s: A Decade Of Promise And Peril
The one bright spot for Pontiac in the first half of the 2000s was the Holden Monaro-based Pontiac GTO, which was a good idea poorly executed — seeing a pattern here? America wanted a RWD, V8-powered sporty monster as proven by the recent move towards vehicles like the new Camaro, Mustang and Challenger. Sadly, rather than remaking a new car here in America to satiate this desire they merely imported Australian-built cars and slapped a new grille on them. They were a flop, but once again hinted at what would come.

If we're generous, the GTO was a place holder for what GM hoped to rebuild the brand into — the definition of performance. The Pontiac Solstice, though not an amazing performer and a shared-platform ride, was consistent with the brand's image. Even better was the introduction of the Pontiac G8, which brought the promise of an impressively performing RWD American sedan. In G8 GT and G8 GXP trims it's a world-class car. Then, last year, they announced the Pontiac G8 ST sport truck and we were on cloud nine.

Pontiac seemed ready to move away from the boring, Chevy-derived products like the G5 and G6. We could sense a new future. We really were going to be driving excitement. And then the Carpocalypse happened.

Pontiac announced it would be killing the Pontiac G8 ST and bringing a rebadged Aveo to the market as a Pontiac G3. Also, word came down GM was killing the Pontiac G8 altogether. Unlike the transition from the 1960s to the 1970s, Pontiac's death spiral appears it will occur almost immediately after its first steps in the right direction.

We're hearing the Pontiac nameplate will live on but not as a separate brand and on what products and in what form we we don't yet know. Is the General right to kill the brand now? Would Americans truly embrace great, RWD American cars once again? Are we better off getting less? There's no way to be for sure, but in our minds GM is killing the brand as soon as it was starting to again build a reputation and a following.

Here's to Pontiac. It wasn't always the sporty, high-performing brand it set out to be but, at least, it set out to be something more. To properly serenade the brand we've included the lyrics from Lyle Lovett's song "Pontiac" from the album of the same name:

I park my pontiac
Down the hill out in back
Late every afternoon
With a coke and a cigarette
And all of the neighbors there
They see a nice old man
And the girl there across the street
She sits on her front porch swing
She never realized
What I told her with my eyes
How back in the second war
I killed twenty German boys
With my own bare hands

And the woman inside my house
She won't stop talking
She never says a thing
She just keeps talking
And I might just leave her still
After the sun goes down
And I smoke this cigarette

2009-02-13T09:56:00.002-05:00

I don't travel much, nor am I an aerospace buff, but I found Patrick Smith's article today spot on when it comes to improving the design of airports in North America.

Here are his top 15 things an airport should have:

1. A fast, efficient, low-cost public transportation link to downtown

2. Complimentary wireless Internet

3. Power ports

4. Convenience stores

5. Showers and a short-stay hotel

6. Play area for children

7. ATMs

8. An information kiosk

9. A place to send mail and buy postage

10. A bookstore

11. Ample gate-side seating

12. A quiet area

13. Art and greenery

14. Double-wide escalators

15. A view!

2009-02-12T10:02:00.003-05:00

The Chrysler 200C Concept Car looks amazing. What I think is just plain hilarious though is in the interior.

Check out this picture of the "gauges."

Doesn't it just scream - "I can't do it captain! The warp core can't take the proton-intake from the phaser dampeners!"

2009-02-12T09:02:00.002-05:00

I found this BBC article on the top 4 Olympic 2016 Cities:

The chances BBC is giving, as of Feb. 2009, are the following:

1. Chicago - 90.9% favourites

2. Madrid - 13.3%
3. Rio de Janeiro - 40%
4. Tokyo - 33.3%

If I were an engineer or a planner, my gut feeling would go with either Tokyo or Chicago. They seem to have a good plan to use existing infrastructure in a compact space that should be easy to service and finance.

If I were a politician, my gut feeling would go with Rio or Tokyo. South America hasn't hosted the Olympics before and Brazil is an established regional power and is becoming a strong middle power that should be recognized as such vis-a-vie China in 2008.

Of course, this is 2009 and 2016 is a long way off - heck, October 2009 is a long ways off and that is when the IOC is going to make their final decision. With this economic downturn, it will be interesting which bids will have to be modified or scaled back. Which plan is the most flexible or the most adaptable to changing circumstances.

2009-02-09T09:44:00.002-05:00

The weekend is over and it was amazing!

Toula on Friday was amazing! It was on the 38th floor of the Westin HarbourCastle that overlooks Toronto Island and the downtown.

We had a three course meal and enjoyed the fine dinning, atmosphere and view.

This is where Aly gave me my birthday present. She really wanted to get me Leafs tickets but, they are so costly and you can't get two of them side-by-side. So, she gave me the choice of going ahead with Leaf tickets in the future or putting that money towards a new computer.

I decided on the computer in a heartbeat. Now, I'm looking at laptops and seriously considering an Apple or a PC. I've made a quick scan online last night and this is the comparison so far:

1. MacBook White [13", 4GB RAM / 250GB HD] $1,449

2. Gateway P-172X [17", 2GB RAM / 160GB HD] $849
3. Gateway P-7805V [17", 4GB RAM / 320GB HD] $1,299
4. HP Pavilion T4200 [17", 3GB RAM / 320GB HD] $850
5. HP Athlon [17", 3GB RAM / 250GB HD] $799
6. Gateway Wal-Mart [15", 4GB RAM, 320GB HD] $698

So, as you can see, the general trend is, Apple costs the most compared to PC laptops. The question is, does paying 20-50% more for an Apple worth it? I have to think about what we are going to use the Apple for. We will do some e-mail, some websurfing, some Office document working and some games. We also want the laptop to last a long time (4 years or more).

If this is our criteria, I think the Apple is the "value" pick. It will last a long time, it is very stable and reliable Operating System. I think that is what we are going for.

Moving on to Saturday...

It was the wine and chocolate tour of Niagara-on-the-lake. The weather was fantastic, sunny, warm and great driving conditions. We rented a mini-van for the six of us. We picked up our passports in the Chamber of Commerce and did 9 winneries (Sunnybrook, Strewn, Konzelmann, Palatine, Pillitteri, Joseph's, Jackson-Triggs, Lailey and Peller Estates).

We picked up 4 bottles and I got another 2 as bday presents. We're all stalked up now!

After the tour we headed back to Hamilton and had dinner at One Duke.

Sunday was another full day. We took Possum out for a morning walk then we headed out to Warren Park in Dundas for a big walk with some friends. After the 20min morning walk then the 45min Warren walk we headed to Dundas for a Sunday dinner and we introduced Possum to Marley. Marley needed to get out for a walk so, another 20min walk with Possum and Marley.

After dinner we headed to the brother-in-law's to give him a housewarming present and we gave me my bday present - a signed Jerome Bettis football. That was sweet!!

Now, Monday morning and at work. This week I got some meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Need to wrap up some mandatory paperwork today before my bosses get on my case. Ok, better get back to the grindstone.

Comment on the computers, need some advice and recommendations on what to get.

2009-02-06T16:21:00.002-05:00

Plans for the weekend:

Friday - dinner at Toula restaurant as part of Winterlicious.
Saturday - Chocolate and Wine tour of Niagara and dinner at One Duke afterwards.
Sunday - NDP meeting on Dundurn at the Staircase theatre in the afternoon.

Today Possum gave me an awesome cookie present at work. He had delivered a massive, pizza-size cookie to work. I'm sure Aly helped him with it.

That started off my 30th birthday celebrations...hooray for that!

2009-02-03T08:26:00.001-05:00

First, let me say, it was one of the best Super Bowl games I've seen in a long time. Granted, last year's game was good too. But this year's had all the trappings of the classic sports drama. The underdog fighting its way back, the veteran players willing it to happen for them, the skill and drama in the final seconds to win it all.

And it helps that I'm a Steelers fan too.

This week will be busy. I'm at the office Monday and Tuesday but at meetings by the airport on Wednesday and Thursday. Back at the office on Friday.

2009-01-28T12:08:00.000-05:00

UK Vanity License Plate Gets Record Reserve Auction Price Of $14K

By Wes Siler, 12:00 PM on Wed Jan 28 2009, 47 views

One of the many ways British males compensate for lack of sexual prowess is by purchasing extraordinarily overpriced license plates. This "1 0" plate's expected to set a record, with an auction reserve of £10,000.

Scientists researching the matter hypothesize that the urge to acquire personalized number plates is a mating behavior equivalent to that of the male peacock’s display of tail feathers. The larger and brighter the feathers, the more appealing the male peacock is to females.

Since the average British male lacks both feathers and the typical external signs of human male virility: height, a full head of hair, a single chin and a winning smile, he’s forced to compete for mates with gratuitous displays of bad taste and a fat credit card.

English numberplates differ from their American cousins, Vanity Plates (which can be commonly spotted adorning the walls of theme restaurants) in that they're sold at auction for huge prices rather than licenses at a token rate on a first-come basis.

Rare personalized numberplates are demarcated by their number of figures and the ability of those figures to spell out something clever. In addition to displaying wealth, they disguise the age of the vehicle they’re attached to (standard issue British numberplates contain the model year), a further boon to attracting gold digging slappers. So, for example, a plate reading “8110X” or “80085” would be quite valuable in contemporary British society.

The “1 0” plate is exceptional both for its use of only two digits and for the symbolic importance of the number “10” which could signify a perfect automobile, a perfect driver or both. As such, the plate, which will be auctioned on Friday, will be given the highest ever reserve: 10,000 of Her Majesty’s Pounds or $14,221 in freedom credits. It’s expected to achieve a far greater price, maybe even challenging the current $500,000 record. [DVLA via Press Association]

2009-01-26T09:17:00.002-05:00

Warren Kinsella's latest blog post about the York U strike fiasco at the legislature confuses me a little.

Here's the entry:

Ontario NDP "leader" Howard Hampton has now said his party will oppose giving speedy passage to the York U. back-to-work legislation. Weeks and weeks of no classes, and the Ontario NDP couldn't give a damn.

Don't forget it, either, any of you still in school. The Ontario NDP could not care less about you, your education, or what this means to your future.

Hampton's party always likes to say they're "on your side."

They're not.

So a few things here:

1. Why is there "leader" references? I thought he was the leader. If he is referencing the leadership convention in March then I'd say well, Howie still calls the shots until March. If he is implying that Howie isn't showing true leadership on this issue, I'd like to know why he thinks that. Is it because he isn't giving unanimous support to a bill? I know Warren, in the past, has had no problem at all expressing his views on leadership (or lack thereof) so, maybe he can explain this.

2. The reference to weeks and weeks of no classes and the NDP couldn't give a damn is a little confusing. I'm wondering how exactly, the NDP are to blame for the stalemate in the talks and no classes at York U? Was Howie at the bargaining table throwing staplers at the employer? How have the NDP expressed their indifference? If Warren is trying to link the denial of unanimous support for a bill with the NDP not giving a damn about students' welfare, I would like to know how he can make that link.

3. The NDP couldn't care less about you, your education or your future? Warren is getting all of this information from the fact that the NDP didn't unanimously support the government's back-to-work bill? From what Warren is trying to imply and to make an argument for, it sounds like the NDP are insensitive, fat cat elitists who don't care about the plight of the poor, working class or the struggling students.

From my impressions about the NDP, I think that is the exact opposite image they got going for them. So, why is the NDP opposed to giving unanimous support to this bill? Well, here are some plausible reasons:

1. The Preamble of the Bill states that (p)ost-secondary education serves a critical public function. It is noteworthy to say that it doesn't say it is an essential service. So, basically, education and the strike really inconvieniences a lot of people, hurts a lot of people and businesses but isn't an essential service. As an aside, the OCTranspo strike in Ottawa is also not deemed an essential service by Ontario or Quebec or Canada. So, you want to take away a group's right to strike, not because lives are in danger but because it is an inconvienience? I can possibly see the NDP, and a few constitutional law experts say, look, you're playing with fire here Government. If you're not going to label post-secondary education an essential service, then what kind of measurement are you putting on those "critical public functions" that qualifies for denying people their rights in a liberal democracy? If you don't have that in place - this isn't good for our society.

2. Ironically, the NDP could also say, with some credibility on this one issue, that the Government doesn't know best sometimes. If Government starts intervening and taking pressure off one party or implying more pressure on another, it interupts the bargaining process. Both parties should be aware they are both hurting here. York U looks like a joke of a univeristy (like it needs more bad press). CUPE doesn't need more bad press right (what with Sid Ryan and his recent crazy talk). Both sides need a win here. Both sides need to be forced back to the bargaining table. Back-to-work legislation is the deus ex machina of this play. The government is swooping down, meddling in their affairs and interrupting the process. It smacks of big-government paternalistic dribble. Very ironic that the NDP would oppose such measures.

Basically, Warren made an emotional, vague and uninformative blog post. I don't know where or when he made the short statement but I'm sure, what with all the other stuff going on in his busy life, and his recent comments about CUPE's Sid Ryan, emotions overtook him. We all take a mulligan now and again.

2009-01-20T08:57:00.002-05:00

I was reading Salon and a little light bulb went off when I read this:

Duo Redivivus

Perhaps even cooler, since I’m letting my imagination off its leash, would be to replace the iMac with a portable machine loosely based on another erstwhile Apple great idea — the PowerBook Duo. The computer would be modular, with a docking CPU core unit that could serve as either the CPU module of a desktop iMac replacement that might also be offered at the entry-level without a battery and could be sold with a built-in (detachable) monitor, or “headless” to be used with an external display of the customer’s choice a la the Mac mini.

The same CPU unit would also form the basis of a portable/big laptop with a built-in keyboard and trackpad and a battery in one or both of its double expansion bays. It would be processor upgradable, ideally with PCI and AGP expansion slots, an ExpressCard 54 slot or two, multiple RAM expansion slots, and upgradable video support. Beauty.

The rest of the article is here...

I think this innovation is a long time coming for Apple. They've done the Air, they've done the laptop, the desktop, the accessories, the peripherals - what's next but a docking station type machine. This blend would be the compromise between the Mac Mini and the Mac Pro. The compromise between laptops and desktops but, without the compromise if you get me. You get the all the portability without losing the power and speed and peripheral expansion ability.

2009-01-20T08:35:00.001-05:00

Are women hard-wired to be gold diggers? New research suggests they could be: according to the London Times, women have better sex with wealthy men. “Women’s orgasm frequency increases with the income of their partner,” said Newcastle University psychologist Thomas Pollet, who points to an “evolutionary adaptation” that pushes women to choose men based on the perceived quality of their genes. Pollet’s research team tested the hypothesis using one of the world’s biggest lifestyle studies—the Chinese Health and Family Life Survey, which compiled information from 5,000 Chinese people (including 1,534 women with male partners) about their personal lives. While several factors were linked to female orgasm, they said, the man’s income was one of the main ones.
The Sunday Times

2009-01-19T10:49:00.000-05:00

Canada's 100 biggest infrastructure projects

The Regina Leader-Post published a list of infrastructure projects on Jan. 13. Here is a selection emphasising transport projects:

1. Romaine Hydroelectric Complex Project. Capital cost: $6.5 billion. Havre-Saint-Pierre, Que.

2. Bruce A Nuclear Generating Station Restart. Capital cost: $5.25 billion. Kincardine, Ont.

3. Eastmain-1-A/Sarcelle/Rupert Project. Capital cost: $5 billion. Quebec.

4. Spadina Subway Extension. Capital cost: $2.63 billion. Toronto.

5. Alberta Clipper Project. Capital cost: $2 billion. Hardisty, Alta.

6. Canada Line. Capital cost: $2 billion. Vancouver.

7. Port Mann/Highway 1 Project. Capital cost: $1.6 billion. Vancouver.

8. Keephills 3 Generating Plant. Capital cost: $1.6 billion. Keephills, Alta.

9. Autoroute 30. Capital cost: $1.5 billion. Montreal.

10. Edmonton Ring Road, Anthony Henday Drive NW. Capital cost: $1.42 billion. Edmonton.

11. International Facilities Project. Capital cost: $1.3 billion. Calgary.

12. Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station Refurbishment. Estimated project spending: $1.4 billion. Point Lepreau, N.B.

13. Edmonton International Airport Expansion. Capital cost: $1.1 billion.

14. Niagara Tunnel Project. Capital cost $985 million. Niagara Falls, Ont.

15. Edmonton Clinic North at University of Alberta. Capital cost: $909 million. Edmonton.

16. Golden Ears Bridge. Capital cost: $808 million. Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Surrey and Langley, B.C.

17. Prince Rupert Port Expansion (Phase 2). Capital cost: $770 million. Prince Rupert, B.C.

18. Canaport LNG Terminal. Capital cost: $750 million. Saint John, N.B.

19. Portlands Energy Centre (PEC). Capital cost: $730 million. Toronto.

20. West LRT Line. Capital cost: $700 million. Calgary.

http://www.leaderpost.com/news/todays-paper/Canada+biggest+infrastructure+projects/1170845/story.html

2009-01-19T08:25:00.002-05:00

We have a dog!

On Friday we went to the Hamilton SPCA and we found Possum. He is a 3 year old Poodle/Terrier mix. We arrived at 6:30 and we discovered that someone had placed a hold on him until 7pm that night.

We decided to stroll around and see the other dogs and animals for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, we were offered to play with him and get to know him. By 6:58 we were counting the minutes and hoping nobody was going to arrive to collect "their" dog.

At 7:05 nobody had showed up and we decided to go forward with adoption.

It was a rather straight forward procedure. The cost was $356 and it includes neutering (Wednesday is his big day for that), shots and a microchip.

Previously in the week, Rob and I drove around Hamilton and Hagersville to get some leashes and a dog crate for the new arrival so we were prepared. He drove home with us and was really at ease in the house. Later that night we invited Rob and Dianna over and he barked only once when they arrived but really felt at ease once they took their coats off. We played fetch and he recognizes toys vs. shoes or clothing to play with.

Saturday and Sunday was play, bonding and training time. He seems ok with the seperation anxiety and he doesn't beg for food when you're eating. Crate training was good too. He whines for about 10min. but then settles in and sleeps. Today is the big test though. We are both working so he'll be alone for several hours today.

I took him out for a quick washroom break this morning and fed him. He's getting a second, longer walk this morning, and then he'll be left in the house. We'll see tonight how he is doing.

2009-01-06T09:35:00.002-05:00

The Holiday Season is coming to an end.

Christmas was spent in Hamilton and staying local with family and friends. We had some family and friends over for Christmas Eve appetizers and some presents. It was really nice to see people and everyone was having a good time.

Christmas Day was dinner at Lynda's with some family. Food was perfect and it was a lovely time.

Boxing Day was spent packing and organizing for our Cuban trip. We made a last minute shopping trip to Wal-Mart to get some bathing suits and I picked up some Family Guy season DVDs on half price.

27th was the flight out. We took Mermaid limo to Pearson and arrived on time. We checked-in no problem. Everyone else showed up too. Chris and Melissa arrived from Barrie, Chris and Elaine got back from Peterborough, Ryann and Tom picked up Tina and Mike on their way to the Airport.

We were delayed a couple of hours in Toronto because of the Fog or CanJet couldn't get their crews lined up properly. We arrived in Cuba around 10pm and didn't get checked in until 2am.

The 28th we were up fairly early around 7am and explored the resort. To be frank, the Occidental Playa Turkesa wasn't the best resort I've experienced. But, it had sun, sand, beach and rum so it wasn't all that terrible.

I might writing something up on Trip Advisor for more details. By and large, I'll be going back to Cuba just not that specific resort.

The girls had to line up for over 4hrs to make the a la carte reservations for us because the computers were down and the girl working them didn't know much English or French and took her time inputting the information.

We ended up booking 5 a la carte dinners and we also booked a catamaran tour for all 10 of us and a bus tour for 6.

The catamaran tour on the 29th was lots of fun. Or rather, we made sure it was lots of fun. It was overcast when we left the resort on the tour bus and it started to spit rain once we were out on the open seas. It was coming down evenly by the time we made it to the second reef site and sailed back inland in the rain.

Because of the rain and wind the waves were choppy and there were a few people with sea sickness onboard. At the bow a bunch of people balanced on the front rail and started hitting the waves head on with massive splashes. It looked like a lot of fun until this one guy lost is grip and got smacked down onto the netting behind him and then got smacked from underneath by a huge wave and was bolted upright again. He was basically tossed about like a doll. After that he went back onto the main deck.

New Year's Eve was lots of fun. They roasted several pigs on spits all over the resort during the day. We had a good meal with pork, turkey, fresh lobsters, shirmps, oysters, muscles, beef etc..

There was live music, clowns, dancing and lots of rum. The only hiccup was that at 12 I didn't see Alyson anywhere and we missed our New Year's kiss. We finally found each other about 5min after the big hoopla.

We came back on the 3rd and had a late flight back. We were about 40min delayed in Cuba because of freezing rain in Toronto. We got to see Raoul Castro give the 50th anniversary speech live on TV.

At the resort I picked up a box of Romeo/Juliettas and at the airport I picked up some Upmann's, Bolivars and Cohibas. We got back to Toronto around 12:20am and back to Hamilton care of the Mermail Limo around 2am.

Overall, we had a great time. The friends and sun made up for the crappy lines, flight delays and poor layout of the resort.

And now, onto January. I have a few projects I need to get done before the end of the week, there is an official clean up day on Friday at the office, I have training on the 13th, meetings ont he 14th and more training on the 29th.

Oh, we also did some Resolutions and Predictions for 2009. Here's mine:

Resolutions:

1. Lose 40 lbs.

Predictions:

1. Michael Ignatieff with be Prime Minister of Canada in 2009
2. Chrysler Corporation will cease to exist
3. American Idol won't be the #1 Primetime TV show in the USA.

2008-12-23T09:18:00.003-05:00

We've been thinking of buying a second car for awhile now. Just casual looking. With the manufacturing (especially the auto industry) really hurting these days, I've been inclined to buy local.

Now, buying local when it comes to complex manufacturing and assembly like cars is kind of difficult. So, I'll just try and focus on that value-added end of the long line of manufacturing - the assembly plant.

Here is a dated list of assembly plants that are found in my neck of the woods. This should determine which cars/SUVs will be on my list of products I'd like to support:

Assembly Plants In Canada

Major Motor Vehicle Assembly Plants in Canada
Location	Products
CAMI Automotive Inc.
Ingersoll, Ontario	Chevrolet Equinox; Pontiac Torrent; Suzuki XL-7; a GM-Suzuki joint venture
DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc.
Brampton, Ontario	Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum; Dodge Charger
Windsor, Ontario	Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town and Country, Pacifica
Ford of Canada Ltd.
Oakville, Ontario	Ford Freestar, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX
St. Thomas, Ontario	Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis
General Motors of Canada Ltd.
Oshawa, Ontario	Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Impala
Oshawa, Ontario	Buick LaCrosse (Allure in Canada), Pontiac Grand Prix
Oshawa, Ontario	GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado pickups
Honda Canada Manufacturing Inc.
Alliston, Ontario	Civic, Acura CSX
Alliston, Ontario	Acura MDX, Pilot, Ridgeline
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc.
Cambridge, Ontario	Corolla and Matrix
Cambridge, Ontario	Lexus RX350

* I noticed immediately that the Honda CRV is not made in the Great White North. It is still assembled in Sayam, Japan.

* It is a little out of date, the list doesn't mention the Camaro, the discontinued Monte Carlo, the pick-up slow down in Oshawa, Ford Flex and Lincoln Crossovers are made in Oakville and the Volkswagon Toutan is made in Windsor under Chrysler.

2008-12-22T09:10:00.002-05:00

My computer is on its last legs methinks.

I have a 2003 iMac. G4 processor with the old, non-intel, chip. It has worked like a charm for years! Never crashed - until this weekend.

I wouldn't even consider it a crash - no smiling screen of death. Just, if you use any the keyboard shortcuts the program you're running will quit. And if you try and look at hotmail it will quit your web browser.

I've had the computer since the Fall of 2003 when they first came on the market. It had one of the first OSX versions on it (Jaguar) and it has OS9 "Classic" for that transition phase. It has progressively become more and more obsolete as software became more dependent on more advanced versions of OSX. I can't upgrade my web browsers anymore, I can't upgrade my MS Office version anymore. Basically, it is being phased out of the Macworld even though the hardware still runs great.

In earlier posts, I was contemplating a MacBook and now it looks like that contemplation is going to become a reality sooner than I anticipated. I compromise machine might be the white MacBook 2.1GHz with some upgraded Memory and Disk Space for about $1,300. Last week I could have swore the base price was $999 but today it is now starting at $1,149.

Just compare the two machines and see the upgrade I'm about:

2003 iMac:

1.0 GHz processor (G4)
80 GB Hard Drive
250 MB RAM (333 MHz)
15" Flat screen display
3 USB Ports (non-expandable)
Mac OS 10.2.3 (Jaguar)
Org. price $1,300

2008 MacBook:

· 2.1GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor
· 160 GB Hard Drive
· 2 GB RAM (667 MHz)
· 13” flat screen display
· 2 USB Ports (expandable)
· Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard)
Current price $1,300

So, it's been 5 years, it is time to get a new machine. I just wish I had placed my order last week when they were on sale!

2008-12-22T08:21:00.002-05:00

All in all, a terrific weekend with the family.

We hosted my father-in-law, brother-in-law and girlfriends this weekend at our home. It was our first Christmas hosting at our new house.

Considering the weather, it was a miracle! There was a blizzard Friday so Pops-in-law decided to take the train into Toronto and then the GO Bus into Hamilton. He arrived in a decent hour considering the weather conditions. It was so bad that I told my boss that I was going to work from home on Friday and I was glad I did!

Friday they arrived in the afternoon and we had some rhum-eggnog and chatted and played King's Corners for the rest of the night. For dinner on Friday we went just down the street to Ray's where it was a common for the neighbourhood to go out for dinner on such a terrible night!

Saturday we had some bagels, coffee, tea out for breakfast. Pops needed to Civic to run some errands and visit some people so he and she took off before lunch.

Saturday night was the main event. Some apps of veggies and dip, salsa and corn chips and almonds/nuts. Main course was a horseradish rub-prime rib roast in the oven, roasted finger potatoes and carrots, stuffed tomatoes, coleslaw and salad.

Dinner was followed by some stocking openings and some exchange of presents.

All in all, the party went until the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday was some strong coffee and tea followed by a late breakfast on Locke Street at the Bad Dog Cafe - fantastic food at a good price!

Of course, Sunday was more blowing snow but, Pops and company made it back to Toronto and the VIA train no problems at all.

Today I'm back at work and tonight going up the Sherman cut to see some long lost highschool friends that have found they way to the Hammer. It will be fun to catch up.

2008-12-17T08:13:00.001-05:00

Wow, you'd think that since Canada is covered by snow for almost half the year, people would remember how to drive in it once it hits right?

Last night we got a few cms of the white stuff and wham - there were at least 3 accidents on the 403/QEW this morning. I had to take a cab to the GO Station this morning to ensure I got to work on time.

2008-12-15T10:42:00.002-05:00

We finally made it up North this weekend.

We've been trying to get up to see my parents for the past couple of weekends but weather has delayed us until now.

But, Friday after work we carpooled with my Aunt and Uncle and made it up there. It was a pleasant ride. Very little traffic, roads were dry, weather cooperated.

Friday night was just getting into town and unpacking and having a rum and eggnog before going to bed.

Saturday was all about the turkey and snow. They have 4 feet of snow up there and it was -25C for the most part during the night. It is like a whole other country when you go past Barrie.

Saturday we had a turkey lunch with my grandfather, sister, parents, aunts, uncle and Aly. We then went right into gift exchanging and then had some after dinner drinks and coffee. My grandfather had a dance and dinner to get to so he had to leave in the afternoon.

We stayed up late and cleaned up the dishes, played some cards, watched my Dad's new DVD Planet Earth and enjoyed some TV.

Sunday we basically got up early to say goodbye to my Dad before he went to work and then packed things in the car and drove over to my aunt and uncles to get in their car and drive back down South all before noon.

It was a whirlwind weekend but we had fun while we were up there.

Sunday we got home in great time and decided to go for a walk and see some caroling. Unfortunately, with the rain on Sunday night they canceled it I think. We then decided to run up to Wal-Mart to see if they have some lights and Christmas decorations. We were back before 9pm and started organizing photos and preparing for meals for next weekend.

Basically, from now until January, we got stuff to do.

This coming weekend, we are entertaining the in-laws, the following weekend is Christmas, the week after that is travel and then it is New Years and then it is back to work. So, our time is compressed to say the least.

2008-12-10T09:08:00.000-05:00

I love the Daily Show. This clip just makes my day.

http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/full-episodes/december-8-2008/#clip119658

The Herblog

2007 Mazda Mazda5 GS

Winnipeg Jets unveil new logo

Obama Trumps Donald Trump Yet Again

Sunday Book Review

Ice-T, Living Out Loud

By BAZ DREISINGER

Published: April 22, 2011

ICE

A Memoir of Gangster Life and ­Redemption — From South Central to Hollywood

Editorial

A Nucleated Century

Published: March 22, 2011

St. Patrick's Day: The eco-guide to responsible drinking.

March Madness is here. How did the tournament get that nickname?

University of Waterloo - Athletic Department announces football plans, educational initiatives

GO E-News Alerts

GO E-News Alerts

GO E-News Alerts

GO E-News Alerts

The Pope invites disaffected Anglicans to join the Catholic Church

What's "Unlawful Sexual Intercourse"?And other questions from the Explainer's Roman Polanski roundup.

U of T parade will clog traffic during Friday afternoon rush

Prius Has Enough Neodymium To Crush Your Hand, Stress World Reserves [I Feel Gassy]

NHL sweetens Coyotes offer

Decision day in the desert

The key players

What they said

Andlauer, Balsillie: A mangled message?

First Nations seek to make Canada last nation in mining

Special Report from Forbes

NHL Team Valuations 2007-08 Season

UK Vanity License Plate Gets Record Reserve Auction Price Of $14K

Duo Redivivus

Canada's 100 biggest infrastructure projects

Assembly Plants In Canada

A Memoir of Gangster Life and Redemption — From South Central to Hollywood