like pouring rain back into a cloud I've been doing more experimenting with new technology this week. Although I agree with a piece I read recently that said that podcasts were one of the worst trends of 2005 (I'd say more over-hyped), I no longer think they're quite as stupid as before. It's a matter of knowing where to get good quality content and being willing to risk trying new stuff that might not live up to expectations, in order to get to the good material.

Every night on Global National with Kevin Newman, he closes by reminding you that the broadcast is available as a podcast. Generally I'd prefer to watch my national news, but since I occasionally miss it, I've now subscribed to the podcast and listen to it the next morning to get caught up. I think I'll probably see if there are additional commercial news sources that do international news podcasts too.

Another fun one I've started listening to is the NPR's "story of the day" feature, which is a quick five-minute segment with a current story you wouldn't hear on the news. For example, today's was this piece on an African man who was educated in the U.S. and became very wealthy working for Microsoft. He then decided to use his money in his home country of Ghana to help contribute to the future success of his people by funding a top-notch university. Yesterday's piece was about the ex-communication proceedings of a Catholic priest in California. Very interesting features.

Another one I'd recommend is the CBC's Radio 3. I gather that this is actually a satellite radio station (the next hot trend I need to investigate), but they make some of the featured programs available as podcasts. Yesterday I listened to a really good one doing the "Top 14 Canadian songs of 2005". I'm pretty out of the loop concerning new and independent Canadian music, so it was nice to hear about some good musicians like "Two Hours Traffic" and "Immaculate Machine" with some catchy Canadian songs. I definitely recommend that one.

So basically podcasts are about making already-existing content available in a new media format. Of course, it does mean that any dude with a microphone in his basement can also create BAD audio programs, too, but I plan to avoid that guy. Also, I use iTunes to find these podcasts. iTunes kinda sucks on my Windows XP-running computer - I don't know if it would be better on a Mac...? Anyway, my point is, if you're not using iTunes, I don't know how you would find a thorough listing and subscription option to most of these podcasts unless you already knew where they originated from.
That's the technology report.  | ¶ 1:41 p.m.

  find out if love is the size of an ocean I was reading this article over on Newsweek about people and news items to watch for in 2006 and it made me think, I haven't had mashed potatoes in a while. WHY would an article about The Da Vinci Code movie make me think of mashed potatoes...? Well, it has to do with Tom Hanks (he stars in the movie in case you didn't know). And Oprah. A few years ago she did a mini-feature where she asked any visiting celebrities about their favourite things. One category was food, and I'll always remember what Tom said about mashed potatoes.

Oprah, I could eat mashed potatoes with the turkey at Thanksgiving and then eat mashed potatoes again for dessert.

...or something like that (I couldn't find the exact quote - imagine that). It made me think that Tom and I are kindred spirits.

I am now eating mashed potatoes.

That's the update.  | ¶ 9:30 p.m.

  like slow spinning redemption Amanda at RocketBoom is doing a re-run series of some of her best pieces over the last couple years. Since I'm new to her site, it's nice to see the "old" stuff. Today's is particularly funny, I thought.

How fast can you dance, Scott...? [McLellan, of the White House] Yeesh.  | ¶ 1:51 p.m.

  I read again between the lines upon the page For a while now I've been unable to rent good movies. As in, they don't carry much on actual video cassette these days at Blockbuster (my closest rental place). I've never been a huge movie renter so it hasn't been a big deal, but it is nice to have the option occasionally. So I was happy that Mom obliged my request for a DVD player for Christmas this year.

Tonight Devin and I rented two movies, and settled in for a few hours to take in both Cinderella Man and Mr. and Mrs. Smith. I'd read somewhere that the Brad & Angie flick was one of the biggest of the year, and I have to admit that it didn't quite live up to what I expected. It had some good funny moments, but not the quality movie I was anticipating. Cinderella Man, on the other hand, was quite impressive. I enjoyed it.

Today I was able to make slight changes to some of the other gifts I'd received too. I returned one item and exchanged two others. One exchange involved upgrading my digital camera to one that records movie clips with sound. So you can expect to see some of my amateur film-making here soon. That is, when I can find a place to host the clips. Devin might be right about me needing my own server next. I've got a great film about him making coffee I'm dying to show you.  | ¶ 1:55 a.m.

  I wanna run with the reckless emotion Our family tradition has evolved over the years to involve the making of a huge Christmas morning brunch that gets eaten before we open presents. Dalt makes waffles and pancakes. We do maple-smoked bacon and sausage. I make pan fries and poached eggs. There is champagne and orange juice, and of course coffee. It's a fabulous indulgence and we spend the remainder of the day feeling quite stuffed. Here are me and Dalt hard at work:


To avoid the making, consuming and cleaning up after two big meals in one day (all in Mom & Dalt's kitchen / diningroom), we postpone the traditional turkey feast for a day. Because we eat so much in the morning on Christmas Day, we've opted to eat our turkey on Boxing Day instead. This also gives some people in the family the freedom to spend time with other family members on Christmas Day, too. Dalt has a nephew in town, and Gina has a sister, so they are each able to visit their respective families.

Boxing Day has turned into quite a fun family day, I find. I go over a little before dinner and help with last-minute preparations and table-setting, then we sit down to our feast. Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, vegetables and cheese sauce. It is mighty tasty, as you probably experienced yourself at your own gatherings over the holidays.

We also wear fun (or, gay) hats.


(see more pics at frou's flickr page)
This year after dinner some of the men went downstairs to watch some junior hockey on the big screen TV. We persuaded them to let us use the TV for a couple games of "Scene It". Then we went upstairs to play some Cranium, which is always a blast. After that, Jamie, frou, Devin and I decided to head over to my neighbourhood pub, the Kilkenny, for beers.


Fun day.  | ¶ 5:33 p.m.

  don't forget to remember me I really need to speak with Stephen Harper's wardrobe consultant about this combo:

I mean, seriously! Brown and grey...?!  | ¶ 12:33 p.m.

  gather near to us once more I'm experimenting with my new camera. If you click the image below, you'll see one of the short video clips I made yesterday at the compound. We had eaten the big Boxing Day turkey dinner earlier and the kids were flocking to the kitchen for pumpkin pie. That's my niece Caia enjoying hers. The video is 7MB and has no audio, fyi.

  | ¶ 1:58 a.m.

  faithful friends who are dear to us From the New York Times today:

In "Lazy Sunday," a music video that had its debut on the Dec. 17 broadcast of "SNL," two cast members, Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg, adopt the brash personas of head-bopping, hand-waving rappers. But as they make their way around Manhattan's West Village, they rhyme with conviction about subjects that are anything but hard-core: they boast about eating cupcakes from the Magnolia Bakery, searching for travel directions on MapQuest and achieving their ultimate goal of attending a matinee of the fantasy movie "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

You can see the video over at YouTube. It's pretty funny.  | ¶ 2:33 p.m.

  happy golden days of yore It was fifteen degrees here today. So we went for a walk after consuming the traditional enormous Christmas morning brunch (and after opening presents, silly!).

Oh, and guess what! I got a camera for Christmas. You'll be seeing lots more images on here now - maybe even some vlogging! See my first set here.  | ¶ 9:40 p.m.

  here we are as in olden days Merry Christmas!  | ¶ 2:20 a.m.

  from now on our troubles will be out of sight ...and repeat. Cheesecake number two is in the oven.  | ¶ 3:58 p.m.

  let your heart be light I used my hand mixer to thoroughly blend the cream cheese, eggs and sweet milk. I added vanilla and chocolate chips. I pressed the Oreos and some melted butter into the bottom of the pan and poured the cheese mixture on top. I topped it with more chocolate chips. It will now bake for just under an hour.  | ¶ 2:47 p.m.

  have yourself a merry little Christmas I am creaming the cream cheese. Earlier I crushed the Oreos.  | ¶ 2:32 p.m.

  fa-la-la-la-la la-la la la I'm, like, so productive today. I was up early-ish, and over to Market Mall before the insanity began. I managed to find everything on my list pretty quickly and was out in just over an hour. I find I enjoy shopping for other people MUCH more than for myself. Way more fun. It's sunny and ten degrees here today - nice day to be out and about anyway.

This afternoon I made one more trip to the mall (had to do a quick exchange), did some quick present-wrapping, then went for my massage. Oh man, do I love getting a massage. A much-needed massage it was. I might continue the relaxation with some quality couch time. I've decided that cheesecake-baking will take place tomorrow.

This concludes the Christmas preparation report. How are your plans progressing? Does anybody out there have snow...?  | ¶ 5:39 p.m.

  peace on earth, and mercy mild I swear, in Calgary it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit. It's brown and mild with the current Chinook wind blowing through town, and hardly looks like the stereotypical holiday scene. Maybe if you dared to venture out to the chaotic shopping malls you'd feel it a bit, the holiday frenzy. But it might also just irritate you enough that you're in much less of a giving mood anyway and have no desire to shop(!).

Tonight Devin and I went out for a relaxing East Indian dinner at Maurya restaurant in Kensington, right near Devin's place. If you click that link, there's a picture of the exact table where we were eating - I recognize the art on the wall. We indulged in yummy naan bread, butter chicken, and another chicken dish over rice. It was really good. It's fun to eat some different foods now and then. Next we'll do Vietnamese.

I've been kinda waiting 'til tomorrow (payday) to do my last-minute stuff, so hopefully I'll wake up rested and enthusiastic. It will be a busy day, since I anticipate quite a bit of craziness at the stores, and quite a bit of traffic to navigate. I'm also treating myself to a holiday massage in the afternoon (gotta take advantage of the generous benefits package offered by the regulated utility). At some point I have to bake my famous chocolate cheesecake, too. Lots to do still...  | ¶ 12:27 a.m.

  hear the snow crunch, see the kids bunch Lately I've been making a point of understanding what some of the fancy new technologies are. For instance, "podcasts". Then there's "vlogging", or video blogging. Really Simple Syndication ("RSS"). Syndicated podcasts...!

It's all a little bit crazy, I think, because what these mostly come down to are just new forms of media enabling you to get a lot of the same content. Don't go to blog pages, just RSS them and get an aggregate feed. Don't watch the news or listen to the radio, get the broadcasts automatically downloaded to your computer as podcasts. And video blogging, well, that's another matter altogether. I see Amanda over at RocketBoom is already setting the standard.

The thing is that you still have to listen, watch or read your media of choice. And perhaps content is changing or improving, but as far as I can tell, you still gotta hunt for it. Tonight, just as an experiment, I logged into iTunes and browsed the catalogue of random podcasts uploaded by random people around the world to see what's out there. And the truth is that they are mostly boring c-r-a-p.

"...umm, hi, this is Roger. Welcome to my first ever podcast. I'm sitting here in my basement with my 12-year-old son Kevin. Say hi, Kevin.

'Hi'.

Since this is my first time, I don't really know what I'm going to talk about, so bear with me and I'm sure things will get better..."

Why Why Why would we want to download, syndicate, listen to this random nonsense...?? No, now that I kinda have a handle on what it's all about, I'm waiting for word-of-mouth or established entities producing useful and somewhat professional pieces before I go subscribing to anybody's podcast.

A "podcast" is simply an audio file - whether you listen to it on your iPod or other mp3 player is irrelevant, so it actually annoys me that the feature has gotten this cool, impressive name. There's nothing cool or impressive about a lot of the podcasts I've heard so far.

The jury is still out on video blogging. I'm going to do more research before I report back.  | ¶ 1:58 a.m.

  now I prove again that I can make life move again In the countdown to Christmas, last night was the first of several get-togethers for the family. Dalt was performing in the church's drama production, so we all headed over to Foothills Alliance Church to watch him sing and act in their presentation of "One Bethlehem Night". It was a musical, so it had several really good group songs and some short, funny ones too. I was pretty impressed that Dalt remembered his lines - he's known for mangling his words a bit, but he did a really great job.

After the show we all lingered to chat (or "fellowship", since it's church and all...) with Dalt and I told him how I was impressed with his performance. The director of the show stopped by for a minute and related a story from one of their morning performances (last night was their third show of the day!). You see, Dalt played Benjamin the fisherman, who had some song lines about being robbed of his money on the long journey to the inn and would "have to pay with fish!". It seems that he accidentally sang something about being robbed of his fish and instead had to switch the line to, "I'll have to pay with... THIS!" Since he had some little fake fishies in his hand that he held up for emphasis, it was no doubt a little confusing to the audience, but hey, he's an actor, and he was improvising...

Good show, Dalt.  | ¶ 12:19 a.m.

  just another soldier on a road to nowhere Devin and I went to see a fantastic movie yesterday called C.R.A.Z.Y. It's a French movie, filmed in Quebec (with sub-titles for me). In selecting movies to see at the theatre, I usually check on IMDB for reviews and user comments. This movie had people just raving about it, so I was crossing my fingers that it was even close to that good. And I have to say, it was such a great movie, I would have never guessed it was made in Canada. I don't know a lot about Quebec filmmaking, but Devin tells me that there's quite a bit of talent in them there seven million frenchies. Very cool. If you get a chance, I totally recommend taking this movie in.

After the film we went to Bottoms Up to watch the Flames game. Since political discussions are so common these days, I found myself chatting with a man who thought that by intentionally spoiling his ballot in federal elections, he was sending a valuable message to the government. He said he'd been doing it all of his life. I don't want to be too harsh, but I kinda thought that was one of the dumbest things I'd ever heard. The power of voting is in the vote (we won't get into how that's not actually true in our first-past-the-post electoral system - his issue wasn't with the electoral system). OR, if it was your intention to send a message, one might start some kind of grassroots movement where everybody spoiled their ballots en masse. Or hello, there are a bazillion other ways to get your message to politicians, if that's really what you want to do.

I'm starting to think that one of the areas of political science that I'm particularly interested in (besides democratic reform) is the concept of "political socialization" - as in, how people learn about and come to understand the political process as they grow up, and how they see their role as voters. I think that there is tremendous value for children in the simple experience of seeing their own parents go and vote. I know plenty of people who don't care AT ALL about voting or political issues. That just seems wrong to me. But you can't make people care. You could, however, make them vote, as they do in Australia.

Devin, Tone-L and I discussed this idea of mandatory voting and whether the voting age should be raised. There is an argument that even at the age of eighteen, one doesn't really have the sophistication to make an educated choice when voting. Then again, some kids ARE prepared for the responsibility. So my suggestion was to make voting compulsory for anyone above the age of 25, but anyone above the age of 18 could vote if they were so inclined. Good idea, no...?  | ¶ 12:14 a.m.

  simply having a wonderful Christmas time Yesterday the president of our company asked me how I was liking my job.

Eep.

Do you tell the president that you're miserable...? That every morning as I turn the corner off Fourth Street on to Seventeenth Avenue and I approach our building, I think "I hate this place"...?

I deked around the question by giving the completely useless answer, "well, there's quite the learning curve, and I'm still figuring things out".

I don't want to whine about it, but my frustration isn't really going away, and I just thought it was pretty funny that he asked me that. I went to see him to review our board meeting agendas for the next meetings in February and he started making smalltalk as he wrote his comments. If I thought he actually wanted to know, I might have been a little more forthcoming. I am trying to give the job a chance, and definitely don't try to look like I have a bad attitude about it. So, YES, PHILIP, I AM DELIGHTED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF YOUR WONDERFUL COMPANY. Heh.  | ¶ 3:01 p.m.

  I don't know how and when, but I know we'll meet again English Debate Report:


No matching ties tonight. Just lots of spiffy-ness. Especially Harper - Devin and I were saying that from the neck down he was flawless. That and his hair - perfect.

Paul Martin was acting all prime ministerial again. And he pulled it off. Maybe it's because he's had more practice at being a leader and both Harper and Layton have lots to learn still, but I just can't help but like Paul. He's authoritative and assertive, but not arrogant (at least I don't find), and it works for him. He also resists getting to defensive even though he's constantly under attack in these debates.

Jack, I printed off your bingo cards with Paul Martin phrases to cross off, and he only said TWO of them. "Fundamentally" and "I agree with Jack". Too many of the phrases on the bingo cards related to defending the sponsorship gongshow, and Paul's moved into some new verbiage in that area. And contrary to your recomendation to settle in with beer and popcorn, Devin and I opted instead to have pizza and wine while we watched the show. No bingo winners tonight, sir.

Layton, Harper and Duceppe all spoke well and got their message across. Points to Duceppe for his improved English and better articulation of selling points on the independent-Quebec deal. Both last night and tonight he's presented it very calmly as Quebec being neither better nor worse than Canada, just different. I do not support separation, but he's the most rational representative for the case I've seen as of yet. That still doesn't persuade me that he should even BE at these debates, but I can see why Quebecers might vote for him.

I also like Jack more and more when I see him proposing positive alternatives to the status quo instead of the same boring stuff we've heard from the Conservatives and Liberals over and over already. He really focussed on getting his message out instead of engaging in too much annoying rhetoric.

froo asked me who won. I kinda don't think there were any clear winners or losers. Everybody had strong moments and some less-strong moments. Everybody articulated their party position. Everybody performed well.  | ¶ 12:45 a.m.

  my generation will put it right French Debate Report:


There's some kind of wardrobe coordination going on. What's the rule - "...the Prime Minister wears the red tie, everybody else must match..."?

Stephen Harper is trying his best to look approachable, or something. I feel so bad for him - that stiff smile and his delicate features make him look more timid and uncomfortable than anything. His French is getting better, but it needs some work. He uses up his allotted time fumbling for words. Poor guy.

I like Jack for the most part. I haven't been paying close enough attention ('cause of all the French-ness) but I've heard him talk about democratic reform and balanced budgets and expressing values that appeal to me. It's too bad that neither of the parties who realistically stand a chance at governing are concerned with reforming our democracy. Harper's idea to have an elected senate seems like the least important of the issues as far as I'm concerned.

You gotta give Paul the credit - he just seems prime ministerial. It's hard not to like him. Maybe it's the red tie.

Gilles Duceppe is pretty much in his element in this debate. He speaks eloquently, he doesn't get flustered, and he looks respectable. If I were Quebecois, I'd have a hard time not voting for him - it's too bad that separatism is the big part of his platform, because his other ideas are sound.

At the end of the day they all keep repeating the same thing. "Respond" to the question - don't answer it, right...? It's all about bringing the focus back to one's campaign promises and re-iterating the selling points for each, while also pointing out why the other guy (Paul) is doing it wrong. I liked that woman who asked them if they'd swear on the bible that they'd keep their promises. And the man afterwards who asked if they'd implement a recall option for those who didn't. Puts them on the spot all right.  | ¶ 9:11 p.m.

  here comes the jackpot question in advance Hilarious. NDP Bingo.

...as a public service, we invite you to gather around with family and friends, get some beer and popcorn and settle in for “Give’em the Boot” Bingo during this Friday night’s English Language Leader’s Debate at 8:00pm ET/5pm PT.

During the debate, just cross off each phrase on your bingo card as Paul Martin says it. The first player with five-in-a-row wins.

  | ¶ 12:46 p.m.

  eyes like faded jeans I love doing the photobooth. This was Devin's first time, at the mall on Sunday - I think he's a natural, though.

You can see two more of the shots we got over at his page.

Tomorrow is my second work Christmas party. We're joining the HR department for their afternoon lunch and shindig at the Vintage Chophouse. At our cooking lesson a couple weeks ago, we all got personalized aprons and oven mitts. I hear we're getting more goodies at this get-together, too. Good reason to go to these things. That, and the whole not-having-to-sit-in-my-cube part.

My job's a tad busier these days, but I wouldn't say it's giving me much sense of purpose or anything. I'm putting my escape plans on hold for now - gonna focus on the holidays, since we get all this paid time off anyway. But in January I'll re-visit my long-term plans. Like Madonna says, there's only so much you can learn in one place; the more that I wait, the more time that I waste.  | ¶ 12:52 a.m.

  where are you, Christmas I like how Paul Martin keeps saying things like this:

I am the prime minister of this country [and] our position on climate change will be determined by the government of Canada, that the fact is that we do expect our partners to honour their agreements -- and I will defend Canada. Period.

It seems like an effective campaign strategy, to be seen as someone who is not struggling and grasping for power and votes, but to keep reminding people that he's already the guy in charge, and to take decisive positions in respect to ongoing issues.

Hell, we have to listen to another whole month of these guys blustering, and sometimes I think Stephen Harper almost deserves what he's going to get -> the status quo. Not that I am completely opposed to what he stands for... I actually feel tremendous sympathy for what he's trying to do, and I feel bad for him that he's missing that critical element of charm that would make him a popular choice to lead this country.

Did I mention that I recently joined a political party? It's not who you think.  | ¶ 2:35 p.m.

  we've mistaken one for thousands of words Unlike last year when I was a starving student, this year I have a teeny tiny bit of disposable income with which to buy Christmas presents. As much as I think the idea of a "buy-nothing Christmas" is a fantastic idea, there are still too many of us who get excited at the prospect of doing something that will make the people we know smile. I'm going to have a hard time not giving away my surprises...

Yeah, today was an extremely productive shopping day. I dragged Devin all over Calgary, visiting stores way up in the northeast and way down in the south, including one very crowded mall. I'm not generally a very patient shopper, but today things went quite smoothly and even the chaos of December weekend shopping in this busy city didn't make me crazy.

We also managed to squeeze in a matinee this afternoon - we went to see "Good Night, and Good Luck". It's that one based on the story of the CBS journalist Edward Murrow, who dared to challenge the questionable practices of the "junior senator" Joseph McCarthy during the 50s, in his pursuit of Communist sympathizers. It was a quality movie that I found to be very educational, not having been extremely familiar with the events of that time period before. It wasn't a very "light" movie, though, and although I was mentally stimulated, I wouldn't quite call the film "entertaining", exactly. I think I laughed once or twice, but mostly you had to concentrate to follow the story, since it didn't guide you through the history, probably assuming that most people already had an idea what went on (not so much, in my case). Good afternoon movie.

Of course it's interesting to see a movie like that given the current state of things in the U.S. It addressed things like protecting civil liberties and the right to due process, even when the nation is at a heightened state of alert trying to protect itself from being infiltrated by unwanted elements. I wonder if there are enough people who are still willing to speak up to challenge the injustices committed in defense against this same threat. Okay, not Communists, but terrorists - the first was more ideology, now we're dealing with those who have become emboldened enough to take drastic and violent action. Are the methods used to deal with either both then and now justifiable...? Or effective...?

Okay, stop waiting for me to tell you what I bought you for Christmas today - you have to wait two more weeks...!  | ¶ 1:10 a.m.

  springtime feelings in the middle of December Recently I requested my final transcript from Bishop's. I knew all my marks already, of course, but I didn't have the final document representing the sum total of the five-and-a-half years spent completing my degree. In the past I've shared my marks with everyone here, so I won't completely re-hash last year's results, but I was noticing some interesting things that I want to mention:

• My cumulative average for the period from 1992 to 1997 was 53.97%.
• My weighted average for the 2004-2005 school year was 71.94% (see what you can do with a little motivation?).
• My cumulative average including this past year was 61.74%. (I brought my average up 8 marks - not too shabby.)
• Last year I repeated four classes that I had previously failed.
• Last year my final mark was higher than the class average in seven of the eleven classes I took.
• In the years from 1992 to 1997, my final mark was higher than the class average only eight of forty-three times.
• My highest mark last year was 80 - ten marks higher than the class average.
• My lowest mark last year was 58 - two marks lower than the class average.
• The final words on my transcript are: "PROBATION REQUIREMENTS SATISFIED". (That's good, since I've now graduated...)

Seriously, I was just getting rolling. I should still be in school.  | ¶ 8:00 p.m.

  if only just for you I did exist,
blame it on my youth Finally, proof of our adventures...!

These are pics from the Waterton-Fernie-extreme-picnicking bonanza Devin and I went on two weeks ago. Above is a shot taken just outside the village by Waterton Lake where we were lucky enough to see a massive herd of elk grazing and drifting gradually through that big field. The pictures don't quite capture how impressive it was to see.  | ¶ 1:55 a.m.

  before you met me I was a fairy princess Yesterday I had the day off. It wasn't a planned day off - I woke up and had a headache, then discovered that my apartment building was lacking in water of the hot variety, thus making showering for work a bit of a challenge. It all pointed to me staying home, so I did.

On days like that I like to drop by the compound and visit with Gina (and whichever of her children are home - usually just young Ella these days). When I lived at the compound, I was in the loop with the family. I knew how everybody was doing without having to make a special trip. Lately it seems like weeks go by before I squeeze in a visit (you've heard about my hectic life, haven't you). So it's nice to hang out with Gina and get caught up on all the little things. It's good to feel part of a community again.

In the afternoon Devin and I paid a visit to our local Chapters-Starbucks. I had the brilliant idea that I would start researching the city of Ottawa in conjunction with my pie-in-the-sky plan to attend Carleton next year to do another undergrad degree, so I headed to the travel section and picked up a book about Ottawa. I would really like to do some on-the-ground reconnaissance, but a trip would be expensive, so for now I'll just trust all the people that say Ottawa is wonderful and we'll go with that. And I'll stay put drinking fancy coffees and playing virtual tourist. On my days off.  | ¶ 6:29 p.m.

  Christmas is bedtime, where no one wants to go I've been pondering who I should vote for in the upcoming election, and it's a frustrating process. Here in the Canadian sector of Jesusland (i.e. southern Alberta), the seats in Federal elections go to the Conservatives, and the one party I'm not voting for is the Conservatives, so I'm forced to contemplate the meaning of my vote - a wasted one, really.

That's the problem with our electoral system, the "first past the post" one. If you do not vote for the winner, your vote matters not one bit. Last year in politics classes, cute Bill used to point out that in cases like this, voters resort to variations of "strategic voting". Maybe you vote for a party / candidate that you do not actually want to in an attempt to make your vote count for something. For instance, the second-place finisher in most Alberta ridings is likely a Liberal candidate, so if you think your guy / girl has any chance of beating the Conservative incumbent, you want to add your vote to the Liberal pile, EVEN IF you'd rather be voting NDP or Green Party. Then again, your vote will probably not actually result in a Liberal win, so you question whether it's worth it to even bother.

Then you get situations like this happening:

CAW boss Buzz Hargrove gave Martin a qualified endorsement, saying the minority Liberal government "deserves to go back to Ottawa with even bigger numbers."

Hargrove said there should be a strong NDP opposition, but urged members to vote Liberal in ridings in which the NDP has no chance of winning.

"Whether you elect a Liberal or an NDP, the overall numbers don't change in terms of the ability to form a coalition government," he said. "We're out to stop the Tories."

"We're saying to people don't waste your vote. Make sure we don't send any more Tories to Ottawa. We don't need them."

I was discussing this whole thing with froo the other day. We like the Green Party, and in the last election there was a lot of buzz about them reaching a certain threshold to be entitled to funding, so it was valuable to add one's support at that time. Now that they've reached the target, do they need our vote, given that they don't reasonably stand a chance of winning seats in Alberta...? Do they constantly need to meet that threshold to continue receiving financial recognition...?

We really do need a system where votes are meaningful, minority governments are not a bad thing, and there is more integrity and cooperation at the federal level.  | ¶ 6:51 p.m.

  lay down your treasure I work in the legal department at my company. Our legal "department" consists of one lawyer, one assistant, and one part-time contractor. The three of us do not really comprise a group large enough to host our own holiday party, so we have been invited to join two other groups' functions. Today is the Facilities Department party, and they've opted to do something rather original - "gourmet cooking as team-building", a corporate training initiative offered by a local trade school.

Using spacious and professionally equipped kitchens situated on SAIT’s main campus, Gourmet Cooking as Team Building is offered on weekdays or weekday evenings and is facilitated by a professional chef and/or instructor.

So we're off as a "team" this afternoon to have a group cooking lesson and to enjoy a gourmet meal. Mostly I agreed to go, though, because it means I don't have to sit at my desk all bored and lonely, and there will be WINE with dinner.
  | ¶ 4:00 p.m.

  time goes by so slowly for those who wait Heheh.

Just when you thought Gilles Duceppe couldn't screw things up, he comes out with the first mind-numbingly stupid policy of the campaign. The BQ has announced that they want Quebec to field their own teams at international sporting events.

Yeah, really. Is this an election issue?

From the CalgaryGrit.  | ¶ 4:21 p.m.

  all the riches, baby, won't mean anything Harper vows to cut GST

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with this plan by Mr. Harper. It was a silly suggestion of my own a couple years ago - if you want to win people over, do something very visible like cut the GST. Even one percentage point is something; I like the plan. And yeah, one might compare it to the gesture by Ralph Klein in extending cash rebates to Albertans - from an economic standpoint you could probably do something a little more permanent and targeted to specific program areas, but as far as voters are concerned, giving them a little cash in their pockets isn't going to hurt your popularity.  | ¶ 11:36 a.m.