Since cavorting with Team Blogger at CBCs Test The Nation a few weeks back, I have added most of the team to my roll and have been impressed with the Canadian blogosphere.
Today Mighty God King tackles Super Tuesday, and I’m buying what he’s selling.
As a candidate, however, Hillary Clinton is, bluntly, terrible. It doesn’t matter how intelligent and capable and even charming she is; she comes into the presidential election with slightly less than half of the electorate utterly unwilling to vote for her. [source]
Hillary was on Letterman last night, and while she was my girl, I couldnt watch. Fake smiles, speaking in cliches, she reminded me of Chretien. A political pro. So caught up in her own campaign bullshit she can’t see what’s really going on. She’s lost. She has no charisma, just talking points.
Then there’s Obama. I’ve long lamented style over substance, but as MGK puts it, this style is starting to get some consistency.
the overwhelming feeling of all us foreigners towards America right now as regards Obama can most accurately be described as jealousy. Great statesmen are rarities in any nation… every so often a nation gets a truly amazing leader, someone all the other countries look at and wonder “why can’t our leaders be like that” - a Churchill, a de Gaulle, a Trudeau, a Mandela. [source]
If you didnt see the remix Will.I.Am did of Barack’s speech in Iowa, watch it now.
Yes, Canada’s flag may be red and white, but today you can colour us green - with envy.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
- Would you give up your right to vote in Canada, if you could vote in this US election? 15% of Canadians would (me included). The video below might be the reason why:
- A couple weeks back I was on CBC's Test the Nation. Recruiting for the next edition is underway, check out this list to see if you're eligible. It's a lot of fun - go for it!
Grant De Patie died chasing down a couple of thugs who tried to pull off a gas and dash. They filled up and peeled out with Grant trapped under their car. He was dragged to his death for more than 7 kilometres because the drunk teens in the car didnt have $12.30 to pay for the fuel.
It’s horrible it’s disgusting it’s tragic.
His parents fought to have laws changed so that we would have to prepay for gas so that gas and dashes would be a thing of the past.
As of today, February 1, 2008, it is now mandatory for all people in the province in BC to pay before you pump - it’s called Grant’s Law.
We are no longer allowed to bring fluids in excess of 100ml on to a plane. (yet on my most recent flight, the woman in front of me was brandishing 12 inch knitting needles)
We are now required to remove our footwear for scanning when passing through security at airports.
How are all related? A few bad people have caused a lifetime of hassle for the rest of the population.
I had to fill up today. It’s a full serve gas station. Now, I’m fully capable of pumping my own gas, but this station was the one on my commute route. When I pulled in, I couldn’t find my debit card and elected to pay cash for my gas. Well, at this full serve station, the jockeys can’t handle cash - because of Grant’s Law. So I have to get out of my car and head inside and wait in line to prepay.
Now prepaying has been the way things go in the US for years, and each time it drives.me.nuts. I don’t know how much my gas is before I buy it. I don’t know how full my tank will be before I fill it up. So I have to go inside, overpay, go back outside, fill up, and then go inside and get my change - each time waiting in line.
I’m not a bad man, I’m not going to blow up a plane with my 500ml bottle of Dasani, but someone somewhere thought of maybe doing it, so I can’t take water on board.
I’m not a bad man, I don’t have lighter fluid and matches in my Nikes, but a crazed man one time thought about doing it, so I have to take my shoes off.
I’m not a bad man, I’m not going to gas and dash, but because a few jackasses do, millions of people are inconvenienced.
I am truly saddened for the loss of the De Patie family, and while I understood their original campaign to have prepaying be law in the overnight hours, the government went one step further and made it 24/7.
When will it end? Are we going to have to prepay for our booze at the club? $50 when you walk in, refund when you leave? Are we going to have to prepay for each course of our dinner at Chambar?
We’re not bad people, but just like in high school, when one delinquent gets out of order, the entire class gets detention.
One more aside - While you’re struggling with this new system today and forking over your nearly $1.10 a litre, ponder the profits these companies are raking in. Exxon Mobilreleased their profits for 2007 today. $40.6 Billion. Not bad, huh?
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
I get up at the crack of ass each morning, listen to Nat and Drew, and do some research for my radio show. Here’s what I found this morning and think is relevant to you today.
There is always more to Lost than you actually saw. Check out this blog and that blog dissecting the show for secret information about what’s really going on.
I agree. The Canucks are not going to make the playoffs this year.
It’s SuperBowl Weekend. EA did a game simulation with Madden 08. The Patriots win, but if you’re betting - take the Giants and the points.
The stock markets may have taken a big hit last month, but Exxon found time to make a record profit llast year. $40.6B. Over and above ALL costs of business, they pocketed $40B. Criminal.
Jimmy Kimmel celebrated his 5th anniversary last night. I’m digging him lately, I really think he’s better than those older guys. His girlfriend, Sarah Silverman, guested last night and sang him a song.
Jamie Lynn Spears is, quite possibly, more stupid than her sister. Meanwhile, the Britney situation is getting under control. Her father has been named her conservator, while he and a lawyer have been named conservator of her estate. The locks have been changed, everyone has been kicked out and a restraining order is in place against her “manager” Sam Lufti. It is hitting the fan. Finally.
Juno is up for a Best Picture Oscar. It’s a movie made by a Canadian director (Jason Reitman), it was filmed in Canada (Vancouver), it has Canadian leads (Ellen Page and Michael Cera) but it’s not Canadian enough to be nominated for a Genie. WTF?
A great post on what to tip when you get expensive wine with dinner.
We got a huge dump of snow the past couple of days. In Metro Vancouver, that means school closures. Or does it?
Usually the private schools are the first the shut at the slightest sneeze of snow. It’s an easy one to understand, they draw pupils from across the city, and with varying degrees of danger on the roads, it’s an easy call to close them. For example, when I was in high school at St Pat’s, I lived in Richmond. The school is at Main and Broadway. There were students bussing in from all over East Van, Richmond, Ladner, Kitsilano etc.
However public schools are a local service. Yes, parents insist on driving their children to school in fear they’ll get snatched if they walk, but most public schools are within a few blocks of the people who attend them.
So, it’s a tougher call to close a school that you could walk to, as opposed to one that relies on driving and transit to transport it’s students.
This week’s snowfall was no different. 27cm in Lynn Valley caused all North Van schools to close, while 6cm at the airport caused little effect to the Vancouver school district.
Our newsroom, (which is one person - we’re a top 40 music station, come on!) did the best to keep track of which schools were closed where. When info was received we briefly mentioned it on air, but put details on our website.
To be honest, we got some information wrong.
It changed on a minute to minute basis and some people thought their district was closed, when it was in fact open. One teacher was scolded for not showing up to her class after she’d heard her district was closed on the radio. (I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t take a dj’s word that I shouldnt show up for work, I’d double check with colleagues and supervisors.) Regardless, it’s a shame, we’ve apologized as much as we can.
I’m hearing from our newsroom that some districts are struggling with how to handle the situation in the future. Really? The method of sharing school closures is not complicated there is a simple and obvious solution.
OPEN LETTER TO ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN CANADA
From time to time, when there are exceptional circumstances, it may be necessary to close the school. Getting this information spread via radio is aniquated and inconsistent.
Not everyone listens to the same radio station, not every station is fully staffed to verify news information from multiple sources.
Here’s a simple layout to share the relevant information to the relevant recipients.
1. USE YOUR DISTRICT’S WEBSITE
Each district has a website, each school has a website. Many of these sites say “listen to xx radio station for school closure information.” Just as it was easy for you to put that information online, it is easy for you to post your individual closure information online. Instead of giving students multiple sources, you keep it to one - your website.
Principals wake up at 530a, 6a, 630a, determine the necessary policy and have it posted immediately. As parents and students wake up, they are given one reliable destination for information.
Having information collected for each school, on their respective district’s website also provides a solitary and reliable source for radio. Instead of having a newsroom field calls from schools all morning stating the closures (some of which could be student hoaxes) there would be a simple list of websites to check for accurate information. It could also be subscribed to via RSS feed should any changes be made that the newsrooms should be aware of.
2. USE YOUR AUTOMATED PHONE MESSAGES
The school has an answering machine for off duty hours. Update the message and give that number for parents to call. Yes, it can be busy, but it is also a reliable source of information for those without internet.
3. USE YOUR AUTOMATED DIALER
Many schools use an automated dialing service to call parents when students are late or absent. This is done in case something untoward has happened to the student in transit to school. Parents can also better keep track on the behaviour and attendance of their children. Use this dialer to send an automated message to each parent’s contact number that the school is clsed for the day.
4. USE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS
Just as you have contact numbers for parents, you have contact email addresses. Just as notices are now bulk emailed to parents instead of pinned to a child’s coat, you can bulk email the information to all the parents when it’s necessary for a closure.
5. DON’T CLOSE THE SCHOOL AT ALL
It’s been near -50 across the prairies all week. The schools have remained open. Why do we feel the need to close them at the slightest sneeze?
It’s all a matter of changing behaviour. It’s 2008, and while radio is a great way to spread information to a large number of people in a timely manner, when that information is niche and personalized, like a single school closure, radio becomes an ancient and cluttered method of sharing the information.
Schools have trained and told parents to “listen to xx radio station” for information, they could just as easily say “check your email in the morning,” or “check the website in the morning.”
Provided administration gets up early enough and makes the call on a closure with enough lead time, there should be no further mixups.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
A lot of people found a way to e-commute today. Get things done from home with the kids instead of hiking up the skirt and pounding through the slushy puddles.
That’s fine, but could you do it everyday? e-commute, I mean.
Darren Barefoot does. He has a Vancouver based web marketing company called Capulet Communications. For the past 8 months Darren has been running that company remotely, from Malta and, most recently, Essouira, Morocco.
But you’d have no idea if he was in a trendy Railtown loft, or his ancient riad on the Atlantic coast of Africa.
Pretty cool. I profile Darren in today’s cyberbuzz. I’m working on a feature piece on his efforts for a magazine later this spring.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The schools are closed and people aren’t showing up to work and meetings are getting cancelled.
I arrived at the station 20 mins ahead of a scheduled meeting to find it cancelled. The out of town visitor was petrified to drive from downtown to Richmond and nixed it.
My ride in wasn’t that bad. The conditions really aren’t that nasty today, as confirmed by an email from Grouse Mountain encouraging people to spend the day off school up on the mountain skiing.
Wait a second. Your children can’t get the 5 blocks to the local elementary school safely, but you can haul the whole family up to the North Shore to carve up a few turns? Sounds a little suspicious to me.
The truth be told, on days like today the roads suck for a couple of hours and then it’s no big deal. The plows get the work done, the traffic finishes off the job, driving the salt into the snow. By the time I got on my way at noon, I had one of the shortest commutes ever. No worries whatsoever.
Last year there was a spooky ass ride home because it was iced up like nobody’s business. Took me 2+ hrs to get home. I even picked up a woman who was so scared she pulled over on Hwy 91 and just opened my passenger door and got in. She didnt speak much english, she was just so scared about the conditions she had more confidence placing her safety in the charge of a total stranger than weathering it alone.
Those days are few and far between in Vancouver. Today was not one of those days.
I would venture to say the mountains were a little busier than normal too. It wasnt that bad, yes the sidewalks weren’t shoveled and we got a little wet when we went for our walk today, but we still troddled around, the kids could have made it to campus too. Besides, the best part about being at school when it snows, is recess!
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
The snow fell in thick cornflakes last night. It got a good 9 hours of tumbling from the sky without interruption. My chimney has a thick layer of butter frosting on it, like those in Whoville, or the North Pole, or Gingerbread Houses.
We’re taking Le Grand Monsieur for a sleigh ride in Lynn Creek Park this morning while I cross my fingers this stuff stops before I leave for work at noon.
It’s a day like today you bless the lord for bus service. Or do you?
Have you ever really thought about how and why you vote the way you do?
Are you Liberal, Republican, New Democrat, Independent, etc because your parents were? Is there one burning issue that supercedes all others that causes you to lean one way, irregardless of the others?
I always thought it was weird that the unions were heavy NDP supporters. The NDP are clear backers of gay rights and marriage, and in the same breath the blue collar boys are rallying around them as “the union friendly party.” Something tells me the union issue superceded the gay issue, when it came to their voting.
The U-S is going through a tumultuous election campaign that started about a war, became about an economy and is slowing degrading into a debate about race and gender. The war and the economy were legitimate “issues,” but in the end, the biggest “issue” facing anyone about to enter a voting booth becomes the most important - charisma.
I’m not eligible to vote in the US election, but like any political junkie I’m standing on the sidelines cheering on my favourite horse. I “thought” it was Hillary Clinton. I don’t know why, I just “liked her best.” I grew up in a Liberal household at the peak of Trudeaumania, so I’ve always sided with the Dems, but honestly my cheering for Hillary had as much thought as to who I will cheer for in the World Series. I didnt analyze anything, I just went with my heart.
Darren Barefootwaded into the issue today, throwing his support behind Barack Obama.
I’m rooting for Obama because he seems like more of a visionary and an agent of change. He’s also the superior orator. That may not make him a better president, but I might have to listen to one of them for the next four or eight years, so I’m going with the better public speaker.[source]
I’m guessing Darren’s always had a liberal attitude, but when it came to deciding who to cheer for, it was charisma that became the big election issue, not the actual issues.
The website GlassBooth.org lets you rate the issues facing the current candidates on level of importance to you. Then it asks you 20 questions based on those issues. It then matches your personal and moral values with the values expressed by the candidates so far in the campaign.
I took a similar poll in the last Canadian election, I should have voted for the Bloc Quebecois. For a vehement nationalist like myself, this was a bitter pill - but I’m guessing my unique combination of liberal and conservative attitudes is reflected by Gilles Duceppe, notwithstanding clause be damned.
In the American example, I’m scheduled to throw my support behind Mike Gravel. I have no idea who he is. I don’t know what he looks like. I have never seen him speak. But according to the survey at GlassBooth.org, he’s the candidate whose values best match mine, at 83%. John Edwards is a 74% match, Hillary is a 73% match.
Mike Gravel isn’t grabbing any newstalk air time. He’s not being featured on Oprah. He may not be the most charismatic candidate in the campaign, but he’s the one that matches my issues the best.
I think all voters should be asked to take a test like GlassBooth.org, instead of voting. You are asked what you believe in, which issues are important and your personal values are then matched with the candidate best reflecting your belief system. Think of it as Lavalife for the Voting Booth.
Something tells me that if we elected officials based on the issue of issues, instead of the issue of charisma, we’d bitch a lot less and have a more effective government.
That said, it will be a cold day in hell before I put an ‘X’ next to a candidate from the BQ.
The Blog According to Buzz. Spread the word, ya heard?
- It's Weedless Wednesday. A part of National Non Smoking Week. Already BC has the lowest smoking rate in the country. If you still smoke, I'd like to ask you "Why?" Seriously, why would you do something like that to yourself. Pretend this is a debate, convince me that smoking is fine and dandy. You can't do it. Quit already.
I had to fill up today. It’s a full serve gas station. Now, I’m fully capable of pumping my own gas, but this station was the one on my commute route. When I pulled in, I couldn’t find my debit card and elected to pay cash for my gas. Well, at this full serve station, the jockeys can’t handle cash - because of Grant’s Law. So I have to get out of my car and head inside and wait in line to prepay.
Have you ever really thought about how and why you vote the way you do?
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