GC100 & Bust

Grey Cup 100 has come and gone and we're left with the pieces of a great week but a terrible game. The Stampeders didn't leave it on the field, they left it all int he dressing room. Admittedly, few thought they'd make it that far but the show they put on, against the laughing stock of sports franchises in this country Toronto, makes it a tough pill to swallow.

But luckily CFL is not like NHL and most people recover pretty quick. It definitely helps that when it comes to recovery, the Mayor of Toronto (or rather former mayor) helped Calgarians out. With his hilarious off-field pre-game antics include the 'phantom' tackle and stomping on the Stampeder jersey, Ford is now OUT and we are left with Nenshi who's busy working for the city and figuring out how to spend out monies.

I'll take a solid mayor over a Grey Cup any day.

Parking Woes in YYC

Collier's International, which is a realestate firm in North America, released a report that pits Calgary as the second most expensive city for metropolitan parking. Calgary is second only to New York City. You know the place, the Big Apple, bright lights, the clash of culture, the concrete jungle of awesome. Calgary on the other hand, the meandering sleeping city who's core shuts down at 4 PM on a Friday afternoon, yea, we have the second highest cost for parking. The majority of that cost is both short term solutions, and of course the dreaded monthly parking if you so desired to be among the elite driving into downtown on any given day. Crazy to say the least. Albeit, we've increased modestly over the past year, it's still a dubious distinction.

Are things getting worse?

Unemployment in Calgary increased by .1 of a percent in September. Condo markets in Toronto are collapsing. Vancouver is seeing real estate slow by 60%. Will Calgary follow suit? The city where Quality of Life was measured as among the highest in Canada also has its foibles ranging from almost the highest parking costs in the CONTINENT, and stagnant housing prices (stagnantly high).

The slow process of 'getting worse' may be trickling down in this fair city.....

New Drunk Driving Levels in Alberta

New legislation makes it official pitting .05 as the new legal limit of blood alcohol to have in your bloodstream. The argument against is that social drinkers will now be targeted rather than repeat offenders or people who routinely take drunk driving seriously (as in you're clearly inebriated when you get behind the wheel.)

Others say any level of alcohol is too much (then why not zero tolerance?)

Fact is .05 HAS changed behaviours in this province. Why? People know that after 1, at most 2 pints they're at their max. Case in point, I know of someone just over 200 pounds, about 6"2, athletic build.  Even after taking a FULL meal, one pint, and then a second pint after the meal an hour and a half later, he blew over.

I'm all for keeping roads safe, so although this one is controversial, let's hope it actually makes a measurable difference in road safety.

Calgary ranked #1 in quality of life

It seems all that Stampeding, free food, and oil money pays off. Calgary was ranked #1 in canada in terms of quality of life in a recent Angus Reid survey.

Surprisingly Calgarians rated their government high on items like environment, 65% agreeing the municipal government is doing enough in protection.

That may be ultimately true when it comes to municipal governments, the Nenshi like wave of enthusiasm still hasn't dampened. Provincially that's a different story. You'd think oil rich Albertans aren't so daff they believe they're doing admirably in protecting the environment. Unless they have some rose colored glasses, which according to this survey may be the case to some degree....

http://www.angus-reid.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2012.07.13_Cities_CAN.pdf

Brutal records on environment

It's oil rich Alberta, we all get that, but I still shake my head when it comes to the lack of policy and action on the environment.


Too bad the Evergreens won't win a seat and no more than 5% of popular vote. We could use a voice from the opposite end of the spectrum if only to challenge positions that opt for industry over environment and long term sustainability.

WRP has no policy. Well they do, but it's weak. You also have to shake your head at any political party that completely rejects any notion of global warming. I get the conspiracy theorists are out there, but the scientific community is pretty tight on this one.

All in all, enviro will lose, again. Which sucks. But at least we'll get revenue share cheques in the mail that we can blow on beer and steaks.

What matters most in an election?

The war of words has heated up. The WRP seem to be using Republican style tactics in their messaging, and heck, their platform as well. But this is Alberta and quite frankly that works for many. It will be interesting to see where people fall on election day. The WRP have garnered some momentum, but people I've talked to don't like the whole package. Apart from the fact they 've never governed, there's fragmentation within the party. Is it OK for a few of their candidates to publicly chastise homosexuality? Or is that OK for an elected official? PC aren't immune either, they're in panic mode trying to figure out how to stop the bleeding. Overall the leadership in the PC is the strongest, but we're also talking about a government that's used to winning and everyon nkows, where you settle, there you die. Alberta is going to get a change, we need a change, but some are left worried about how much of a change it will be. I for one don't want to be propelled into the the 70s with old thinking because rural Alberta hates the interweb.

Enough with bottled water

First world problems.

Namely, the taste of water. THE TASTE?!?!! Come on people. But let's say that you want to reduce your impact on the environment by drinking more tap water. Well some people insist on the pre bottled canisters. A pure marketing ploy if there's ever one. Now, get bottled water if you must, and most places in the world require it. However, in places like Calgary, drinking from the tap is one of the best sources of water. Yes, a Brita might get out a few more 'impurities', but when it comes down to it, it's not no bottles or a filter that helps, it's just drinking straight from the tap. We have the safest and cleanest water in the world. So really it all comes down to preference--we've been tricked into paying even more for cheap and clean water at our tap. Don't be rused, have a swig from the faucet.

Just don't do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BeDPekd-DA

Election Call - Vote in a MOnth

Get ready because in a month we have our say to reshape Alberta. Things are going to change. Whether it's for the good or for the worse we'll see, but things will be changing .

Change your life now

Eat right.

Sometimes i wonder

Where does all my recycling go? I put tons of it in my green and blue boxes. But does that stuff actually make it to the magical recycling facility? I know it's processed somewhere, but then what? THe landfill? Someone buys the materials.....who? The Chinese? Do we boat it all there and then dump it at sea?!