gd-system-plugin domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /var/www/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114You either pay attention or pay through the nose. I would rather pay attention.
In what I would compare to an excerpt from Ann Coulter’s Treason, PomoChristian has just an excellent post on the views of ex U.S. President Jimmy Carter. I highly urge you to surf over and give this great post a read.
There is a reason I read his blog regularly. This post is one of the many examples of great penmanship exhibited on this site.
Well, the hype surrounding getting a Tim Horton’s in Afghanistan is growing. The Ottawa Sun had a poll on it and now General Rick Hillier is speaking about it.
| American troops in Afghanistan have access to fast food from Pizza Hut and Burger King, but the Canadians can’t get fresh Timbits.Hillier says it would be a big morale-booster to have a coffee shop in Kandahar.
“I invite the CEO of Tim Hortons to come with me to Afghanistan and see the powerful implications that would come from that.” The company said in a statement that it’s working with the Forces on having its products available in Afghanistan. |
H/T to Blue Blogging Soapbox.
I am pleased to see that we are going to vet Marshall Rothstein as part of his nomination for Supreme Court Justice.
If Stephen Harper hopes to move the agenda forward with elected judges, then we, the public, should pay very close attention to things like this. It is our best chance to see and understand what the opinions are so we can better vote for or against certain nominees down the road.
I think personal life questions are not necessary, and should be avoided. But I do believe, as does Phantom Observer, that justices need to speak to their past decisions and to prospective future ones. This is the whole point of them being judges and us electing them. The majority can determine what they feel is best. We won’t always win, but at least we would know where they stand on things like abortion, same sex marriage, etc as far as interpretation in our constitution.
Hopefully, it goes well for Rothstein tomorrow. He, apparently, has good credentials and is well respected in both the Conservatives and the Liberal parties, as well as with the legal community, in general.
When I predicted Alex Munter’s entry in the Ottawa Municipal Elections would split the left wing vote, I didn’t know Terry Kilrea would agree with me. But it is good to know my hunches can be right.
Mr. Kilrea believes that with Mr. Munter in the race, the center/left vote will be split between his rivals and he stands a good chance of becoming Ottawa’s next leader.“They’ll split the vote,” Mr. Kilrea said yesterday. “Alex is going to take the left votes that would have gone to the mayor. Anybody voting for me will not vote for Alex Munter. There’s only one place for him take votes from, and that’s the mayor. “Alex is a younger carbon copy of the current tax and spend mayor, but he’s more left, and Ottawa can’t afford Alex Munter.” |
I must say, when I saw this picture in my email box I became very suspect about it being a hoax. So I did some digging.
Six years, 500 million euros, 918 meters long Now this is engineering!This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration. To those who appreciate engineering projects. |
Here is the original photo I saw.
I typed the town name, Magdeburg, from the email into my Google Earth, and lo and behold, I saw channel after channel of waterways. So I looked at the likeliest direct crossing water and came up with this.
If you look carefully, you can see the crossing point going east west. It appears to be two white strips on either side as I believe this satellite photo was taken during the construction phase.
I then found some supporting maps on various German websites, including this one which exactly maps on to my Google Earth. Here is the clearest.
For posterity, here is a side view of the bridge I found at a German waterway construction site.
I was first amazed by German technology when a friend of mine had a piece of permanently shaped wire that you could bend and when heated with a match sized flame, returned to its’ original mold. I was about 9. Things like this bridge just reinstill my faith in the technology and interest in it that Germans have.
I just wanted to give some Kudo’s to our G8 partner. It is well deserved for this one.
Supporting links:
Waterway Cross Magdeburg – Wikipedia
WasserstraBenkreuz Magdeburg – Official Canal Site (I think)
Canal Bridge Magdeburg – dillinger.de website
Just an FYI for those posting here. I have corrected problems with the trackback feature of the site. I have also added a feature to allow you to email the post you are on to a friend and included a preview comment feature as well. I have refrained from adding Chaptcha which is the funny letters many sites ask you to fill in on the comment page. This security feature is there to prevent unwanted automated posting by spam commenters. I will retain the right to turn it on should spam get excessive on this site.
Well, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle. Tonight at 8:39 pm EDT, we had an earthquake in Ottawa. I’m serious.
I was sitting here and the walls started shaking. I jumped up because I am more used to a big thump when the kids get a bit over rambunctious. Cookie looked at me bewildered and said “What was that??” I told them I thought it was an earthquake, but put my shoes on and went outside to see if any big construction vehicles were rolling up the road. A jet flew over, but it was way to high.
I went back inside and asked the kids what time it was. 8:40 pm. Colbert felt it in south Ottawa too. On his site he points people to the Earthquakes Canada site. And sure enough, one was centered 7 km north of Thurso, Quebec and registered a 4.5.
For those who aren’t aware, Thurso is about 80 km East of Ottawa.
While reading the paper today, I was perusing the first few pages, and catching up on Gordon O’Connor’s announcement on the intentions of the Ministry of Defence, when something leapt out at me.
| Canadians may be taking over the region but they will still be guests at Kandahar Airfield, the U.S. base with 9,500 troops and civilians from a host of countries. Canadians have set up headquarters and a Canada House tent and patio where they can sip Tim Hortons coffee and watch the Olympics on TV. |
(emphasis mine)
Did I read correctly? Are they actually sipping Tim Horton’s?? Can I possibly end my protest? If anyone has a friend in the military who is in Kandahar, I would love to know what they mean by “sip Tim Horton’s coffee”.
For my tastebud’s sake, I hope it’s a real cup of Timmy’s. But I have a feeling that it is just homebrewed from a tin can.
Tonight, I had the priviledge of attending my riding associations annual general meeting. The Board members were elected and the executive was named. I am still not sure it actually happened, but I was nominated and now sit as the Communications Director. What is a communications director you might ask? Well directly from the Association website:
| Responsibilities: The Communications Director’s primary responsibilities are: (a) Newsletters: design/write and arrange for printing and mailing; (b) Website: design, write and maintain; (c) Correspondence: email replies and postal communications; and (d) Fundraising letters: write, merge with membership list, and arrange for printing and mailing. |
To break this down….
a) Newsletters: I can use mail merge in Word, and I can write with some rudimentary skill, as displayed on this website. I also know how to handle mass printing, envelope stuffing and mailing so that’s not an issue. Ok, so far so good.
b) Website: Ugh. No offence to the original designer, but I think this area is one I can help in. Hopefully, no one saw the trouble I had moving my server and getting WordPress up and running. But I think overall it was pretty smooth for my first effort into PHP and xhtml.
c) Correspondence: email etc. I should be fine here. I am good on the PC, and did a lot of work with mailings when I was in tech support my first year in the high tech industry.
d) Fundraising letters: Ok, so being in sales I think this one is ok. I am more used to providing goods for people giving me money instead of just asking for it, but maybe that means I put some good effort into explaining the benefits for those who are unsure about things.
I must also say that Brent Colbert was there as an independent observer and scrutineer. When I exclaimed my concern over this blog and my position, he said that I should put a disclaimer up. So in light of this, I have edited my old legal disclaimer and would like to reiterate here, that my words on this website are not necessarily those of the Conservative Party of Canada. I choose to express my views here, but seldom differ from those of the Tories. I do believe that there is a time to express your view, and a time to tow the party line. Once views are all presented and a decision is made, I do fully support the decisions which the majority make.
This has been a heck of a week. Previous to this, I have re-entered the land of the working having begun a new job last Monday. Back into strategic technical sales and marketing for me. (If you’re looking for some Memory or Memory modules in Ottawa, let me know!!
It didn’t take long for Councillors El i El-Chantery and Janet Stavinga’s office to return my email request. I had emailed all of city council and the mayor of Ottawa asking them not to allow this growth.
Response from Eli El-Chantiry:
| Thank you for your e-mail. I know this expansion is a real concern for all of us — it is in our community and we have to live with it every day. Our office was advised of WM’s proposed expansion plans in early February and that there would be an Open House held on Feb. 7th at the West Carleton Meeting Centre. I attended this Open House and talked to WM’s staff, concerned residents, and City Staff. Prior to this Open House I contacted City staff to confirm what involvement/authority we would have in this process. I was told that it falls under the Ministry of the Environment for approval and that this open house is part of the requirements for the Terms of Reference for the expansion. I was told that City staff will be in attendance each step of the way and that they would keep City Council apprised. As you know, it is very important that residents attend all the advertised information meetings and express their concerns so that they are documented with the data being sent to the Ministry of the Environment. It is also important to write to the Premier, Dalton McGuinty and your MPP, Mr. Norm Sterling. The contact at the City of Ottawa is Ken Brothers, P.Eng. who is the Director, Utility Services Branch should you have questions. There is also going to be a Public Meeting by WM held on Wednesday, March 1, 2006, 6-9:00 pm (presentation at 7:00 pm) followed by Q&A, at the Ecole elementaire catholique Jean-Paul II (gym), 5473 Abbott St., Stittsville. Please spread the word about this meeting to your neighbours. I will do my homework and I will represent my constituents’ views. I will continue to be your voice and support in our community. See you on March 1st and please keep me informed. Regards, Eli El-Chantiry. |
Response from Janet Stavinga’s Office:
| Thank you for your e-mail to Councillor Stavinga. This information will be brought to the councillor’s attention. In the interim, it would be of tremendous benefit to receive your permission to forward your message to Michael Walters, WM’s (Waste Management) Senior District Manager of Landfills for Eastern Canada, on this and any future correspondence you would be sending to Councillor Stavinga. This would enable your concerns and suggestions to be brought to Mr. Walters’ immediate attention and would also ensure your correspondence is placed on the public record required for the Environmental Assessment Review Process. Again, thank you for taking the time to express your concerns. Debra Belle Assistant to Councillor Janet Stavinga |
Now I have no idea who to contact. One tells me my MPP, Norm Sterling, the other says the Sr. District Manager of Landfills for Waste Management, Michael Walters. i guess I will do both. I gave Stavinga’s office permission to forward my email. I will contact Norm Sterling directly. I urge you all to now contact your MPP’s to stop the chances of the growth of the Carp Mountain (of trash).