That's a big swing

Amazingly, we have somehow managed to experience a 21 degree temperature swing since this morning. Maybe what is even more impressive than the fact that we experienced such a large temperature swing is that it basically happened as forecast.

A consequence of this huge swing is that buildings are much warmer than I think they should be. I guess it will take another day or so for things to work themselves out with regards to building temperature.

Score
Cameron 65
Neil 30

End of the blog-off

There are less than 14 minutes left in the blog-off, which means the blog-off is at least 2799 2800ths done with the competition this year. Cameron hasn't posted much this evening and only has a few minutes to correct the tagging of previous entries to regain 30 or so points. After this post, I'm within striking distance; it feels like a trap. Oh wait... Cameron has posted a new post with a high score for himself. It looks like he has perhaps corrected his labelling mistakes. Looks like that just about does it for me. I'm confident I don't have another 7 posts in me.

Score

Cameron 65

Neil 30

New Ubuntu installs

In the past month or so I've installed Ubuntu on three computers: Rebecca's old laptop, my new laptop and my desktop at school. Overall I was quite pleased the with install process and the final result.

All the installs were performed using a USB flash drive. I started with Rebecca's old laptop and I used all 40 gigs for Ubuntu, removing Windows from the machine. I caused some trouble for myself by partially disabling the wireless on Windows, which I then had to go back and fix at an inopportune time which cost me some minutes. I also tried at first to use a flash drive that wasn't fast enough, which cost me about an hour. The good news is that the laptop is now much more usable than it had been, both in terms of hard drive space and the resources required to run the OS on a minute-to-minute basis.

The other two installs were different in that they were dual-boot installs (ie. the Windows OS was left functioning). These took a little more internet research and a little guidance from an officemate but went as smoothly as was reasonable.

I'm now using Ubuntu almost exclusively at work and home. As I go on I hope to notice productivity increases from easier access to some programs.

Score

Cameron 34

Neil 25

Revised blog-off counts

I'm pleased now to bring you a revised blog-off count, as shown at the bottom of this post. The method of counting was not checked closely and I may easily have overcounted*. However, as you can see the competition is very close at this point; 3 more posts is definitely within my ability.

*according to Jeopardy this evening "overfish" is what you do to tuna and cod (or at least that's how I prefer to remember it).

Score

Cameron 34

Neil 20

Thank goodness for spam bots

It now seems as though Neil is now trying to use the fact that my Twitter account is tied to our blog to post things of an unseemly nature to my Twitter feed. I think it is fair to say that I didn't imagine that this is how this service might be abused. Though seeing as how I am dealing with Neil I probably should have guessed that he would figure out how to game the system and try to find a way to 'humiliate' me.

Anyway, I guess I am now a little glad that so many of my Twitter followers are spam bots and faceless corporations. Who would have ever imagined that I would be glad that most of the people following me on Twitter aren't living and breathing individuals?

The worst part is that any submissions made for this devious purpose will not only be attempts to embarass me, but they will also bring Neil five steps closer to victory.

Score
Cameron 64
Neil 15

Is he making a run for it?

It seems that Neil has decided to make a last minute run for the title in our 3rd annual Montifax blog-off. Finally. I was wondering how long I would have to wait before his competitive juices would start to kick in.

Given that I have handicapped myself so severely I think it would be possible for Neil to crank out the baker's dozen or so posts he would need to win (it may be fewer if his newly added rule about only posts tagged with 'competitions' stands).

Of course, even though we aren't talking about all that many posts, it would be more posts than Neil has made on the blog since previous blog-offs.

Score
Cameron 63
Neil 15

Taking care of one's Twitter account

It has just occurred to me that I don't mind that my blog posts are going to Cameron's twitter feed; it gives me free access to post to Cameron's twitter account without his consent.

I'm taking suggestions in the comments of this post on clever things to post to Cameron's twitter account. Please include all of your good ideas, as I can do this seemingly as much as I want. I presume Blogger doesn't scrub # from titles, so feel free to use hashtags too. I can probably use @ too, so if you want a shout-out let me know. Note that the auto-included url is about 20 characters, so 120 characters or less please.

Score

Cameron 62?

Neil 15

Stealing credit where little credit is due

I hadn't intended to blog again so soon, but it appears Cameron is stealing Twitter credit for my posts. (Perhaps I would have noticed if I had blogged more recently.) As I'm not familiar with the service Cameron is using to do this, it is necessary to assume that there is an option for him only to post his own contributions, and that he is consciously stealing credit for my posts.

I'll update later on Cameron's correct score; I haven't had a chance to review his previous sneaks because I'm too busy uncovering new ones.

Score

Cameron 62?

Neil 10

Fire up the ol' blogger (AKA my blogger was broken)

So not much is new with respect to blogging. I was briefly listed as a contributer on Doyle Pitches, but I removed myself after an exhausting 11 or so days of not contributing.

I've been told recently (about a month ago) that there's also a blog-off here at Montifax. Cameron sneakily holds these competitions with so little notice that it is hard to find time to come up with ideas. (Author's note: I'm not good with counting or ideas.) On a related topic, I think I should clarify that only posts that have the label "competitions" will be counted in the blog-off. The score below may be corrected upon review of previous posts this month.

Score

Cameron 62?

Neil 5

How it's done

Neil and I dropped some serious know-how on our Roll Up the Rim to Win cups earlier tonight. On coffees that we finished within a matter of minutes of one another we both used my rim-roller to take us to victory. Of course, I suspect the rim-roller is just starting to get warmed up as neither of us won more than free coffees, but they were victories nonetheless.



[Embedded video]

Anyway, we will have to see if my rim-roller is an effective winning machine as I think it might be.

Score
Cameron 62
Neil 0

Late February snowfall

So it seems that we are getting some of the storm that was forecast for the region. Fortunately, at least so far, the rain hasn't started. Of course, I imagine that the rain won't take too long to arrive.



[Embedded video]

It seems a rather fitting way to bid adieu to our third annual blog-off doesn't it?

Score
Cameron 61
Neil 0

Has MUN gone viral?

Last night, on Neil and Rebecca's recommendation, I was watching a video on YouTube. All of a sudden I noticed an ad that had something to do with double rainbows. After a slightly closer inspection I noticed that the ad had something to do with Memorial University of Newfoundland, apparently it is an ad for their philosophy program.

I am not sure how effective viral video based ads on YouTube will be at attracting students to MUN, but I definitely found this one amusing. I generally feel that a move in this direction would be an improvement for Canadian university advertising campaigns, which to this point have generally pretty lacklustre and unexciting (at least as far as I have seen).

Score
Cameron 60
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 515

-After our late week rain storm we have fallen back to sub zero temperatures. Not surprisingly, we now have all kinds of ice and whatnot. The worst part is that we are supposed to have another rain/snow storm tomorrow.

-One consequence of this relatively horrible series of weather events has been the formation of a large sheet of ice on the cement area outside my bedroom window. My attempt to do some sliding on this ice was relatively disappointing.



[Embedded video]

-Tomorrow is the final day of the blog-off. I am still trying to convince Neil to throw up a few posts before time runs out. If he doesn't throw up at least a post it will be a bit weird to post a wrap-up video and celebrate my victory.

-We had our final regular season Ultimate game last night. Unfortunately, we didn't play very well and managed to lose the game.

Score
Cameron 59
Neil 0

Partially formed ideas about post-secondary education in Nova Scotia

Since the release of the O'Neill Report on post-secondary education in Nova Scotia a number of the report's recommendations and potential ramifications have been on my mind. Of course, none of these ideas have been fully formed, nor have I really been able to articulate exactly where the problem is or what I think might be a better solution.

Recommendations relating to tuition deregulation have, it would seem, been foremost on my mind. For your information, the general thrust of the recommendation was for a deregulation of tuition fees with the expectation that they will increase over time. Almost immediately this recommendation seemed counter intuitive to me, at least if Nova Scotia is still interested in having universities. If they they want their universities to whither and die this recommendation makes prefect sense.

I guess I should start with a little background. Of the 77 000 (or so) university students in Atlantic Canada, 35 000 are studying at Nova Scotia's 11 universities (6 of which are located in Halifax). Many of these students come from place other than Nova Scotia. Dal suggests that 44% of its students come from provinces other than Nova Scotia and 10% are international students.

On the demographics side of things, Nova Scotia has one of the oldest populations in Canada and is only getting older. Population projections don't paint a rosy picture of the Nova Scotia of the future. I would say that it will be nothing but old folks homes but I am not sure that they will even have the people to work in those positions throughout the province. Consequently, a fair bit of money and effort has been put into encouraging young people to migrate to Nova Scotia, or stay here if that is where they are from.

On the competing universities side of things, MUN's lowered tuition fees and a corresponding increase in the number students from Nova Scotia seems to suggest that some portion of the Nova Scotia population is responsive to relative differences in tuition prices. As things stood in 2005/06 (the last year for which I could find full data) the difference in price between Dalhousie and Memorial for 4 years of tuition, room and board, and fees was about $27 000. Dalhousie was almost twice as expensive as Memorial for exactly the same degree. Unfortunately, I don't have a full picture of exactly how having the country's highest undergraduate tuition fees are driving local students out of the province (but I suspect that it is not a pretty picture).

I should also mention that Nova Scotia has a graduate tax rebate that can be valued at several thousand dollars, if you pay taxes/have a job. While the utility of this program, at least to me, seems questionable at best (particularly when other provinces have comparable programs that are more lucrative), it does suggest that the province is willing to put up funds to encourage youth residency in the province.

So, to sum up, we have a context where a young, educated population is needed and there is some evidence that these people seem at least somewhat sensitive to price. Consequently it seems strange to increase tuition when efforts are also being made to attract young residents to the region. This seems particularly strange given the relatively small sums of money we are talking about on the tuition front. $35 000 000 ($1000 a student) in a budget of several billion is relatively insignificant. Instead of driving students out and then trying to bring them back with a tax rebate (that may not even apply to most people) they could maybe consider trying to encourage them to stay with lower tuition fees, or something of that nature.

Anyway, I know I am rambling and a little disorganized, but it just seems that by allowing tuition increases the provincial government has the potential to exacerbate an already serious problem. As far as I can tell, the best case scenario associated with these recommendations is that only a few thousand students stop coming to Nova Scotia to be educated - which won't be good considering the number of universities that the province has chosen to maintain.

Again, I apologize for the sloppy organization of these ideas. I just needed to get this off my chest. Maybe if I talk it through a few more times I might have something approaching a coherent argument or position.

[And I should be clear, everything discussed here is in the context of a place that has chosen to publicly fund education and population retention schemes. The issue isn't whether or not public funds are appropriate, but how they will be used.]

Score
Cameron 58
Neil 0

Neat idea

A friend of mine from library school recently started a blog drawing attention to types information/things that are not available online.

I really like the idea of being reminded that there are all kinds of things that aren't yet available online (or that may never be available online). In particular, it is nice to be reminded of those things that aren't online that we might expect to find online. What about all of those government records that have been created electronically since the 1980s that still aren't available online?

And I guess another important purpose is to remind people of the utility of those institutions that do house this information. For better or worse, and whether we like it or not, libraries and archives still remain the only places to get some materials. Newfoundland's pre-confederation records are still only available at the provincial archive. If you want to see them you have to go there in person.

Anyway, if this sounds as though it might be the kind of thing that would interest you I would encourage you to check the site out (and even make suggestions as to other types of information that might be included).

Score
Cameron 57
Neil 0

Reading and stuff

Yesterday, as part of my preparations for my upcoming comprehensive exam, I went to the library and borrowed a few books. The book that I have started to read is Thomas S. Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd ed., apparently the popular edition of the work.

Though I had heard of Kuhn and his famous paradigms before yesterday, I really didn't know much about Kuhn or his work (not that I know all that much now).

Anyway, the first thing that I learned about Kuhn is that he was trained as a physicist. Given that I have only encountered his work in the context of the social sciences this surprised me. I guess that as the book was classified in the Qs I should have had a hint as to the nature of the author's subject and training.

On a related note, I also didn't really know that Kuhn's focus is largely hard science/s (i.e. physics and optics and whatnot). That his work is so frequently discussed in the social sciences seems to have been something of a coincidence, rather than Kuhn's goal when writing the book (though this is not to suggest that he didn't think about the social sciences in the development of his ideas). The following paragraph from the Wiki article on the book seems to sum things up nicely:

In 1987, Kuhn's work was reported to be the twentieth-century book most frequently cited in the period 1976-83 in the Arts and the Humanities and the Times Literary Supplement labeled it one of "The Hundred Most Influential Books Since the Second World War." The book's basic concepts have been adopted and co-opted by a variety of fields and disciplines beyond those encompassing the history and philosophy of science.

Anyway, all of this was just to say that I am enjoying the book so far. In some ways it reminds me of reading Orwell or Huxley as a teenager.

I guess I should probably get back to work.

Score
Cameron 56
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 514

-After several days of sub-zero weather we have finally moved onto a just-above-freezing winter rainstorm. Though I haven't gone outside yet, I imagine that it is going to be pretty slippery and generally unpleasant. Oh, and the temperature is supposed to return to the sub-zero zone by tomorrow. What fun.

-I seemed to have dropped to 0:2 in this year's Rollmops the Rim to Win competition. As lame as it is to keep reporting these figures here, I am largely motivated to continue the practice this year for two reasons. Firstly, I do like knowing my record and this is a relatively easy way of keeping track of it. Secondly, it seems that my brother, sister, and mother have kept me abreast of their progress so far this year, so it seems only right that I continue to return the favour and, again, this seems to be the easiest way to do it.

-Apparently Dalhousie is no longer a nuclear power. I guess it is mildly comforting to know that there isn't a 30 year old nuclear reactor in the building next to my office.

-The end of our 3rd annual blog-off is fast approaching. As of yet Neil has still not posted. I am hoping that he will throw up at least a few posts before the whole thing wraps up in a couple of days.

Score
Cameron 55
Neil 0

The Tunnel

Apparently we are in the midst another round of Labrador to Newfoundland tunnel talks, though this time it seems that Newfoundland is being aided and abetted by Quebec.

I really don't understand how this concept has had such staying power. Given the billions (close to 2) that this project will likely cost, I just don't see how the tunnel will ever be able to pay itself off, particularly as there will be so few people living near either end of the proposed tunnel. And I have to imagine that this number is projected to drop over the coming years (turns out I was right, projections aren't positive for the economic zones on either side of the tunnel)

I thought that it was particularly funny that in the linked CBC article it was suggested that savings of $2 billion could be achieved over the course of 20 years (on a tunnel that will likely cost at least $1.7 billion - if not more). So it seems that in the best case scenario there might be a net savings of $300 million, though I guess this comes before the interest on the borrowed $1.7 billion, the cost over-runs that are sure to transpire, and 20 years of tunnel maintenance. Maybe savings on a $1.7 billion (or larger) investment should have the potential to be worth more than $15 million a year?

Maybe there are less expensive methods of saving $2 billion over 20 years than spending $1.7 billion upfront and then having an expensive piece of infrastructure that will require constant maintenance and care?

Score
Cameron 54
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 513

-Today was a pretty standard winter's day - warmer while the sun was shining and cold in the evening. Not surprisingly, the official record, as recorded by Environment Canada, doesn't seem to reflect the reality of todays ups and downs.

-It seems that Roll Up the Rim to Win has started again. Apparently, though I would never have guessed it, the competition is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Anyway, I am off to a disappointing 0 for 1 start.

-I have started searching the library's catalogue to find the books that I will need to prepare for my upcoming comprehensive exam. This have not gotten off to an auspicious start. Two of the four books that I have searched for are not held but the library but will need to be brought in from other universities in the region. Sadly, this rate of success isn't a surprise.

-Peter and I enjoyed tonight's Old Man Luedecke show. It is possible that this will be the final show of this concert series that I will attend, though I guess there is some chance that I might go to Amelia Curran/City and Colour show on Friday.

-I guess I should get back to locating/requesting library books. Maybe, if I am lucky, I will even get to start reading one of the articles I printed earlier this evening.

-It would be really great if Neil took a few minutes to throw up a post or two. The margin by which I am winning is starting to become a little embarrassing.

Score
Cameron 53
Neil 0

The Next Phase

Just a few minutes ago I received a copy of my reading list for my comparative politics comprehensive. As expected, it is a little longer and more intense than I might have liked (it is 13 pages with 25-30 citations a page). And this is for a test that I am supposed to write in May.

On the upside, I have read a few of the articles on the list before (and I recognize most of the authors). Maybe most importantly, I do have some control when it comes to the areas on which I am to be tested. So even though the list is 13 pages long, I will only be responsible for a subsection of the full list.

In any event, I definitely have a lot of reading and studying to do between now and May.

I have already started to download a few of the articles and tomorrow I will head in to the library to pick up a few books. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be fully immersed in the studying process. Yum. Should be exciting.

Score
Cameron 52
Neil 0

Don't (Rawlins) Cross me

As I approached this evening's Rawlins Cross concert I heard the band lay into Colleen, the song that I think of when I think of Rawlins Cross. I made it into the concert area proper to catch the end of the song.



[Embedded video]

Almost immediately thereafter I was treated to a rendition of Wild Rose, another of the Rawlins Cross songs that reminds me of my childhood.



[Embedded video]

Much to my surprise, Sean Panting (AKA Walter) was performing with the band. Though for much of the concert he was just performing away, he eventually really started throwing his body into it and rocking out.



[Embedded video]

Though my mother suggested that I go back stage and talk to Ian McKinnon (and re-introduce myself) I opted to just leave after the show. Trying to wangle my way backstage didn't seem particularly wise or something that was likely to succeed.

Anyway, tomorrow night I will be heading back to Parade Square for Old Man Luedecke's concert, the last concert of this series that I will be attending.

Score
Cameron 51
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 512

-Today seems to have been a pretty bland, though cold, day so far. Apparently we may even be in for a few flurries this evening.

-I spend a few hours yesterday and today transcribing, unfortunately, I am not really out of it. I just can quite seem to concentrate. Of course, in this state it didn't take me long to get to animated gifs.



-Later this evening I am hoping to catch some of the free Rawlins Cross show at the Grand Parade. As I will likely be going by myself I am not sure if I will go for the entire show. As an early investor in the band I do feel somewhat compelled to see at least some of the show.

-Jeannette and I are likely to have homemade pizzas for dinner tonight. As usual, my will be cheese and tomato free.

-We are still pumping out pitches at Doyle Pitches, though I am starting to think that the Telegram story on the site may not materialize. It has now been a few weeks and I have heard nothing back from the reporter who conducted the interview. The fact that the CBC refused to allow people to comment on our stuff probably really dealt the fatal blow to this story.

-I guess I should try to do at least a little more work before dinner.

Score
Cameron 50
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 511

-I guess today was a pretty nice day, though I didn't really go out and experience it first hand.

-Yesterday night Peter, Jeannette, and I had llama burgers for dinner. Though the texture was a little different, I would say that llama burgers were definitely worth trying again.

-Instead of spending time outside today I spent much of my day inside and on the computer. This morning I started things off by looking into some information on pensions. I then spent this afternoon and evening transcribing an interview. Talk about an exciting day.

-I made another batch of pea soup today. It will only take about five more such batches until I have used all of the ham I have in the freezer.

-It seems that I don't have much to talk about when I spend most of my day in front of a computer engaged in school-related tasks.

Score
Cameron 49
Neil 0

Horse Play

This afternoon Jeannette and I were making our way to the Quinpool area when I noticed that a few horses were outside at the Halifax Junior Bengal Lancers facility. Almost immediately I noticed that two of the horses seemed to be fighting over an orange traffic cone.



[Embedded video]

As you can see, eventually a third horse tried to get into the action.

Even though I watched these horses tussling over this traffic cone for a few minutes I still have no idea why this piece of plastic was so interesting.

Score
Cameron 48
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 510

-For much of the day today we hoovered just above freezing. Then as evening came the temperature dropped and we started to get a little snow. Not surprisingly, this combination lead to somewhat treacherous conditions and plenty of black ice.

-Our Ultimate game this evening didn't go particularly well. Almost immediately we dropped to an 8 point deficit. In the second half things only got worse and we dropped to a 15 point deficit. Amazingly, we scored 3 points in the final minute so that brought the final score to within 12.

-I just made some very-heavy-on-garlic humus.

-For the better part of this afternoon I dealt with a major laundry project. In total I did four loads and then arranged three of these loads on drying racks. Unfortunately, it looks as though I may have another load or two do deal with tomorrow.

Score
Cameron 47
Neil 0

A Great Big Sea of People in Halifax

Great Big Sea, Newfoundland's premiere celtic/traditional pop band, performed a free show in Halifax. Jeannette and I stopped by for a few songs on our way to our Ultimate game.

While we didn't have the best view of the stage (that there thousands of people there before us was much of our problem in this department), we were eventually able to see a few crowd surfers.



[Embedded video]

As you can see, these weren't the world's best crowd surfers.

And in case you were wondering, I think that it is pretty safe to say that the Great Big Sea show had a larger number of attendees than the Joel Plaskett or Hey Rosetta! shows of a few days ago.

Score
Cameron 46
Neil 0

Friday Night Pig Roast

Last night, instead of going to the free Hawksley Workman at the Grand Parade, Jeannette and I attended a pig roast held in honour of a friend's birthday.

Actually, the set-up was pretty neat. A local barbecue restaurant will prepare a pig (or hunk of meat of your choosing) and side-dishes (food for about 16) for a fixed price.

My primary disappointment with the event had to do with the size of the pig in relation to its cost. For $375 (for about 18 people) this seemed to be a rather small pig. I got the sense that everyone present expected there to be a fair bit more meat. At the end of the evening I observed that we could have had three turkeys and side-dishes for 30 for $15 less (as the turkey meal was only $120).

Anyway, I really like this idea and think that I would be willing to try it again, I just might wouldn't go with the pig option - it was definitely the worst value on the menu.

Score
Cameron 45
Neil 0

Keep on going

Some of you may have noticed that Neil hasn't yet posted in this year's blog-off. This is a little disappointing as I really handicapped myself so much that Neil would really only have to make a few posts to be competitive.

The following is a close approximation of the opposite of Neil's approach to this year's annual Montifax blog-off.



[Embedded video]

It is also further proof that the internet isn't quite full.

Score
Cameron 44
Neil 0

A Modicum of Success

Regular readers will know that earlier today I organized a flash mob for tonight's Canada Games' Hey Rosetta! show.

Basically I choreographed a dance move and then posted a how-to video:



[Embedded video]

As the concert progressed I kept my eye on the crowd and watched for flare-ups of the flash mob dancers. Not surprisingly, given my massive YouTube influence, I was almost immediately able to observe people taking part in the flash mob dance moves.

Then, near the end of the show, I was super excited to see that one of the band members even started leading the audience in the flash mob dance moves. I was so excited to see the dance being done by so many people that I kind of muffed the camera work (I was slow to turn it on and then I didn't do a good job of operating the camera). Nonetheless, I was able to catch the tail end of the most notable iteration of the flash mob.



[Embedded video]

It was incredibly exciting to have such success with my first flash mob.

Score
Cameron 43
Neil 0

Halifax Flash Mob: Take 2

Ok everybody, at tonight's Canada Games' Hey Rosetta show we are going to out do the Joel Plaskett flash mob thing by a mile. I know I am just making this thing public kind of last minute, but I have faith that we can pull this thing together in no time.

So to get down to business: I have choreographed a sweet move for all of us in the know to do at the end of each song. It is going to look totally awesome. Oh, and it has an awesome name: The Tim.

Check out this video so that you can learn the sweet move needed to be part of this grassroots celebratory movement. Don't worry, I have faith that you will all be able to quickly master The Tim without too much trouble.



[Embedded video]

And our flash mob is all improv and stuff. If you want to take your hands and do The Tim above your head that is totally cool. Actually, you can do this move wherever you want and that is totally cool, you can still be part of our flash mob.

Remember, it is important that you all spread the word - we only have a few hours left before the show is to start. If we want this to be as awesome as I know it can be we need everyone to see the video and learn the move before the show (of course if you are at the show and know the people next to you haven't seen the video feel free to teach them The Tim on the spot.)

Ok people, enough blathering, lets go get the word out and make this a night to remember.

Score
Cameron 42
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 509

-We experienced something of a temperature drop today. When I woke up this morning it wasn't far away from zero and it is now -11. At times throughout the day we even had the pleasure of catching a few flurries.

-Though I didn't plan on it, I did manage to hear a little of tonight's Sloan show. For better or worse, I was only able to hear somewhat muffled music only when I had my window open and only when the wind temporarily died down. Consequently, I didn't get as much out of tonight's show as I did last night's show.

Much to my surprise, my video of last night's attempted 'flash mob' now has more than 800 views. I am a little surprised that it has become such a popular video, though it does seem to be one of the view videos to have yet been uploaded of the event.

-Tomorrow night Peter and I will be going to see St. John's band Hey Rosetta! I feel a little embarrassed that when you consider how long they have been around and that I went to high school with the frontman that I have never seen these guys perform and that my the first show of theirs that I will see is a free show. I guess better late than never, or something like that.

-Earlier this evening, while poking around on the internet, I happened to find a newly released short film starring a good friend of Neil's, Andrew. What I found particularly amazing about my discovery is that not only did I happen upon Andrew's YouTube channel today, but today was the day he posted this film. If you wan to see it can be found below.



[Embedded video]

Oh, and this film was directed by Republic of Doyle's Des.

-It seems that the Humber West by-election has lead to the election of the PC candidate.

Score
Cameron 41
Neil 0

West Coast By-election

Just few days ago I learned that a acquaintance ours, Rosie Myers, is running for the NDP in the by-election in Humber West to replace the recently departed Danny Williams. This has made the by-election a little more interesting.

It seems that the results just started to come in and will continued to come in for the next while. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Elections Newfoundland and Labrador even has a live elections results page. (At the moment only one polling station has reported any results).

Anyway, some will probably suggest that this by-election is an early test of the Dunderdale administration and the post-Danny PCs.

I never know how to understand by-elections, there is just so much that can be going on that they seem hard to decisively read.

Anyway, no matter what happens people will surely have plenty to say about the results.

Score
Cameron 40
Neil 0

Parade of Books

A few weeks ago I noticed that the Dalhousie Libraries were going to be hosting a video contest with an e-reader as the grand prize. Not surprisingly, to enter the contest one had to create and submit a video "telling us why you love the Dal Libraries."

At first I didn't think that this would be the contest for me, mainly because I couldn't think of a good way of approaching the topic. Eventually I settled on some kind of stop-motion/time-lapse content. Of course, that isn't really enough of an idea to build a video so I had to think about it for a few more days.

I eventually decided to go with a stop-motion thing that would then convey a message about the library.

Anyway, I decided to give it a shot this afternoon and this is what I came up with.



[Embedded video]

Definitely not the best stop-motion work, but considering that no planning went into the shooting of this video I think it turned out relatively well.

They are planning on releasing the results in early March. If I hear back from the contest administrators I will be sure to let you know by what margin I lost.

Score
Cameron 39
Neil 0

A Halifax flash mob?

A few days ago it was reported that at tonight's Canada Games free Joel Plaskett concert there would be a 'flash mob' dance. Instructional videos were even available online.



[Embedded video]

Of course, at least to Jeannette and me, the fact that the event was so planned and publicized seemed to undermine the 'flash' component of the event.

Anyway, while at the concert this evening I was curious to see how this whole thing would play out. It seems that in the end few people actually performed the dance during the show.

If you are interested you can see for yourself below.



[Embedded video]

Oh, and that is Premier Darrell Dexter at the beginning of the video. He made a brief appearance before the headlining act took the stage and then participated in the end of the song before the 'flash mob' dance.

Score
Cameron 38
Neil 0

I've been waiting a long time for this

Today I finally downloaded an easy-to-use animated .gif making program. No longer will I have to scour the web looking for free services that allow me litte creative control over my .gifs.



As you can see, I am already putting my time and this program to good use.

Maybe part of the problem is that animated .gifs lend themselves easily to triviality. I will have to find a way of finding a more useful application for this powerful technology.

Score
Cameron 37
Neil 0

Appel Mack

A few years ago a library school classmate of my put an Apple sticker on her PC. The effect was quite impressive, from a distance it really looked like a Mac.

This morning I happened across some similar stickers in my room. I gave to Neil and Rebecca and suggested that they put them on their Dells so that they can up their respective cool factors.

Much to my surprise Neil and Rebecca were quite easily convinced to put one of the stickers on the oldest of their Dells.

Amazingly, we didn't have to wait a long time for someone to mistake Rebecca's old clunker for a Mac. When Jeannette came over a few minutes ago she almost immediately saw the computer and wondered who was visiting. Success.


Score
Cameron 36
Neil 0

Voter Turnout in Canada

This afternoon I have been doing some reading about parliamentary reform and the 'democratic deficit.' One of the authors drew attention to the declining rates of voter turnout that we have been witnessing in recent years throughout much of the Western world since WWII.

While it is pretty clear that we have seen something of a drop in voter turnout in Canada over the past few elections. But I was curious what the picture looked like if we went back to to 1867, would the decline look as significant?

Source: Elections Canada.

So if we go back to 1867 and look at turnout from this point forward it looks as though the drop is not quite as significant as if we decide to start looking at turnout in 1950s. Maybe instead of just looking at the decline we have seen from the all-time high era we might also consider trying to figure out why we saw an increase in this era.

Score
Cameron 35
Neil 0

Round Four

Well, it only took me four tries but I finally got it right, I finally made Afghans without really screwing up the recipe.

As usual, we have been really ploughing through these things. For some reason (I think it is because of their high nutritional value) I am more inclined to eat these than I am many of the other sweet baked goods that I make.

So if you are looking for a recipe that might eventually turn out well give Afghans a shot. And if they don't work the first time just try again, and again, and again.

Score
Cameron 34
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 508

-Today was a pretty nice day, though at times we did have a few flurries.

-We managed to lose our Ultimate game by about 10 points tonight. Strangely, and I am not sure if it had anything to do with the my new sports goggles, I had a pretty good game tonight. Unfortunately relatively early on in the game I made a rather big diving catch and managed to make contact with the ground with my right elbow, lower back, and left hip. Presently my right elbow and left hip are in some pain. And, though I didn't know it at the time, my lower back has been scratched. I am starting to wonder when the self-preservation instinct will kick in and I can stop hurling my body at the ground in an attempt to catch something that is flying by.

I am also really hoping that this newly acquired limp manages to heal itself overnight.

-We are still plugging away at Doyle Pitches. It seems that CBC having banned key writers from reading us hasn't really slowed us down.

I am still waiting to hear when the Telegram article might be coming out, though I am holding my fingers that it will be soon.

-Today I spent a good deal of time slaving away in the kitchen and I am not sure that I have all that much to show for it.

-It seems that the Canada Games officially started yesterday. I guess Halifax will be a bit messed up for the next two weeks. As I don't have a car or many regularly scheduled appointments this should be too bad for me.

-Neil really needs to get his act together and start posting if he wants to do well in this year's blog-off. Actually, I wouldn't mind if he posted just so that I didn't look as though I was over-posting for no reason.

C'mon first year winner, get you stuff in gear and throw up a few posts.

Score
Cameron 33
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 507

-Though it was quite cold this morning, today turned into a pretty nice winter's day. For a little while in the afternoon we even got a few flurries.

-My sports goggles arrived today. Hopefully I will be able to try them out in our Ultimate game tomorrow evening. I hope that putting them on in public for the first time won't be too strange ro elicit too many comments.

Jeannette also picked up a pair of glasses today.

-I made a big batch of tomato-free chili for dinner tonight.

-The 2011 Canada Games opening ceremonies are presently ongoing in Halifax. Assuming all goes as planned, I may a attend a few of the associated free evening performances.

Score
Cameron 32
Neil 0

Yup, definitely a bad idea

So this evening I re-watched the dry ice video that I posted earlier today. From this video I was lead to another video with dry ice in a pop bottle. In this latter video they placed the pop bottle in a cinder block and they waited to see what would happen when it exploded.



[Embedded video]

As you can see, the brick was destroyed.

Maybe I shouldn't have been so close to this thing when it exploded. At least I now know this for next time.

Score
Cameron 31
Neil 0

Banned by the CBC

Many of you likely know that over past few days I have been in contact with a Telegram reporter who is doing a story on Doyle Pitches, a site where we make unsolicited episode and character pitches for the CBC show Republic of Doyle.

When I spoke to the reporter yesterday she said the would be contacting the Republic of Doyle people, particularly the star of the show, for a comment on the blog and our pitches.

I have now heard from this reporter that the show's representatives weren't particularly interested in giving a comment. Moreover, apparently the CBC has banned the star from even reading our blog over fears that if ideas similar to those on site eventually appear on the show they might be sued. Really? A free blog has been made verboten?

Firstly, I want to make it clear that I do not, nor does anyone else associated with the site, have any interest in suing a publicly funded local TV show. Hell, I would consider paying them upwards of $5 to use either Phonse Tibbo or Cecil Noseworthy in any of their episodes.

Secondly, it feels really funny to have been banned by the CBC (an institution I have loved for so many years). I mean really, is this anything anyone ever thinks they will have to deal with - especially when the organization doing the banning is also the country's premiere news organization?

Thirdly, it feels strange to have created something that lead to pre-emptive action being taken by another organization. Who knew actions had consequences and stuff?

Fourthly, apparently the story will still be coming out - though I don't know exactly when. If I hear details about the publication date I will be sure to relay them here.

Who knows, I may have more to say on this topic. At the moment the whole thing is a little too fresh for me to fully grasp and articulate.

Score
Cameron 30
Neil 0

A Really Bad Idea

I am presently in the midst of looking through some old files on my computer and old external hard drive. Just a few minutes ago I found a few clips from the Summer of 2007 when Kirsten and I filled a pop bottle with dry ice and then poked it with a ski pole.



[Embedded video]

Wow, this really wasn't a good idea. That being said, had we used enough dry ice so that the bottle had popped on its own (something we had done in the past) it wouldn't have been nearly so bad.

Apparently we really scared our neighbour's dog when we did this. Woops.

Score
Cameron 29
Neil 0

News that isn't quite fit to print

This morning I received a CBC News Alert with the following text:

U.S. sources say Mubarak may step down today

Talk about an informative and substantive news alert. What better source is there for what's going down in Egypt than a speculative US government.

This thing could have been plausibly issued on any day since about January 25, 2011. Maybe next time they could try waiting to issue the News Alert until something actually happens or the source is at least from the government in question.

Update: The most recent CBC News Alert seems to be telling a story a little different than the one they posted earlier today. This one suggests that:

Egyptian President says he's staying until Sept. election

Maybe this is why it isn't wise to use sources who aren't really related to the story at hand?

Score
Cameron 28
Neil 0

Picking up steam?

This afternoon I was interviewed by a Telegram reporter about Doyle Pitches. Two weeks ago, or whenever it was that we started Doyle Pitches, I couldn't have imagined this development. The idea that there would be any media interest in this endeavour would have seemed as crazy as having the Halliday's guy look after a stolen horse being hidden in a house across from the aforementioned meat market.

I guess we now just have to wait and see how this all plays out. I will keep you updated if I hear anything else on this subject.

Oh, and the Doyle Pitches Twitter account now has 31 followers, up from 18 yesterday.

Score
Cameron 27
Neil 0

This brings back memories

It seems that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will be going ahead with their plan to sue big tobacco 10 years after passing the enabling legislation.

Working at the public hearings held before the passage of the legislation that got this ball rolling was one of my first responsibilities as page when I started working at the House of Assembly in April 2001. Though I think I only worked for one such session I still remember quite a number of the presenters that participated in the event.

In many ways the presentations pretty much summed up the whole pro/anti-tobacco discourse. On the anti side there were presentations from older individuals suffering from tobacco related ailments, an anti-tobacco 'youth team,' and several doctors. Opposing the legislation and the idea of the lawsuit was a lone tobacco industry advocate - a lawyer/law professor if my memory serves me correctly. Given that the tobacco advocate was a hired gun it isn't too surprising that they gave the most professional and effective presentation of the day. And, for better or worse, it is their presentation that I remember the most.

Actually, as far as presentations on dry topics go, this may have been most engaging presentation I have ever heard - and it was in the service of an industry with a somewhat tarnished reputation, a fact that has since made me feel a little strange about finding it to be such an effective presentation. But I guess this is basically the movie Thank You For Smoking was about.

Of course, to no one's surprise, the legislation was eventually passed and the chain of events leading up to today's story set in action.

Anyway, if it has taken 10 years to get to through the pre-lawsuit I am curious to see how long it will take to get through the full-blown lawsuit phase and whether or not not they will ever meet with any success.

Score
Cameron 26
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 506

-As some of you may know, today was pretty snowy. Amazingly, I did seem to capture the short sunny break that we had this afternoon.



[Embedded video]

-Much to our surprise, there has been some traditional media interest in the Doyle Pitches blog. If anything comes of this expression of interest I will be sure to keep everyone informed - but definitely keep your eyes peeled.

Also, remember to keep checking back for new and exciting Doyle Pitches.

-I am still getting used to my new glasses, though the more that I wear them the more I think that they still need to be adjusted a little. I guess I will look into this when I go back to the store to pick up my second pair of glasses (my sports goggles).

-I did a fair bit of grading today.

Score
Cameron 25
Neil 0

Wet Hot Halifax Winter

While grading some midterm exams I decided to continue to document our current round of winter precipitation. Like before, this stuff really just seem to be accumulating. I continue to find this surprising given the number and size of the snowflakes. I keep thinking that eventually there will be a tipping point and the surfaces on which this flakes are landing will be cold enough to allow them to begin to accumulate. Apparently we aren't there yet, or maybe such a point doesn't actually exist.



[Embedded video]

Wasn't that video exciting? I think the climax came when some snow slid down one of the cars.

Score
Cameron 24
Neil 0

More weather

Much to my surprise, this morning I awoke to find that it was snowing. Amazingly, the snow has continued for the past several hours (well, at least the past hour and a half). Maybe even more amazing that the fact that this stealth snowfall has continued for so long is how little snow has accumulated as a result of this massive snow flakes.



[Embedded video]

Also, it would seem that my new time-lapse recording program is not without its downsides. Bummer.

Score
Cameron 23
Neil 0

Halifax Graffiti

A few days ago I saw a story that indicated that Halifax would be making efforts to remove graffiti before the beginning of the upcoming Canada Games. Of course, so far I haven't seem much evidence that much graffiti has actually been removed.

Actually, if anything, I have noticed that a few of the people who have hit the wall behind my bedroom window have also been active in other parts of the neighbourhood.

'Tweak,' the individual who hit my wall a few weeks ago, seems to have tagged another part of the same building and a nearby light post base. Not that my opinion counts for much, but I am not a big fan of 'Tweak's work. This emphasis on tagging seems only slightly removed from, if not inferior to, marking one's territory with urine.

Though I don't know the person's name/handle/whatever, the most recent individual to hit the place my window seems slightly more ambitious and, dare I say, talented.

It seems that this person, like 'Tweak,' has hit a number of locations in our neighbourhood. A few days ago I found another instance of their work at the top of my street.

Anyway, all of this is just to say that it would seem that Halifax is still rife with graffiti, despite their best efforts to the contrary.

Score
Cameron 22
Neil 0

That was fast

It seems that some demolition work that was scheduled for the Spring Garden Road area has finally taken place.

What I find so amazing about this development is that I walked along this stretch of road several times last week and had no indication that they were so close to demolishing the buildings. Maybe I just don't know quite enough about demolition to know when a building is about to be demolished.

Maybe part of my problem was that it is currently winter. Don't they normally demolish buildings in seasons other than Winter? Who wants to deal with all of that rubble in the cold and snow?

I guess the people making these scheduling decisions are the same people actually dealing with the rubble.

Score
Cameron 21
Neil 0

Exactly what you want to find in your mailbox

A few weeks ago Jeannette and I were entering her apartment when we noticed that she had something in her mailbox. Upon further inspection we found that she had a notice from one of her neighbours.

I guess it was at least nice that this guy gave his neighbours advance notice, but, man, this is definitely not the type of notice that you would want to find in your mailbox on a regular basis.

Score
Cameron 20
Neil 0

I hope I didn't make a mistake

Well, I picked up my new glasses today.

They are a little bit more substantive (Jeannette says 'stylish') than any glasses I have owned in the past.

What attracted me to these glasses was that they have plastic nose pieces. I am sick and tired of having glasses that have nose pieces that bend and then feel loop-sided on my face. Anyway, I now have such nose pieces and am starting to get used to the slightly different feeling associated with these new glasses.

Of course, as always, the best part about new glasses is that my vision is now much better. I can see all kinds of things that I just couldn't see with any detail before. Having access to such crisp vision is great.

Score
Cameron 19
Neil 0

Apparently I wasn't there

Even though Maxime Bernier made very similar points during a talk he gave on Thursday night, it seems that the comments that have generated recent controversy were actually those that he made during a radio interview while he was in Halifax. I guess this means that the talk he gave on Thursday didn't get much or good coverage.

In case you are interested, Bernier explains his position on the Quebec language laws a little more on his blog.

While I am a little disappointed to know that I didn't witness the controversial comments first hand, I am still a little hyped to think that I did hear them in the dress rehearsal.

Score
Cameron 18
Neil 0

Isn't this the same guy who has the power to overrule CRTC decisions?

Tony Clement's Twitter feed continues to blow my mind. Earlier today he was talking about the songs he was playing on guitar, reminiscing about attending Super Bowls past, and now he is providing Canadians with access to American Super Bowl ads that are blocked from Canadian broadcasts of the game.

In one of Clement's latest tweets he provided a link to a YouTube account that seems to have copies of the Super Bowl ads that can be viewed world-wide (or at least in Canada).

I really wonder if Clement gets the irony of this last tweet.

The same guy who just used his Twitter account to announce that he would be encouraging the reversal of a CRTC decision is now using the same account to complain about another policy in the same policy area. Given that Clement is clearly aware of the popular opinion on the matter (people want to see these ads as part of the live broadcast) and that he is a member of a government that seems to claim that they want to represent such views, maybe he might consider using his Twitter account to announce that this policy will also be subject to further review or reversal.

By the way, is this now the position of the current government on Super Bowl ads?

Score
Cameron 17
Neil 0

I may have been there for this

So it seems that "possible leadership candidate" and "staunch libertarian" Maxime Bernier has caused something of a stir because of comments he made about Quebec's language laws being unnecessary. As the CBC/Canadian Press story on the topic doesn't include details on where exactly the comments were made I am somewhat inclined to think that they may be talking about the talk I saw Bernier give during which he made such comments at the end of the talk or on a Halifax radio show.

Of course what is funny about is that in the context of the talk these comments didn't seem particularly strange or outlandish, and they certainly didn't raise ripples of concern among members of the somewhat small audience. It should also be noted that at least in the context of the talk Bernier did express support for the French language and his belief that it would continue to exist even without the laws in question.

Score
Cameron 16
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 505

-Though there is plenty of snow on the curbs, today was a pretty nice day. At times the temperatures even reached the above freezing mark.

-It seems that the forecast for tomorrow is just nasty:

-Oh, and there seems there seems to be a new and neat weather symbol associated with this forecast.

-Yet again we had a somewhat disastrous Ultimate game. The redeeming feature of the experience was that the other team was pleasant to play against. The end of the game was particularly unpleasant for Jeannette as she took a disc to the face (an event that will presumably lead to her having a swollen lip tomorrow).

-I made some homemade pizzas for our post-game feed. Amazingly, I think that the cheese and tomato pizza might have been a better pizza than my pepper and sausage pizza.

Score
Cameron 15
Neil 0

All day and Everyday FAIL

This morning I went to a local restaurant for dim sum. As we were entering the restaurant we noticed the following sign:

It seems to me that there is something a little off with the wording of this sign, or at least their definitions of 'all day' and 'everyday.'

Signage issues aside, the meal was quite enjoyable and I will likely go back for more the next time I am looking for a dim sum restaurant in Halifax.

Score
Cameron 14
Neil 0

Tony Clement/the Canadian Government and Twitter

A few days ago Canada's Industry Minister, Tony Clement, used his Twitter account to publicize the government's decision to get the CRTC to revisit their decision on usage based billing (UBB).

While I guess that things like this are likely to be the wave of the future it is, nonetheless, a little strange.

While in some ways making announcements via Twitter might increase access to the content of the decision, this approach might disperse official policy stances of the government across the web. Determining which of these positions are the official positions of the government, given that they are on non-official sites, might be challenging.

Also, who controls this data? Will these tweets be available permanently and in venues other than Twitter? Will these tweets be considered official government statements? Who will manage this information? All in all, the switch to this platform seems to have been taken without much planning or thought.

All of this is not to say that the current government doesn't have a number of good reasons to move to this platform for official announcements. Firstly, Twitter is fast. For instance, Clement was able to get his message out to thousands almost instantaneously. This speed means that news cycles can be skipped or toyed with. Secondly, Twitter provides a way for the government/ministers to communicate directly with interested parties and the public, a feature that must be particularly appealing to this somewhat media-phobic government. The government does not have to rely on the mass media to transmit their message to the public nor worry that their message might be distorted by devious journalists. Furthermore, follow-up questions from the public (or media) can be addressed directly and quickly (and these are things that Clement seems interested in).

And finally, it seems that with same Twitter account that Clement is using to make policy statements he is also commenting about important topics such as the quantity of Red Bull his squash competitors have consumed or what he thinks about the half-time entertainment at the upcoming Super Bowl.

Thus Clement is blurring the lines between his public and private persona. When he says something on Twitter, as he has been for the past while, is it a reflection of the government's position (i.e. Does the Canadian government think that the Black Eyed Peas suck?) or are such positions reflections only of Clement's personal beliefs? How are citizens to know when Tony Clement is speaking for only Tony Clement or when he is actually speaking for the Government?

Anyway, given that this trend is likely to increase in popularity rather than diminish I think that a few of these issues (and likely a few that I have neglected to discuss) are worth considering somewhat seriously before we proceed too far along this path.

Score
Cameron 13
Neil 0

Big news year so far

Is it just me or does 2011 seem to be disproportionately newsworthy?

In Newfoundland and Alberta their have been and will be party leadership battles. In both cases the outcomes of the winner of these battles with be the provinces' new premiers.

On the weather front many parts of North America seem to be getting a disproportionate amount of snow and stormy weather.

Of late there has been quite a brouhaha about the CRTC's UBB ruling and its eventual reversal (via Twitter) by the Harper government.

Then, of course, you have the mass demonstrations presently taking place in police/authoritarian states throughout the middle east and Northern Africa, the most prominent example being the anti-Mubarak protests in Cairo and Egypt generally. Oh yeah, and in response to these protests the Egyptian government closed down the internet in their country! What?

Oh yeah, and former members of the Tunisian regime showed up on Canada with their ill-gotten billions and were then stripped of their status as permanent residents (this otherwise major story has been completely overshadowed by the events going on in Egypt).

I am sure I am missing other major stories, but this year just seems to be been intense from the get go. I kind of hope that this level of intensity doesn't dog us throughout the year, I don't know if I will be able to handle it.

Score
Cameron 12
Neil 0

Lasers and laws

Like children's portraits in the 80's, the Black Eyed Peas have lasers.



[Embedded video]

This summer when I mentioned this fact to a cousin of mine who works in lighting business in the US she was shocked to hear what the Black Eyed Peas had done in Halifax. Apparently in the US you can't just shoot high powered lasers into the sky. All such lasers have to be aimed at definite end points. Apparently the concern is shooting a pilot in the eye, or something like that. Anyway, apparently the nearby air force base didn't have too many problems as I don't recall hearing about any accidents the next day.

If you are wondering why this is going up now and was not posted when filmed the answer is laziness. I forgot to post it and just happened across it this afternoon as I was deleting old video files from my computer.

Score
Cameron 11
Neil 0

Celebrities in my neighbourhood

Yesterday I forgot to mention that former Jays player Roberto Alomar was at the hotel across the way from our apartment building. Jeannette, whose program was having a conference in the same hotel, suggested that he was in town some kind of fundraising lunch. I really didn't know that baseball was big enough in Halifax for someone like Alomar to be a draw, especially in the winter.

Some how I missed it, but apparently Alomar was just elected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. I have to imagine that he is the spitiest player there.

I wonder if he is still in town and, if so, whether or not I will see him today?

Score
Cameron 10
Neil 0

A Few Quick Notes 504

-Though we had about 30 centimeters of snow yesterday, today turned out to be a pretty nice day. The main problem that I encountered was slush puddles around intersections.

-I forgot to mention that Neil, Rebecca, Peter, Jeannette, and I joined Jeannette's father for a pre-Chinese New Year meal.

-I had my eyes checked yesterday and I ordered some new glasses today. Hopefully I will be in possession of my new glasses in about four days.

-Today I attended a informal talk/discussion about the current situation in Egypt and the middle-east. While the two history professors and one political science professor didn't have much specific information, they were able to provide some context and background information on Egypt. I was particularly impressed with the quality of the audience questions, I suspect that most of them were of interest to basically everybody in attendance.

-While walking around downtown Halifax I happened to run into a few different acquaintances, two of whom I know through the Poli Sci department. One of these guys told me about his recent media exposure regarding his family being refused entry to a bus. It seems that his story even made the Globe and Mail.

This whole experience reminded me of the recent Metrobus strike and just completely disgusted me.

-Last night at about 3:30 AM the fire alarm began to sound. After a few minutes people began to gather in the front lobby while we waited for the fire department to arrive. After the alarm had been sounding for about 10 minutes a guy in a t-shirt and sweat pants slowly and alertly sauntered in to the lobby, looked at a building employee and asked "what's happening?"

I really thought it was obvious, but apparently not.

-This evening I attended a talk by former Harper cabinet minister Maxime Bernier about being a small government conservative. Though he wasn't quite a Ron/Rand/RuPaul type, he was definitely to the right of many Canadians.

Anyway, while the talk was somewhat underwhelming, I did learn that Bernier really knows how to wear a suit. Man, he is one of the best dress politicians I have ever seen.

Score
Cameron 9
Neil 0

Looks like it might be a storm pt. 6

We are now in the middle of prime time in Halifax and the snowfall seems to have at least hit a temporary lull. For the past two or three hours things have really slowed down. Nonetheless, the previous few hours of snow seems to have left us with about 30 centimeters of snow.

The satellite imagery seems to confirm this state of affairs. Actually, the satellite imagery seems to suggest that the storm has completely passed Nova Scotia and will be approaching or reaching Newfoundland shortly.

This also suggests that Dalhousie likely won't be closed tomorrow, though this is fine with me as there is something that I wouldn't mind doing there tomorrow.

Anyway, as the storm seems to have ended I will now end my live storm updates.

Score
Cameron 8
Neil 0

Looks like it might be a storm pt. 5

It seems that some establishments and institutions are trying to power through the storm and stay open while others are admitting defeat and closing. It seems that the Grad House Cafe was trying the former approach but has now opted for the latter.

Three hours was all it took for them to come around to the fact that Dal closing means that all of their potential customers will be heading home.

In case you are curious, it is still snowing, though the blowing seems to have slowed down a little.

Score
Cameron 7
Neil 0

Looks like it might be a storm pt. 4

The snow, she keeps on coming.



[Embedded video]

Though it might be hard to tell based on the videos I have been posting, the snow really is starting to build up. Also, people are definitely not staying in more than usual. As you might have noticed in the video above, no one entered the parking lot that was filmed during the hour or so that the clip was being filmed (this also means that the parking lot wasn't plowed at all during this hour).

Our dinner plans are still up in the air, though as I have just started a batch of bread we won't be without food for the evening. Though it is looking more and more as though our plans might be settled.

Actually, I am excited about this batch of bread as it is the first batch of bread that I have ever used vital wheat gluten. As I am still not entirely sure what this stuff is supposed to do, I am looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

Score
Cameron 6
Neil 0

Looks like it might be a storm pt. 3

Well, it seems as though the weather has become a little more intense. Instead of the snowflakes falling straight down they are now falling down on something of an angle.

Actually, I was able to capture this development through the use of time-lapse photography. The latter portion of this clip demonstrates the impact of the increased wind.



[Embedded video]

It seems as though our dinner plans may have fallen through because of the weather. I guess this means that I can either try to fall back on my spare ham or have encourage us all to get our own meals.

Score
Cameron 5
Neil 0

Looks like it might be a storm pt. 2

Well, almost immediately after my last post it finally started to snow. Since the snow started to fall a few hours ago it has continued and is now really starting to accumulate. I think that it would be fair to guess that we have received at least 5 cm already, though I guess I could be off by a centimeter or two. If this keeps up we will definitely have a substantial snowfall by the time evening hits.

Interestingly, the big blob of the storm seems to have moved off-shore, though there appears to be a splotch of intensity just inland.

I can't quite tell if this is to head our way or not. I guess only time will tell.

While Jeannette and I were returning from our eye appointments we noticed that there appeared to be something of a gathering in the park across the street from the Public Gardens. Upon further investigation we realized that we were witnessing Halifax's student day of action, a protest about rising tuition fees. I was shocked to see so many students decided to head out in the relatively poor weather.



[Embedded video]

Ok, back to storm watching and work.

Score
Cameron 4
Neil 0

Another thing I meant to post yesterday

Another thing that I meant to post yesterday was this quality video that I made for the Doyle Pitches website - it is a mock up of one of our pitches.



[Embedded video]

Enjoy.

Maybe I will have to refine my technique a little for the next one.

Score
Cameron 3
Neil 0

Looks like it might be a storm pt. 1

For the past few days there has been talk of a storm hitting the region. And based on the current satellite imagery it seems that we could actually be in for something of a storm.

Though we had a fair bit of snow yesterday afternoon and evening, at the moment it isn't actually snowing. This seems a little bit strange as the above satellite imagery would seem to put us in the middle of this offending system.

Anyway, I just hope that this whole thing can be restrained until early this afternoon. I have an eye exam that I really don't want to miss.

Score
Cameron 2
Neil 0

And we're off!

Montifax's 3rd Annual Blog-off started at midnight last night.

Last night I kept myself busy by refraining from posting all kinds of great content that I planned on posting once the blog-off had started. Of course, now that the blog-off has started I can't really remember most of the things that I thought were so blog-worthy.

One of the items that I do remember thinking about posting is a clip from the new show Portlandia about an adult hide-and-seek league.



[Embedded video]

I first heard about this show by listening to an interview on TSOYA with the show's creators.

Anyway, the important thing to know is that we are now off and running. Remember to check back frequently to boost our stats and find new content.

Score:
Cameron 1
Neil 0