A few years ago I watched American Movie and was completely baffled and amused. I didn't know if what I was watching was actually a documentary or a joke. A few days ago when I watched The Defender I was struck by similar feelings. Would someone actually try to build a slow, heavy, prop fighter plane in Manitoba?
Anyway, because The Defender is a NFB production it is available online for free. I think I recommend it highly.
[Embedded video]
While this probably wasn't a joke, I am still not quite certain.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
These always seemed risky to me
For years the tradition has been that members of the Stanley Cup winning NHL team each get to have the cup for a day. That each player has such control over the cup for a period of time has always seemed a little strange to me given the symbolic importance of the item being lent to a bunch of professional athletes in their twenties and thirties.
Anyway, earlier today in St. John's when the cup fell from a table and was visibly dented my sense of apprehension was somewhat confirmed. Anyway, feel free to check out the Telegram's video here. I am sure that by the end of the day this will be all over the internets.
Anyway, earlier today in St. John's when the cup fell from a table and was visibly dented my sense of apprehension was somewhat confirmed. Anyway, feel free to check out the Telegram's video here. I am sure that by the end of the day this will be all over the internets.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 7
After a brief stop in Windsor, Jeannette and I finally made it back to Wolfville. Fortunately after Windsor I was able to hand off driving responsibilities.
Now that we have safely returned we should be able to look through our photos and reflect on the trip, which generally seemed to go well (even if the final 30 hours were rather gruelling).
Oh, and by the time we returned the power was back. This was a very pleasant surprise. And our apartment, which we had loaned to an unknown house sitter was in perfect condition.
Now that we have safely returned we should be able to look through our photos and reflect on the trip, which generally seemed to go well (even if the final 30 hours were rather gruelling).
Oh, and by the time we returned the power was back. This was a very pleasant surprise. And our apartment, which we had loaned to an unknown house sitter was in perfect condition.
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 6
We just learned that we aren't likely to have power when we return to Wolfville. At the moment we are expecting to get it back by two.
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 4
We are currently in Antigonish. All was going well until a few minutes ago when a truck threw a stone and chipped the windshield. As you might imagine, Neil is less than pleased with the situation.
Anyway, we will soon be back on the road to be again buffeted by post-hurricaine winds.
Anyway, we will soon be back on the road to be again buffeted by post-hurricaine winds.
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 3
It is about 2:30 AM and we are about a half hour away from docking. This is exactly what we didn't want - a middle of the night landing. I guess we wil see what we do when we land. Hopefully we can find something to do for a little while so that we don't have as much night driving.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 2
We are now safely on the Blue Puttees and awaiting our departure. Though we are to leave two hours early it seems that we may only arrive a little early. Anyway, I guess that the arrival and departure times will both be highly dependant on the upcoming weather/hurricane situation.
We have all popped our Gravol and are now getting ready for bed. Hopefully we will get some sleep before we arrive.
We have all popped our Gravol and are now getting ready for bed. Hopefully we will get some sleep before we arrive.
Port aux Basques to Wolfville - 1
Maybe an hour or two ago we arrived in sunny Port aux Basques (though since then it has become gray and foggy). We made sure to arrive early to make sure that we would catch our ferry which has now been scheduled to depart an hour and a half early. The down side of our early arrival is that we now have a few hours to go before we head out.
Anyway, I guess we have internet and cards to help us pass the time, though time also means more time to think about taking a ferry in a hurricane.
Anyway, I guess we have internet and cards to help us pass the time, though time also means more time to think about taking a ferry in a hurricane.
St. John's to Ramea - 7
We are now post-Ramea. We are now in Stephenville.
At the moment we are in a fast food restaurant eating lunch and checking the Internet.
We will soon be heading across the street to visit a pharmacy to pick up some ferry meds for our second ferry of the day.
At the moment we are in a fast food restaurant eating lunch and checking the Internet.
We will soon be heading across the street to visit a pharmacy to pick up some ferry meds for our second ferry of the day.
St. John's to Ramea - 6
Well, our time in Ramea is just about over. The wedding went very well last night, but we are now up for an early ferry back to Burgeo. Because of the expected rush we have to arrive an hour and a half before the scheduled departure. Yay!
Anyway, Ramea is beautiful. Give it a shot if you have a chance.
Anyway, Ramea is beautiful. Give it a shot if you have a chance.
Friday, August 26, 2011
St. John's to Ramea - 3
OMG, it's just after 5:00 AM and I've already been awake for over 20 minutes, but I guess such sacrifices are necessary if one wants to make it all the way from St. John's to Ramea in a single day.
At the moment I am consuming some pre-trip breakfast (after just taking my pre-trip shower). In a few minutes I will try to help with the pre-trip car load. Then, after final pre-trip good-byes we will likely be on our way.
I am currently curious to know where our first stop will be. My gut says Clarenville, but Goobies is another possibility. I guess our stoping schedule will just depend on our assessment of our needs as our trip progresses.
Anyway, this will likely be the last post until Ramea or the Marine Atlantic. I hope it all works out.
Oh, and based on the it's current predicted path I am not sure if Hurricane Irene will be too likely to impact our crossing on Sunday/Monday.
At the moment I am consuming some pre-trip breakfast (after just taking my pre-trip shower). In a few minutes I will try to help with the pre-trip car load. Then, after final pre-trip good-byes we will likely be on our way.
I am currently curious to know where our first stop will be. My gut says Clarenville, but Goobies is another possibility. I guess our stoping schedule will just depend on our assessment of our needs as our trip progresses.
Anyway, this will likely be the last post until Ramea or the Marine Atlantic. I hope it all works out.
Oh, and based on the it's current predicted path I am not sure if Hurricane Irene will be too likely to impact our crossing on Sunday/Monday.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
St. John's to Ramea - 2
Oh, and to make things better one of the first hurricanes of the season is to hit near the Maritimes on Monday morning (which is when our ferry is to be arriving).
This should make the ferry ride fun. Well, I guess it will only be 'fun' if we are even lucky enough to have a ferry ride at the currently schedule time.
I guess we will have to try to keep an eye on the progress of this storm.
This should make the ferry ride fun. Well, I guess it will only be 'fun' if we are even lucky enough to have a ferry ride at the currently schedule time.
I guess we will have to try to keep an eye on the progress of this storm.
St. John's to Ramea - 1
Early tomorrow morning Neil, Rebecca, Jeannette, our friend Steven, and I will be making our way across the island of Newfoundland to Ramea for a friend's wedding. As some of you may know, Ramea is a remote island off the south coast of the island. We will be getting there by ferry from Burgeo, a community is also relatively remote.
At the moment the plan is for the five of us to pile into the car and start the journey early tomorrow morning. As we expect the trip to take close to 12 hours we won't be able to see much along the way. That being said, I don't expect we will be so rushed that we won't be able to stop a few times for refreshment, bathroom, and gas breaks.
Assuming all goes well we will then try to catch the 8:00 PM ferry. I am hoping that the timing of the ferry will mean that we will get to see the sun set over Burgeo and the island in the distance. The other consequence of the timing of the ferry is that our first real view of the island will be the next day when we make our way out of our respective accommodations.
Sadly, we will only have a few hours to explore Ramea (though I am not sure if one really needs more than a few hours given the relatively limited size of the island). Anyway, I hope to get up early enough in the day to see a reasonable portion of the island before we need to return to prepare for the wedding.
The wedding itself should be rather interesting as most of the guests will be in Ramea for the sole purpose of attending the wedding (making it a destination wedding of sorts). I am assuming that this will mean a more robust celebration than if we were all just attending a wedding in our normal places of residence.
Then early on Sunday we will be taking the ferry back to Burgeo and heading up to Port aux Basques to catch the overnight ferry to North Sydney.
Given the number of hours we are to spend travelling, the next three days are likely to be something of a blur. I just hope that we have enough energy to take in a least a few of the sights and enjoy our few hours of down time.
If possible I will try to post while we are in transit, though given our rather full schedule I am not sure if this will be possible. At least after the fact I should have a few photos or comments about what is sure to be an experience heavy trip.
At the moment the plan is for the five of us to pile into the car and start the journey early tomorrow morning. As we expect the trip to take close to 12 hours we won't be able to see much along the way. That being said, I don't expect we will be so rushed that we won't be able to stop a few times for refreshment, bathroom, and gas breaks.
Assuming all goes well we will then try to catch the 8:00 PM ferry. I am hoping that the timing of the ferry will mean that we will get to see the sun set over Burgeo and the island in the distance. The other consequence of the timing of the ferry is that our first real view of the island will be the next day when we make our way out of our respective accommodations.
Sadly, we will only have a few hours to explore Ramea (though I am not sure if one really needs more than a few hours given the relatively limited size of the island). Anyway, I hope to get up early enough in the day to see a reasonable portion of the island before we need to return to prepare for the wedding.
The wedding itself should be rather interesting as most of the guests will be in Ramea for the sole purpose of attending the wedding (making it a destination wedding of sorts). I am assuming that this will mean a more robust celebration than if we were all just attending a wedding in our normal places of residence.
Then early on Sunday we will be taking the ferry back to Burgeo and heading up to Port aux Basques to catch the overnight ferry to North Sydney.
Given the number of hours we are to spend travelling, the next three days are likely to be something of a blur. I just hope that we have enough energy to take in a least a few of the sights and enjoy our few hours of down time.
If possible I will try to post while we are in transit, though given our rather full schedule I am not sure if this will be possible. At least after the fact I should have a few photos or comments about what is sure to be an experience heavy trip.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Back to Newfoundland - 4
About two hours ago we answered the breakfast buffet question with a resounding 'yes.' All three of us then made our way to the restaurant where we did our best to get $16.95 worth of breakfast. Of course, as none of us are complete pigs I don't think that we really succeeded in getting our money's worth, but that being said I think it was probably the right call given the circumstances.
The most interesting thing about the breakfast buffet was perhaps the menu. In addition to standard issue breakfast items like hash browns, sausages, eggs, and bacon, this buffet also had steamed vegetables, roast beef, fish and brewis, mashed potatoes, and a number of dishes that weren't the least bit breakfasty.
In other news, Rebecca just alerted me to the fact that we can now see land from the ferry. I guess this means that we are getting closer. The other nice development is that the fog doesn't seem to be as dense as it was just a few minutes ago. And even nice is that there seems to be blue sky above the land that we can see.
A few minutes ago Kirsten and I made a trip outside. As expected, it was pretty windy.
[Embedded video]
Oh, and as far as I can tell these clips are representative (with the notable exception of the level of light) of the whole crossing).
The most interesting thing about the breakfast buffet was perhaps the menu. In addition to standard issue breakfast items like hash browns, sausages, eggs, and bacon, this buffet also had steamed vegetables, roast beef, fish and brewis, mashed potatoes, and a number of dishes that weren't the least bit breakfasty.
In other news, Rebecca just alerted me to the fact that we can now see land from the ferry. I guess this means that we are getting closer. The other nice development is that the fog doesn't seem to be as dense as it was just a few minutes ago. And even nice is that there seems to be blue sky above the land that we can see.
A few minutes ago Kirsten and I made a trip outside. As expected, it was pretty windy.
[Embedded video]
Oh, and as far as I can tell these clips are representative (with the notable exception of the level of light) of the whole crossing).
Back to Newfoundland - 3
We have now been on the ferry for close to 10 hours and only just been able to obtain an internet connection. Hopefully none of you waited up for my update.
Though the captain warned us of rough seas and we were about 45 minutes late leaving North Sydney, the trip has not been unpleasantly rough.
Right now the big question of the morning is whether or not we will go to the $16.95 per person breakfast buffet. My thought is that if we do decide to make the purchase that we should try to drag the experience out so that we can get a few hours of time out of the experience.
Whatever we decide to do I am sure food will be in all of our futures.
Though the captain warned us of rough seas and we were about 45 minutes late leaving North Sydney, the trip has not been unpleasantly rough.
Right now the big question of the morning is whether or not we will go to the $16.95 per person breakfast buffet. My thought is that if we do decide to make the purchase that we should try to drag the experience out so that we can get a few hours of time out of the experience.
Whatever we decide to do I am sure food will be in all of our futures.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Back to Newfoundland - 2
We are now a few hours into the trip and we have already made it to North Sydney. Instead of checking in as soon as we arrived we decided to head to a local fast food restaurant to get some food and take advantage of their free WiFi.
The trip so far has been largely uneventful. It seems likely that the most exciting aspect of the trip thus far has been some of the Cape Breton coastal scenery or the time when we were driving behind a truck carrying log that was shedding bark clumps as it drove.
And as you can see, we were welcomed to Cape Breton.
As we won't likely have WiFi access in the line to board the ferry I suspect that my next update will be from the ferry. Hopefully nothing particularly exciting will have happened between now than then.
The trip so far has been largely uneventful. It seems likely that the most exciting aspect of the trip thus far has been some of the Cape Breton coastal scenery or the time when we were driving behind a truck carrying log that was shedding bark clumps as it drove.
And as you can see, we were welcomed to Cape Breton.
As we won't likely have WiFi access in the line to board the ferry I suspect that my next update will be from the ferry. Hopefully nothing particularly exciting will have happened between now than then.
Back to Newfoundland - 1
Neil, Kirsten, Rebecca, and I are currently in Halifax, though in just a few minutes we will be on our way to to North Sydney, Cape Breton and then the ferry to Argentia.
While the skies aren't particularly bright today, the weather doesn't look so bad that driving will be treacherous or unpleasant. Though, as always, we won't really know about these things until we hit the road. And it is also possible that conditions will change as we cross the province.
For a number of reasons I am looking forward to this trip. One of the first reasons is that I haven't been on the Halifax to Cape Breton route since about 1995 and I think it will be nice to see this part of the province. Another reason that I am looking forward to this trip is that I am looking forward to seeing the new ferry (and I haven't been on this crossing since about 1995). Thirdly, I am looking forward to seeing Newfoundland in the summer, something I haven't seen since 2008.
Anyway, I should probably pack up my computer so that we can start loading up the car.
My hope is that the ferry has WiFi/internet access and that I will be able to provide updates while we are in transit (because I know that you all love my live coverage of relatively mundane events).
While the skies aren't particularly bright today, the weather doesn't look so bad that driving will be treacherous or unpleasant. Though, as always, we won't really know about these things until we hit the road. And it is also possible that conditions will change as we cross the province.
For a number of reasons I am looking forward to this trip. One of the first reasons is that I haven't been on the Halifax to Cape Breton route since about 1995 and I think it will be nice to see this part of the province. Another reason that I am looking forward to this trip is that I am looking forward to seeing the new ferry (and I haven't been on this crossing since about 1995). Thirdly, I am looking forward to seeing Newfoundland in the summer, something I haven't seen since 2008.
Anyway, I should probably pack up my computer so that we can start loading up the car.
My hope is that the ferry has WiFi/internet access and that I will be able to provide updates while we are in transit (because I know that you all love my live coverage of relatively mundane events).
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Secret get away (with birds)
Kirsten, who is currently visiting us in Wolfville, and I took a quick trip to the Nova Scotia part of the Bay of Fundy that is nearest to Wolfville.
Our first attempt to get to the Bay of Fundy via Bennetts Bay lead us to something of a dead end no more than 100 feet from the water.
After a little more thinking and driving Kirsten and I managed to find a nearby community, something like Paddy's Beach, that provided the public access to the water front.
Maybe even more impressive than just being able to see the majestic Bay of Fundy was that we were able to walk around on a rocky area exposed by low tide and framed by a rather impressive waterfall. And of course the best part of this all was that, aside from a few sea birds, we were alone while exploring.
After the leaving the Bay of Fundy Kirsten and I made our way to the much more interesting New Minas for a series of rather commonplace errands.
A little later in the day all three of us stopped by a small petting zoo to visit a few cute goats and peacocks. We were all quite surprised to see that the peahen seemed to have laid a few eggs (though she didn't seem to be minding the eggs too closely).
Anyway, mundane commercial endeavours aside, it was a very pleasant day.
Our first attempt to get to the Bay of Fundy via Bennetts Bay lead us to something of a dead end no more than 100 feet from the water.
After a little more thinking and driving Kirsten and I managed to find a nearby community, something like Paddy's Beach, that provided the public access to the water front.
Maybe even more impressive than just being able to see the majestic Bay of Fundy was that we were able to walk around on a rocky area exposed by low tide and framed by a rather impressive waterfall. And of course the best part of this all was that, aside from a few sea birds, we were alone while exploring.
After the leaving the Bay of Fundy Kirsten and I made our way to the much more interesting New Minas for a series of rather commonplace errands.
A little later in the day all three of us stopped by a small petting zoo to visit a few cute goats and peacocks. We were all quite surprised to see that the peahen seemed to have laid a few eggs (though she didn't seem to be minding the eggs too closely).
Anyway, mundane commercial endeavours aside, it was a very pleasant day.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Free mug
A few weeks ago I signed up for a free mug promotion that was being conducted by the Canadian branch of HarperCollins. As I recall, one didn't have to do more than provide an address to qualify for the offer.
Just a few moments ago my mug was delivered (intact and in working order) And instead of having the mug delivered by regular post, the good folks at HarperCollins had the mug couriered to me.
After opening the package I learned that I was one of two-thousand recipients to be sent such a mug, all of which were, presumably, couriered.
Given that this mug isn't tied to a larger promotion or even a particular item or service provided by the company I am quite surprised that HarperCollins would go to the trouble and expense of couriering thousands of mugs across Canada. I have to imagine that each mug cost a few dollars to produce and ship meaning that the overal program cost several thousand dollars. For their sakes I hope that the good will that they have generated from this program was worth the $10 000 or so that the program likely cost.
Just a few moments ago my mug was delivered (intact and in working order) And instead of having the mug delivered by regular post, the good folks at HarperCollins had the mug couriered to me.
After opening the package I learned that I was one of two-thousand recipients to be sent such a mug, all of which were, presumably, couriered.
Given that this mug isn't tied to a larger promotion or even a particular item or service provided by the company I am quite surprised that HarperCollins would go to the trouble and expense of couriering thousands of mugs across Canada. I have to imagine that each mug cost a few dollars to produce and ship meaning that the overal program cost several thousand dollars. For their sakes I hope that the good will that they have generated from this program was worth the $10 000 or so that the program likely cost.
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Can't get enough
Since late yesterday evening I have been pretty regularly following The Guardian's live blog coverage of the on-going riots in England. Their round-the-clock coverage is really amazing.
That I can follow an international story like these riots in almost realtime still amazes me. Wireless and smartphone technology allow citizens and journalists and transmit multi-media updates as events are unfolding. Something that fits in one's pocket does the job of something that used to require a satellite truck.
Even just a few years ago we would have had to wait for at least a few hours to get the kind of information that we can now get in minutes. An event like this would have been covered by a relatively small number of journalists/cameras, many of which might be slow to find the action.
Oh, and I've also been following a site dealing exclusively with issues related to rioting in Birmingham. When I first came to this site only a few updates had been posted and things seemed relatively calm. Since yesterday afternoon this site seems to have become pretty good at aggregating reports from all over Birmingham and documenting the development of the riots there. (It's interesting to watch something become a thing in just a matter of hours.)
One last comment, the difference in tactics used by the riot police in England appears to be quite different than the tactics used by Canadian police during Toronto's recent G20 meetings. Instead of deploying tear gas and rubber bullets first and then arresting as many people as possible the London police seem to be taking a much more coolheaded approach. Of course, one major consequence of this approach is that many of those involved in rioting haven't been arrested and are free to continue rioting. It's an interesting value judgement that they have made.
That I can follow an international story like these riots in almost realtime still amazes me. Wireless and smartphone technology allow citizens and journalists and transmit multi-media updates as events are unfolding. Something that fits in one's pocket does the job of something that used to require a satellite truck.
Even just a few years ago we would have had to wait for at least a few hours to get the kind of information that we can now get in minutes. An event like this would have been covered by a relatively small number of journalists/cameras, many of which might be slow to find the action.
Oh, and I've also been following a site dealing exclusively with issues related to rioting in Birmingham. When I first came to this site only a few updates had been posted and things seemed relatively calm. Since yesterday afternoon this site seems to have become pretty good at aggregating reports from all over Birmingham and documenting the development of the riots there. (It's interesting to watch something become a thing in just a matter of hours.)
One last comment, the difference in tactics used by the riot police in England appears to be quite different than the tactics used by Canadian police during Toronto's recent G20 meetings. Instead of deploying tear gas and rubber bullets first and then arresting as many people as possible the London police seem to be taking a much more coolheaded approach. Of course, one major consequence of this approach is that many of those involved in rioting haven't been arrested and are free to continue rioting. It's an interesting value judgement that they have made.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Popular demand
A few issues were raised with our recent survey so I have created this addendum survey to try to rectify a few of the problems.
[Embedded survey]
Thanks for taking the time to provide us with your answers to these very important questions.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.
[Embedded survey]
Thanks for taking the time to provide us with your answers to these very important questions.
Ugh, I can't believe this happened
It seems that I let my guard down after a productive morning.
[Embedded survey]
Now that this has happened I guess I am curious to see how this goes.
Oh, and I think it is clear that I have a pretty questionable sense of humour.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.
[Embedded survey]
Now that this has happened I guess I am curious to see how this goes.
Oh, and I think it is clear that I have a pretty questionable sense of humour.
Sunday, August 07, 2011
I wish I had known about this years ago
A few minutes ago I was looking at a few articles through the Cambridge Journals website when I noticed a small RSS icon at the bottom of the page. After a little investigation I learned that I could subscribe to a feed for the journal I was looking at at the moment. This feed contains links to the articles and content published in the journal.
With a little more investigation I learned that I could subscribe to an aggregated feed containing content from any and all of the Cambridge Journals journals I am interested in. After quickly browsing their offerings I selected about a dozen journals that seemed relevant to my studies. Once a week I should be receiving updates about newly published articles in these journals.
Now that I have subscribed to these feeds I realize that I should have know about these features years ago and that I should probably find similar services from other major publishers and sign up to those feeds.
It is definitely a little embarrassing that I only just found this service.
And how did people get information before RSS feeds became so widely available?
With a little more investigation I learned that I could subscribe to an aggregated feed containing content from any and all of the Cambridge Journals journals I am interested in. After quickly browsing their offerings I selected about a dozen journals that seemed relevant to my studies. Once a week I should be receiving updates about newly published articles in these journals.
Now that I have subscribed to these feeds I realize that I should have know about these features years ago and that I should probably find similar services from other major publishers and sign up to those feeds.
It is definitely a little embarrassing that I only just found this service.
And how did people get information before RSS feeds became so widely available?
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Check this out
I just learned that you can search Google by providing vocal commands. Apparently this fucntion is called Voice Search.
While it's not quite perfect, it is pretty neat and it's definitely worth checking out.
Will Google ever stop amazing me?
While it's not quite perfect, it is pretty neat and it's definitely worth checking out.
Will Google ever stop amazing me?
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
That was disruptive
This afternoon, shortly after deciding a quick nap would be a good idea, a loud and intense thunderstorm came to fruition in the Annapolis Valley and Wolfville. Though the rain has died down a bit, it was originally quite heavy and accompanied by very loud and long thunder and some sporadic lightning.
[Embedded video]
I am kind amazed that we haven't yet lost power and also kind of expecting to lose it any minute now.
At least I will know what to expect if tomorrow's forecast comes to pass?
Oh, and the nap didn't happen. The thunder was just too loud to sleep through.
[Embedded video]
I am kind amazed that we haven't yet lost power and also kind of expecting to lose it any minute now.
At least I will know what to expect if tomorrow's forecast comes to pass?
Oh, and the nap didn't happen. The thunder was just too loud to sleep through.
Monday, August 01, 2011
They haven't given themselves up yet
A few weeks ago I mentioned that we have some grapes growing next to our apartment. Though the grapes are now more clearly grapes, I still can't quite tell what kind of grape we are dealing with. I am hoping that I will not only be able to identify the type of grape that we have, but also that I might be able to harvest a few of them to waste in a homemade wine attempt.
Anyway, this is all a ways off as these grapes are clearly some ways away from being ready to harvest.
Anyway, this is all a ways off as these grapes are clearly some ways away from being ready to harvest.
Why is voting by special ballot so different than voting in person?
Newfoundland is just about to have its second fixed term election. And, like the last one, voting day will be in October, October 11 to be precise.
Of course, in many ways the switch to fixed term elections mean that voting day doesn't quite mean what it used to. It is no longer the case that voting need be confined to the short campaign period after the election has been called until the end of the election.
It seems that it is now possible to vote as early as August 22, if you want to vote by special ballot. This change amazes me because it means that it is now possible to vote before the election has been called or nominations are closed. People are being allowed to vote before they can hope to know the potential candidates for among whom they might be choosing.
Oh, and if you are voting by special ballot and you actually want to wait long enough to see a list of confirmed candidates (nominations close on October 1) you have about four days to make your decision as your ballot needs to be received by October 5. The reality for those of us forced to rely on an unreliable postal system to submit our ballots is that we will have to vote before we can see a list of confirmed candidates.
Could they not, at a later date, just add the special ballots to the votes cast on election day? Would this be so hard? Would it delay the ability to confirm the results by more than a few days?
It is frustrating that even with all of this lead up and the ability to start casting special ballots more than a month before the election that the system still isn't particularly attuned to the needs of individuals voting by special ballot.
Not that my opinions count for much, but if I had the ability to change things I wouldn't hesitate to make the following changes:
Generally, at least to me, it seems that we should making it easier to cast informed votes would be a move in the right direction.
Of course, in many ways the switch to fixed term elections mean that voting day doesn't quite mean what it used to. It is no longer the case that voting need be confined to the short campaign period after the election has been called until the end of the election.
It seems that it is now possible to vote as early as August 22, if you want to vote by special ballot. This change amazes me because it means that it is now possible to vote before the election has been called or nominations are closed. People are being allowed to vote before they can hope to know the potential candidates for among whom they might be choosing.
Oh, and if you are voting by special ballot and you actually want to wait long enough to see a list of confirmed candidates (nominations close on October 1) you have about four days to make your decision as your ballot needs to be received by October 5. The reality for those of us forced to rely on an unreliable postal system to submit our ballots is that we will have to vote before we can see a list of confirmed candidates.
Could they not, at a later date, just add the special ballots to the votes cast on election day? Would this be so hard? Would it delay the ability to confirm the results by more than a few days?
It is frustrating that even with all of this lead up and the ability to start casting special ballots more than a month before the election that the system still isn't particularly attuned to the needs of individuals voting by special ballot.
Not that my opinions count for much, but if I had the ability to change things I wouldn't hesitate to make the following changes:
1) Increase the time between the final confirmation of candidates and election day. It might make sense to have this date coincide with the commencement of media advertising.
2) Disallow voting before the election writs have been issued and candidate nominations confirmed.
3) Accept special ballots that are post-marked or delivered in-person on or before election day.
4) Work with the post office to facilitate the prompt collection and delivery of mail ballots.
5) Eliminate the deadline to apply for a special ballot.
Generally, at least to me, it seems that we should making it easier to cast informed votes would be a move in the right direction.
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