A Few Quick Notes 625

-While we had grey skies and a little rain today, I think I still have to classify the day as generally nice.  Most importantly, the temperatures, which can really start to dip in October in Regina, have stayed relatively warm.

-After a few weeks of procrastinating I finally got around to calling my home insurance company about our most recent renewal rate, which was a fair bit more than I expected.  The explanation for the jump, which made more sense than I expected, paired with being walked through various fee lowering options made for a relatively pleasant experience.  Of course, the online quote from their competitor that I was trying to grab at the same time which eventually came in much higher than what we're paying didn't hurt either.  Apparently I wasn't being ripped off as much as I feared I was.

-Well, there's nothing like a parliamentary election to make for good TV viewing on a Monday night.  And of course it's hard to be an election result that will likely lead to two leadership contests in the near future.  The only bummer in all of this is that the two parties (one is certain and the other seems likely) that may be in search of a new leader both use various universal membership voting mechanisms to select their leader.  As a view of political events I much prefer delegated conventions with real on-the-floor horse trading.

-Also, I can't recommend viewing a Canadian election in Regina enough.  Things kicked off with the polls closing in Newfoundland just as we returned home from work.  30 minutes later the rest of Atlantic Canada entered the mix.  Just as the first 33 races were pretty much resolved we had enough time for a quick walk around the neighbourhood before the major onslaught of polls everywhere from Quebec to Alberta closing.  By about 8:00 PM the final outcome was really starting to come into focus.  We were basically in bed at our normal hour.  (Of course, our riding - Regina Lewvan - was one of the last to be resolved and was so close that it may now be subject to a re-count.)

Back in Newfoundland election viewing means a very late night with the excitement not really even starting until after when I'd want to be in bed.  It's all very uncivilized.