It seems that since my last post the police were called to the Occupy NS site to make sure that the occupiers vacated Victoria Park. Based on the photo accompanying the CBC story it looks as though the removal was really happening quite quickly.
This surprise tactic, at least in the short-run, seems to have worked for the city. They seem to have removed the occupiers from the city parks. Of course, I suspect that we will have to wait a few days to see if this all fades away quietly or if the protestors mount some form of rebuttal.
I am also curious to see if the protestors question the validity of the eviction notice and claim that they were given permission by the city. Unfortunately, as the news stories thus far seem to be focusing on the position of the city officials I don't really have a sense of how the protestors are responding to these developments, though I don't get the sense that there has been much of a fight so far (though I guess it's still early).
Hopefully more news will make it out shortly.
Update: Based on Twitter reports I gather that there have been a number of arrests during the eviction process. I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to see exactly how many there are in total.
Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label protests. Show all posts
Friday, November 11, 2011
Big news on the Occupy Halifax/NS front
Though I haven't mentioned anything about the Occupy NS/Halifax front for several days the protest has been on-going. After a negotiated departure from the Grand Parade (in advance of today's Remembrance Day ceremonies) the occupiers set up camp in Victoria Park, a site across from the Public Gardens. As far as I knew things were in motion for the Occupiers to return to their original location in the near future.
It seems now, at least according to the Chronicle Herald and a city notice, that this may not be happening. The city seems to now be attempting to shut down the protest before it returns to the Grand Parade. Apparently the city is now going to try to enforce the no camping and park closing rules that they have been lax about for the past few weeks (That the city seems to think that it is Ok only to enforce rules when it wants to is troubling and, at least to some extent, undermines the principle of Rule of Law that is so important in Canadian society).
In many ways this was a neat little maneuver by the city. The protestors left the site directly in front of city hall voluntarily based on negotiations with the city (a city that seemed to imply that it would support a continued occupation - it even suggested land that could be used for an encampment site). Now, once the protestors have vacated the prominent location, the city has decided it will shut them down.
Though I don't know all of the details, from the outside this definitely seems a little duplicitous on the part of the city government. Not only were the camps allowed to pass health and safety inspections, something that seemed to implicitly suggest some level of governmental approval, but the protestors were also explicitly offered an alternate park-based location for their protest by the city. This latter fact seems particularly pertinent.
For the city, which seemingly approved of the activities protests, to now try to shut them down, if anything, is asking for trouble. I suspect that many of the protestors and those who support the protestors will feel betrayed by the city. As I haven't been in Halifax for the duration of the occupation I don't really know what the public's position is on the matter, but I suspect that it could have a big impact on how this will all play out (and who knows, maybe the city knows that the public doesn't support the occupation). In any case, the city seems interested in forcing the issue sooner rather than later.
It seems now, at least according to the Chronicle Herald and a city notice, that this may not be happening. The city seems to now be attempting to shut down the protest before it returns to the Grand Parade. Apparently the city is now going to try to enforce the no camping and park closing rules that they have been lax about for the past few weeks (That the city seems to think that it is Ok only to enforce rules when it wants to is troubling and, at least to some extent, undermines the principle of Rule of Law that is so important in Canadian society).
In many ways this was a neat little maneuver by the city. The protestors left the site directly in front of city hall voluntarily based on negotiations with the city (a city that seemed to imply that it would support a continued occupation - it even suggested land that could be used for an encampment site). Now, once the protestors have vacated the prominent location, the city has decided it will shut them down.
Though I don't know all of the details, from the outside this definitely seems a little duplicitous on the part of the city government. Not only were the camps allowed to pass health and safety inspections, something that seemed to implicitly suggest some level of governmental approval, but the protestors were also explicitly offered an alternate park-based location for their protest by the city. This latter fact seems particularly pertinent.
For the city, which seemingly approved of the activities protests, to now try to shut them down, if anything, is asking for trouble. I suspect that many of the protestors and those who support the protestors will feel betrayed by the city. As I haven't been in Halifax for the duration of the occupation I don't really know what the public's position is on the matter, but I suspect that it could have a big impact on how this will all play out (and who knows, maybe the city knows that the public doesn't support the occupation). In any case, the city seems interested in forcing the issue sooner rather than later.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Finally, my first glimpse of an Occupy site
Since deciding to come to Halifax for a few days one of the things I have wanted to do is take a look at the Occupy NS site on the Grand Parade. Though there has been more media coverage of the protest as a result of the city's request that the protestors vacate the square to allow things like the Remembrance Day celebrations to take place, my sense of the physical reality was still lacking. How many tents were there? How full was the Grand Parade? Did it look like a tent city?
Finally last night Jeannette and I had the chance to drive by the occupation and get a look at the set up. Much to our surprise the Grand Parade was not full, there seemed to be a line of tents along the back of the paved area, but much of the rest of the pavement was unobstructed. Though there may have been one, I didn't see a single burning barrel (and we all know it's not a real strike/protest if there isn't at least one burning barrel).
As this view of the site was relatively brief I may have to find some time tomorrow to examine the site a little more closely and really get a sense of how things are working at the Occupy NS headquarters (especially considering this is a protest site that has passed it's health and safety inspection).
Oh, and in related news Occupy Magazine seems to have come out with its second issue a few days ago. As far as I can tell this issue also seems to be comprised primarily of articles harvested from other sources rather than original content. In this issue I really was expecting to see more content exclusive to this publication, but maybe that isn't the type of publication they are going for. Maybe if I make it to the Grand Parade tomorrow I will be able to pick up a print copy of the magazine to inspect in more detail.
Finally last night Jeannette and I had the chance to drive by the occupation and get a look at the set up. Much to our surprise the Grand Parade was not full, there seemed to be a line of tents along the back of the paved area, but much of the rest of the pavement was unobstructed. Though there may have been one, I didn't see a single burning barrel (and we all know it's not a real strike/protest if there isn't at least one burning barrel).
As this view of the site was relatively brief I may have to find some time tomorrow to examine the site a little more closely and really get a sense of how things are working at the Occupy NS headquarters (especially considering this is a protest site that has passed it's health and safety inspection).
Oh, and in related news Occupy Magazine seems to have come out with its second issue a few days ago. As far as I can tell this issue also seems to be comprised primarily of articles harvested from other sources rather than original content. In this issue I really was expecting to see more content exclusive to this publication, but maybe that isn't the type of publication they are going for. Maybe if I make it to the Grand Parade tomorrow I will be able to pick up a print copy of the magazine to inspect in more detail.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
We shouldn't be getting this traffic bump
A sure sign that there hasn't been enough coverage of the Occupy Nova Scotia festivities is that this blog is getting a surprising number of visitors as a result of our discussion of the protest. Given the size of the regular readership and very limited impact of this blog this shouldn't be happening. We shouldn't be one of the first results in the Google blog search category when you search for 'Occupy Nova Scotia,' we just aren't that big or important.
Where's the rest of the Nova Scotia blogosphere on this issue?
Where's the rest of the Nova Scotia blogosphere on this issue?
Finally a story that deals with challenges to Occupy Nova Scotia
Much of the relatively sparse media attention devoted to the Occupy Nova Scotia/Halifax event has been relatively devoid of coverage of how non-occupiers feel about the Occupation. This struck me as quite noticeable.
Didn't Haligonians working in the downtown core have opinions on the Occupy protest? Didn't the city have an opinion on the appearance of a tent city in on of its parks? Or were they all in favour of the Occupy Nova Scotia encampment? These questions and many more went unanswered.
And even though the fact that the the municipal government has issued an 'eviction' notice to the protestors prompted another story from CBC, issues surrounding the community's response are completely absent.
It seems that another component that was absent from the CBC story, but that was included in Halifax Media Co-op coverage, is that while the city has requested that the protestors leave the Grand Parade they have suggested an alternate location for the protest to continue. So the city isn't really shutting the protest down, just suggesting a change of venue. Of course, it's possible that this less prominent location, if agreed to by the protestors, will have a negative impact on the visibility of the protestors.
Anyway, the notice to leave the Grand Parade will likely lead to another round of media attention, though I can't help but wonder how comprehensive the resulting coverage will be. Certainly what we have seen so far, at least as far as I am concerned, is lacking in depth and breadth and has left the public with a very incomplete sense of the encampment as it currently exists in downtown Halifax.
Didn't Haligonians working in the downtown core have opinions on the Occupy protest? Didn't the city have an opinion on the appearance of a tent city in on of its parks? Or were they all in favour of the Occupy Nova Scotia encampment? These questions and many more went unanswered.
And even though the fact that the the municipal government has issued an 'eviction' notice to the protestors prompted another story from CBC, issues surrounding the community's response are completely absent.
It seems that another component that was absent from the CBC story, but that was included in Halifax Media Co-op coverage, is that while the city has requested that the protestors leave the Grand Parade they have suggested an alternate location for the protest to continue. So the city isn't really shutting the protest down, just suggesting a change of venue. Of course, it's possible that this less prominent location, if agreed to by the protestors, will have a negative impact on the visibility of the protestors.
Anyway, the notice to leave the Grand Parade will likely lead to another round of media attention, though I can't help but wonder how comprehensive the resulting coverage will be. Certainly what we have seen so far, at least as far as I am concerned, is lacking in depth and breadth and has left the public with a very incomplete sense of the encampment as it currently exists in downtown Halifax.
Monday, October 24, 2011
The return of the Occupy Nova Scotia/Halifax media coverage
It seems that after about a week without coverage mainstream media has come back to the Occupy Halifax/Nova Scotia protests in the Grand Parade. I am now curious to see if the other media outlets in the city will provide an update now that at least one source has? Also, isn't just the fact that a tent city has sprung up in downtown Halifax something of a newsworthy story locally? I imagine that this is having at least some impact on the thousands of people who work in the surrounding area.
Interestingly, so far I haven't seen mention in the mainstream media of the occupation's associated publication, Occupy Magazine. An notable development since yesterday on the Occupy Magazine front is that the publication is now available online. Apparently the print only idea only lasted a day or two before cheaper distribution mechanisms were decided upon.
The upside of Occupy Magazine being available online is that I have now had a chance to see the type of material it contains without actually having a print copy in my hand. And at least for their first issue they seem to have gone with content relating to the Occupy movement first published in other venues. Only a small portion of the magazine was comprised of content written specifically for this publication. I guess we will have to wait for subsequent issues of the magazine to see if this model is continued or if they are able to source original content from international contributors, as seems to be their goal.
In related news, there seems to have been an 'Occupy'-themed "open the House of Assembly" protest at the confederation building in St. John's today.
At the moment it seems that Atlantic Canada is just full of excited Occupiers.
Interestingly, so far I haven't seen mention in the mainstream media of the occupation's associated publication, Occupy Magazine. An notable development since yesterday on the Occupy Magazine front is that the publication is now available online. Apparently the print only idea only lasted a day or two before cheaper distribution mechanisms were decided upon.
The upside of Occupy Magazine being available online is that I have now had a chance to see the type of material it contains without actually having a print copy in my hand. And at least for their first issue they seem to have gone with content relating to the Occupy movement first published in other venues. Only a small portion of the magazine was comprised of content written specifically for this publication. I guess we will have to wait for subsequent issues of the magazine to see if this model is continued or if they are able to source original content from international contributors, as seems to be their goal.
In related news, there seems to have been an 'Occupy'-themed "open the House of Assembly" protest at the confederation building in St. John's today.
At the moment it seems that Atlantic Canada is just full of excited Occupiers.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
An unexpected development at Occupy Halifax
After my last post I continued to search the internet for signs of life at Occupy Halifax/Nova Scotia. I eventually found evidence that the protest has given life to a new print-only publication, a magazine called Occupy Magazine. It seems that the co-op responsible for publishing the magazine are interested in having their publication distributed internationally.
The first issue was released only yesterday and I gather that they are already thinking about subsequent issues. Of course, the magazine's Twitter feed suggests that the magazine is in the red. I guess given the current state of the print media this shouldn't be too much of a surprise.
Because the magazine is new and because it is not available online I still don't have too much of a sense of exactly what it is or what it contains. Maybe in a few days more reports about its content and origin story will make their way to the web. I am also curious to see if the national and international distribution plans come to fruition.
The first issue was released only yesterday and I gather that they are already thinking about subsequent issues. Of course, the magazine's Twitter feed suggests that the magazine is in the red. I guess given the current state of the print media this shouldn't be too much of a surprise.
Because the magazine is new and because it is not available online I still don't have too much of a sense of exactly what it is or what it contains. Maybe in a few days more reports about its content and origin story will make their way to the web. I am also curious to see if the national and international distribution plans come to fruition.
Has Occupy Halifax fizzled?
Last week's news coverage of the Occupy Halifax event spoke of protestors who were dedicated to the cause and interested in spending days or weeks on the Grand Parade (at least they would be back this weekend). Interestingly, there seems to have been little to no mainstream media coverage of the protest since last weekend (or at least any coverage that I can find through Google News). I was starting to wonder if the protest even made it much past last weekend
I did just find a post that suggests that the protest lasted at least 6 days. Of course, as this was posted about two days ago I don't know if the protest is still ongoing or if they have packed up camp and moved on.
Twitter activity does suggest that as of last night there may have still been something happening Occupy Halifax-wise, though the extent of the occupation is completely unclear to me.
What seems a little clearer is that news outlets that were covering the event a week ago seemed less inclined to cover the event through the week. And can such an event continue without relatively widespread media coverage? Given media disinterest how long will the Occupy Halifax event be able to hold out?
I did just find a post that suggests that the protest lasted at least 6 days. Of course, as this was posted about two days ago I don't know if the protest is still ongoing or if they have packed up camp and moved on.
Twitter activity does suggest that as of last night there may have still been something happening Occupy Halifax-wise, though the extent of the occupation is completely unclear to me.
What seems a little clearer is that news outlets that were covering the event a week ago seemed less inclined to cover the event through the week. And can such an event continue without relatively widespread media coverage? Given media disinterest how long will the Occupy Halifax event be able to hold out?
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Apparently there was an Occupy Halifax event
I guess I shouldn't be surprised to learn that there was, in fact, an Occupy Halifax event, and that it was conducted with the support of the Occupy Wolfville crowd (which explains the weak showing on the Occupy Wolfville front).
And while I would have guessed that such an event would take place in Cornwallis Park I guess it makes a little more sense that it took place on the Grand Parade.
What seems to set this protest apart from the original is that long-term occupation doesn't seem to be the goal. Instead of occupying the Grand Parade for close to a month the Occupiers seem to plan to head back again in a week.
I can't help but wonder if such a protest wouldn't have more of an impact both in actual and media terms if it were to be held on a business day?
And while I would have guessed that such an event would take place in Cornwallis Park I guess it makes a little more sense that it took place on the Grand Parade.
What seems to set this protest apart from the original is that long-term occupation doesn't seem to be the goal. Instead of occupying the Grand Parade for close to a month the Occupiers seem to plan to head back again in a week.
I can't help but wonder if such a protest wouldn't have more of an impact both in actual and media terms if it were to be held on a business day?
A Few Quick Notes 551
-I guess I have to say that today is a pretty nice day, though it is a little cooler and not quite as bright as I might consider ideal.
-Though Jeannette and I have driven past the set of the HBO Canada show Call Me Fitz countless times we have still not yet had a Jason Priestly sighting. I guess I can't say that I am particularly surprised that I haven't had such a sighting because I really don't have much of a sense of what he looks like.
Maybe more than having a Beverly Hills 90210 alum in our midst, I like that New Minas is serving as a stand-in for Detroit.
-Assuming all goes as planned, Jeannette and I will be playing some pick-up Ultimate this afternoon. Assuming things keep getting colder, this could be one our last such events for the year.
-For some reason it has been about three weeks since I last posted an entry in this series. Sadly, a mass outcry relating to the paucity of these posts did not develop in the way I might have expected given the longevity of the series. It is almost as though we don't have a particularly active or large readership here at Montifax.
-Last night I heard that various Occupy X protests were being shut down or picking up. For some reason I haven't yet heard much follow up today. Maybe the situations are still unresolved? All I know is that even though the streets of Wolfville were teeming with people last night, by this morning things seemed to have cleared up. I guess there just isn't much of an Occupy spirit in Wolfville these days.
(Apparently there was supposed to be some kind of Occupy Halifax event yesterday. I wonder if it happened in Cornwallis Park?)
-Now that I have passed my comps I have to start working on my thesis. So far things haven't moved particularly quickly. Hopefully that will change in the very near future.
-Though Jeannette and I have driven past the set of the HBO Canada show Call Me Fitz countless times we have still not yet had a Jason Priestly sighting. I guess I can't say that I am particularly surprised that I haven't had such a sighting because I really don't have much of a sense of what he looks like.
Maybe more than having a Beverly Hills 90210 alum in our midst, I like that New Minas is serving as a stand-in for Detroit.
-Assuming all goes as planned, Jeannette and I will be playing some pick-up Ultimate this afternoon. Assuming things keep getting colder, this could be one our last such events for the year.
-For some reason it has been about three weeks since I last posted an entry in this series. Sadly, a mass outcry relating to the paucity of these posts did not develop in the way I might have expected given the longevity of the series. It is almost as though we don't have a particularly active or large readership here at Montifax.
-Last night I heard that various Occupy X protests were being shut down or picking up. For some reason I haven't yet heard much follow up today. Maybe the situations are still unresolved? All I know is that even though the streets of Wolfville were teeming with people last night, by this morning things seemed to have cleared up. I guess there just isn't much of an Occupy spirit in Wolfville these days.
(Apparently there was supposed to be some kind of Occupy Halifax event yesterday. I wonder if it happened in Cornwallis Park?)
-Now that I have passed my comps I have to start working on my thesis. So far things haven't moved particularly quickly. Hopefully that will change in the very near future.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
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
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
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
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
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
Monday, May 10, 2010
Save the Coyotes, Kill the Dogs
Early this evening, just after visiting the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and seeing some HRM charter related legislation passed, Jeannette and I exited the legislature and walked past some sort of protest. (In case you were wondering, Dexter did not appear to be present while we were there and no one engaged in debate during the committee and third reading stages of three bills).
[Embedded video]
As best as we could tell they were trying to encourage the Nova Scotia government not to offer bounties for coyotes (as has recently been suggested). Given the increase in coyote attacks on dogs we can only assume that this group is comprised of aggressive anti-dog types (or that they are cat people). Of course none of this really matters as their protest slogans were almost completely unintelligible even from as close as across the street (and when you were trying to pick them out).
[Embedded video]
As best as we could tell they were trying to encourage the Nova Scotia government not to offer bounties for coyotes (as has recently been suggested). Given the increase in coyote attacks on dogs we can only assume that this group is comprised of aggressive anti-dog types (or that they are cat people). Of course none of this really matters as their protest slogans were almost completely unintelligible even from as close as across the street (and when you were trying to pick them out).
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
A Few Quick Notes 421
-Though I worried we might have some precipitation yesterday it seems that we seemed escaped unscathed. Unfortunately, we weren't quite so luck today. Not only has it been overcast all day, there have also been a number of periods of rain/precipitation.
-On Saturday Neil and Rebecca noticed that there were protestors walking around Cornwallis park. On Sunday I saw quite a number of protestors in the same location.
At the time we couldn't quite figure out why there were so many protestors. Eventually it became clear that much of this activity was likely related to G8 meetings that were scheduled to take place nearby.
Early this afternoon Neil and I tried to head to Pier 21 to see if we could see the protestors in person, but we wimped out once we saw how far we would have to walk through the rain to see them.
-Last night I had the misfortune of encountering a rather unpleasant bathroom fail.
As I was walking into the bathroom at the library I happened to pass an exiting janitor just as I encountered a rather overpowering stench. The janitor was trying to tell me something about someone "doing the South Park episode." Just as he said "it's not too bad now" I caught a glimpse of the middle urinal and noticed that someone had defecated in it. Classy (almost as classy as me telling the internet about it).
-Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking to one of my profs about arranging a meeting about my upcoming comprehensive exams. While we were talking we somehow ended up on the topic of political biography. She highly recommended a multi-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson by Robert Caro. Anyway, I am hoping to have something of a dent in at least the first volume by the time of my meeting in about two weeks' time.
-Yesterday I noticed that my banana plant, which has been growing quite rapidly of late, has sprouted a new pup.
This time I am going to try to leave the pup alone until it is actually large enough to transplant (instead of just killing it by transplanting it too early).
-We are hoping to get some Settlers in tonight. Should be fun.
-On Saturday Neil and Rebecca noticed that there were protestors walking around Cornwallis park. On Sunday I saw quite a number of protestors in the same location.
At the time we couldn't quite figure out why there were so many protestors. Eventually it became clear that much of this activity was likely related to G8 meetings that were scheduled to take place nearby.
Early this afternoon Neil and I tried to head to Pier 21 to see if we could see the protestors in person, but we wimped out once we saw how far we would have to walk through the rain to see them.
-Last night I had the misfortune of encountering a rather unpleasant bathroom fail.
As I was walking into the bathroom at the library I happened to pass an exiting janitor just as I encountered a rather overpowering stench. The janitor was trying to tell me something about someone "doing the South Park episode." Just as he said "it's not too bad now" I caught a glimpse of the middle urinal and noticed that someone had defecated in it. Classy (almost as classy as me telling the internet about it).
-Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking to one of my profs about arranging a meeting about my upcoming comprehensive exams. While we were talking we somehow ended up on the topic of political biography. She highly recommended a multi-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson by Robert Caro. Anyway, I am hoping to have something of a dent in at least the first volume by the time of my meeting in about two weeks' time.
-Yesterday I noticed that my banana plant, which has been growing quite rapidly of late, has sprouted a new pup.
This time I am going to try to leave the pup alone until it is actually large enough to transplant (instead of just killing it by transplanting it too early).
-We are hoping to get some Settlers in tonight. Should be fun.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
A rather inauspicious start
So, as some of you may already know, the Vancouver Olympics officially started yesterday night (or early this morning on Canada's east coast if you count from the time of the final torch lighting). While the events of last night caused the Globe and Mail to use the headline "Our Shining Hour," I think that it is clear that this is really quite far way from an accurate depiction of yesterday's Olympic related events.
In some ways, it is necessary to start with events that occurred before the opening ceremonies even started. In the early evening I was saddened and disappointed to learn that the Olympic luge track has already taken the life of one Olympic hopeful, an athlete from Georgia. The diagram of the accident site that I saw in today's paper makes it clear that those who do a poor job of executing the final turn may face serious consequences as instead of just shooting out of the track, you are likely to be propelled directly into support beams. Though I am not a luge track designer, this does seem to me to be a serious design flaw.
Later in the evening, after several hours of regional stereotype after regional stereotype the opening ceremony finally moved onto the big finale, the lighting of the torch. Then, in front of millions of viewers (I couldn't find a total number of viewers though there were supposedly about 13 million in Canada), there was a major technical problem that delayed the progression of the ceremony and then couldn't be rectified. A $40 million dollar event that failed at the critical moment, "our shining hour" indeed.
A more personal problem that we experienced related the coverage that was offered by CTV. Presumably because of the time-overrun related to the aforementioned technical difficulty, the streaming coverage cutout just moments before they were eventually to light the torch, the event to which the whole thing had been building. In a strange way it was a rather fitting conclusion to the evening's events.
Oh, and just moments ago I learned that the riot police were called in to deal with a group of several hundred protestors (some of whom engaged in vandalism and property destruction). Yum!
Blog-off Score
Neil:0
Cameron: 23
In some ways, it is necessary to start with events that occurred before the opening ceremonies even started. In the early evening I was saddened and disappointed to learn that the Olympic luge track has already taken the life of one Olympic hopeful, an athlete from Georgia. The diagram of the accident site that I saw in today's paper makes it clear that those who do a poor job of executing the final turn may face serious consequences as instead of just shooting out of the track, you are likely to be propelled directly into support beams. Though I am not a luge track designer, this does seem to me to be a serious design flaw.
Later in the evening, after several hours of regional stereotype after regional stereotype the opening ceremony finally moved onto the big finale, the lighting of the torch. Then, in front of millions of viewers (I couldn't find a total number of viewers though there were supposedly about 13 million in Canada), there was a major technical problem that delayed the progression of the ceremony and then couldn't be rectified. A $40 million dollar event that failed at the critical moment, "our shining hour" indeed.
A more personal problem that we experienced related the coverage that was offered by CTV. Presumably because of the time-overrun related to the aforementioned technical difficulty, the streaming coverage cutout just moments before they were eventually to light the torch, the event to which the whole thing had been building. In a strange way it was a rather fitting conclusion to the evening's events.
Oh, and just moments ago I learned that the riot police were called in to deal with a group of several hundred protestors (some of whom engaged in vandalism and property destruction). Yum!
Blog-off Score
Neil:0
Cameron: 23
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Dismantle the Nuclear reactor? I had no idea we even had one
So it seems that Dalhousie has a nuclear reactor. The reactor is located in the Life Sciences Center, which is the building next to the Hicks building, which is where I spend most of my time on campus.
I learned that there is a nuclear reactor on campus when I read a story from CBC about the fact that they are planning on dismantling it. I guess I am just a little surprised as it isn't something that you normally think of as being part of a thriving university community (Come for our students, our faculty and staff, and stay for our nuclear reactor). I presume that now that the news about it being dismantled (and that it exists) is in the public domain we can expect the usual assortment of student protesters (though I don't know what they would be protesting).
Another thing I recently learned about at Dalhousie is their Aquatron. While I still don't really know what this is, it does have a pretty impressive name and place on campus.
I learned that there is a nuclear reactor on campus when I read a story from CBC about the fact that they are planning on dismantling it. I guess I am just a little surprised as it isn't something that you normally think of as being part of a thriving university community (Come for our students, our faculty and staff, and stay for our nuclear reactor). I presume that now that the news about it being dismantled (and that it exists) is in the public domain we can expect the usual assortment of student protesters (though I don't know what they would be protesting).
Another thing I recently learned about at Dalhousie is their Aquatron. While I still don't really know what this is, it does have a pretty impressive name and place on campus.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Cornwallis park peace protests
About an hour ago a number of people showed up to protest the defence conference called the Halifax Forum. The event is being held in the Westin Nova Scotian, just across the street from Cornwallis Park, where the protests are being held. At just after the appointed hour not all that many people were there, though eventually a few more did show up.
This clip was taken at just after 1:00 PM.
[Embedded video]
When I went back to watch things a little later a sheet was in the process of being placed over the statue of Cornwallis.
Below the statue there was a little of the traditional call and response and drum banging going on.
All in all, things seemed to be pretty calm the last time I looked. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but the turnout out really wasn't as big as I expected given the list of attendees and the amount of time that people had to plan the event.
This clip was taken at just after 1:00 PM.
[Embedded video]
When I went back to watch things a little later a sheet was in the process of being placed over the statue of Cornwallis.
Below the statue there was a little of the traditional call and response and drum banging going on.
All in all, things seemed to be pretty calm the last time I looked. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but the turnout out really wasn't as big as I expected given the list of attendees and the amount of time that people had to plan the event.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 373
-Today was another great day in Halifax. Though it was above 10 for the better part of the day it is apparently forecast to drop as low as -2 tonight. I am somewhat curious whether this will actually happen or not. At the moment we need to drop another 10 degrees to get there (and that is on top of the 5 that we have already lost since today's high this afternoon).
-We had another tofu stir-fry for dinner tonight.
-Neil and Rebecca attended a few of the torch ceremonies yesterday evening. I was a little bit confused about when and where things were happening so I didn't participate (though I did get a free pre-torch Coke Zero while I was at Dal). Apparently they saw people like Dexter, Campbell, and maybe Crosby.
I guess I should also note that I am probably not a particularly big fan of the Olympic torch relay. The thing about it that I have been finding particularly frustrating is that every day they have been including a half-page story on page 3 of the Globe and Mail about the torch relay. This wasn't news to begin with and it certainly isn't news now that we are three weeks.
-I spent the afternoon in the Nova Scotia archives. While I wasn't as productive as I might have liked to have been, I think that in the end it should be considered a pretty productive trip. Not only did I find some of the stuff I was looking for, I also found a neat letter about Newfoundland in the 1920s.
-I just got back from the grocery store, where I had gone to buy another 10 pounds of carrots before the store closed for the night and the next week's pricing scheme was implemented. In the past week we have purchased 30 pounds of carrots at $1.99 per 10 pound bag. At the moment we have almost 30 pounds of carrots in our fridge.
-The German Marshall Fund sponsored defence conference is supposed to start tomorrow. According to a website I found a few days ago the protest plan is to picket the hotel's entrance tomorrow afternoon (if I recall correctly) and then hold the full-fledged protest on Saturday. I may or may not be here while the pre-protest is on-going tomorrow, but I will definitely try to grab a few pics of Saturday's events.
-I am in the midst of some marking, which is definitely going more slowly that I would like it to be.
-We had another tofu stir-fry for dinner tonight.
-Neil and Rebecca attended a few of the torch ceremonies yesterday evening. I was a little bit confused about when and where things were happening so I didn't participate (though I did get a free pre-torch Coke Zero while I was at Dal). Apparently they saw people like Dexter, Campbell, and maybe Crosby.
I guess I should also note that I am probably not a particularly big fan of the Olympic torch relay. The thing about it that I have been finding particularly frustrating is that every day they have been including a half-page story on page 3 of the Globe and Mail about the torch relay. This wasn't news to begin with and it certainly isn't news now that we are three weeks.
-I spent the afternoon in the Nova Scotia archives. While I wasn't as productive as I might have liked to have been, I think that in the end it should be considered a pretty productive trip. Not only did I find some of the stuff I was looking for, I also found a neat letter about Newfoundland in the 1920s.
-I just got back from the grocery store, where I had gone to buy another 10 pounds of carrots before the store closed for the night and the next week's pricing scheme was implemented. In the past week we have purchased 30 pounds of carrots at $1.99 per 10 pound bag. At the moment we have almost 30 pounds of carrots in our fridge.
-The German Marshall Fund sponsored defence conference is supposed to start tomorrow. According to a website I found a few days ago the protest plan is to picket the hotel's entrance tomorrow afternoon (if I recall correctly) and then hold the full-fledged protest on Saturday. I may or may not be here while the pre-protest is on-going tomorrow, but I will definitely try to grab a few pics of Saturday's events.
-I am in the midst of some marking, which is definitely going more slowly that I would like it to be.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
A Few Quick Notes 372
-Today (Friday) was quite nice. It was about 10 during the middle of the day, though it has not dropped to just above freezing. For the past few days the weather has been like this, which is nice as it makes for very pleasant walks to school.
-We had pork chops, couscous, and vegetables for dinner tonight. I know that Neil and I were both pleasantly surprised with how tasty and moist the pork chops were. I think our surprise came not because of any inability to cook pork chops that I might have, but rather because the chops were on the thin side (so more likely to dry out).
-My tobacco harvesting has really picked up in the past few days. At the moment I have 13 leaves drying, and a few more basically ready to go into the storage container. At some point soon I am going to have to start figuring out what I want to do with them (a thought that regular readers of this blog will likely find somewhat repetitive).
-A few days ago I made a batch of rum balls. Much to my surprise they have been quite popular. When I was making them I assumed that I would slowly pick away at them for a weeks until they were gone. As things stand now I may actually need to make another batch in a few days if I want more.
-It seems that the German Marshall Fund and Peter MacKay will be hosting a big security conference from November 20-22 at a hotel near our apartment. A week ago I had the pleasure of speaking with a local peace activist who was kind enough to inform me that protests have been scheduled for the conference. While I wasn't to surprised to learn that protestors would be present, particularly when I started to get a better sense of who would be attending, I was a little surprised to learn that this would all be going down within a few hundred feet of our apartment. I guess we will just have to wait and see how things go. Hopefully I will be able to snag a few photos or some video of the events.
-This morning when I woke up I discovered that my shoulder was hurting (I don't think it is enough to worry about it). I guess what surprises me is why this might be the case. What could I have done to myself during the night to have caused such a situation? Hopefully things will be back to normal by tomorrow.
-Today I signed up for a Google Wave account. At the moment I am not really sure if I will have an occassion to use such a service but it seemed that it would be better to have access than not.
-We had pork chops, couscous, and vegetables for dinner tonight. I know that Neil and I were both pleasantly surprised with how tasty and moist the pork chops were. I think our surprise came not because of any inability to cook pork chops that I might have, but rather because the chops were on the thin side (so more likely to dry out).
-My tobacco harvesting has really picked up in the past few days. At the moment I have 13 leaves drying, and a few more basically ready to go into the storage container. At some point soon I am going to have to start figuring out what I want to do with them (a thought that regular readers of this blog will likely find somewhat repetitive).
-A few days ago I made a batch of rum balls. Much to my surprise they have been quite popular. When I was making them I assumed that I would slowly pick away at them for a weeks until they were gone. As things stand now I may actually need to make another batch in a few days if I want more.
-It seems that the German Marshall Fund and Peter MacKay will be hosting a big security conference from November 20-22 at a hotel near our apartment. A week ago I had the pleasure of speaking with a local peace activist who was kind enough to inform me that protests have been scheduled for the conference. While I wasn't to surprised to learn that protestors would be present, particularly when I started to get a better sense of who would be attending, I was a little surprised to learn that this would all be going down within a few hundred feet of our apartment. I guess we will just have to wait and see how things go. Hopefully I will be able to snag a few photos or some video of the events.
-This morning when I woke up I discovered that my shoulder was hurting (I don't think it is enough to worry about it). I guess what surprises me is why this might be the case. What could I have done to myself during the night to have caused such a situation? Hopefully things will be back to normal by tomorrow.
-Today I signed up for a Google Wave account. At the moment I am not really sure if I will have an occassion to use such a service but it seemed that it would be better to have access than not.
Friday, October 19, 2007
A Few Quick Notes 124
-The temperature has been somewhat higher for the past few days. It was so hot this morning that I was sitting on the balcony reading my paper in a tee-shirt and shorts. Actually, I heard that the expected high is to be 25. Unfortunately, these high temperatures are to be accompanied by severe thunderstorms starting this afternoon.
-In cataloging class on Wednesday 10 Library of Congress schedules were presented by members of the class. I was responsible for presenting on D-DJ, general history and European history.
Prior to the presentations it had been made clear to us that we would be timed and have an absolute maximum of ten minutes. Within several minutes of the commencement of the first presentation it became very clear that we were being time, a beeping noise kept coming from a timer in front of the professor. It was clear that this beeping meant something, but exactly what was not immediately clear. My sense, and I believe that the rest of the class felt the same way, was that the beeps were bad and likely an indicator of the 10 minute mark.
While I was giving my presentation I thought that I was on pace for an 8 minute presentation, which is where I wanted to be. I heard my first beep, thinking that I had already reached 10 minutes, and sped up, covering the rest of the presentation in about a minute.
As we learned afterwards, the beeping indicated 5 minutes, meaning that I was basically on pace and could have comfortably finished all I needed to say without fear of going over time. Hopefully this new knowledge will lead to a smoother round of presentations in two weeks when we get the next batch of 10 (when I will presenting the J, or Political Science, schedule).
-Shortly after I moved to Montreal last August I bought a multi-pack of cheap knives. With a cutting board and sharpening rod the whole package came in at less than $10. Not surprisingly, these weren’t really the best knives in the world, actually they were barely passable as knives.
This year I decided that I would take a step forward and buy a good, or at least passable, knife. I ended up with a $20 Ikea knife, with which I have been generally quite pleased. When I first opened the knife I read the care instructions and learned that the knife should not be kept sharp with a stainless steel sharpener, but with a ceramic sharpener. The problem this presented is that my knife sharpener is entirely stainless steel, and therefore not suitable for the job.
While I could tell this would be a slight inconvenience, I didn’t think it would be all that bad. I would just head out and pick up a ceramic knife sharpener at the next opportunity.
As it turned out, that next opportunity was yesterday. While at a kitchen store I learned that while knife sharpeners are expensive, ceramic knife sharpeners are obscenely expensive. They wanted $54 for a ceramic knife sharpener, something that was a little outside of my spending range (though I might have been suckered in for $40).
Maybe I will see about getting something at Lee Valley while I am in Halifax. They seem to have such sharpeners for only about $23.
-The previous note would suggest that I am heading to Halifax. I will be heading out on Saturday and returning on Wednesday. The reason for the trip is to attend Neil’s convocation ceremony.
-A few days ago I was hired as a research assistant for a project at McGill. Aside from the work being more in my area of interest, I will also be able to drop my Thursday night busing shift. Though for all of my loyal fans, I will continue to bus on Friday nights.
-While heading to school yesterday I noticed a TV truck outside a local chain coffee shop. On my way back from school, I noticed more TV trucks and protestors. Though I did not know it until I approached them, they were protesting the lack of French on the chain’s signs. It is interesting to note that a brief story on the protest appeared in today’s Globe and Main.
-It appears that today McGill will be starting a very large fundraising drive. To commence the drive they have erected a massive series of tents on the playing fields in front of the McLennan library. My thought was that if a university can afford to set up a tent village for a week maybe they don’t need hundreds of millions of dollars. Or if they do need hundreds of millions of dollars maybe they shouldn’t set up a tent city (particularly when I am using library resources that are 20 years out of date).
-In cataloging class on Wednesday 10 Library of Congress schedules were presented by members of the class. I was responsible for presenting on D-DJ, general history and European history.
Prior to the presentations it had been made clear to us that we would be timed and have an absolute maximum of ten minutes. Within several minutes of the commencement of the first presentation it became very clear that we were being time, a beeping noise kept coming from a timer in front of the professor. It was clear that this beeping meant something, but exactly what was not immediately clear. My sense, and I believe that the rest of the class felt the same way, was that the beeps were bad and likely an indicator of the 10 minute mark.
While I was giving my presentation I thought that I was on pace for an 8 minute presentation, which is where I wanted to be. I heard my first beep, thinking that I had already reached 10 minutes, and sped up, covering the rest of the presentation in about a minute.
As we learned afterwards, the beeping indicated 5 minutes, meaning that I was basically on pace and could have comfortably finished all I needed to say without fear of going over time. Hopefully this new knowledge will lead to a smoother round of presentations in two weeks when we get the next batch of 10 (when I will presenting the J, or Political Science, schedule).
-Shortly after I moved to Montreal last August I bought a multi-pack of cheap knives. With a cutting board and sharpening rod the whole package came in at less than $10. Not surprisingly, these weren’t really the best knives in the world, actually they were barely passable as knives.
This year I decided that I would take a step forward and buy a good, or at least passable, knife. I ended up with a $20 Ikea knife, with which I have been generally quite pleased. When I first opened the knife I read the care instructions and learned that the knife should not be kept sharp with a stainless steel sharpener, but with a ceramic sharpener. The problem this presented is that my knife sharpener is entirely stainless steel, and therefore not suitable for the job.
While I could tell this would be a slight inconvenience, I didn’t think it would be all that bad. I would just head out and pick up a ceramic knife sharpener at the next opportunity.
As it turned out, that next opportunity was yesterday. While at a kitchen store I learned that while knife sharpeners are expensive, ceramic knife sharpeners are obscenely expensive. They wanted $54 for a ceramic knife sharpener, something that was a little outside of my spending range (though I might have been suckered in for $40).
Maybe I will see about getting something at Lee Valley while I am in Halifax. They seem to have such sharpeners for only about $23.
-The previous note would suggest that I am heading to Halifax. I will be heading out on Saturday and returning on Wednesday. The reason for the trip is to attend Neil’s convocation ceremony.
-A few days ago I was hired as a research assistant for a project at McGill. Aside from the work being more in my area of interest, I will also be able to drop my Thursday night busing shift. Though for all of my loyal fans, I will continue to bus on Friday nights.
-While heading to school yesterday I noticed a TV truck outside a local chain coffee shop. On my way back from school, I noticed more TV trucks and protestors. Though I did not know it until I approached them, they were protesting the lack of French on the chain’s signs. It is interesting to note that a brief story on the protest appeared in today’s Globe and Main.
-It appears that today McGill will be starting a very large fundraising drive. To commence the drive they have erected a massive series of tents on the playing fields in front of the McLennan library. My thought was that if a university can afford to set up a tent village for a week maybe they don’t need hundreds of millions of dollars. Or if they do need hundreds of millions of dollars maybe they shouldn’t set up a tent city (particularly when I am using library resources that are 20 years out of date).
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