Bast's Best

2011-05-02T23:31:00.000-06:00

Despair...

No words. So upset. Terrible, horrible day for Canada. I want my country back, and I don`t want to wait another four years!!!

Feel like a six-year-old being dragged along to an uncle`s house who I know will abuse me.

Time to start looking at properties in Spain.

2011-04-27T21:54:00.000-06:00

The New Solitudes

Most Canadians my age (ahem, no comment...) remember the Two Solitudes: English Canada and French Canada, non-communicative and slightly dysfunctional. Fast forward a few decades, and I believe we are on the cusp of a different transformational change in Canada: the New Solitudes, if you will. As the NDP surge (and yes, I really want to write RCMP "serge" instead...) continues, it seems apparent to me the Canadians are abandoning the traditional middle ground, the safe centrist political space we have lived in for the past few decades. Instead, we seem to be gathering at polar opposite sides of the political spectrum.

The NDP has traditionally occupied the far left of our main political spectrum.They have had their best days in minority governments, where they held the balance of power. That's how they've always thought they could get things done. Then we have the far right - the Harper Conservatives. I say "Harper" because the party is the man here, and conversely the man is the party. Never have we seen this kind of control over a party - a Machiavellian grip that has not lessened throughout this election.

The NDP are the party of the poor and working middle class; the Harper Conservatives are the party of the rich and upper middle class. And that gap between rich and poor in Canada is growing. Is it any wonder that we are playing this out in Election 41?

The NDP actually have a chance to significantly and substantively change the political landscape in Canada in this election. Even if they only form the official minority, this would be groundbreaking. But if the unthinkable happens, and they form a government with the Liberals, with a PM Layton leading the country, it will seismic - nay, biblical. And the country will entrench yet further into left and right.

The New Solitudes - the New Normal.

2011-04-22T17:37:00.000-06:00

Votez, Votez, Votez....

So it's election time in Canada again. Our own democractic stimulus program. Hey, what with hiring election workers, renting candidate offices, polling sites, IT support, etc., lots of Canadians are getting more bucks in their jeans. So it's all good, right? For me, no problem. I'm happy to pay my $8.82 to try and get Harpo and the rest of the anti-Marxist brothers out of power in Ottawa. Not that I'm a Marxist - it just sounded good.

It's important to remember that this guy lies for a living. He lies - whenever he opens his mouth. Now, all politicians lie, but he is taking it to a whole 'nother level. Let's take one example: Harper said he's not going to re-open the abortion debate. Really? 'Cuz it really seems to me like you have tried to, but in a really, really sneaky way. Take a look at Joyce Arthur's article to see what I'm talking about.

It's hard being a left-loo in red-neck Alberta. My friend, Jane, tells you a bit about just how difficult in her blog, The Abortion Monologues. Although driving around the neighbourhood today I did see an awful lot of Liberal signs up. Not surprising, I guess, because my riding has a Liberal MLA. Apparently the Conservative candidate keeps skipping the all-candidate meetings too. They keep placing a potted plant in her chair as a symbol.

Ah yes, it's election time in Canada again. You can almost smell the vitriole.

2011-04-16T20:05:00.000-06:00

Back from the Abyss

Well, it has been a looong time. So much for that. I am back and hoping to blog on a more regular basis. My friend, Stubborn Mule, and I had a bit of reunion with others in Cambridge a couple of weeks ago, and he inspired me to get back at it. So here's a new look blog and I have even managed to get my Twitter feed attached to it. Molto bene. I believe when I interrupted this blog, there was no such thing as Twitter. Ye gods.

I must admit, I really quite enjoyed being back in England again. Not sure if it was the company (stellar); or the weather (spring - much better than Calgary); or just the fact I needed a break (stressed out and punchy). Whatever it was, being back was a tonic. I have resolved to do it again soon.

Of course, it might be that the Canadian election is bringing me down. I really do not wish to live in Harpo-land anymore. But my compatriots seem uninterested and blasé about the whole thing.

More anon, on this topic. It's not over til it's over (or is that until the Fat Lady sings?).

2010-07-27T22:54:00.002-06:00

Luxury Pig-dom

OK, TGIF. If - er - when I win the $50 MILLION MaxLotto on Friday night, I'll need 19 of my closest friends to sign up for a week (or two) here. Or, hey, even if I don't win, I only need 19 of my closest friends to decide to come with me and it actually becomes affordable.

The Dominican Republic officially has my attention. I feel a reccy trip coming on.

2010-07-12T23:27:00.003-06:00

Alberta Hail Suppression Project

Can I just say this is a massive failure today - and I will have $1,000s of bodywork to prove it. Oh, and can I also say this is pretty scary - for the tin hat brigade, this is weather modification at its finest.

Should I be tweeting this instead of blogging about it? I feel so 2007 all of a sudden....

2009-11-21T15:38:00.002-07:00

A New Form of Library...

Yes, yes, I know - it's been awhile since my last post. There are some very good reasons for this, and perhaps one day, I will find the strength to blog about this time in my life. But not quite now.

But I have been doing some significant re-organization and re-integration of my life these days. Specifically, I have been recycling things, especially books. I am a bit of a packrat when it comes to books, which would be superb, except I rarely read the books I buy. Hence I do not feel I warrant the title of bibliophile.

So became quite excited when I discovered this new Internet project called LibriVox. This takes public domain literary works, and has volunteers read and record them. Thye are then posted in downloadable formats, like .mp3 or .zip files. Perfect - I can build my library, at least my classical library, online and squirrel it away on a hard rive. This should free up space in my life. And this should alleviate my guilt at not reading what I buy.

A quite elegant 21st century solution to my 20th century book affliction.

2009-09-28T23:00:00.003-06:00

And So it Begins....

The decline of Alberta's fortunes is irrevocably tied to natural gas. And the future of natural gas is not pretty.

Sun setting on Alberta’s natural gas empire, TD warns

Look out, Chicken Little. The sky really is falling.

2009-09-27T13:50:00.002-06:00

Can Someone Explain This to Me?

I may not be the sharpest tack in the box financially, but I am having a problem trying to reconcile these two figures.

It seems that Alberta's per capita gaming revenue is $871, the highest in the country. But when you look at the 2008 Annual Report of the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, it states that the total gaming revenue in 2008 was $26 billion. So when you divide that number into the 3.3 million provincial inhabitants (not all of whom are old enough to gamble) that equates to $7,878 per person. Huh? What gives? This seems extremely odd.

Oh, and this fiscal year, 2009-2010, gaming revenue (net) will outpace oil and gas revenue (net) by some $500 million.

Sigh. We live in interesting times, in an interesting place. FUBAR.

2009-09-21T23:21:00.002-06:00

Cryyyiiiing Over Debt....(Apologies to Roy Orbison)

Mister Ed has gone and done it. A little over five years after King Ralph declared the Alberta debt to be history, Steady Eddy Stelmach has plunged the province back into debt.

Here's a portion of what Ralph said back in July of 2004:

"Never again will this government or the people of this province have to set aside another tax dollar on debt," Klein said. "Those days are over and they're over for good, as far as my government is concerned, and if need be we will put in place legislation to make sure that we never have a debt again," he added.

Lots of "never agains." Seems we're there again, and in a big way. Ed plans to issue $3.3 billion worth of provincial bonds to help fund infrastructure. That would be because Ralph let the infrastructure rot in his ego-driven frenzy to pay down the debt.

I sometimes wonder why I live in this province. SNAFU.

2009-09-14T15:58:00.002-06:00

Another Truth Found

In the midst of lies from the MSM and just about every government in the world saying that the recession is over, I offer up a little piece from the UK's Mail.

As a sidenote, I was viewing some new duplexes in Cochrane this past weekend - a little over 1400 sq ft developed (but seemed much less - they must have counting the garage...) for the low, low price of $500,000+. When I actually had the nerve to talk to the gentleman about ARM resets in the US (which, granted, he did bring up) and the fact that we in Alberta are not "special" and have not decoupled from the US economy, he immediately thought I worked in the financial services industry. No, I am just a citizen who takes an interest - in articles such as this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1212013/Revealed-The-ghost-fleet-recession.html

2009-09-07T22:35:00.001-06:00

Beyond the Pale

I have no words...

Wall Street Securitizing Death

2009-07-13T23:09:00.002-06:00

Say what? And where?

I may be fast on the road to becoming an old fogey, but just when did the basic rules of etiquette change so drastically regarding the "new technology"?

Case in point: I was minding my own business today in the mall and decided I should find a public loo to relieve myself. A woman about my age was following me (quite closely, actually) and talking animatedly on a cell phone. About a house renovation, if you must know (and apparently, the whole world must know.) I thought to myself as I opened the door to the washroom, "Surely she will excuse herself and hang up the phone now." But oh no. I entered into one stall, and she barrelled into the other, still talking to the poor person on the other end of the line. Surely, then, she will hang up now, I thought, as I unzipped and assumed the position. But, horror of horrors, this did not cross her mind. She proceeded to have her pee and continue gabbing. Sounds of toilet paper ripping and flushes ensued (and that was only me!). I then came out and did my hygiene duty - loud water sounds and paper towel-ripping sounds quite common to a washroom were made. I left without seeing her, much to my delight.

So my question to you, blog-dogs, is: was this a faux pas, or is this considered au courant (perhaps even cutting edge?) in the cell phone world now? Do people do this in the privacy of their own home with cordless phones too? Am a just an uber-prude? After all, if she were with another friend in person and went into a washroom, the conversation could still have continued, no? I think my discomfort came from the fact that the person on the other end of the phone had no choice in the matter - they were dragged along for the ride, no matter what. Could have been a man too. In which case she had no right to let him in on the secret workings of female bathrooms.

Sigh. The 21st century is wearing on me. I am truly tired of all the change. I need a kinder, simpler day, when people excused themselves to do private things with their privates.

Perhaps I shall sign up for that Franciscan retreat after all. No cell phones allowed.

2009-06-23T21:05:00.002-06:00

The Old 80-20 Rule

In fundraising, it's well known that 80% of your donations come from only 20% of your donors. Focus your efforts on those 20%, and you'll do just fine.

Seems HarperLand has it's own version of this rule. The Building Canada Fund is a great example. This is the $8.8 Billion fund that provides infrastructure funding to Canadian communities. And when you look at the numbers, it's quite revealing. A full 80% (ok, 79.41% for you picky folks) of the funding has so far been allocated to Con ridings. That leaves only 20% for ridings of all other political persuasions. And to boot, only 6.4% of the funding announced ($1.6 Billion so far) has actually flowed out the door.

This makes AdScam look like a swipe at petty cash at a mere $250 million.

And yet no one in the MSM seems interested. At all. Blatant partisan politics at work in one of the biggest funding programs to hit Canada in decades, and nobody's watching, or even interested.

Par for the course, really.

2009-05-25T22:04:00.002-06:00

Economic Stimulus - Idea #1

So I've been thinking about this whole stimulus thing from a policy perspective and I think I've come up with a winner that is guaranteed to inject billions into economies around the world. What is this sure-fire winning idea? Simple.

Airlines will no longer allow any checked baggage whatsoever for outbound passengers. You can, however, bring back as much as you like on your return trip home.

There you have it. Clean, simple and guaranteed to work.

I have no idea why I am not working as a key adviser for a world leader. Clearly, they need me.

2009-05-19T23:12:00.002-06:00

Best 42 Cents I've Spent in Awhile....

I have been following the public misery of Brian Mulroney and his increasingly comical attempts to defend his actions at the Oliphant enquiry with great glee. Now, I am no Mulroney fan - I met him when I was quite young, but took the measure of the man very quickly. Vain, arrogant, condescending, and sleezy were all words that came to my teenage mind then, and I haven't changed my opinion of the man over the following 30-odd years.

So I am thinking that this Oliphant enquiry, with its $14 million price tag, is very good value for money. Broken down per capita, that's 42 cents per Canadian, and I have to say for sheer enterntainment value alone, it's worth every cent. Hell, I'd even pay some of my fellow Canadians' share (and deliver it in a paper bag, at a hotel, over coffee.) Oh, how the mighty have so deliciously fallen! Again, my propensity towards schadenfrauden abounds here.

CPAC, methinks, miscalculated on this one. The Oliphant enquiry almost deserves to pay-per-view...oh, wait a minute - it already is...

2009-03-05T22:46:00.003-07:00

Good Hunting

For those in the know, that is a BG (Battlestar Galactica) expression. Just after the CAG briefing each morning, it is the last thing said to the pilots as they disperse. But it could just as easily be a TSX expression these days, or a Dow Jones expression. The Dismal PM, Stephen Harper, was a bit, ahem, premature in his calling of a bottom for the stock market back in the fall. He issued advice for Canadians to buy stocks as he thought they were on sale then. Obama was closer to the truth - with indices falling to mid-1990 levels, one thing is for certain: stocks are now on sale. And I love a good sale.

But it does seem a bit too much like fiddling while Rome is burning. This is a disruptive recession, or it should be. GM will fail, along with many others (please, God, let it be Starbucks next!) and people will have to re-evaluate what it is to be successful. The old ways of doing business will give way to the new ways. And to be quite honest, these new ways have not yet emerged. So what to buy? Good question.

The goldbugs are clear in their message; and my own adviser is pretty old school when she says to buy oil and gas. I also could use a home, but reality has yet to set in in Calgary and real estate prices are still, well, stupid. So perhaps I just wait, trapped by my own inertia. But I have sneaking feeling I may be missing out on something big. Kind of like knowing there's a big lottery going on and not having a ticket - I am still sitting on the sidelines.

Good thing I don't equate my own happiness to my net worth. Then I really would be in trouble.

2009-03-02T00:00:00.002-07:00

Throwing Good Money After Bad...

Well, here we go again. Looks like another mega-auto bail-out is on the way, as GM and Chrysler (owned by a private equity concern, BTW, so we can't even see their books to know they need the money) blow through another few billion a month, and the begging bowls come out yet again. When will it end? Will it end? Or will we keep propping up these companies, because they are TBTF (Too Big To Fail)?

Has anyone bothered doing the math on the first bailout? The feds and ON Gov't gave $3.29 billion. There are 150,000 people directly employed by the sector in Canada. Now, again this is crude math, but that's close to $22,000 per person! For only a few months!

I've got a better idea. Give the money (or at least some of it) to non-profits to help retrain these folks, or to help them start their own businesses. Or even hire them directly for that matter! If they can't put together cars for a living, can they use those skills to do something else? Anything else? There must be some transferable skills in there somewhere! Could they be, oh, I don't know, mechanics??? Or are we full up of mechanics in Canada?

Seems the Swedes have got the right thinking in place. When GM tried the same sly-dog trick on them and said that Saab would go under if there was no Swedish bail-out, the Minister stated clearly that their government was not in the business of propping up failing businesses. Unemployment insurance, daycare, healthcare, absolutely they will be there for their citizens, but not corporate welfare. Now that's keeping your eye on the ball and not letting mission creep direct your economy.

Although...I really have to wonder...if it was Ikea who came knocking...Nahhhhh!

2009-02-20T23:22:00.002-07:00

New Bumper Sticker

1980s Bust Alberta

"Please God, give Alberta another oil boom and we promise not to piss it away this time."

2009 Bust Alberta

"Please God, don't give Alberta another oil boom, because they will piss it away next time."

Witness the mighty provincial Progressive Conservative government - in power for 38 continuous years, and they have learned absolutely squat.

- Alberta passed a (meaningless) no-deficit law during the Klein oligarchy
- therefore, deficits are illegal in Alberta
- now they are running a $1 billion deficit
- convenient loophole: the deficit legislation does not apply when non-renewable resource revenue comes in lower than expected
- what about if renewable resource revenue comes in lower? O yeah, never mind...

I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried....really hard.

2009-01-16T10:11:00.002-07:00

Thank you, Rick Mercer!

For eloquently saying what I have been feeling about the coalition movement for the past month or so....

Rick's Rant - Parliament and the Need to be Informed

We all need to know certain, basic facts about our own governmental system. Who's to blame? The education system? Parents? Let's just stop playing the blame game, take responsibility, and inform ourselves. Sheesh, I bet we could all learn a few things from a 5th Grade civics class....if there still is such a thing.

2009-01-07T22:52:00.002-07:00

Are You Kidding Me?

I'll get back to politics in a tic - it all got too ghastly to deal with, especially when I was in Ottawa with 35 cm of snow, -20 degrees and transit strike.

But I have to really wonder what our fellow citizens and media are doing these days. Take a look at these headlines from the Calgary Herald:

Alberta rig count at lowest level since '93
Land sale prices hit 10-year low
TSX slips up on oil drop
Calgary home sales slide to lowest since '96

And then this gem:

Canadians not deflated about economic outlook

Huh? Unbelievable. Stay tuned folks - it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

2008-11-28T18:07:00.004-07:00

The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend...

Woo-hoo! I feel gleeful. Ottawa is a-buzz with well-founded rumours that there is a coalition government in the works, and that it will take down Harper and his familiar, Flaherty, early next week. If so, the Governor-General will be faced with a decision on whether to call a new election (and spend another $300 million in taxpayer dollars) or allow the coalition to give governing a chance. I have friends in Calgary who are livid, simply livid, that this kind of non-democratic, crass politicking can go on.

OK, maybe it is crass politicking, but watch it when you say non-democratic. The new coalition of the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois would represent 54.4% of the Canadian popular vote in the 2008 election, compared to 37.7% for the Conservatives. I would say the majority of Canadians would be open to seeing if these guys and gals can make it work together.

The more interesting point may be, who will become Prime Minister? Stephane Dion, the Liberal leader, has said he will step down in May of 2009. The Bloc has said they want anybody but Stephane. And Ed Broadbent (NDP) and the wily old Jean Chretien (Lib) are in the background pulling the levers. Whoever it is, s/he's gotta be better than the incumbent.

Harper is palpably nervous. He has already backed down from a promise of cutting federal financing for political parties, hoping the Coalition was acting in a purely self-serving manner. No such luck - they apparently have the best interests of Canadians in mind.

This is Canadian poitical theatre at its best. And lucky me! I will be in Ottawa next week to celebrate, er, observe, the proceedings first-hand. I'll keep you posted from the nation's capital.

2008-11-13T22:51:00.003-07:00

The Enigmatic Mr Paulson

I've been doing some research on Hank Paulson lately and have come across some fascinating stuff. Seems the Treasury Secretary is a nature enthusiast, and is a keen herpetologist. Yes, the man loves snakes. Somewhat ironic, I thought, as many peg him to be one of them. He wanted to be a forest ranger when he was growing up, and when he did grow up, he kept all kinds of animals on the farm he had in Illinois. The menagerie included raccoons (that he let live in the house with the family) alligators, tarantulas, flying squirrels, and the more pedestrian pets too, dogs and cats.

But he loves snakes. And all manner of animals of prey. The article goes on to quote him: "I'm fascinated because they're at the top of the food chain." He goes on to posit a very interesting theory - that when those at the top of the food chain are healthy, the rest of the ecosystem is healthy too.

Clink! The penny has finally dropped. That is why he is doing what he is doing, namely bailing out his friends and enemies at the top of the food chain that is Enterprise America. If Wall Street eats, we all eat. But he is savvy enough to know he cannot actually say this out loud. Howls of indignation and outrage would result.

Strange though, as he is also a devout Christian Scientist and therefore believes that love trumps fear. So really, shouldn't he just offer us a big group hug and be done with it? But no, it seems in the real world, fear trumps love almost every time. One look at the markets lately will reinforce that.

And by the way, Mr Paulson, you can't live on love. Just ask the birds of prey you so respect about that one.

2008-11-05T22:57:00.004-07:00

An Historian's Night

There is no doubt about it. Barak Obama's decisive win last night in the US presidential race is one for the history books. And as much as I have tried to run away from history as a profession after spending the better part of my life training for it, I do like these kinds of historical moments. They are transfixing. And the Obama camp knew just how far to push the pomp and circumstance last night. He delivered a presidential speech; not that of a candidate. He was humble, yet inspiring; cautious, yet optimistic; folksy, yet conveying the aura of a leader. A difficult task, and, unfortunately, not the only one he will face in the next few months as he seeks to right the course of Good Ship America.

I have had only a few other days/nights/moments which I feel I can rate as historic. Of course, 9/11 was one. The feeling that the entire continent was numbed and huddled together in shock was one that I hope never to experience again. The Challenger disaster was another, although I must say I did not feel the same for poor Columbia. I do remember being distracted for some time when the first Gulf War began. I had just moved to the UK to do my PhD, and simply could not believe a war (other than the far, far away Falklands) could break out in my lifetime. I can barely remember Neil Armstrong's landing on the moon, although my parents allowed their five-year-old child to stay up for it. And to be honest I'm really not so sure to this day it actually even occurred. (Yes, I'm one of those people - the conspiranoiacs.)

I grew up with parents who lived through WWII in England. I always felt a certain envy as they had seen and lived real history.

Perhaps, as surreal as it seems the day after, just perhaps, I have too.

2008-10-24T10:22:00.003-06:00

Why I Am the Way I Am

I've been meaning to post - I really have - but, well, you know....

I came across this the other day, and it pretty much explains why:

The Procrastinator's Code of Conduct

I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.
I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.
I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.
I shall meet all of my deadlines, directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.
I truly believe all deadlines are unreasonable, regardless of the amount of time given.
I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.
If at first you don't succeed, there is always next year.
I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.
I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.

Truly words to live by. Oh, wait a minute - I already do....

2008-10-03T15:42:00.003-06:00

The Neo-Citran Solution

So Congress has finally gone and done it. An $850 billion rescue/bailout/emergency bill passed today to try and stabilize the credit markets. But like Neo-Citran to a cold, this simply masks the underlying problem. The US is suffering from a bad case of Affluenza, and this is unlikely to cure their illness.

What is the underlying problem? Americans (and Canadians for that matter) spend more than they earn on a regular basis. They want all the newest toys their buddies have, and they want it now. Delayed gratification is no longer a virtue. So they live on credit, and would whine horrendously if that supply was suddenly cut off. So by greasing the wheels of the credit market by injecting $700 billion into it, what are the Americans actually accompishing? Nada. Zilch. Nothing. They are simply allowing their present system to continue, so Main Street doesn't have to realize there is a problem.

Here are some tough home truths for you:

1) Sometimes you don't deserve to have it.
2) Sometimes others do, who have lived longer and worked harder than you.
3) Buying stuff does not equate to buying happiness.

Americans (and Canadians, I might add yet again) need to take a week or so off and rest their credit chops on the couch and get over their Affluenza, not be enabled by their own government to work through the symptoms and soldier on into new levels of debt regardless.

2008-09-23T19:59:00.004-06:00

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Screen...

That's one of my favourite lines from the Wizard of Oz, and boy, the past couple of weeks, it seems we have all taken a little trip to that far-away land.

So what's been happening? History, my friends, nothing short of history. The Affluenza pandemic is here.

It looks like the US has thrown in the towel on capitalism and is trying socialism on for size. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - socialized; Bear Stearns - socialized; AIG - socialized. And now Hank Paulson wants a blank cheque (or rather, a cheque written out to him) to socialize another $700,000,000,000 (that's what $700 billion actually looks like) of US assets, to be named later.

Paulson knows how to throw money around, make no mistake about it. When he was Chairman of Goldman Sachs, he made $38 million in 2004 alone. Nice. That was a 21% increase over his paltry 2003 salary. But he was a generous man and liked to share, so the average salary - I repeat, the average salary - at Goldman Sachs in 2004 was over $500,000. It was actually $521,000, but who really cares about the $21,000 when you're making that kind of dough. But they weren't really making it, were they? - it was all leveraged to the tune of about 30:1. So if you do the crude math that only I am capable of, it looks like the employees really made $17,366.67 on average. The rest was leverage "pretend" money. Problem is, they still received it as real money and they will still get to keep it.

Not that Goldman Sachs was alone. Wall Street banks paid out the following bonuses over the past eight years: 2000 - $19.5 billion; 2002 - $8.6 billion; 2003 - $15.8 billion; 2004 - $18.6 billion; 2005 - $21.5 billion; 2006 - $33.9 billion; 2007 - $33.2 billion. Hell, there's $151.1 billion right there!

If I were an American, I'd be ticked off as all get-out at the men (and they seem to be all men - haven't seen a woman as part of this mess yet) behind the screen....

2008-08-26T22:23:00.002-06:00

A Couple of Outrageous Examples...

It's not only the Calgary real estate market that is insane - Vancouver is pretty crazy too. A couple of quick examples...

A Calgary listing for $189,000, in an admittedly sub-prime (read: sketchy) area of the city. Land value only? Except that Calgary has no natural boundaries and just keeps expanding and expanding and expanding...

This one really had me scatching my head...I even checked MLS in Vancouver for accuracy. Seems that listing is no longer valid, but I did find this one listed for $1,149,000. Pure insanity. A 9-bedroom French chateau on 30 acres, or 2000 sq ft "Old timer" in Marpole, Vancouver West. Lest you think the French property is a hoax, check out a whole lot of similar chateaux here.

The inmates really are running the insane asylum.

2008-08-25T09:48:00.002-06:00

Calgary Enters Fall...Hang onto Yer Hats!

That title is meant to be a double entendre. Seasonally, we are entering fall, no doubt about it. There is a crispness in the air that was lacking just a week ago. But we're also entering another fall. Seems to me a real estate fall is just around the corner too. The signs are there for those who care to read the tea leaves. Jayman Builders is laying off 40 employees, and the Gateway Midtown condo project is being "suspended" while it's just a big hole in the ground. I've heard the term "right-sizing" not "down-sizing" being bandied about. Give me a break. Whatever you call it, those people who lost their jobs, lost their jobs!

Now, I've been a bear about the Calgary real estate market since it took off in a fit of irrational exhuberance in 2006-07. It had to come back down to earth. The fundamentals dictated that. Those fundamentals include if first-time buyers cannot enter the market, the entire market cramps up. Well, we've got bad cramps right now. But people are greedy and still believe they deserve their pot of gold for a 1940s, 1950s, 1960s fixer-upper.

For those who think Calgary is immune because "we have oil", think about this: the market was just as cramped up and just as bottlenecked when oil was at $140/barrel as it was when oil was $100/barrel. Fundamentals, people. How much money people can afford to pay for housing on a monthly basis - that's the only indicator that really, truly matters.

We need to get over ourselves. We're not special. We're not unique. This is happening all over the world. And we're not London, NYC or Paris. We're a small-ish prairie city striving hard to be more than we are.

Calgary needs a good dose of reality, and methinks it is just around the corner.

2008-08-11T23:40:00.002-06:00

It's August already? How did that happen?

OK. Best intentions and all that. I disappeared again. But in my defence, I have been very busy. One trip to Ottawa and one trip to Spain since my last post. And another upcoming trip to Ontario is on the horizon. Not to mention work - ah yes, WORK! Lots of it, and it's hard to get motivated to do it in the summer. And now the Olympics are on, which is one more huge distraction for Bast. Days of golf have occurred, as have dinners out with business associates scheming to take over the world one Commonwealth country at a time. Beware my friends in the UK and Australia - we may be coming to a virtual office near you in the future...

So I am back, and will hopefully live to post (more regularly) another day. But I've said that before and failed miserably. You really can't trust me, you know. But then again, what's trust got to do with it (with veiled apologies to Tina Turner)?

TTFN!

2008-05-30T00:38:00.002-06:00

How Nice!

I had really thought that people wouldn't notice my somewhat protracted absence from the blogosphere. How nice that two people welcomed me back today! It's good to be missed.

I promise to try and post more often. Er, except next week when I'm in Ottawa. But no, really, I will try. I think I got a little burned out from writing as I actually started getting paid to do it. A freelance writer at last! But it doesn't pay well. Funny how that happens. You finally start doing something you've wanted to do all your life, and it doesn't live up to your expectations. Happened with my PhD too.

Good thing I never got married...

2008-05-28T23:26:00.002-06:00

Quick One

Saw a cheeky sign on the ground today, obviously left by someone who was looking to solicit funds from passersby. It read: "$5 more needed for world domination. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Shame the cheeky person who wrote it had already left. $5 for world domination? Cheap at half the price.

2008-01-29T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Winter of My Discontent...Scientifically Proven

I have been interested in the emerging research surrounding happiness, and have shared some of my findings with you in the past. And today brought another study, and everything started to make sense.

Seems that all humans share a type of happiness life cycle.The good news is that we start off happy and we end off happy. In the middle though, there is a significant period of unhappiness. The nadir of happiness has been scientifically proven to be 44. The age I turn this year? You guessed it.

This actually makes quite a bit of sense. I've felt off my game for the past few years. Not that I actually knew what my game was, which could easily be part of the problem. But now I'm feeling a bit ripped off. I always thought the 40s were the decade that women started to come into themselves and their power. Maybe they do, in spite of, or because of, this cycle.

Whatever the cycle, I suppose we all have to suffer through it. Apparently men also go through it, although their 50s are their danger decade.

So I am prepared to make the best of it this next year, but am going to be a bit more indulgent with myself. I know, I know - you're asking yourselves, " Can she be any more self-indulgent??" Hah! Just watch me. I will eat more chocolate, gamble more money, and watch more episodes of Babylon 5 and Battlestar Galatica than is normal for one person.

And that, dear friends, is how I will while away the year that was the dreaded 44. Oh, and renovate the bathroom at the condo...

2007-11-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

Brian Mulroney's Own Goal

Ain't karma a bitch. Seems one of Canada's least favourite PMs is in trouble again - and by his own hand. It is a very messy affair that was only re-opened because said Brian Mulroney wanted his ego stroked even more, and so prematurely published and publicized his memoirs.

His enemies were waiting for just such an opportunity. The Fifth Estate pounced, reminding Canadians of the infamous Airbus scandal and the fact that we, the Canadian taxpayers, paid Mulroney $2 million for a defamation lawsuit settlement in 1997. Then his good buddy Karlheinz Schreiber re-surfaced just before he was set to be formally and finally deported to his native Germany. Howls of protests from Liberals, BQs, NDPs, and even the odd Con (I like Odd Cons) meant that Ethics hearings were in order.

What a debacle. And all because Brian could not keep his Mighty Ego sheathed for another two weeks.

Kind of makes a girl wonder aloud about the propriety of mandatory ego sheathing....

2007-10-21T23:07:00.000-06:00

A Good Sweat

Just had to report on my recent infrared sauna experience. Had a lovely 1/2 hour in my own personal sauna and then showered off and headed home. Felt great.

Note to self: book these sauna sessions on a Friday afternoon from now on. I booked this one on Thursday around 11:15. I came home, ate a bite of lunch, and promptly fell asleep. Woke up, made a vague attempt to do some work, and napped again. Went to bed, and slept more soundly and deeply than I have in a very long time. Seems one of the side effects of this type of sauna is extreme fatigue.

A girl could get addicted to this type of heat ....

2007-10-10T22:56:00.000-06:00

The Detoxification of Bast

I recently read the book, The Hundred -Year Lie, by Randall Fitzgerald. It was a pretty scary read. What caught my attention first was his statement that "We absorb so many synthetic chemicals during an average lifetime that, according to some reports, when we die our bodies decompose more slowly today than if we died just three decades ago."

Yikes. He then goes on to explain the explosion of synthetic chemicals that have been added to our diet via food additives, as well as the distinct lack of any goverment testing on said chemicals. There are so many, they simply can't keep up. And they certainly cannot test for what happens when two checmicals combine - chemical synergies, they are called. And that doesn't even take into account the environmental dangers, like plastics, chlorine and fluoride in our water, and pesticides. Double yikes.

So I decided to embark on my own detoxification regime. I started with a normal cleanse, picked up from my local health food store. Then I added the following:

1) Infrared saunas - they create less heat, but more sweating.
2) Stevia - I am now using this natural sweetener, instead of refined sugar or Splenda.
3) Shower filter - I purchased a filter that take out much of the chlorine from my shower water.
4) Plastic containers - banished from my kitchen, as is Saran wrap.
5) Supplements - especially flax, Vitamin C, D, folic acid and the odd Oil of Oregano drops.
6) Organic food - trying to buy (afford) more, especially meat.

It's a start. I would like to transition my wardrobe to natural fibres too, but apparently I am too much of a slave to fashion. Ah well, at least my bed is 85% natural latex, with wool and silk padding. The cat also uses a natural, wheat-based biodegradeable litter. So even she's trying.

I'll keep you posted on how this pans out. It is definitely a journey worth making.

2007-09-24T23:10:00.000-06:00

Loonies and Bankers - Any Real Difference?

Well, the )*&#*(& is truly hitting the fan on Wall Street, Bay Street and in The City. Seems our bright minds who thought that easy, "sub-prime" credit and "asset"-backed paper would create wealth are seeing the downside of this bright idea. No matter - they have made their millions (or billions) and could care a less about the fall-out we will see surrounding us.

Everyone keeps saying the fundamentals are strong. I'm not so sure. It's the financial community (ie, the banks, ie the fundamental economic institutions...) that got us into this mess, and it's the central banks (the Fed and the Bank of England) who are trying to bail them out. But the water keeps leaking in the boat, and in a global, integrated economy, how much power does a national central bank even have any more?

Here's how I see it, with particular reference to the Alberta context. There is a slow down coming. Why? A number of things, not the least of which is the long-awaited oil and gas royalty review report, which says we Albertans got royally (or is that royalty?) screwed under King Ralph. No surprise there. But Mister Ed must put it right, or he will be in serious trouble with the electorate. Then we have the housing crisis in the States. Less housing starts equal less soft-wood lumber required, for sure. Watch the consumer spending report due out later this week. If the US abandons its Wal-Mart addiction because of this credit crunch, it means our biggest trade partner will reduce purchasing from us too. And with the loonie at par, it only doubles the danger of that occurring.

The manufacturing heartland (Ontario), is in serious trouble because of the loonie, all the more so with the GM strike and resultant lay-offs. Less cars sold equals less oil sold. The federal government too may well cast a greedy eye westward. And don't for a New York minute think that because we have a Calgary PM that we'll be safe. He is wily enough to ignore Alberta's interests for vote-rich Ontario's. Remember the income trust debacle? 'Nuff said.

Will it result in a complete turnaround in our economy? Probably not, but I'm not buying real estate just yet. I don't think we've seen the full consequences of this whole thing play out - not by a long shot.

2007-09-06T23:33:00.000-06:00

Back in the (Rhinoceros) Day

As Brian Mulroney spouted venom about Pierre Trudeau today, it took me back to those halcyon days in the 1980s when we were all more innocent - and a little whackier.

Remember the Rhinoceros Party? I do, with fondness. I had my own Rhino Party badge which I proudly wore in public at the least provocation. A political relative of the Monster Raving Loony Party in the UK, the Rhinos did respectably well in many elections in the 1980s, much to the chagrin of the major parties and to the delight of the electorate.

I took a walk down memory lane (or is that Wiki Lane?) recently and reminded myself why I found their policies so damn compelling. A sampling:

reducing the speed of light because it's much too fast;
abolishing pumping oil out of the ground as that oil is there to keep the earth moving smoothly on its axis and if you withdraw the oil, the whole thing will grind to a halt;
abolishing the environment because it's too hard to keep clean and it takes up so much space;
adopting the British system of driving on the left; this was to be gradually phased in over five years with large trucks and tractors first, then buses, eventually including small cars and bicycles last,
selling the Canadian Senate at an antique auction in California;
annexing Greenland and creating a cartel with other northern nations in order to sell icebergs to the Saudis; the cartel would be called "Snopec";
include the word "fun" in Acts of Parliament, Acts of Provincial Legislatures, and Bylaws of municipalities, from which it was apparently conspicuously absent.

A damn fine platform, if you ask me, even though the Rhinos insisted their platform was "two feet high and made of wood."

The Rhinos disappeared in 1993, after electoral law changes meant they would have to run at least 50 candidates at $1,000 a head (or is that a tusk???). Regardless, it has left a gaping void in Canadian politics, only partially filled by the occasional Rick Mercer rant.

Political successors include the Absolutely Absurd Party, which is proposing to raffle off Senate seats as a party fundraiser.

But fear not, dear friends! Apparently there is a movement to bring back our treasured Rhinos. In a blatant nod to postmodernism, the NeoRhino Party is actually contesting by-elections in Quebec this September. Their motto is "From Party to Party until Victory." And they are currently recruiting more candidates. Hmmmm.

And the "Neo" part of "NeoRhino"? Ya, that's from Neo, as in the Matrix. Nice.

2007-08-30T21:27:00.000-06:00

Alberta's Dirty Little Secret

Time once again to rant about Boom Alberta. Or is it really booming? Well, it is, but methinks we are all in a leaky boat. A friend in investment told me this week that he knows numerous people who have gone from multi-millionnaire to ground zero this past summer. People who committed to vast building projects are facing skyrocketing labour costs and delays that they simply can't afford. Excessive greed has caught up with many too. There are those who exercised options on stocks that are now worth far less than when they were exercised.

The oilfield services companies are ailing, as drilling activity is down. Natural gas companies are also in trouble, as prices have fallen. And this seems to be happening in isolation to the sub-prime market nightmares that have been playing out down south over the past few weeks. Although we may yet see similar fall-out to the 1200 GM jobs that were lost in Oshawa today. One thing is sure - if Big Brother America sneezes, guess who starts taking Cold FX immediately.

So something is rotten in the state of Denmark, er, I mean Alberta. But labour shortages still abound and are getting worse. Try driving through KFC or Harveys (I did, and got no service whatsoever). Help wanted signs are all around - Chicken on the Way is paying $15/hour.

The non-profit sector is especially hard hit. Never the best payers, they now cannot find people to fill some roles, and the turnover rate is staggering - 70% in some programs. Programs are closing due to lack of staff. Of course, clients of these agencies bear the brunt of this crisis, and they are often the most vulnerable in our society - the disabled, the addicted, women and children living in abusive situations. Many have come together to form the Who Cares? initiative, to try and bring awareness to government and community about the present crisis. Many more are too small and too busy to get involved in the initiative. The province, and the City for that matter, seem to be focused solely on physical infrastructure, and have completely forgotten that the social infrastructure is crumbling all around them.

Will government listen? I'm not at all confident. The Alberta PC party is in its own crisis, and is trying to figure out when best to call an election.

I think the longer they leave it, the more a sea change in Alberta politics may yet occur.

2007-08-26T22:58:00.000-06:00

The Other 300

We've all heard of The 300 - the funky new movie that profiled the Battle of Thermopylae and the 300 vastly outnumbered Spartans who fought against the Persians, allegedly numbering over 1 million. (Who was counting, she asks vaguely?)

There is another 300, though, named in honour of these original 300. It is an interesting little group, and actually only numbers 149 as yet. They are the donors to the MPrize of the Methuselah Foundation, which supports research to repair and reverse the damage of aging. In short, they are looking for immortality. They have an interesting spokesman in the person of Aubrey de Grey. Dr. de Grey was educated at Cambridge, and was the topic of a fascinating documentary called Do You Want to Live Forever? Seems he received his BA in Computer Science in 1985, and then started to research the biology of aging. He was given a PhD by Cambridge under "special circumstances" (which requires evidence of "...a significant contribution to scholarship", but does not require a student to either attend classes, perform experiments, or be examined on a research derived dissertation.) Seems his book, The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging was enough for Cambridge. Hmmm.

While perusing the Methuselah Foundation website, I took a look at their donor page (as any good fundraiser would), to get to know these 300. I was astonished to find that my tax dollars have been freely given to the Foundation! It seems the Alberta government wants us to live forever - an intriguing solution to our current labour shortage. Here are the Alberta donors I found:

Law Society of Alberta ($50)
Calgary donors ($20)
Alberta Transhumanist Foundation ($79.33)
UofA PhD student ($25,180 pledged - $3423 donated)
UofA Post-Grad Studies ($854)
UofA Office of Research ($4696)
UofA Faculty of Science ($854)
Canadian Institutes of Health Research ($4269)
AB Advanced Education and Technology ($1707)
AB Health and Wellness ($8539)
AB Heritage Fdn ($6724)

Do I want to live forever? Well, I don't. But we are already living much longer than our ancestors, so why can't we extend a healthy life span even further? Healthy is the key word. And who is researching the potential societal implications of this possibility? No one, as usual. If scientists think they can do it, they feel justified in doing it. They really do need a niggly social scientist at their side asking the hard questions, like Why? For whom? What now? and What do we do when...?

Oh, and while we are on the numbers, this is Bast's 100th post. Hoo-rah!

2007-08-19T23:36:00.000-06:00

The Great Purge

Well, I disappeared there for awhile again, didn't I? Seems to be happening a fair bit lately, but I did have a good excuse. I have been winding down, relaxing and generally trying the get my (*^*##& together over the past month. Part of that meant trying to lighten up - my soul, my spirit, but in particular, my stuff. I have a ton of stuff. And I have been gently but firmly trying to get rid of vast amounts of it. So bags of clothes, books, and paper (ah, the ever-fecund paper strikes again!) have left the apartment. Even old computer equipment has been appropriately recycled.

I do feel lighter, but am still shocked at the sheer amount of stuff that remains. We humans - especially in the Western world - love our stuff. We have TV shows explaining how we can rid of all our cluttery, buggery stuff. We can even hire people to come into our homes and get rid of and organize our stuff, if we simply can't face it ourselves. And still new stuff comes in through the front door every week. And so the cycle of consumerism and capitalism is complete.

I am going to try and be more conscious of my purchases over the next little while. Do I really need it? What am I going to do with it? Why do I really crave it? Maybe that will stem the tide of stuff that appears.

And continue the purge, I must continue the purge....

2007-07-17T23:16:00.000-06:00

SINK or SWIM?

So here we are in the dog days of summer - Calgary is more humid than I have ever felt it (climate change pundits take note). Makes one think, as it is simply too GD hot to do anything else.

I currently self-identify as a SINK - single income, no kids. But I am definitely living in a DINK city. You need two incomes to even consider buying one of our overpriced half-million dollar bungalows. I know, I know - life isn't fair. But humans need to have hope to thrive, and I'm not feeling the love right now - hence the SINK and not DINK label.

Interestingly enough, StatCan today released a report that labelled Calgary as a Young Boys' Club. We have one of the highest ratios of young, male inhabitants in Canada. And just when I thought I had cracked the Old Boys' Club. Many of these men are SINKs, but they are special SINKs - they are Oilpatch SINKs. Much higher SI counts than most SINK women.

A colleague said to me today that I need a sugar daddy. As he was of a certain age himself, I wasn't sure how to take that, so vehemently affirmed my desire to remain single and do it myself.

I think I need a new acronym. Yea, that'll do it.

How about SWIM? Single, With Incalculable Money. Love it, love it, love it!

Huzzah! Must dash now to make incalculable money.

2007-07-02T23:35:00.000-06:00

Happiness - again!

In a strange twist of the multi-verse (for another post, I promise!) I was watching BBC news the other day when a documentary on happiness came on. The Happiness Formula took a look at what makes us happy, on numerous levels, and whether or not government has a role in this. One of the key informants, Dr. David Halpern, was a Senior Policy Advisor to Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair, and author of Social Capital. Now this is curious to me, albeit on a personal level. You see, I actually know said Dr. Halpern, and can tell you I have seen him through some not so happy times. And vice versa. Granted, that was when we were both completing PhDs, so unhappiness was a constant state of mind.

But it did make me think twice.

Once: I should buy his book and show some collegial support.

Twice: The entire Blair government suddenly makes sense to me. This is the same man who did not know that cars needed oil changes lest their engines unexpectedly seize up.

'Nuff said, yet again.

2007-06-28T16:19:00.000-06:00

On Children and Happiness

I just heard Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness interviewed by Stephen Colbert. The interview itself was highly amusing, as is most anything done by Colbert, but I also learned a fact that reinforced what I had inherently known since my own childhood.

Children do not make you a happier person. In fact, they have a slightly negative effect on your happiness.

This is a huge shot on the arm for someone who has known, well, forever, that they don't want kids. It also provides some factual basis for responses to people who are shocked and appalled by my lack of self-replication. And indeed it does provide some comfort, as many of my friends have been happily procreating for years - but apparently they have actually been unhappily procreating for years. I admit I sometimes wondered. To my friends (and you know who you are) who have joined me on this child-free journey of life, affirmation and glee. To my friends who have gone down the road of procreation and self-denial, told you so.

A bit harsh? Perhaps. But there is nothing so frustrating as a smug parent looking at you and you know they're thinking, "Shame. She would have been so much happier if she'd had kids."

No I wouldn't, and now I have the science to back it up.

Ain't life (without kids) grand.

2007-06-19T23:05:00.000-06:00

Pro Bono Madness

I run my own business. I love running my own business and being my own boss, but lately, a funny thing has been happening. My pro bono hours are far outstripping my billable hours. Now, I work mainly with non-profits, so in some ways, some volunteer work is expected. But it has been out of control over the past month. And I made a conscious decision to just be on one Board at a time. But this one Board is taking over my life right now.

I am pretty good at saying 'No'. I have said it many times in my life (both business and socially) and have no qualms with it. I am simply not a "yes" girl. So this has been vexing me. I don't actually feel I'm a very good volunteer because of it. Grump, grump, grump. Shouldn't our volunteer work bring us pleasure?

Balance is a wonderful thing. I must go on a hunt for it. I know I put it around here somewhere...

2007-05-30T23:04:00.000-06:00

An Inflationary Thought

As housing prices continue to zoom forward to dizzying heights in Alberta, I began to ask myself how people can possibly afford these prices. I have reconciled myself to a lifetime of renting - trying to purchase a home with an average price of $427,000 is well beyond a single income.

And yet some of my friends have done it. Admittedly, they beat the major increases and bought when prices were more sane, but they did buy. How? At least two of them were able to do so with inherited wealth. And again this gave me pause.

Those of us in the fundraising business have heard for about a decade now that a major transfer of wealth was going to occur. Trillions of dollars were going to become available for savvy fundraisers to try and gobble up. Boston College's Social Welfare Research Institute estimates the figure to be $41 trillion, with at least $24 trillion going to heirs, leaving (after taxes) some $6 trillion for philanthropy.

So I wonder if the rise in housing prices (and the accompanying inflation of all expenses) has something to do with this transfer? Has it already begun, and we are seeing the early consequences? Heirs are far more likely to spend an inheritance than save it themselves (Bast's Law of Inheritance #1). If so, house prices may well continue to rise, as more and more people receive the fruits of their relatives' labour and penchant for saving.

So let the buying frenzy begin! Oh, wait a minute, it already has. OK, so let it continue! But will this inflationary atmosphere continue, and in effect eat into the buying power of this massive transfer of wealth?

Kind of makes you wonder if there is a globalist conspiracy that manipulates world economies, a la Bretton Woods.

I feel a movie script coming on.

2007-05-28T23:33:00.000-06:00

The End of Truth?

I have been thinking a lot of about truth, credibility and the Internet recently. We are in the midst of an extreme shift in the creation and sharing of knowledge with the advent of the Internet. We are a click away from the most obscure information, and the most popular and the most drab of information.

But what, or better said who, filters this information and deems it credible and reliable?

According to the Cult of Wiki, we do. We become the keepers of our own knowledge, and can edit and correct others at a click. A fine and noble goal. But it is really only those who actively input and edit in Wiki that define the information as truthful. This is a dramatic shift in the gatekeeping of knowledge. Up to this point, we have relied on academic credentials and peer review to ensure our truths and our knowledge are as accurate as possible. Academic articles and books have to pass through an obstacle course of approvals and checks before they reach publication. Now, anyone with access to a computer can publish and be believed.

This can be dangerous. Truth becomes diffused, dispersed amongst an indescribable number of bytes. We can create our own truths and send this out to the billions of Internet citizens for approval at best, or at worst, complete and blind acceptance.

This can also be revolutionary. We have already seen this with Iraqi citizens blogging about realities - citizen journalism at its best. Knowledge freed and shared across the world.

In 20 or 30 years, what will knowledge and truth look like? We may not recognize our antiquated attempts at knowledge gatekeeping.

Or we may long for the day that we had such controls in place.

2007-05-23T16:03:00.000-06:00

Strange Universal Energies

I had a somewhat weird flight back to Calgary on Monday. The first strange thing was that it left Kitchener-Waterloo international airport for a direct flight to Calgary. K-W has truly hit the big time - and it was chock full of travelling folks too. As we were coasting down the runway, I looked out the window to see a black cat leaping for its life towards a neighbouring farm. Black cat? Hmmm. But off we went.

About a third of the way in to the flight, I looked out the window again. This time I saw another Westjet plane travelling suspiciously close to our own on a parallel course, but definitely getting closer. Now I have travelled a lot, but I had never seen this in mid-flight before. Although it was a bit lower than us, it was CLOSE - it actually went completely below us and then popped out again and went north. I was so concerned, I actually called over the flight attendant, who had a pithy, "The boys up front know what they're doing," for me. At that point, another plane, even closer than the first, zoomed past us in the opposite direction. I became dubious the boys knew what they were doing. I think they may have had it on auto-pilot and were taking a quick nap.

So then I thought I would try and relax with some satellite TV. Started out happily watching and then the screen went blank. No TV. Everyone else had TV. Why not me? Then it blinked back on. The remainder of the flight it continued to blink on and off, and generally annoy me. But this makes some sense. I do have a strange electrical energy. Some of my friends won't let me near their computers because of this strange blinking ability. Might be because our house was hit by lightning when I was young. Might be because I am naturally spiritually gifted.

Might be because the black cat walked across our plane's path.

2007-05-10T20:24:00.000-06:00

A-conferencing we will go....

Well, here I am again, at yet another conference. I refer you to my earlier post (April 11/06) where I pontificated on conference basics that everyone leaves with:

1) Feel the love.
2) Be the change.
3) The moment is now.

Seems to hold true yet again. Arun Gandhi spoke to us today about non-violence. A lovely man, grandson to Mahatma, bringing with him a gentle message of hope. Standing ovation all round. But I have to admit I didn't agree with everything he had to say. Hard to disagree with such a cultural icon, but then again, I never said my life would be easy. I was particularly struck by his view that we are not born violent - it is a learnt behaviour. That's why we need all these military schools and army drills. I would disagree. I think we need these schools and drills to learn to kill more effectively and efficiently, in a more organized manner. Our fight or flight reactions are still very close to the surface, and we can lose our veneer of civility very, very quickly. Witness New Orleans and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. When our comfy structures collapse around us, survival mechanisms click in pronto. Survival of the fittest - dog eat dog and cat eat dog too.

So am I still being wooed by conference messages of hope? I would say yes, but perhaps I have brought a more critical analysis to this one than the last.

Seems I'm not ready to start humming Kumbaya quite yet.

2007-04-30T23:32:00.000-06:00

The Land of Milk and Honey?

Seems our fellow Canadians are catching on that all is not well in the land of oil and money. They are re-thinking moving out to join the craziness that is Boom Alberta. In the 3rd quarter of 2006, 25,000 moved West. In the 4th quarter, that number halved. High housing prices are cited as a major cause, as are improving economic conditions in the rest of Canada. If this a sign of things to come, labour shortages will continue. I got a sense of how bad it is other day when the Harvey's restaurant I wanted to go to was closed due to lack of staff - in the middle of the afternoon!

And although still a youthful province, many Albertans are aging. By 2016, 14% of the population will be seniors, and that number rises to 20% by 2031 (and I'll be one of them - eek!).

Who will be here to do the work? Alberta's immigration policy parrots that the door is wide open. Unfortunately, many immigrants find employment barriers and racism alive and well when they arrive. And funding for diversity and anti-racism initiatives is abysmal. If we are going to entice newcomers here, we have an obligation to ensure they are integrated and accepted into our culture. And we have to take a long hard look at our own attitudes while we're at it.

The Alberta Advantage has come full circle - many now talk about the Alberta disadvantage. High cost of living, too much traffic, overcrowded, under-funded transit, too little parking and a building frenzy all over the place.

Stay tuned, Canada. This could get ugly.

2007-04-27T12:00:00.000-06:00

Disappearing Honey Bees

Seems our honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. Now, usually, I wouldn't be too worried about this, as I am a well-known avoider of buzzing insects, but this has caught my attention. Honey bees are great pollinators. As much as I dislike them, I have a very healthy respect for them. I really like berries - all kinds of berries - and therefore I know we need honey bees.

So what's happening? Scientists don't know, but they have at least named the problem - Colony Collapse Disorder. Seems the bees are leaving the hives and just disappearing, or the beekeepers are opening up the hives to find thousands of little dead bee bodies. Very sad.

So what's causing it? So far I've heard theories about cell phones, stress, cumulative effects of pesticides and GMO plants. Cell phones disrupt the bee homing signals and they just get horribly, horribly lost. As for stress, bees are actually trucked thousands of miles every year to pollinate our crops. Maybe they have just had it and are having little bee nervous breakdowns. Or, more sinisterly, GMO plants have something evil embedded in their modified DNA and it has had a horrible, and unexpected, effect on the bees.

I have been hearing about this phenomenon in the alternative press for some time, and it has even hit some of the mainstream press. But it has caught the American Senate's attention (http://www.chewswise.com/chews/2007/04/senate_hearing_.html). Take a look at what one beekeeper had to say:

* that a third of all food crops rely on bees for pollination;
* that California almonds - 80 percent of the global crop - require more than 1 million bee hives for pollination.
* that the American honey bee population has dropped 30 percent over the past two decades;
* that domestically produced honey accounts for only 31 percent of all sales, a figure that has been steadily declining.

And you gotta love this beekeeper. One of the Senators asked if cell phones were the cause of the decline. His response? "On the cell phone issue, we took all the phones away from the bees," Brady quipped. Nice.

But this is a harbinger issue, if you ask me. First bees, next berries, then ????

Pity the poor bees, to be sure, but pay attention to this issue too. Oh, and buy honey and almond futures.

2007-04-24T23:29:00.000-06:00

What the *#*_&_)*@?

OK. I disappeared for while. Long enough (probably) for many to give up on my very existence.

But fear not. Bast is BACK, baby! I am even leaving clever posts on a Canadian Senator's website: www.albertasenator.ca My own personal and quirky way of trying to be politically relevant in a crazy world.

In my own defence (and as I might be the only one writing - and reading this - it really is my own defence) I have been very busy. And I will be travelling in May, so busy again. I keep thinking that once this month ends, it will be better. So far this year, not so much. Life is just plain busy. So busy, in fact, I have yet to watch some wonderful DVDs I have been given or bought.

I have also had car troubles. Like I bought a new one. That's trouble enough. But then it was immediately involved in a hit and run as it was innocently parked on a residential street. Bastards. So one $500 deductible and pulling in a major favour later (body shops in Calgary are backed up for about two months), I now have a new car again. Like they couldn't have hit the 20-year old Mazda ....

So there you have it. Recent events. More anon. Watch this space.

2007-03-14T23:23:00.000-06:00

Can it Really be March?

Not quite sure where the time went, other than that February is a notoriously bad-ass month for me. Don't want to do anything more than hibernate, snuggle with the cat and watch copious amounts of trashy TV.

I am also incredibly busy with work, which is just ducky. Juggling about 5 projects and trying to shed a few more. This seems to be the time of the year when things kick into overdrive for me. Speaking of overdrive, almost bought a new-ish car too. Didn't in the end, and was most pleased with the dealership, as they didn't give me any grief when I backed out and they gave me my deposit back. I brought them donuts, so perhaps that helped a bit. But I highly recommend dealing with Kia City in Calgary. Good people. Always nice to give a bouquet instead of a brick when dealing with car dealerships.

Other than that, am watching some stories with interest. Syphillis is on the rise in Alberta. Dramatically. Not sure what that means other than people are having unprotected sex. Nasty disease, syphillis, and I always think of the 18th and 19th centuries when I hear of it. Not sure why. Seems to go with the clothing. Syphillis = men in tights and long hair in my world.

Will hopefully think of more stories anon. But now, to bed.

2007-01-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

A New Way to Help

Those of you who know me know that I work in the non-profit sector, for various reasons, none of them designed to make me a wealthy person. But that's best left for another blog.

There are some really neat initiatives out there, and one of the many that intrigues me is microcredit. Microcredit NGOs issue loans to small business people (many are women) who then either start up or expand their existing businesses. This builds the self-sufficiency, and self-esteem, that many other development programs strive for and often fail at. And as women become economically self-sufficient, families thrive and they become less at risk for violent and abusive relationships. The payback rate on the loans is in the neighbourhood of 98-99%. Seems to me to be a pretty good deal all around.

Although I liked the idea, I never really knew how to get involved in this movement. Until, that is, I came across Kiva. Kiva is an online NGO (www. kiva.org) that profiles entrepreneurs in need of a loan on their website. Kiva works directly with NGOs in the countries where the entrepreneurs live. The best part is that if you see a person you would like to support with a loan, you can do so immediately with an online loan through Paypal. With just a click you can help someone half a world away.

Too good not to try. So I completed the $800 loan requested by Pauline Djagbletey, who operates the With God retail store in Dodowa, Ghana ( http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=3582). She wants to expand her product offerings, and this loan will help her do it. I just received an email saying that her loan has now been disbursed and I will receive regular updates on her progress. And I will most likely get paid back from my loan.

And when I do, I will loan again through this innovative method.

Because this is something we can all do. Maybe it's even something we all should do.

2007-01-05T00:52:00.000-07:00

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title

What a fun website! Punch in your name and you get your own title.

Pray, come hither and give due modest encouragement to ....

"Viscountess Bast the Sophisticated of Eschaton End"

Not content at one, I entered another and got:

"Empress Bast the Gnomic of Kesslington under Ox"

And again:

Lady Madame Bast the Sophisticated of Great Leering" (quite like that last bit ...)

Very fru, fru, shi, shi, non? Which one is the true Bast, do you think?

Oh yea, the URL ....www.masquerademaskarts.com/memes/peculiartitle.php

Pray, come hither again and post your own title so that I may snicker and guffaw at you too!

2006-12-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

The "-ish" Factor

Funny how idioms develop. When I first moved to Calgary, I noticed people used the word "whatnot" a lot. Then, "not so much" came into vogue. Now, it seems everyone is using "-ish". This is more of a term meaning "kinda, sorta, not so much, really." So in reponse to someone asking "Did you enjoy yourself at the opera?", one could retort, "Yes, it was nice-...ish." "-ish" is best used with a slight pause before being said to increase dramatic effect. I find I am now using it as a stand-alone phrase in answer to questions. "Do you like the new Premier?" [dramatic pause] "-Ish."

Imagine my surprise when I went searching on the Internet, only to find an alarming alternate meaning for this term. "Ish" it seems, is also a slang term for "shit." Who knew? Not me. There I am swearing like a mad woman all over town and not even knowing it. Damn.

Then of course there is the etymology of the term. From whence did it spring? Old English, apparently. The suffix "isc" to be specific, and it meant pertaining to or being, as in, British or Jewish. Also used were cildisc (childish) and cierlisc (churlish). There's also a French version of the same term: "esque", as in picturesque.

As a good Canadian, and one whose bilingualism is fluent, albeit in a non-offical language, I shall do my best to incorporate the French version into my daily parlance from now on.

"Were you happy that Stephan Dion won the Liberal leadership?"

[dramatic pause] "-esque."

Catchy, non?

2006-12-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

Nice Guys Really Do Finish First

So it was quite a Saturday here is Alberta. A new Premier and a new leader of the federal Liberal party chosen on the same day. Almost a Super Saturday, if you will.

And in both races, there were two polarizing candidates, and the race was won by the nice guy running third - and he ran right up the middle of them both.

Ed Stelmach is the new Alberta Premier. Ed who?, I hear you ask. He's known as "Honest Ed" to his friends. He's been in Cabinet since 1997, but not in any really high profile portfolios. Apparently though, everybody likes Ed. And the same couldn't be said for Jim Dinning and Ted Morton. Everyone outside Calgary hated Dinning, and saw him as one of the Calgary corporate elite. And when you think about it, he was the guy in charge of the slash and burn deficit and debt-cutting strategies of the early to mid-1990s. Hindsight has shown that to be a rather facile policy choice, as our scramble to upgrade and build new infrastructure at horribly inflated prices right now attests. And Ted Morton? Well, everybody in Calgary and Edmonton is afraid of his right-wing, neo-con, Bush-lovin' policies. So Steady Eddie seemed the best choice to the majority of Albertans who voted (and that was only 4.5% of the population - admittedly up from the 3% who voted in the first round.)

And the federal Liberal leadership race followed the exact same narrative. Two polarizing candidates in Rae and Ignatieff (former college room-mates and in all probability former friends after this race) with a nice guy running third. Dion steamed up the middle, with a little help from Gerard Kennedy, and won a tight race. I still think Ken Dryden would have been the best choice for leadership if the Liberals were thinking pure winnibility. Hockey icons would do well in Canadian elections, if you ask me.

One big different between Stelmach and Dion. Stelmach is a farmer, while Dion is an academic.

God help the Liberals.

2006-11-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Postage Stamp Test

A fast, brief blog - almost a blogette, if you will.

I recently came across an article saying that riding a bike was bad for your sex life (http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=4916). I knew there was a reason I hated this activity...

Within it, they mentioned the Postage Stamp Test, designed to help men find out whether or not they need Viagra.

Here are the details: "Most men's sexual libido is highest around 4 a.m. To see if you need Viagra, take a section from a roll of postage stamps and pass it around your penis at night before you go to bed, sticking the two ends together lightly. If the seal is broken when you wake up in the morning, it means you've had an erection and don't need Viagra."

Wow. The world gets ever more fascinating each day for me.

2006-11-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

An Historian's Pleasure

It's difficult being an historian in the 21st century. Everyone is looking forward - no one really cares about looking back. That worries me, especially because history is especially relevant at this point in our history, what with all our cross-cultural squabbles. Knowing each other's histories goes a long way to understanding each other in the here and now.

I was especially upset about the Internet. I have done a few websites in my day and my concern was always that when they are updated, the original website is lost. As a packrat and as someone who know the value of a good archive, I felt an unease about this.

Well, someone else must have felt my malaise too. To my delight, I found a website called the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org). Although it sounds like a good Ray Bradbury short story, it's actually an Internet archive system. If you want to see the evolution of a website, just punch in the URL and you are literally transported back in time. Great for websites that are now defunct, or to track updates on popular (or not so popular) websites.

I'm just delighted that the Internet gurus at least have seen the worth in tracking its historical development.

Think of all the theses 50 years down the road that will be possible using this type of source. Having a Masters or PhD in Internet History may seem ludicrous now, but mark my words - one day it will seem just as normal as having a PhD in medieval Spanish women's history.

Um, er, never mind...

2006-10-31T21:15:00.000-07:00

A Culture of Fear

Fear: it's an appropriate topic for Hallowe'en. And as I reflected back on my own childhood experiences of Hallowe'en, I noticed how far into the Culture of Fear we have descended.

I had to make a trip to the mall this afternoon on some business. I found I was just in time for the family Hallowe'en Stroll, where dressed up kids - and their parents - frolicked from store to store in search of candy treats. It was pleasant - everyone in a good mood, everyone warm and everyone quite, quite safe.

But being unsafe was one of the best things about Hallowe'en when I was a kid. Running around after dark in the neighbourhood with your friends, you experienced a raw feeling of independence, a thrill of being away from the safe confines of your home after the sun went down. If it was a little chilly, so what? Your ghost became a ghost with a coat. It was exhilarating.

Sure there were dangers. I must have been seven or so when the first rumours (we call them urban legends now) went around about razor blades in apples. My parents started vetting my treats. No home-made treats allowed, and definitely no apples. I always felt terribly sad about that, as some people had gone to a lot of trouble to make these treats for me, and they went straight in the garbage.

But that's nothing like it is today. We act as if Hallowe'en is the night that every single pedophile roams the streets and preys on little children. Well, here's a shocker for you. They would do that any night of the week. I worked in the violence and abuse area and I know there are a ton of them out there. And there were a ton of them out there when I was growing up too. We just didn't know it, or were afraid to talk openly about it. So now we take our kids to the mall to keep them safe from the bogeyman. Anyone catching the dichotomy here?

I'm not preaching complete abandonment of parental responsibility. Sure, take precautions - even dress up yourself and go out with the kids (you'll get extra treats, trust me.) But my fear is we've let fear get the better of us. Our kids are growing up so safe they will never, ever take risks.

This could come back to haunt you.

Like when you have a 35-year old still living in your basement. Ghastly.

2006-10-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

Limitations

I've been thinking a lot about my limitations lately. Probably shouldn't be thinking of negative things, but some things in my life lately have put other things into perspective.

I'm my own boss. I really like being my own boss. But my past three gigs have not really lived up to expectations, whatever they were. I suppose it's better said that I haven't enjoyed them. Thought I would - but I haven't. For various reasons, and because of various limitations. But it got me thinking on what I would enjoy doing.

Therein lies the problem. Not sure. Really enjoy pottering around the apartment. But how can I get paid to do that?? Maybe I just need a real, honest to goodness vacation. Haven't had one for years. I usually go away with my parents, but let's be honest - that's not really a vacation. And sure, I was in Spain recently. But believe me, that was hard work.

If the universe has been showing me what I don't like, perhaps it's decided on a process of elimination. Maybe I should smorgasbord my life until something comes clear. Risky strategy that. Could be a the buffet table all my life. But maybe that's what life is about. Would I be any happier at a 9-5 desk job? Maybe, if I loved it.

I feel as if I blogged along similar lines before. Ah well, blogging is ranting and public journaling after all.

This time, I don't think I'll suck it up, princess.

This time I need to work it out and get some clarity.

2006-10-26T23:31:00.000-06:00

Iconic Moments

So Jane Fonda was in town tonight. Of course I had to go and see her. Gloria Steinem came last year. So now I have seen and heard two iconic American women speak up here in Calgary. Where are all the iconic Canadian women though?

Some are dead. We have the Famous 5, the five Alberta women who fought for the right for women to be persons in the 1920s. Fay Wray, arguably, if you are a King Kong fan. Emily Carr, not quite a member of the Group of Seven. Some are still alive, but not great speakers, and I'm thinking here of Margaret Atwood in particular. Some are music icons - Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Joni Mitchell, Anne Murray - hmmm...lots of those.

But none have the drawing power of these two American women. And dollars to doughnuts (Timmies, that is) the speaker next year will be another non-Canadian.

I'd have to say that I would pay to see and hear Mary Walsh and her Marg, Warrior Princess alter ego. I'd pay even more if Cathy Jones joined her, with her Babe Bennett alter ego. Two very funny Canadian women.

Icons? Not quite. But maybe we don't need icons in Canada.

Maybe we just need a good laugh.

2006-10-19T23:20:00.000-06:00

Second Life

So, here I sit in my little apartment, feeling insulated and safe and in all ways comfortable. My life is not so bad. I am healthy (relatively), I have wonderful parents, I am surrounded by a great group of people I am proud to call my friends, and my cat loves me (sort of).

So why would I go searching for a Second Life?

I first heard of this on (where else?) TV. Second Life (http://secondlife.com) is a type of virtual reality world, inhabited by anywhere from 500,000-800,000 virtual souls. Did it intrigue me? Is Data fully functional?

So away I went. Seems that this virtual reality world has fully functional everything. Reuters just posted a reporter to the Second Life bureau. Really. The economy is based on the 'Linden', which has a conversion rate to the US dollar. Really. You can buy a small island for US$1,250, plus a US$195 monthly maintenance fee or a large island for US$5,000, plus a US$780 monthly maintenance fee. Really. As Mr. Spock would say, "Fascinating."

You need to create an avatar to become a citizen. I've always wanted an avatar. I don't know why. Perhaps the same reason I wanted a llama. To be slightly off-kilter with the rest of this real world. I am also incredibly curious to know if I will be the same personality type (slightly geeky, reclusive, etc.) within this virtual world. Maybe I would actually go on a date in the virtual world, with my avatar having slightly perkier breasts and all. Maybe I would become mayor of a town I create. Maybe I would start a utopian revolution and found a commune for ever-single women. The possibilities are endless.

And therein lies the allure, methinks. In the real world, it is becoming ever more apparent that the possibilities are not endless, and that the grind can wear you down faster than you can, well, create an avatar. Having a second chance at a virtual life, starting over, if you will, must be a powerful draw.

If I do buy an island in Second Life, you can bet your bottom Linden that I will turn around and create a Second Life Survivor 'virtual' reality show and makes bags of dosh.

What a cunning plan ...

2006-10-15T22:41:00.000-06:00

Rumblings...

Call me crazy, but has anyone noticed a pattern to these recent earthquakes in the Pacific? Hmmm, let me see if I can recreate the chronology here:

Oct. 9/06 - North Korea tests nuclear weapon
Admittedly, we're a little scant on evidence about whether or not it was successful, but there is evidence that an underground explosion of significant magnitude occurred. TNT or nuclear, it happened.

Oct. 13/06 - Earthquake of 5.3 on the Richter scale hits Japan near Tokyo.

Oct. 15/06 - Earthquake of 6.6 on the Richter scale hits Hawaiian Islands.

I know very little about plate tectonics, but I do know that Japan is on the Ring of Fire and that Hawaii is considered a "hot spot." Seems to me someone should at least be asking the question of whether or not there is a connection. CBC? CNN? Reuters? Anyone???

And if I lived in LA, I might consider a brief out-of-state trip in the near future.

2006-10-09T22:52:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving

I've been away for while - not just from the blogosphere, but from Canada. I was leading a trip along the pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain. It was some of the toughest money I've ever earned, but a bit of distance always provides a better perspective.

It did allow me to revisit parts of Spain that I have always enjoyed. I'm happy to say that I still do. What this trip showed me more than anything was that I could live in Spain again. The pace of life, the love of life, the concept of working to live and not living to work are all things that greatly appeal to me. And things that Calgary could learn a thing or two from right now too.

Spain has grown up a lot since I first lived there in the late 80s. The EU has been a boon to their economy, and they are now a thoroughly modern European country. And yet.... and yet they are still wholly Spanish. Try to find peanut butter in the supermercado - I dare you. The regional cuisine we enjoyed is a thing of beauty. One of the women on the tour asked me how the Spanish can remain so thin while eating so much. The key is in the walking - everyone walks in Spain, every day. In our car-centred communities, we have forgotten the simple joy, and the health benefits, this offers.

Sure, there are frustrations. Smoking - although banned in workplaces as of January 1, 2006 - is still fairly pervasive. Although noticeably not so much as it was previously. Some contracted services just never get done - like luggage delivery to rooms. Sorry, no one around to help. Hurrican Gordon even made a brief appearance.

But on the whole, it is one of my favourite destinations, and I should be giving thanks I was actually paid to visit it again and rediscover both its charms and its foibles.

2006-09-06T23:12:00.000-06:00

Much better ...

Thanks to everyone who ... felt my pain. I appreciate it.

Anyway, there I was again tonight - another 2 1/2 hours, but this time I thought I'd take it cool and do it sitting down. The pacing and the stumbling of last week was just too much for me. Don't know why, but this was much better. More like talking to friends in a room. I was actually - on the odd occasion - enjoying myself! Shock - horror. Didn't get through half of what I wanted/needed to because we diverged into a conversation about whether Graceland was a pilgrimage site and whether Elvis, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, JFK, etc. qualified as types of modern-day saints about which cults of the personality had grown. Good, chatty stuff. Much more my style. Felt tons more like my old self.

Have actually given myself permission to look forward to this trip. Wow. Miracles never cease. Thanks be to Santiago ...

2006-08-30T23:28:00.000-06:00

It's Official ...

I hate public speaking. I really do. I don't feel I'm very good at it, even after the Toastmaster courses I took (well, maybe I should have finished them, to be fair ...)

I write far better than I speak. Perhaps that's because I live in my own head most of the time, not really talking to anyone but myself. Or maybe that I can go back and edit my writing, but not my spoken words.

I had to lecture tonight for about 2 hours. Needed a PowerPoint presentation to even half-way face it. Brought in some food too - props were definitely needed. I pace when I speak too - a horrible habit - and the room was set up funny, so I kept stumbling over equipment, furniture etc. Nice.

I had a very nice, kind audience though (and this is a shout out to any of the ladies who were there tonight if you're reading this - thanks.) I really think people understand the whole public speaking-fear thing. They say it's a more common fear than death. So that says something, no?

Like I never want to do it again.

Sigh. I feel another 'suck it up, princess' moment looming near. More anon.

2006-08-29T00:09:00.000-06:00

August sucks ...

There's really just nothing else to say - this month has not been a good one, for various reasons. Roll on September, when I will be spending half of the month in Spain. Away, blissfully and completely away.

2006-07-31T23:40:00.000-06:00

Juxtapositions

I love the late night news. Catching up on all the happenings of the day that was is always a nice way to end a day, in my books.

But today there were two stories juxtaposed that had me thinking. The first was the Supreme Court ruling that said that non-custodial parents paying child support (let's face it, men mainly) had to disclose any raises in income to the custodial parent (um, that would be women mainly) and then increase child support accordingly. Sounds logical to me - after all, they are still your children and shouldn't they be the beneficiaries of your career achievements too? But one man let the reality as many men see it slip. He actually posed the question how could they be sure that the women - er, he means the non-custodial parent - were spending that extra money on the children? Wow. He's right, you know. Maybe all those women are spending it on rent, or fat-free food, or heating, or car payments to get the kids - your kids - to soccer. Unbelievable.

The next story was one on the declining birth rate in Canada, and the fact that the average age of a Canadian woman giving birth is edging up to near 30.

The two stories can't be connected - or can they???

Opinions, please.

2006-07-24T23:50:00.000-06:00

One Million Stars ...

Tonight is the night. In about 5 minutes, the one-millionth Calgarian will be welcomed into this world at one of our three hospitals (three hospitals for one million people? Don't get me started ....)

When I arrived in 1994, Calgary had a mere 750,000. That was a nice size. I liked it back then. Oh, and we had one more hospital then too (but it was blown up - by the Government .... really ...) I heard on the news that from April 2005 to April 2006 alone, 35,000 people moved to Calgary. That's a small town. Heck, isn't that the population of PEI??? Would someone please check to see if anyone is left on that island?? Or did they vote everyone off? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

So I suppose it's no wonder there's a housing boom on - housing is a precious commodity in a high demand market. Officials are actually warning people not to come to Calgary unless you have both a job AND accommodation in place. Wow. So this is a boom economy.

And still we need more infrastructure - you know roads and overpasses and all that (not hospitals, that would make too much sense.) Calgary continues to gobble up vast areas of land surrounding it. Development, expanse and growth are the norm. More, more, better, better.

Shame my bank account isn't expanding at the same rate. Methinks I really don't understand booms at all.

2006-07-17T23:49:00.000-06:00

The Universe is Wacky - Part the Second

So I have been a bit down recently. The universe took note. On Friday, an old university residence friend invited me over to her place for dinner, where I was the surprise guest for two of our other friends who were in town visiting. Old home week, indeed. And attempts at reminiscing - well, it was over 20 years ago ... we even phoned a fourth woman who couldn't make it, but was there with us in spirit!

It was lovely to see them, even more so as they reminded me that as their "Floor rep", I was the one who got them into trouble, but I could always be counted on to get them out of trouble too. That's nice to hear. They were my girls, and we had fun and frivolity (and a LOT of beer) together.

We started talking about another of my friends that night - one who was a dear soul, but with whom I had sadly lost contact. As I thought about it, I wondered how I might try to get in touch. Turns out all you really have to do is sit back and let the universe do the work.

Tonight - out of the blue - an email arrived from her in my inbox.

I was stunned. That's a LOT of people from my past who have returned to me this year, and I intend to steward our friendships. I recently told another friend that there are ebbs and flows to any friendship, and this is proof positive of that. There is a reason for all this, I am sure. I don't know what it is yet, but I'll continue to seek the answers. Because really, it's the journey - and who accompanies you on that journey - that matters.

2006-07-06T23:17:00.000-06:00

Boom Times

For those who don't know it, Calgary is booming. House prices are skyrocketing, and if you don't have a place to rent, good luck finding one with the very low vacancy rate. Inflation is high, but people don't seem to care as the oil is flowing and the money along with it.

There are a couple of problems attached to this boom though. It is almost a super-heated economy, and definitely a worker-centred one. This means many small businesses have problems finding staff and paying them enough to keep them. Stories abound of stores having to close mid-day because they just can't find the staff.

It also leads to staff becoming less than reliable. Want a day off? Take one. If they fire you, there's plenty more that will hire you. This seems especially pronounced with the generation known as the Echo Boomers. Not to paint them all with one brush, but there seem to be more than a couple out there who fit the stereotype.

My generation (Jones, remember?) is an interesting one. We haven't really seen a true boom economy. I'm fairly lost in all this - only seen inflation, recessions and jobless recoveries in the past. So dearth and a standpoint of scarcity, not abundance, is what I have always known. Rampant inflation and wage and price controls in the 70s, not to mention an oil crisis. Stock market panic and recession in the 80s. Rumours of a dotcom boom, but nothing tangible in the 90s. (In fact, I spent the early 90s in the UK, where inflation was again running rampant.) Twenty-first century starts well, but 9/11 changes all that.

I feel as if everyone around me is making wildly outrageous sums of money, while I sit idly by on the sidelines quietly counting and saving my money, just in case. There are some who are with me, saying, "Just you wait. We've seen boom times before... and bust times." There's even a bumper sticker sold here in Calgary that reads, "Please Lord, let me have another oil boom and I promise not to piss it away this time."

As another Stampede season looms, I have a feeling there will be a fair amount of pissing away going on in Cowtown over the next 10 days.

Wonder where can I buy one of those bumper stickers?

2006-06-26T23:14:00.000-06:00

Out of it

I've been out of it for some time now. The "it" meaning life in general, I suppose. Feeling a tad rudderless, which is suspiciously like a mid-life crisis. I had a mid-mid-life crisis when I was 20, so I've been there, done that, but somehow this one seems to bring with it more melancholy.

So what to do? Ah, therein lies the crux of the issue. What to do with the rest of my life. Maybe I should go back to school (shudder). Maybe I should buy a house (peels of laughter - I recently calculated that to buy an average-priced home in Calgary - $375,000 - I would have to earn $130,000/year. ) Maybe I should get a dog (oops, not allowed by The Cat or The Landlord.)

Maybe I should just suck it up, Princess. Things could be a lot worse. And I do have fabulous new lino and carpet in my apartment after much upheaval. And no back strain as a result. A Very Good Thing.

I think I should turn my mind back to changing the world. I have recently tried to salvage some of the Sunnyside School trees that are scheduled for death by chainsaw soon. Tried to convince the powers that be that more Urban Bird Condo Timeshares are needed. And you know what? They are considering it. I shall consider it a personal triumph if it happens.

And maybe that's really all that matters after all. Making a difference - any difference.

2006-06-13T22:14:00.000-06:00

The Kindness of (or to) Strangers

I'm back from my vacation with friends and family. In my absence, the showerhead fell off, the kitchen sink plugged up, and while I arrived home at 8:00 pm last night, the new lino for my apartment arrived at 7:30 am this morning. And so it goes. Off to a good start. But the cat is healthy and happy and that is really all that matters.

I was thinking about spending time with family today. I was having a rather good day with strangers - good chats with the plumber and the checkout clerk and all that. And I wondered why I found it easier to be nice to complete strangers than to my family. I can get a bit stroppy with my parents. The almost two weeks I spent with them was lovely, but there were times I craved my own company and felt put upon to do things I'd rather not. But to keep the peace I would go along and then be a bit mopey or sharpish. Not one of my more endearing qualities.

But I'm charming with strangers, or even acquaintances. (I met one in the washroom of a service stop on the 401 in Ontario - go figure!) Which makes me wonder if the more you get to know me, the nastier I will treat you. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that. Or maybe that really is my personality, and I try hard to play a role of a jovial bon vivant to the outside world? Or perhaps there are multiple dimensions and another of my possible existences comes creeping through once in awhile? Who knows. I must resolve to be nicer to people though - all people - even those to whom I am related by blood.

Good resolution. I wonder if I'm adopted in a parallel universe?

2006-05-29T22:48:00.000-06:00

Spring Cleaning Madness

The worst (or perhaps the best) thing about going on vacation is that I have to rush around frantically for days previous in order to clean my apartment and get it up to snuff for my cat's Aunt to arrive. The Cat cannot be left alone (as she pines for me, poor thing, and I worry about her) so at least three times a year, my place gets a good going over. Keeping up appearances and all that.

I don't like to clean. I especially don't like to clean when I can't see the fruits of my labour (ie disappeared dust). But when I do clean, I clean. Frantically, and with vigour. And that usually includes a good cleanout of clothes and papers that have building over months. And I have thrown out a LOT of stuff this time around. But it is stunningly obvious as I look around that I still have a LOT to go through and potentially throw out. How can this be?

Paper seems to procreate in my house. To hell with the paperless society. I'm surrounded by the damn stuff. And I get irritated by it. I seem to pick up the same piece of paper seven or eight times before I either decide on a home for it or to throw it away. I suppose I could scan everything - but I actually do have a life and would like to live it. Life's too short to scan paper into a computer.

And then there's the shredding, ah, the shredding! I have to separate the papers into those that might contain personal information and need to be shredded in order that my identity not be stolen and used for nefarious purposes, and those that can be tossed willy-nilly. And the paper that needs shredding continues to sit there, staring at me, waiting for me to shred it, like it's on Death Row.

So here I sit feeling virtuous on the one hand, and intimidated on the other. I'll need another vacation to deal with the paper I have simply hidden away, out of view.

Sigh. It's just never easy.

2006-05-23T23:28:00.000-06:00

Winding Down ...

I can feel it - oh, yes I can feel it! That inevitable feeling the week before you go on vacation. Nothing else matters. I don't care what I get done at work. I don't actually care that I'm at work. I just want to go on my vacation.

Not that it will be super exciting. Just back home, to see old friends, my parents and their old friends, and maybe even make some new friends. But it will be away, and I need to get away for awhile.

I heard the other day that a full 20% of Albertans never take a vacation. Too busy making money to pay for the Hummer, the ritzy condo, the blazingly glam lifestyle, I suppose. I don't get it. I need vacations - I want vacations - I long for vacations. In fact, I really do just want to be on vacation for the rest of my life.

Now if I could just figure out a way to do that. Ideas, or straight donations to the retirement fund, very welcome.

2006-05-16T22:28:00.000-06:00

Political blur ...

OK, I got up this morning at my regular time - about 8:00 or so (hey, I usually work until 1 am!) and was a bit flummoxed when I turned on the TV to watch the morning breakfast shows.

There, giving me the morning news in his best newscaster voice was ... our Alberta Premier, Ralph Klein. This was a bit of a shock, to say the least. Now I know back in the day Ralph was a weatherman for our local TV station, so he does know the biz. But he is the sitting Premier of our province! And one of the stories he covered was about ... himself! And how it was brave of him to even attempt to reform the healthcare system. What the ....?

Was he auditioning for a job after his forced retirement in September of this year? Was he trying to perpetuate his image as Populist Ralph, Man of the People?

One of my colleagues thought that it might have been done tongue in cheek. But it looked pretty authentic to me. No satirical stories here. I was a little uncomfortable about it at the time, but as the day wore on, I was even more so.

It speaks to the separation - or perceived separation - of government and the media. The media is supposed to be the public's watchdog - our eyes and ears - on the workings of government. But increasingly government is co-opting the media in order to get their message out - in whatever way they can. Look at the cozy relationship between the White House and Fox News. Granted, this was a pretty creative way - straight from the horse's mouth (insert other equine body part here, if desired).

Politics in Alberta continue to astound me. No change in government since 1971. No effective opposition and none on the horizon. Or is there? With our booming economy, more and more people are moving to Alberta - and many are from that bastion of Liberal thinking, Ontario. Methinks there may yet be change in the air ...

2006-05-12T23:26:00.000-06:00

Texting, texting ...

This new cell phone is amazing. I can actually receive text messages! (Not sure if I can send them too, but wouldn't that be AWESOME!) Sad to say that the first two messages I received were from my cell phone company. But they were wishing me Happy Birthday, so hey, that's nice, right?

Then I got my first real one. And ok, it was someone cancelling a meeting with me, but it was still a real live person texting me.

Way cool. I wonder how many other cancelled meeting/Happy Birthday messages I will receive.

I live in hope.

2006-05-09T23:25:00.000-06:00

Brave New World

OK, I've finally gone and done it. Those of you who know me know I loathe buying new technology - I think it stems from that awful decision back in the day to get in early and buy that 8-track tape player.

I own a 1988 Mazda MX-6 (in about 18 months, it will become a collectible car ...) and I was the last one on the block to get a DVD player.

Then there was my cell phone. I wanted to ensure I got good use and value from it before I upgraded. I bought it in 1998. Many of you have seen "The Brick". It became a symbol of my neo-Luddite tendencies. And it was an awesome phone (Motorola Microtac - it would not die and would not often drop a call). But in 2006, it became an aesthetic issue. I was becoming embarrassed to use it in public. Getting funny looks when I lugged it out of my bag.

So I succumbed to peer and societal pressure and bought a new one. Still a Motorola, which is apparently a sound environmental choice. But this one is fancy-shmancy. It has a menu. I can get voicemail. It has a speakerphone. I have different ring tones. And it vibrates. I feel very 21st century when I hold it.

And to top it all off, it looks remarkably like a Star Trek communicator.

Go figure.

2006-05-04T23:30:00.000-06:00

Suck it up, Calgary.

So, our beloved Flames lost in the first round of the playoffs. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth today in Cowtown. I have to admit, I'm not one of them, for oh so many reasons.

Number 1: Calgary has had a bit of a superiority complex lately, and the universe hates those who are openly arrogant. Economic boom times, coupled with conspicuous consumption, has left me feeling cold about this city I happily called home. Stories of $1,000 cigars and $5,000 bottles of wine are the norm. I doubt they are urban myths. We needed taking down a peg, and this loss to the "Mighty Ducks" sure did it.

Number 2: Not one person I've heard interviewed has said they will now be cheering for the Edmonton Oilers, who did make it past the first round. This is parochialism at its finest. When the Flames were in their Cup run in 2004, I distinctly remember Edmontonians (albeit grudgingly) getting on the bandwagon and cheering the Flames. Would you rather another American team take the Cup? Really, get over it and get cheering for the other Alberta team. This Edmonton-Calgary rivalry has to end - they are both good cities, each with their strengths and weaknesses.

Number 3: The Red Mile is no more. There was an edge to the place this year that was verging on hooliganism, and it was only going to get worse as the Flames continued in the playoffs. It would have become super-heated if the Flames had met the Oilers, and the coveted Battle of Alberta had occurred. I shed no tears for the demise of the Red Mile.

Number 4: Hockey players make too much damn money for playing what is, essentially, a pretty violent game. This may be sacrilege to most Canadians, but then again, I'm not like most Canadians.

Now it is time to enjoy spring in Calgary and get ready for the next big festival of debauchery, Stampede. More grumbling anon, I fear. Must be the season for it.

2006-04-30T22:32:00.000-06:00

Generation *&*^%**'ed

So, my ranting continues. I got an email the other day from a friend of mine in Montreal, bemoaning the fact that houses in Ottawa, where they were thinking of moving, were vastly overpriced and out of their league. And then, she mentioned something I'd been thinking for some time: "Our generation has been screwed all the way round, non?"

Mais oui, mon amie. We are the cusp generation, wedged between the megalith generation of the Baby Boomers and the angst-ridden Gen X'ers. Sometimes I feel like a Late Boomer; other times like an Early X'er. But I don't feel I belong to either one. Apparently we even have a name of our own - Generation Jones (http://www.generationjones.com/index_old.htm) or Baby Busters. I prefer Generation Screwed.

Why do I feel screwed? Well, mainly economically. When I was growing up, jobs were always scarce. Why? Because the damn Boomers had them all. So minimum wage it was. Eight years at a major pharmacy chain that shall remain nameless. So I decided I had better outwit them by getting the very best education available to me. PhD at Cambridge, it was. By rights, there should have been a huge bleeding of the bulge of academics hired in the 1960's who should be nearing retirement. Still waiting. Had heard that the Boomers will be retiring early. Apparently not.

So I spent ten years renting with a plethora of people I knew, people I thought I knew, and people I didn't know from Adam. By 29, I'd had it and finally got my own place, which was heaven.

I sort of thought that by the ripe old age of 42 I'd own my own place. Nope. When places were affordable, I wasn't earning enough and now that I am, places aren't affordable. My parents bought their place for $53,000 and it's worth three+ times that now. If I buy now, at the height of a boom (maybe), I may end up with negative equity in an overpriced place if a bust comes (and I've lived through enough to know that yes, they do come).

So here I sit - with a $135/month rent increase just shoved ignominiously under my door after 11 1/2 loyal years in the same apartment. I want a carpet upgrade, and I want it now.

Boomers and X'ers be damned. The Jonesers/Busters are mad as hell and we aren't going to take it anymore. Now if we could just all get together and decide on a way forward, that would be good, eh? Anybody???

2006-04-18T21:23:00.000-06:00

A Single Rant

I've been doing a bit of thinking about my single life recently. Two things precipitated this thinking: 1) the soaring real estate prices in Calgary and 2) doing my taxes.

I need to preface my remarks by saying I do love being single and I don't want to change my status. I am just venting.

For those of you outside of Calgary, the real estate market here is out of control. Houses have gone up 30% in value in the past few months, and people are scrambling to get into the market. I'm not in the market. Nor do I think I'll ever get into the market here. The average house price in Calgary is $363,370, which is $10,000 higher than Toronto. If I had a partner, I could get into the market, as I could afford a $150,000 mortgage ( x 2). But you can't get a cave-house in Calgary for $150,000. So, partnerless, I continue to rent.

Then I was doing my taxes and a thought struck me. I wonder if two income families pay the same tax as I do? So I went hunting for a tax calculator, found one, and discovered the worst. If I earn $60,000 (before tax), I pay $15,788 in taxes in Alberta. In a two income family, if one person earns $40,000 and one earns $20,000, they pay the following taxes: $9,310 on the $40k, and $$3,047 on the $20k. That's $12,357 total or $3,431 less than me. And that doesn't take into account the additional tax savings the $40,000 earner could realize by contributing to spousal RSPs in addition to her/his own.

Sigh. To add insult to injury I found out that the average after-tax family income in Alberta is $64,900. I'd have to earn about $91,500/year to realize that.

I guess that's the Alberta Advantage - but only for couples.

2006-04-11T23:11:00.000-06:00

Conference Basics

As I mentioned, I spent most of last week at a conference, and I started thinking about why we get together at these things, and what we learn at them when we do.

As I pondered, I realized that any conference I had ever been at essentially left me with three messages:

1) Feel the love.
2) Be the change.
3) The moment is now.

That's it. The first one is admittedly kind of warm and fuzzy, but that's what happens when like-minds congregate. Hums of Kumbaya all round and accompanying swaying happening out in the hallways at breaks.

The second two are more inspirational messages, especially appealing to an only child (because it's all about me - refer to earlier post). I can be the change! I can change the world, or at least my tiny part of it. And I'd better do it right now, as I'm not getting any younger. Go forth and improve, innovate, and implement, my friends. Time is short; the end is nigh, la, la, la, la....

Where was I? Oh, yes. I really don't need to go to any other conferences, ever again, in my life. This is an epiphany. I just need my three-message mantra and I'll save gobs of money. Unless I get paid to work at them. Then they are incredibly important catalyst events that will create ongoing networks and important new projects.

Just consultant-speak for saying "Feel the love," "Be the change," and, "The moment is now", really.

2006-04-07T11:09:00.000-06:00

Three Degrees of Separation

Many of you know that I have an inner sci-fi geek. Not so much inner, really, as I pretty much light up at the mention of Star Trek, Babylon 5, Stargate, and of course, Battlestar Galactica (the new series, not the 70s version, although I liked that one too back in the day).

I also have a fairly overt obsession with William Shatner. I know, I know - I've heard all the Star Trek gossip about his arrogance and inflated ego. But really, he couldn't play Captain Kirk any other way. And I'm loving his Denny Crane character on Boston Legal now. I'm such a fan that I actually own a copy of his early cult classic (shot entirely in Esperanto), Incubus.

So imagine my surprise, astonishment and general gob-smackedness when my friend L. casually mentioned the other day that THE William Shatner is her father's first cousin. Arghhhhhhhh!!!!

After I had calmed down (which took about half an hour, I have to admit) I realized that this is only three degrees of separation. Only three!!! And then L. mentioned she'd invite me to the next family wedding, but not to expect an appearance from the man himself. No matter. I shall attend. If only in the faint hope that three degrees of separation will one day become none at all.

2006-04-05T22:48:00.000-06:00

Buffalo Bast

Again, I've been really busy lately (like there's any other way of life for me ...) I've been working at a conference here in Calgary. Lots of early ups, which are NOT my forte. I've been out of the house for 18 hours straight two days in a row and still have another day to go.

I sure needed a break this afternoon. Luckily, the conference is at the RoundUp Centre on the Stampede grounds, and Aggie Days are on. Just next door to our conference was a wonderful collection of barnyard animals available for petting and general stress relief. Heaven.

After a quick visit to the llamas (because, really, who doesn't love llamas?) I rounded the corner to come across a mighty beasty. A buffalo. A real, live buffalo. And he was house-trained. Honest. His name is Bailey, and he's a bit of an Alberta celebrity. Had his third and fourth birthdays with Ralph Klein (no accounting for taste, on Bailey's part) and has had photo shoots in all the best magazines, including Maxim UK.

Don't believe me? Here's his website: www.baileythebuffalo.com

I was allowed into the pen with his owner to pet him. Let me tell you he is one big buffalo - but he's lovely with it.

And the best part is petting a buffalo was on my life list of things to do. Check.

2006-03-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

Calgary Has Arrived

Just wanted to let everyone know that Calgary has offically arrived as a "cool" metropolitan city. Why, you ask? Simple.

Today I saw a man "driving" around the downtown core on a Segway. Complete with helmut. And let me tell you, he was really turning heads.

For those of you who don't know what a Segway is, remember the hype a few years ago about the invention that would be "It"? That's the Segway - a human transporter; an electric scooter that you stand on. Take a look at: www.segway.com

If you want to buy one (around $5,000-$6,000 depending on the model) check out the Canadian distributor at: www.mysegway.ca/.

Gotta say I'm intrigued. Perhaps might make it as another one of Bast's Best Products in the near future ...

2006-03-27T23:11:00.000-07:00

Bird Anomalies

Well, it supposed to be spring here in Alberta. So far, it's been ok, if only in that we haven't had a major dump of snow. But as I was coming home tonight from my tap-dancing class (will be another blog, promise) I heard an interesting bird call.

Gulls. I was sure it was seagulls. Now for those of you "from away" Calgary is smack dab in the middle of the prairies, near the foothills. Not an abundance of water nearby. To be fair, I had seen these birds before, but when I first moved to Calgary in 1994, I swear we were gull-free. So why were they here, now? Well, we do have a very nice bird sanctuary in Inglewood. Perhaps they decided to check it out, and as so many people who visit Calgary do, decided to stay.

But they're not the only bird-newcomers. Again, when I first moved here, there were no pigeons. But pigeons abound in my back alley now. Although a nice diversion for the cat, they can be bothersome birds in great quantities, as I discovered in my years in Europe.

So what's going on here? Some kind of avian re-population effort? Both of these birds are scavengers, to be sure. Perhaps Calgary has finally hit the map in bird destination travel? A better class of restaurant fare on which to scavenge? Maybe it's simply that the lure of the big city has got to them too.

It's disconcerting for me though, because I always equate seagulls, well, with the sea. And I always felt a bit special (like being near the sea) when I heard them. Now they're just confusing the hell out of me. Which is not hard lately. More anon.

2006-03-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

Bast's Best Products: "Salt" of the Earth

I've been really busy lately. This is a Good Thing, as I run my own business. I have many deliverables due on or by March 31, so I am flat out right now. But my body has recently been informing me of the stress I'm under. This manifests itself in the form of tiny tinges in my lower back, as if to say, "Keep it up, and you'll be sorry. I can go at any time and you'll be on your back for two weeks straight. Tee hee."

I've never been very good at self-care. But I am beginning to learn as I wax and wane dangerously close to mid-life. I went for a cranial-sacral massage on Friday night, and I do believe this woman is a miracle worker. I felt mah-velous, darlink. She said to top it off with an epsom salt bath. Epsom salts? Wasn't that something old men used to use in the 40s? Not wanting to do anything to endanger my new-found back happiness, I stopped by the drugstore and picked up a bag.

After coming home from the wake (yes, I attending an actual Irish wake on St Paddy's Day - Long may you visit, Joan), I went home and tentatively tried these mysterious crystals out.

Magic. Have no idea what they do. My massage therapist said something about leaching out the lactic acid from your muscles. Being inquisitive by nature, I did a little reasearch. Where else? The website of the Epsom Salt Council (!) . So here are the alleged health benefits of said salts:

Magnesium:

Ease stress and improves sleep and concentration
Help muscles and nerves function properly
Regulate activity of 325+ enzymes
Help prevent artery hardening and blood clots
Make insulin more effective
Reduce inflammation to relieve pain and muscle cramps
Improve oxygen use

Sulfates:

Flush toxins
Improve absorption of nutrients
Help form joint proteins, brain tissue and mucin proteins
Help prevent or ease migraine headaches

Epsom salt is actually magnesium sulfate, you see. "Epsom" came from the town in England it was first "discovered" and "salt", well, because it looks like salt.

Whatever it is, go, buy some. Soak. You won't be sorry.

2006-03-13T23:34:00.000-07:00

A Strange Place

The universe is a wild and wacky place. I've always believed that and it was reinforced for me again last week. A dear friend from Ottawa who I haven't seen in years will be coming through Edmonton on her way up to the NWT and wanted to see if we could connect. That in itself wasn't too odd, and of course I'm delighted to go up and see her.

But then another dear friend from Kitchener, who I haven't seen in years, emailed me to say that she was going to be in Edmonton for a friend's wedding, which takes place a few days after my Ottawa friend's trip. Great, you say - one trip, two friends. But even that isn't the strangest part. You see, these two women also know each other, as we were all living in Ottawa in the early 1990s (and were known to have the odd drink together, etc.) They haven't seen me in years, or each other. Talk about a reunion. And don't even get me started about my friend who actually lives in Edmonton and knows them both.

So there you have it. The tapestry of life once again weaving its magic. Four lives that went their separate ways years before will come together again in of all places, Edmonton. I am really looking forward to seeing these women again - they hold special, dear places in my heart. And although we may not see each other for years, when we do, I'm hoping it will be like we were never separated. Perhaps, it the grand scheme of life and the universe, we never were.

There's gotta be a movie screenplay in there somewhere. There's just gotta be.

2006-03-08T21:43:00.000-07:00

Happy International Women's Day!

I've been doing some thinking about March 8 today, and its relevance to our current place in history. To be sure, I'm not sure if today has been a success or a failure. IWD seems to have passed with a wimper and not a roar. Not even Google deigned to provide a float-over graphic like they do for other days of note, such as St. Patrick's Day, or Van Gogh's birthday.

In Canada, a press release was issued noting that women's wages are currently at 71% of men's. Seems my allusion to wanting to be born a man to make more money in my last blog entry was pretty bang on. There is also a noticeable decline in the number of female senior executives, now at 22%, after a high of 27% in 1996. We are up in management positions though, from 30% to 37%, but we are clustered at lower-level management positions. Sigh.

But here is the statistic that wasn't reported today. Women's entrepreneurship is increasing dramatically. The number of women starting their own business has doubled since 1990, and women now own, or partially own, a full 50% of Canadian small businesses. So it seems quite clear to me that women are simply taking matters into own hands and changing the rules. We are fed up of being round pegs trying to fit into corporate square holes. We are building our own segment of the economy, with its own built-in flexibility. And we are doing it in unprecedented numbers. If corporations don't take note of this trend and take appropriate actions to retain and reward women appropriately, they will be losing some of their best and the brightest.

Being one of the many who has the best boss in the whole wide world (me), I'm not holding my breath for systemic corporate change. And on this day devoted to the tenacity of female workers worldwide, I say why wait? Let's go out there and make our own destinies.

2006-03-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

Tag! You're it!

I've been tagged by a man I've not yet met. Seems odd, I know, but that's the 21st century in cyber-space for you. Turtle Guy is interested in my responses to the following questions - I'm flattered, if a little intimidated. Must be humorous, or somewhat deep! I'm not going to tag anyone else - because really, everyone else has already been tagged. And tagging strangers? Seems somewhat cheeky.

1: Black and White or Color; how do you prefer your movies?
Anyone who knows me knows I prefer B&W. Love the oldies, love anything with Astaire. Love Now, Voyager, with Bette Davis and Paul Henreid. Love Summertime with Kate Hepburn. Goes w/o saying I love Casablanca too. Need to see Good Night and Good Luck because I'd love to see George Clooney in B&W. (I'd love to see George Clooney in anything, really, or nothing at all...)

2: What is the one single subject that bores you to near-death?
I hate to say it, but anything to do with kids. I just tune right out.

3: MP3s, CDs, Tapes or Records: what is your favorite medium for prerecorded music?
MP3s? What is this magic of which you speak? Ya, I'll stick with tapes (because that's what my car stereo can play) and CDs (because I have a cool storage rack for them).

4: You are handed one first class trip plane ticket to anywhere in the world and ten million dollars cash. All of this is yours provided that you leave and not tell anyone where you are going ever. This includes family, friends, everyone. Would you take the money and ticket and run?
Pretty much, ya. Then I would find a loophole in the contract and re-connect with everyone later. Like maybe change my name so it wasn't really me who was contacting them. Kind of like the old Kobayashi Moru manoeuvre that Kirk pulled in Star Trek II. If faced with a hopeless situation, change the rules.

5: Seriously, what do you consider the world's most pressing issue now?
Tedious - next question. There are too many.

6: How would you rectify the world's most pressing issue?
Equally tedious.

7: You are given the chance to go back and change one thing in your life; what would that be?
Be born a man. Probably be making two or three times what I am now.

8: You are given the chance to go back and change one event in world history, what would that be?
Luther's nailing of his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg. Seems strange, I know, considering I'm a Protestant and all. But the Protestant Reformation really was one of the worst transitions for women in history. Put us back tremendously. Opened the door to the Witchcraze. Closed the door on any other life choices beyond being the Good Wyfe.

9: A night at the opera, or a night at the Grand Ole Opry: which do you choose?
Opry, hands down. No time for high culture - just pop culture. So most of my time in Cambridge was rather wasted on me. Except for the fine wines - they were ok. But so was the plonk. You see what I mean.

10: What is the one great unsolved crime of all time you'd like to solve?
What happened to the Mary Celeste's crew? That one's always bothered me. I know, I know, it's a mystery, not a crime, but I prefer that question. Don't like crimes. Also would like to know if Nessie, Ogopogo and the Sasquatch really do exist. Cryptobiology is quite fascinating. Oh, and what actually impacted at Tunguska in 1908? And if the Mars "face" is really a beguiling message left to ourselves as to our true planetray origins. Shall I go on? I could, you know. Very curious about mysteries - not so much on crimes.

11: One famous author can come to dinner with you. Who would that be, and what would you serve for the meal?
Probably Germaine Greer. She's a hoot when she gets going. Give her a couple of ports and watch the fireworks. Serve her a meal? Why? Just keep the drinks coming. She won't notice there was no meal after awhile. Now if she cancelled out on me on short notice (known to occur), I'd probably invite Sharon Butala - because she's just lovely. And I'd serve paella and tortilla - because I could.

12: You discover that John Lennon was right, that there is no hell below us, and above us there is only sky - what's the first immoral thing you might do to celebrate this fact?
Nothing different. Don't really live my life on that basis. More on the Golden Rule basis, or the Thumper Principle, if you will (If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all.) Don't do all that well on the Thumper Principle. Ah, well. Room for improvement, for sure.

2006-02-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

Olympic Stats

So, here we are again, at the end of another winter Olympiad. I prefer the Winter Olympics (hence my absence from the blogosphere this past little while) mainly because it seems more Canadian, and hence we always do better at them. And considering I live in Calgary, the home of the 1988 Winter Olympics (and don't you dare forget it!), it borders on civic pride.

I did notice something rather interesting. Most of our medals were won by female athletes. In fact, 16 of our 24 medals came courtesy of female athletes. That's two-thirds. And five of our seven gold medals came from the female athletes too. I think I heard one commentator mention this. I may be jaded (and a bitter, twisted, old conspiracy-theorist feminist) but I bet there would have been more comment had it been the other way round. Queries of why we are funding these women who aren't achieving. Rumours of cutting said funding. Sigh. And why aren't women allowed to ski jump at the Olympics? Will it interfere with our childbearing responsibilities? I still remember that one as an excuse as to why we couldn't triple jump in junior high. I personally would like to see women flying through the air with the greatest of ease.

But I digress. Actually, no I don't, I'm on a rant here. So why aren't we celebrating the overwhelming victory of the women's Olympic hockey team? We are the Queens of the Ice! Oh, maybe that's the reason...

And now we're up next. It's 2010 in Vancouver/Whistler! And wasn't it a proud moment when the recently-elected Mayor of Vancouver, Sam Sullivan, wheeled his way up to take the Olympic flag from the Mayor of Turin? Torino? Never mind.

Maybe if I start saving now, I can afford tickets to see the first-ever Olympic women's ski jump event. It's gonna happen. It's gotta happen. After all, we'll need all the medals we can win, as we're the only host country never to win a gold medal. Twice. Ouch.

2006-02-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

The Tyranny of Valentine's Day

Well, here we are again, on the eve of another blockbuster event designed to bring out your inner consumer. Have you bought your chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie, yet? Better yet, are you thinking you'll receive chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie? It's a good day to buy, that's for sure. But I continue my intense dislike of the day.

I used to hate this day in grade school too. Everyone had to send those damn little cards out, and in my day, you sure didn't have to give one to every kid in the class. So raw, hurt feelings were inevitable, and it didn't get any better in high school when they had fundraisers for hand-delivered cupcakes, or whatever the hell it was.

Am I sounding a bit bitter and twisted? Or possibly a tad martyred? Well, that at least would be more historically accurate, as all three of the saints known as Valentine were early Christian martyrs. Their feast day - February 14 - was associated with romance because it was when the birds began to couple (read, rut). Also it's associated with the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia. So it's really more about procreation than romance.

Prehaps my foul mood has to do with the fact that February is universally known - at least in the Northern hemisphere - as the worst month for Seasonal Affective Disorder - depression, in other words. So whose bright-ass idea was it to put a day dedicated to romance smack dab in the middle of the worst month for depression? You're bound to beget more depression with that logic, no?

I've decided to head off to the casino tomorrow night and try my luck on the slots. I'll either come home more depressed, or very, very happy with bags of money. And then I'll go out and buy my own chocolates, flowers, jewelry, lingerie. Yeah. That'll show 'em.

2006-02-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

The New Normal

Can't stop with the politics - way too interesting. First of all, Harper named his leaner, meaner Cabinet. One unelected Minister, who was rapidly appointed (not elected) to the Senate. One turncoat Liberal from Vancouver, who has Olympic ambitions - that is, in running them, not running (or skating or curling) in them. On first glance, doesn't look good for the Cons (not the Tories - that was the old party, eh?) Guess Harper is over that nasty Stronach defection - at least he got even.

Then there was the make-up of the other 27 Cabinet Ministers. And for sure, there was our man, Stockwell, leading the charge as Minister of Public Safety. Why is it that I don't feel too safe? And why did they drop the "Emergency Preparedness" part of the portfolio? My guess is that if bird flu hits, we'll all have to pray. That's where the "Minister" part of his new title comes in handy. Six women in Cabinet, but no Diane Ablonczy - no reward for long service to the Reform movement or for introducing Harper to his wife. That should have been worth something right there. And what better place for his old buddy-rival Peter Mackay than out of the country most of the time. Clever. Maybe Peter can help solve that nasty Denmark debacle by reviving the Hans Island debate, thereby diverting world attention away from the cartoons. Good first move, if you ask me. Shame about our Sea King helicopter that went down just off the Danish coast though - doesn't inspire confidence in our ability to actually defend Hans Island.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the Tony Clement appointment. The man gutted Ontario's health care system, so Alberta shouldn't have any problems when they continue to gut theirs. And I know Ralph, we pay $9.1 billion a year for healthcare. That's because you insisted on blowing up hospitals back in the 90s and we're playing catch up. But I digress...see how easily federal politics turns into provincial - and by provincial, I mean Alberta - politics now. That's the New Normal, and from here on in it's just going to get curioser and curioser.

2006-02-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

A Break from Politics

Seems I've been blasting away now about the Canadian political scene for a few posts now, so thought I'd change topic. But before I do .... did you hear Stephen Harper ended up in an Ottawa hospital a couple of days ago with respiratory problems (perhaps asthma, perhaps pneumonia, we're not too sure...)? Doesn't exactly inspire confidence - probably stress-induced to boot. And he hasn't even taken office yet. The best line was from a colleague in my office, who said he probably had the stress-induced attack because he realized he had to put Stockwell Day in his Cabinet. Nice.

But on to other things. I said that if I found consumer products I really liked, I would share them with the blogosphere. Well, I really like the portable towel warmer I bought recently at Linens 'n Things. I'd been eyeing these things for almost two years and my mother finally got fed up and bought me a gift card at Christmas. So I got one. It's lovely. It warms your towels and dries your smalls. You can get out of the shower and clamber into a nice warm, snuggly towel. I'm definitely addicted. It reminds me of staying in the really nice hotels, and sometimes you just have to pamper yourself. Go. Buy one. You won't regret it.

2006-01-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

The "Calgary School"

For those of you interested in Harper's inner circle, Walrus magazine has an excellent article on this: The Man Behind Stephen Harper. Like I said, you can know a lot about a person by his friends. But take heart, my dear friends, it seems not all is well in HarperLand. The vice-like grip on the campaign and the party that his buddy American-born Tom Flanagan holds has the Progressive side of the party shut out. Peter Mackay may not have been pining only for Belinda Stronach when he went home to NS - he may have been pining for any power he thought he might wield in a party he naively helped create.

Upon further investigation, it seems this group gets a lot of their political strategy from watching chimpanzees. Which makes the election much more understandable in my mind, as I felt I was watching a bunch of baboons. They call it bio-politics. Do they even realize how feminist that sounds? This is what happens when you let academics run the show. Strong on theory - light on reality. And I can say that being a card-carrying member of that oddball community.

Perhaps we need to start a counterpart to this school here in Calgary. Let's name it "The Kensington School" in light of a neighbourhood within Calgary that has a certain and unabashed liberal bent. There is even a provincial Liberal MLA in that riding. Maybe even try re-branding the Liberals as the Progressives? Or the Progressive Liberals? Hey, it's worth a shot. I'm feeling worse about this new government every day.

2006-01-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

Did You Feel It?

I have it on rather good authority that the Centre of the Universe shifted on Tuesday night. A Conservative minority was elected, along with the first PM from Calgary since the 1930s. Toronto fell silent - Montreal fell silent - Vancouver fell silent - Calgary was jubilant. The Red Mile became the Blue Mile. But there is not one Conservative MP from those three major cities, and together they make up approximately one-third - yes, one-third - of Canada's population. That's a major problem for a Harper'government, as no Cabinet Ministers will come from those areas, arguably the main hubs of Canada's economy.

I've got a few other concerns too - there's the gender question. Only 38 of the 308 Conservative candidates were women, and only 14 were elected. And I think urban Canadian women do not trust Harper on the key issue of abortion. He dodges the issue, and can do a lot of damage while not actually re-criminalizing it (cutting funding to clinics, women's agencies, etc.). And if you believe he has a hidden agenda on a women's right to choose what to do with her own body, he might have other crazy ideas about women too. I'm not sayin' ...I'm just sayin'.

With a different leader (Peter Mackay, for example) we would have been looking at a Conservative majority. It really didn't take much to knock off the Liberals this time around. They were reeling. They ran a sloppy campaign with no real vision and still came home with over 100 seats. You just had to show up and shut up your "friends" (like Ralph).

Let's talk about his friends. You can actually know a lot about a person by his friends. This guy is surrounded by very dodgy people. I know (of) many of them, and I'm scared. But this is the slimmest minority government in Canada since Confederation. He's on a short leash. He can't do too much damage. I hope.

So my Toronto friends, take heart - the Centre of the Universe, your own hand-picked, coveted title, is still yours. We're the New West, and we're in the game now, so quite frankly, my dear, we don't give a damn anymore what you call yourselves.

2006-01-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

The Eve of a Right Mess

Well, it seems my futurist prediction that the Liberals will again win a minority government are going up in smoke. Once the Conservatives pulled that horrendous ad off the airwaves, and muzzled all their social conservative candidates, it was full steam ahead. Of course, it didn't help that the Liberals were looking like a house divided. Internal wounds from the Chretien-Martin feud have finally risen to the surface and are ripping the party apart. Oh, and that nasty Gomery ad-scam thing didn't help either.

The polls are showing a Conservative victory. This got me thinking. Who answers the phone to a polling firm anymore? Certainly not my generation, who are fed up with telemarketers and have call display and call screening to avoid them. So it must be those people who want to be polled - ie, hear my voice, I am a card-carrying [blank] party member. So I am clinging to the hope that the polls are now horribly skewed in our telecommunications-savvy age.

I am also clinging to the hope that the women of Ontario will get us out of this mess. I am hoping that when they enter the polling booth with all intention of voting for Harper, they --- just ---can't --- mark --- that --- X (insert painful groaning noises here), when push comes to shove. The issue will be if their vote then gets split between the Libs and the NDP - not pretty as the Conservatives will stroll arrogantly up the middle.

My own vote will be Green again. Not a protest vote, as some are calling it, but a vote for change. For respect for women. For respect for the environment. And maybe most importantly this time around - for self-respect.

2006-01-17T23:37:00.000-07:00

Hippo Update

Just fyi, I now have a hippopotamus - for Christmas, even! S. was kind enough to indulge my whim and purchase a hippo fridge magnet I saw at the checkout while at Toys 'r Us the other day. I am now replete with hippo. Life is good. Sometimes it really is the little things that count.

2006-01-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Valoo Villaj Expedition

I was thinking a bit about fashion the other day, as I was trawling - or is that trolling? - the Valoo Villaj aisles with Z. and S. Never really been a fashionista, moi, but was beginning to dole out advice to S. in an almost Blackwell-esque way. Abercrombie and Fitch, good - Northern Reflections, bad; flares and boot cuts, good - floods and straight cuts, bad. Hmmm. Which started me thinking where I had got these new-found fashionista leanings. Imagine my surprise when I tracked it back to reality TV? What Not to Wear, to be exact. Truth be told, I've actually learned something from that show. And I think I needed to, because my fashion disasters stem once again from being an only child. No sister or brother to laugh out loud at your outfits; just Mom and Dad saying, "Oooo, that's nice, dear."

And then my mind wandered to the future - being a budding futurist and all - and what fashion would be, should be. I think we're all beginning to doubt the futuristic metallic jumpsuits that we were supposed to be sporting by now. As Jean-Luc Picard and the boys on TNG found out, those things ain't that comfortable. And the female crew found them damn inconvenient when taking a quick pee break.

I think that fashion has evolved to a point where we've learned enough lessons from the fashion oopsies of past decades, and are now able to pick and choose the best from the past and leave the rest on the rubbish heap of fashion history, if you will. So if you like longer skirts and they look good on you, wear them. If you're a fan a turtlenecks and blazers, go for it. If you just can't part with those 80s stirrup pants, well, then you may be a fashion disaster waiting to happen and I wash my hands with you. I said Good Day! (Feeble attempt at That 70s Show reference.)

So I shall continue to roam the VV aisles and dispense my sage fashionista advice freely and without charge, even. I cannot let my peeps down.