Miller's Mountains day five

Day five begins a gray murky day. The piles are starting to be, to be, and to be rancid. As the pile crosses the basketball area, we know that soon it will be a full court press.

David Miller commented that it is the union's fault. The union said it was the city's fault. They sit in two adjoining rooms passing angry notes back and forth.

Exterminators circle the piles looking for vermin. The Vermin circle the park looking at the exterminators. This is going to get ugly.

Miller's Mountains a downwind spiral - 4

This the fourth day of mountain building, and the pile is beginning to adopt the characteristic odor so common in such wasteland compilations.

So far there has been no Convectional process effect on the local climate. We all wait for it though.

Millers Mountains, Day three

Some city politicians decided to help out their management staff stationed at the temporary garbage dumps caused by the work disruption. The way they helped was to obtain 4,000 bright green T-Shirts saying City of Toronto. "Customer Service".

So back handed in so many ways. First most if not all of the staff suggestedly forced to wear these shirts are supervisors, the sargeants in the work force. This is how you treat them? Then label them Customer Service?




During Saturday, the rush was so large that they literally doubled the size of the garbage pile in a single day.










This angle is about 25 yards away. At the moment, this is the oblique to the piles. In the background is the former RCMP headquarters, now the five star hotel "the Grand". So Miller and his councilors are so thoughtful to let tourists see Lake Ontario and his new mountains.









This is the standard shot that I have been using for the last couple of days. But its at its limit. I cannot go too much further back. So the rest of the shots will be oblique I suspect.

Millers Mountains day two

The Smitherman Range in Miller's Mountain Cordillera grows in the piles of political crap.

The core of the mountains are established laughingly called the spine. Shit piles faster than lava.

Now one can see the shiney pillow like structures of a hump. Millers Mountains are composed of this uniquely shaped geo-feature.

New bird species.

It isn't often that one sees the potential of a new species. Imaged here is the prototype for a tail less bird. It is a pigeon. Take a close look. The bird with the white wing tips in the foreground lacks a complete tail section. Surprisingly the bird flies very well.

The critter deals with braking by turning its wings down like the flaps on an airplane. Pigeons normally use their tails to brake and adjust speed in coming into land and hold their wings still. This one can't do that so it functions like a small aircraft.

Loss of the tail seems to be a genetic mutation not an amputation. It gives this bird, a hen, some interesting advantages from a flight perspective. It would be interesting to see if this bird does take a mate and reproduce if the genetic anomaly will take hold in its progeny.

Such a flight structure would give it another significant advantage which is to avoid the reintroduction of the Peregrine Falcons and becoming its food.

If you will look on the small of its back which in this case is the tail end of the bird you will see a white patch. This patch is another genetic adaptation to the predation of peregrines. It has been demonstrated that birds with this particular coloration feature survives predation better because the peregrine has problems hunting birds with the white spot in that location.

What this means in the course of species adaptations is that the urban pigeons do adapt rather swiftly to their environments. They have an average life span of 4 years so the generational adaptations are swift. One adaptation could be to be tailless.

However, the genetic mutation may have impaired its reproductive organs. It should not have but might. We will see in a couple of years.

Formation of Miller's Mountains - day one

Mountains are formed by three basic processes. The first is Vulcanism and the peaks appear conical. The second is Tectonic and the mountains are jagged and form rows of sawtooth ranges.

The third (pictured here) is Moronic where two political forces collide creating a really big shiny plasticky pile.

Creation of the third kind of mountains will be charted here occasionally. This is the formation of the Smitherman Range, of Miller's Mountain Cordillera.

Formation of this type of pile Mountain is the rapidest. Here is day one already. The base of the range is already appearing.

The tint of memory

No obituary sits here. Despite the importance the event has, I am afraid I view the issues tinted by severe bias. And its important that you the reader understand clearly that prejudice.

I grew up in a town:
・ where powerful citizens protected pedophiles, child and spousal abusers.
・ where the double standard was the norm.
・ where the progeny of the rich and powerful burgled the houses of the poor and never faced justice.
・ where the progeny of the poor burgled, convicted then deported them while still teenagers.
・ where children of the wealthy, the powerful, and the well connected got away with dealing and abusing street drugs while those of the poor assembled a list of criminal offences.
・ where corrupt politicians and business people avoided justice by pleading fraternity and social benefit.
・
You see, those sort of things tints the view of powerful people. I am forever guilty of that bias. I can send my condolences to his family in the view of the loss of a loved one. However, as for the deceased I harbor no sadness whatsoever. Its clearly impossible.

Very recently a very popular figure died away. Masses of his fans mourn his passing list all the great things he did. Like I said I got tinted. Yet no one asked the opinion of the very few he genuinely touched. For that single reason I fail to grieve the passing of a music legend who to me was a narcissistic, drug abusing pedophile who used the immense power of his wealth and fame to escape justice.

*Note: Any comments that include this person's name will not be allowed in this blag.

Vermin in, vermin out

Pictured is the fence mendings at Moss Park in preparation to become a temporary dump site during this year's civic strike. Every four years Toronto gets struck by the outside workers and the inside workers. Not much is known about he attitudes of the upstairs workers or the basement workers but they don't have union infection.

Now this is getting ridiculous. Everyone knows that there will be a necessity to force the civic workers back to work by legislation like the last time. Labor issues and ultimate responsibility for municipalities belong to the responsibility of the province. Its a long story but unlike other states or provinces in the globe the provincial governments fought to control municipalities. Until a real crisis hits and then they run for goddammed cover.

In the province of Ontario, muncipal governments are a joke and the politicians that sit on councils are the local version of the last comics standing. They are used as scapegoats by the province and federal governments when convenient inaction by those political entities are needed. Not only that, the alleged senior levels of government dump their difficult costs onto the municipal budgets then don't provide enough funds to efficiently provide that service.

In the garbage issue this sticks out. The Toronto Council remained at odds with its civic unions. The union goes on strike the Toronto Council doesn't have to do a thing to negotiate a deal. They put up temporary dumps only.

Now for the temporary dump issues the true urbanite seems to crawl out the wood work to smash down the idea. Here's their fear. It is that these temporary dumps will attract vermin. And with that I agree.

Shocked about how easily I agree? I simply believe that it would be a travesty for pigeons, raccoons, rats, squirrels and maggots to replace the smackers, crackheads, dealers, thieves, drunks and whores that use the park.

One week

What a heel. What a heal.

Whut a Hael.

After one week.

Beauty rests work big time.

Like this is the first hot day. Sweated off the scabs.

House of Windsor provincial wise

More of an update or an appendage to the garbage post. I had to do more research before including the point in the bleg.

It should be pointed out that the civic workers in Windsor have been out for almost three months. No provincial legislation forcing them back to work. Of course they could get their wish, Toronto isn't Windsor. Toronto is also the provincial capital.

Also its Gay Pride week. And the new Molson's Indy. And Caribanana coming. I don't think the provincial government will let this go more than ten days. Unless Premier McSquinty is truly too lazy to care.

Gray Row

For those in the ROW (Rest of World) this city's problems contain little consequence in the great scheme of existence. Yet in this latest kerfuffle, there lies a lesson for all.

City employees engaged the strike method to win demands in the pending contract. The strike began midnight last night. It includes park, recreation, street maintenance, and garbage workers.

I was wrong about something. I really did think the mayor, David Miller, had a handle on this and would rescue the citizenry from rancid inconvenience. He's done this before. But I think Miller underestimated the amount of time for the rescue. Unlike the Toronto Transit Commission threatened strike about a year ago, Miller didn't have to do all that much to personally intervene and prevent strike action.

In the case of the city workers, they have a legitimate cause and horrendously incompetent managers. Those managers include the Toronto Councilors for they are management. Yet some of the councilors decided this very morning to strike in sympathy. Yes Virginia(s) everywhere this sounds great.

Such a public declaration by sympathetic councilors does sound good. Too good. And it would get the rousing approval of this author were not this knowledge tempered with the facts. About two weeks ago the Toronto City Council decided to take the summer off until mid September.

How do we all know this? Well two weeks ago it was announced that Real Madrid, the famous Spanish soccer club was to play Toronto TFC in a friendly exhibition game in the middle of this summer. In order to get the Spanish footballers to play, the Toronto club will have to cover their false grass with real sod because the fearless Spaniards will only play on real grass.

At the same time, the Toronto TFC stated that it would permanently replace the artificial turf at the publicly funded new BMO Stadium with grass. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) also owns the NBA Toronto Raptors (basketball), and the NHL Maple Leafs (hockey) franchises. They are incredibly wealthy but decided to let taxpayers share in building a stadium on taxpayer lands (Canadian National Exhibition Grounds). The stadium they built can only be used for soccer, not CFL football. Further to get the funding and land MLSE agreed that it would be a shared use stadium with other community organizations. It is such heavy use that only the artificial turf can stand the usage.

What is the point of this part of the story? Well Toronto TFC decided to approach the Toronto City Council at the first opportunity to convert BMO Stadium artificial turf to natural turf. According to MLSE/TFC the very next council meeting is in mid September or about another 12 weeks. Remember the councilors that volunteered to strike or not show up for work in sympathy?

See how so many things tangle into a mess? See how many disparate things relate in this particular city? This isn't a third world city where corruption appears up front and direct to topic, the corruption here lies intertwined in gray steel wool.

Miller continues to talk tough and is very much trying to take the middle position between the city management and the workers. Now he and the Toronto City Councilors, some who are out on strike in sympathy until mid September, voted themselves a huge ten percent wage increase about ten months ago. Outrage swept the council, as their constituents painted the atmosphere blue with very critical and obscene verbosities. How dare the citizen oppose the just reward for their efforts?

Journalists and almost every group associated with Toronto City Council activities advised them not to take such a severe pay raise in view of the impending civil worker contracts. The same City Council that is taking 14 or so weeks off, approved the negotiating stance of their city management to hold on the wages of the workers and to remove accumulated sick days making 18 sick days as the maximum each employee can hold. In short, the Toronto City Council is asking the part of the city government who actually do the work, to take pay and benefit cuts that they the councilors were unable to accept themselves.

Not only that in the most critical negotiating period the Council did not sit in committee even though the crisis existed. The convener of this emergency meetings is Mayor Miller. To date, no emergency meeting. The provincial government politicians are also on summer vacation or days off. The province is the only political body with the power to legislate a return to work legislation which means that it is up to the provincial MLA's who must come back to work to repair the labor mess that the vacationing city councilors made. The mess being that the city is trying to reduce the potential time off monies of its working employees while the ruling politicals are taking so much time off.

Like I said everything is intertwined. The Toronto City Council forced its citizens to accept a garbage bin regime of waste collection. Each residential owner dependent on city collection of waste, has to pay about $60 dollars per bin, per year. Since one bin must be garbage and another must be recyclables every owner must put out the coin for leasing two bins which were made in the USA despite the presence of so many plastics firms in the immediate area.

To date, the Toronto City Council forced its own workers into a strike position by trying to reclaim benefit monies agreed to in previous negotiations. The most impactful part of the striking workforce is those who collect the garbage. No mention is being made to the city residents to adjust for the lack of service. In other words, no reciprocal discount on garbage fees during the time of lost garbage collection services. The city cannot approve this fee adjustment until an official mention is made at the next city council meeting if any councilor bothers to bring the motion to the floor of the general committee meeting.

You know the good side to all this? In about two weeks we won't have to go to Denmark to find any stench. It is here.

Voice overed

Recently, I had to change my mind. Ohhhh yes. It doesn't take much effort on something that small.

My ponderification began with just who is the greatest entertainer? Who means the most to me? Whose acting entertained?

Without dancing around the point too much, I figure it must be Mel Blanc. Mel Blanc performed the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and most of the characters in each cartoon short feature made at Warner Brothers.

Wax the past, I point away. No this is not just the good ol' days. Warner Bros. Looney Tunes, a series of seven minute animated shorts began before World War II. And the series continued into the mid sixties. His voice defined the character. And surprisingly most of my favorite characters.

The Simpsons, and the Family Guy are quality animation series today. But they have different actors and special actors doing the different voices. Looney tunes did have other voice actors eg. Tweety's Granny (Bea Benaderet) but the majority of characters were done by one man. Seems like a cheat to me.

Mel Blanc defined the attitude and the phrase. "I tot I taw a putty tat... I did! I did! ...I did tee a putty tat!", “Hang on thar, critter.” and “Eeeh... What's up doc?”

Buzzed off

Sitting in the park, Allan Gardens, during an afternoon. Its a bright place. Doing the clover surveil cluttering white on a green grass carpet.

Something absent from the scene. I saw only one after twenty minutes. Only a single bee. A single bee in a place where a dozen years ago, they held aerial ballet.

Comparisons consortiums

Sometimes readers force the mouth that feeds it to accommodate such puerile statements. The photo is self explanatory.

The photo expresses the commentor's fervent wish for Eva Braun, who was the consort of the leader of another sort. I should point out that this is "his" taste in consortiums.

Fortunately this isn't a beauty contest. One is Deutschland. The other is France. I don't think jurist prudentialism is required. Like Quasimodo once said, "Call it a hunch."

Crisis in Buddhism

Rebirth is a principle tenet of Buddhism. As a Buddhist I must be totally conscious that in not achieving Nirvana on this life there may be a likely chance at reincarnation.

Choice is rarely the issue or the case. But if lets say I did come back I would definitely want to come back as a leader of France. Vive La France!

Quivering Liveralls

If one wonders why I call right wingers Cornservatives and the middle left wing Liveralls got their windows cleaned this week past. Canadian politics while structurally more complicated lacks in the sophistication of other nations.

This outrageous statement is brought to you by both Stephen Harper and Michael Ignattief (Geshundeit). They accommodated on various policies in order to prevent the defeat of the government by a nonconfidence vote later this week. Such a revolutionary result would plunge the country into a summer election.

The claim was to appease voters. But I suspect the buggers wanted the summer off and an election would wreck the BBQ and cottage tour by the free loading politicos. Fund raising picnics seem to the new summertime passion for Canadian political persons. This vacillating of theme sort of lets everyone know why, when referring to the left wing as Liveralls.

Bring on the clowns

Indecisiveness led me to the inconclusiveness of fact gathering. To gather simply facts denies the obvious lack of emotional attachments. Hence the ambiguity of trying to make a single assessment.

The triggering event was President Obama's single combat with a Blue Bottle fly. The target of the assessment are the self proclaimed animal lovers, such as PETA, who decried the event as cruelty to animals. The American Cornservatives were besides themselves disproportionately in view of and despite Cheney's shotgunning of a colleague after mistaking him for a bird recently.

The assessment I am trying to come to. Massive mounds of evidence exist. Despite that any assessment which is neutral cannot be easily tackled. A simple assessment led by a question. Are these clowns for real?

Yadirf sti dog Knaht

Thank God its Friday

Tank Gawd tis Fly Day

Gank Todd sis Flay Die

Fank Dodd mis Day Flies

Mank Fry wis Dode My

Dank Sod its a Faze Eye

Threatened bird species

The birds pictured appears to be the Canadian species most threatened with extinction. Its all due to the ability of Prime Minister Harper's unique special ability to speak out of both sides of his many faces.

The Cornservatives promised all out support for the Canadian Armed Services if they engaged in Afghanistan. Earlier this year, the military were told to trim their budget by a mere $43M.

Now this to a government arm which is traditionally so Cornservative to be considered extreme in its righty wingedness. recently the Snowbirds were grounded due to a faulty ejection seat system. This was the same system that replaced a previous even faultier ejection system when the last pilot was killed flying ferry to Moose Jaw in US territory.

As the fault in the safety equipment appears be corrected, the Snow Bird command finds out that due to the funding cutback. The amount is just about the same amount required to operate these Canadian ambassadors.

The Snow Birds existence should be really considered. The aircraft they fly is a decade older than the average age of pilots that fly them. It should be pointed out that while this aircraft is carefully maintained its value as a training and aerobatic aircraft should be considered.

A replacement aircraft has been required for years. The standard BAE Hawk which is already the principal NATO trainer can be had cheaply. A half billion dollars could purchase a whole new squadron of functional aircraft for aerobatic demonstration.

Both sides of the mouth kills birds.

Tsettif eht fo Lavivrus

Survival of the fittest.
Sir Vivel of the Fit Test
Sewer Vive Hell of the Tit Vest.
Sur Vive Elle of the Tet Vist.
Fur Vival to the Vet Test
Fur Offal of the Titmouse
Turnover of the set test
Twist over of the left tit

Under the leaf

This little garden is only slightly larger than a very large planter. Its so small it would be sorely tested if two corn plants grew here. Not only that the owner of the plot felt the necessity to put down a layer of wood chips on the pathways.

Wood chips tend to stick around for another fifty years at the earliest decomposition. Not a bright idea to do this.

Nevertheless garden robbers will be vastly deterred since the little plot is now guarded by ACT Security... as the sign indicates.

Dihyrdogen obnoxiouside

City fathers know how best to spend
the taxpayers money.
Its a rainy day.
Note the operating sprinklers.

Timings off

Let this be a warning to those who
come to Toronto.
One of the most dangerous activities
involves timing.
Get far away because the cheeks
shut quickly every time you finish
brown nosing.

Strike two.... with provisos

Sigh! Critical thinkers warned baseball of this. A newspaper story alleges that Sammy Sosa, 2003 home run king in Major League Baseball (MLB), tested positive in a test for steriods. This is not the surprise. Critics of the policy warned about the trickle effect on the spectator sport where one name at a time comes out.

MLB drug tested all the players under limitation of complete confidentiality and freedom from penalty. Only so many people possessed knowledge of those names of those who tested positive for steriod use. Sosa is just the latest name to be alleged to be on the list. The thinkers contend that it would be much better if all the names would be released at once.

The mitigation to that idea falls into two aspects. First, the promise of confidentiality still exists. although for two names, Clemens and Sosa that confidential existence no longer applies. It appears that this exposure process continues trickling.

The second mitigation is time. Look at the calendar. Its 2009AD. The tests were taken six years ago. A statuesque of delimitations should apply.

However the release of the name Sosa dumps Sammy's reputation. Sosa also lied to the United States Congress. He swore that he never took steriods. A there's the irony one must tell the truth to this assembly but that very same Congressional body waged war on Iraq by a liar's breath. And while Sosa's lie hurts only him, the Congressional lie killed tens of thousands people.

Evidence points to the fact that the use of steriods was very common in that era. So common in use that any competitive advantage was negated. Everyone was on the juice. Its not a surprise that Roger Clemens was on the steriods. Clemens didn't have t lie about it. Bonds shouldn't have to lie about it.

Still this dangling of names must be thwarted by releasing all the listed names now. The Caveat declared by MLB that the people listed should be allowed into the Hall of Fame if they qualify in other ways. Simply making that statement will assuage the sports writers. The rush of names will take the focus off of Sosa alone by making steriod use so common that everyone was equal in competition.

Now that another player's name has been released means that the confidentiality wall is a joke. Its best to release all the names.

Another point though. I think it should be okay for baseball players to take steriods under medical supervision. Andy Petite's declared reason for taking steriods to recuperate from injury is a legitimate reason.

What is needed in MLB is more openness and more compassion. In some countries after a period of crisis new governments creates a “truth and reconciliation commissions”. MLB would be a smart league to do that.

Wing prints found on jar

JP Ricciardi, VP and General Manager of the Toronto Blue Jay seems enjoying a better year. The Jays while not improving in the standings placement, looks more competitive this season. One of the big reasons is that he didn't go out and get a big name.

The pattern under the early years under Jay's President Paul Godfrey. In Godfrey's last year, Ricciardi began reaching into his bullpen and minor leagues for player replacement. The young player's brought up are filling up the holes in a far better manner than signing free agents.

MLB Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays first hired Ricciardi due to his experience with the “Money ball” model of baseball. Ricciardi began with the system but within two years Ricciardi fell back on another hiring model which was to hire “free agents” and make the odd to fill up roster hoes.

Ricciardi's other problem is that he comes across to others as arrogant. He hasn't always told the truth publicly. But this year seems to be a different Ricciardi. The Blue Jays are playing well this year in spite of injuries and digging deep into the minors. The player's they brought are surpassing the performance of the long term contract players.

This year shows Ricciardi's talent for selecting in the draft, and ability to see new talent. He is doing now what the Jays had originally wanted him to do. The biggest joke is the eight year, five year plan. I think that about two years after he got into Toronto Ricciardi must have had a crisis of self confidence. He seemed to abandon his forte.

Recently this year he seems to have returned to his strength. The result is that he is fielding a better coached, and a more competitive team.

Let this be a lesson to everyone of us in and outside sports. When a company wants us to abandon personal strengths it never quite works out. Today Ricciardi seems to be a far better MLB manager than he was a couple of years ago. He returned to his managerial strengths.

Wanna Bet Man?

On the surface it looks like Jim Balsillie lost out to GB again. Well so much for surfaces. Dig just a little deeper.

There lies a point at which the observer eventually notices that Balsillie wins everytime. He failed to buy Pittsburgh... Research in Motion (RIM) stocks went up in price exceeding the value of the amount of that which he would have paid for the Penguins. Everyone in Hamilton loves him.

The NHL, The Toronto Maple Leafs appear like the evil empire. In other words they win, but lose.

Balsillie goes after Nashville. Gary Bettman (GB) blocks the move. To do so GB taps a guy, a convicted fraudster, to counter offer with a loan from the outgoing owner who manages to get a prize franchise in Minnesota. On the surface, GB wins again.

However, Balsillie's company RIM favorably competes with Apple Computers about the I-phone which happened to be getting introduced to the market at the very same time. The value of thwarting the challenge of Apple by RIM, exceeds the value of the lost hockey club. Hamilton loves the guy. Canada loves RIM. So while hockey fails to come to Hamilton RIM wins at the bank on sympathetic loyalty.

In the actual battle, NHL won. But Hamilton is getting really pYssEd. Southern Ontario is beginning to desert the Maple Disbe Leafs. So they won but lost.

Balsillie makes a $212M bid on the Phoenix Coyotes with the caveat that they must be able to move to Hamilton. To the bankrupture court Balsillie set a June 30th date. The judge didn't buy it. Unfortunately for the NHL the judge will throw the team onto the perilous route of an open auction.

The Coyotes in reality are noted to be worth $140M in Forbes, lose $30M dollars per year at least in that sports market. Owe a ton of money. I mean when Balsillie offered $400M any sane man would have called up the looney bin police about the guy. Its bad business. And the myth Balsillie created either accidently or deliberately is that Hamilton would be a thriving sports market when in history it really hasn't.

The bankrupture judge decided on a Monday night to reject the time constrictions of the Balsillie bid because the criteria exceeded the courts ability to deal with the lengthy issues. Like Balsillie doesn't understand this. But Balsillie will let the bid remain regardless until the June 30th date. He really doesn't lose.

When the judge released his decision, earlier that day RIM coincidently announced the release of a new product line. Today the projected earnings for the owners of RIM will many times exceed the value of the bid for the Phoenix Coyotes. Wow I wish I could lose like that.

Balsillie knows business. He understands that from now on, every time the NHL gets into economic trouble he just lays down a bid. He knows he will lose the bid. He also knows that he could go get any other sports franchise (eg. Los Angeles Clippers.) move them to Copps Coliseum or back to Buffalo and literally screw Maple (disbe) Leaf Sports and Entertainment. The strategy would kill the Raptors.

He could have bought all of NASCAR's Petty Enterprises for half the cost of the hockey team and a car in NASCAR will bring more coin to RIM than any NHL Hockey team. Like no matter what the economics are, NASCAR ownership brings more business revenue from television than most other sports. NASCAR would be the best fit for RIM.

With businesses backing out of sponsoring golf tournaments, RIM could invest in sponsorship there with more benefit than owning any NHL team. However, they pay for all the advertising. In the fight with GB, win or lose, Balsillie and RIM benefits from the wide spread publicity.

And in every fight, GB wins but in winning he literally weakens the league. In September, when the Coyotes go on the auction block, the highest bid will be less than $100M. Or the judge could decide to let the NHL wear this. Judge R. Baum might decide, if they can't negotiate with Balsillie, and offers are insufficient to assign ownership and liability to the NHL. Which means they would have to pay off all the Coyotes bills in future, present and past.

This at a time when other teams are facing the same economic difficulty if not a greater degree of difficulty than the Phoenix team. Expect Balsillie to enter the fray yet again. Not to win a team but to torture GB, the NHL and the Maple disbe Leafs. Balsillie now is in an all win position even though GB will continue to think he wins. Every fight strengthens RIM. Every fight weakens the NHL.

Balsillie will likely bid on Florida or Tampa or Atlanta. There are more fires than any fireman can cope with. There is only one Billionaire. And there are so many NHL teams with so many dysfunctional owners. Look at the photo. Balsillie plays hockey, hey he has all his teeth. Gary, Gary, Gary...The game is not hockey stupid, the game is business.

Laip eht Dnoyeb

Beyond the pale.

Beyond the pail.

Bee yawned the pail.

Bey Awned the Pale.

Pee yawned the bail.

Ye pawned the bale.

Pee bailed the yawn.

Pale ye beyond.

Pail ye behind.

Pole ye behind.

Tomorrow's Cage match...: GB vs. Ham Il Ton

Highway robbery, that's what happened to the City of Hamilton. No one commented on this to this point. Its all about hockey, yet again. No pleasure, just all about pain.

Pittsburgh used to be a steel town too. Hamilton used to be steel town Canada. How ironic the twists of fate as steel town USA celebrates a Stanley Cup. So much the same, yet so much the difference in this path of time.

Look at the time table of the past or as the Kert Rats crowd would say, the alternative time line. Its not a game. Its dynamic string physics and the placement of chance.

Chance that Gary “GB” Bettman decided to block Jim Balsillie's bid to purchase a hockey team. And the same chance that this is the very same team that won this season's Stanley Cup. Had time been kind to Balsillie's time plan, this hockey year just past would have been the first season for the Hamilton Penguins.

Oh the curse... Not only has Hamilton not have a hockey team, they also would have had, but do not have a Stanley Cup. They were robbed by the NHL yet again. Again, again, again, and yes, yet... again.

Mein Kanada ich

Tis a time. Canada so bland and polite. What is the name of Canada even, even.... even?

The USA is named the United States of America. Kinda pompous isn't it? There is the United Kingdom in Britain. Well that's okay in an okay sort of way. Many countries are the United this or that. They could have Federation of... , or Republic of... , Empire of … but Canada is plain ol' Canada.

In the first century, Canada was officially known as “The Dominion of Canada”. Australia of the time was another “Dominion” but that part of the official name didn't really permeate. I mean people in the United States call their land the USA. Canada is a nice name but carries little impact in other languages.

A couple of us intellectual types engaged in a brain storm in Moss Park the other day. Its much like the MacKenzie Institute of Conservative dunces but this group doesn't qualify because none are liars, embezzlers, politicians, wealthy, or claim to be intelligent. We just throw ideas around mostly because we are way too old to even toss a softball.

Now admittedly, this was my original idea. But most ideas are germinated in collegiate engagements. So the credit belongs to the Moss Park Institute of Political Prestructuring. Or MOPIPP.

The idea is to convince Canadians, and their little brown nosed political animals to return the first name of Canada back to The Dominion of Canada. This is right out of Kert Rats. They used the term to refer to a collection of aggressive peoples known as “the Dominion.”

Using the name has that not so subtle impact. I've tried it out. Say to yourself how Americans would say. I am from the “USA”. Or the British, use Brits I am from Britain. Now say to yourself, I am from the “Dominion”.

The name pukes authority. It has that ring to it. It smacks down USA or American. We are the Dominion. Its better than Canadian which gets tired and Germans spell it with a “K” which is annoying. Annoying to a point only. Kanada looks better in print than that woosey Canada. But when a German says Kanada you just know its spelled wrong.

Ichte ist ein Dominion. Now that has cache.

Its time for the people of Canada to re-embrace the Dominion of Canada. A new political effort must be made to restore the proper name of Canada. Lets get back that Dominion.

The title in this blug entry is longer than

the text.

Kert Rats in backwards

I've always marvelled about the inability of Americans to see the forest for the forest. Such is the case with Paramount Inc., and their television money maker the Star Trek franchise. America goes around embracing the ideals expressed by the series creator, the now deceased Gene Roddenberry.

American military power projects the political and economic philosophy of the United States which is Capitalism. They still mount a covert war against communist insurgents around the world.

American religious zeal for a fundamentalist Christianity expressed itself in the election of George W. Bush into the Presidential office. This type of intolerant Christianity isn't being that much of being a follower of Christ than it is a worship of Capitalism under the cloak of being the word of God.

Now a lot of fans of Star Trek are politically very Conservative. Its a real paradox. Those who claim to be Liberals of today tend to find the television series revolting. Again a paradox.

Lets look at the basic philosophy of Star Trek:

1. Basic human rights.
2. No money.
3. Religious tolerance, indeed no religion at all.
4. Freedom of speech.
5. Freedom of association.
6. Freedom from hunger.
7. Full employment.
8. Group actions and decision making.
9. Group benefits with equal shares.
10. Peaceful resolutions.
11. Free health.
12. Free education
13. Free legal access
14. Blind and swift justice
15. Equality of sexes.
16. No racism.
17. Free will.

Now this list constitutes most of the philosophy, the ideal society conceived by Star Trek writers. And its not Capitalism. These are all the tenets of Socialism and Communism.

Americans tend to knock the latter political tenets without ever reading about them. And this is what is astounding. They will not read about Socialist ideas because Socialism is un-American. Perversely as a result comes forward that socialism, the idea that Americans claim to loathe, is the society of their favorite science fiction.

A Riving in art

Nothing causes perplexification like the social identity of the United States. Your intrepid filosofer went to a Star Trekkie Convention in the way back machine.

I mean this was a long time ago. And it seems like it. It isn't one of those memories that one wishes to be involved with all the time. You know like the memory of a warm fire on a cool April night waiting with blitzed buddies for the smelt to decide to crawl up a creek and fuck their little shiny skulls off. Not like that one.

It is a memory that comes up like acid reflux during a hot dream. The thought of doing a blygge on Star Trek did this. Yes I went to a Star Trek convention where fans of the dream assembled with dollars in their pockets. Paramount Co. kindly sending shill actors to it to assist in lifting those dollars from the assembled saps. In many ways it was like those smelt fishes except with a stupider class of beasts.

While I was there, a thought popped into my head. Like this happens from time to time especially at major intersections with four phase traffic lights. Green, yellow, red and idea. One time I spent a whole twenty minutes at one of those intersections before deciding to cross because the lights were stuck on idea. The irony with the idea shade of light is that it is often a problem. Ideas frequently run against the traffic.

An idea like that tends to mull around. I might have written about this before. This is entirely likely. Such a fantastic concept means its worth recycling. Its one of the essential fundamental “R's” of environmentalism: Recycle, Re-use, Remake, Regurgitate and Rewrite.

Now comes another startling Revelation. I suddenly Realize that I spent so long in this blygge trying to Remember how the concept came about is that I must end this blygge entry in order to keep conceptual continuity and the abbreviated length that blygge Readers demand. I went on too long about banning bicycles is one such complaint.

Think that was torture huh. Long, long? It was only three thousand words long which is the average piece length of a magazine article twenty years ago. Computerization seems to help humans a little but the one bad aspect from it is that it has shortened the ability to concentrate on something for a long time. This has also shortened the average shit time in the bathroom by two minutes to the eight minute wipe off from the more satisfactory ten minute period.

In the case of the banning of the bicycle piece a few days ago, I tried to keep it concise but as it turned out there was a lot of aspects, pro and con arguments that assembled themselves to be described in detail to defend that particular thesis. The final thing that threw me off on that blygge from last weekend was the complaint came from a person who texts my phone and could not deal with the fact that one had to stay within a haiku of 140 characters. His ideas cut short by a telephone company constantly aggravates him. Like I am too long. Alas back to the issues.

Now the actual blygge about Star Trek and the USA must be written apart from this because after Review I suddenly Realize that I must truncate this one to maintain an essay type continuity. The topic evolved mechanically to explain that the concept came legitimately from the Rather disgusting factual memory that the conceptual envelope of the idea came at a Star Trek Convention a decade and a half ago.

Time on Repetitive brain injury. Okay here is the truncatilization...

Its over

All night one follows the news. Only to realize that nothing really happened. As for the Stanley Cup my prediction appears spot on. Yes the hockey season is finally over.

Lame reasons

I won't be commenting on the Phoenix Coyotes decision today. I have good reasons.

I won't be commenting on the dilemma that democracy faces when it chooses political leaders. I have really good reasons.

I won't be analyzing the findings of any study relating to Black Holes. Quatumly I have good reasons for that time revisitation string of nonrelevancies.

I will not be commenting on the extreme lack of relevance of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation which seems hell bent on loosing listeners for the sake of becoming "cool". I have no good reason for delaying that comment because, I think I just sort of let that feline out of the gunny sack.

I won't be commenting on US Foreign Policy. I actually got a reason which has everything to do with, I really don't give a crap, they wouldn't listen anyway. I once told them that the Spanish had nothing to do with the destruction of the USS Maine. So much for preaching.

I won't be commenting on the scandals in the provincial government. Lets just say, business as per normal.

I won't be commenting on how warm and sunny and nice it is sitting in Moss Park today. Its better than making blig entries. Action saves words. Those who listen freeze and get wet on lonely lake coasts. Those are good reasons.

Price of ham?

There should be apologies to the world. World information including gets stifled when the only conversations revolve around a pending decision in an Arizona bankruptcy court. Its astounding.

Everyone is having an orgasm about the chance for another NHL hockey team in Southern Ontario. Except the Witches of ACC. They will sue everyone.

To date the computer club still gets shrift due to the pyrotechnical conflagration on the second floor residences. There might be temporary housings in the Employment Resource Centre but the funding agency will insist on shorter hours.

The Buddhist thing with the laundry. I am cleaning it with my mental powers. Just wish I didn't have such a dirty mind.

----===----

Latest news in the Phoenix Phiasco. Moving a NHL hockey team to Hamilton may cost better than $400M. Which is bizarre. The whole fuckin' city aint worth $400M.

Possible interruptions in blaggerphery

The blag may be interrupted every so often. To date there has been a regular flow of crap emitted from this web hole. So they say.

Well some smoker fell asleep while being stone-ated. It is the classic four part criteria for combustion.

1. Oxygen

2. Source of ignition

3. Fuel

4. Idiot

Fortunately the person survived with serious injuries. First he survived. And second, we have some one to blame and punish. That part is all good.

One fireman was injured but thankfully is okay.

To date the computer club is closed. It may partially re-open tomorrow. As far as I can gather four machines are water damaged. So more on this later.

Educator

An educator is a person who imparts knowledge to other people. What does the person do? Educate.

Logic here. So if a stupid person spreads negative knowledge to other people, that person must be a Stupidor.

Most politicians would fall in the later of course. It is the fringe benefit of democracy. Totalitarian governments execute people for making jokes at their fearless leader's expense. Democracy may be less efficient but we gots lots to laugh at.

Obama must be a grinning politician and Stupidor of the first merit. The poor USA has economic troubles and he flies into Paris to meet the French President Sarcastic and give his family a shopping holiday. I don't want to know just how much that Air Force One costs to fly. I mean California would be out of debt on that flight alone.

Now this guy came into power with lots of promises. But six months after, eeehhh!

The list.

Gitmo... Still there.

Health... Still crap.

Economics... To the financials ... Opened the doors to Fort Knox. And who said you couldn't rob it.... To the people... Things are looking up!!!

Foreign affairs... Hilary... A person who knows little.

Iraq... They now have a timetable to make a timetable.

Afghanistan... Suddenly aware that after eight years the US is losing the war to rag headed ruffians... Ooops.

NAFTA... See ya afta.

"OoOOH EEEEEaaa. Aint he a silver tongued devil!" ... Jed Clampett (allegedly)

-----------------

Of course this would be unfair to just pick on the poor US. You should see what we got (ref. Canada). Our Stupidor is better than yours.

I mean he inserted a whole bunch of trashy attack ads on the leader of the opposition, Ignatief (geshundheit). And his approval rating went down. Go figure. Now that's stupid.

Two lane slack top

No neutral ground

Use of the bicycle provides the exception. Normally one tries to adopt a distant neutral stance. Dispassionate, and very legal describes the best approach. That neutral attitude must dominate most of the time on a wide range of topics, but the passion surrounding bicycles doesn't allow such neutrality.

Very few political topics involve such raw emotion. Supporters of bicycle use in this nation, access the political ear to a point far in excess to their environmental benefit, social impact or political standing. They exploit the paternalism of civic authority figures. Universal childhood memories associated with bicycle use in all North American people fortify the false arguments.

Bicycles are regarded as the transport of youth despite the statistically verified inherent danger of injury. By most bicycling remains a recreation, and not more. Bicycle use joins the ranks of motherhood issues. Numerous cycle lobbyists exploit that social memory.

To this point, I am not exactly a person poised in a neutral position. Many friends are passionate users of the bicycle. And, I like and respect them. Yet my close proximity to the bicyclists lobby allowed me to examine their arguments. Writing such conclusions will likely mean a loss of those treasured friendships. Like most reformers they are unforgiving of those who appear to oppose their position. They personalize their political thought.

Their belief in bicycle use is that irrational. Their enthusiasm is welded to the childhood myth involving the bicycle. Although small in raw numbers, the cyclists present a formidable political force in Toronto. While it appears that there are dozens of local cycling organizations, in reality there are very few active cyclists since they often sign on as members of more than one organization. Usually on every public demonstration the very same few people show up. They are politically astute. Members hang around the city hall like gulls on a fish trawl.

In that closeness, I found that the politicians tend to listen to them. Usually cyclists win every political argument because few people in authority do not wish to tackle with the obvious inadequacies of the pro-bicycle lobby's arguments.

In the study for this article, I found that specific facts and observations cycle lobbyists present to advance the cause of bicycles, paradoxically are the same arguments against bicycles. It depends on viewpoint. The same material that can be used to present their argument provides equal fertile grounds to actually ban the use of the the bicycle.

Bicycle lanes

The latest political confrontation in the city of Toronto involves the deletion of a fifth lane on the north and south running Jarvis Street. The disappearing lanes converting to become two dedicated bicycle lanes. Jarvis Street is a very heavily used access road in and out of the downtown core. It needs more lanes, not less.

Bicycle lobbyists persist in using the two shoe argument. While one argument is vehicle safety, the other shoe is almost always involves the environment. Bicycle lanes do provide a level of protection to cyclists on streets. But there are so few cyclists compared with other vehicular traffic, that even a substantial increase in cycling ridership will never cover the deleterious environmental impact on the local air quality or overall safety due to the added traffic congestion.

Toronto clearly understood the advantages when it allocated bicycle lanes to parallel street Sherbourne, that is just two blocks east of Jarvis street. Sherbourne Street gets heavy use in the freshness of spring but the rest of the year that artery doesn't exactly stream with the usage of bicycles promised by theory. Winter climate, and rain pushes that use down dramatically. Torontonians by the vast majority, are fair weather cyclists. Most of the time, those established bicycle lanes are under utilized.

The theory is that bicycle lanes promotes increased use of the bicycle. This theory remains only anecdotal and totally unsubstantiated by any third party neutral study. All studies in that regard carry the support of the bicycle lobby. Such lanes do not cause the proportional increase equal to the polluting increase caused by the constriction of traffic.

Bicycle lanes will constrict the flow of traffic on Jarvis. Estimates conclude that 27,000 cars use Jarvis on a weekday. The installation of bicycle lanes create a constriction, which will increase rush hour travel times by two extra minutes. The usual travel time is about ten minutes. Bicycles use should approximately arrive at the 600 mark with the creation of the lanes. 100 cyclists per day were estimated to use the corridor previously.

Statistics are another area of information misuse used by bicycle advocates. Politicians embrace these deceitful promise and subjective statements because it is a motherhood type issue. Supporting the lanes gives the impression that they are doing something about the environment. The impact causes more traffic gridlock and greater air pollution. Bicycle lanes are a useless appendage to the municipal plan.

Irony of math

Here lies the irony. Those very same numbers used by cyclists to advance their cause are, the same statistics that can be used in the argument to ban bicycles from every public road.

In every single statement issued by the Toronto Cycling lobbyists, it seems they mark the accident but not fault. One common attitude amongst all this very small advocacy is a universal hatred of cars beyond normal logical bounds. The bicycle lobby always finds fault with the automobiles, never the cyclist.

In recent breakdown of bicycle accident statistics published in the Toronto Star recently, the lobby convinced the journalists to support the bicycle lanes by obscuring critical information. Only two accidents of bicycles involved fatalities. The rest covered the entire city area with accidents and those accidents incurring injury. They advanced their position with favorable numbers only, without presenting all the data.

In other studies where the breakdowns of accidents occur, it was found that almost half of the bicycle accidents involved the cyclists use of sidewalks. Cyclists ran into right turning cars. The bikes came into intersections from the sidewalks. Or the cyclists ran into pedestrians. This breakdown wasn't included in the Toronto Star report. It would be extremely unfavorable to the bicycle lobby and the story. It is a sample of very poor journalism to let the advocates guide the story.

Statistics can mislead. In all the United States figures, bicycles seem to have a lower fatality rate than cars but a far higher serious injury rate. The problem in comparing fatality rates is that the single accident with cars can include multiple fatalities while each bicycle accident has a single fatality. Further to the issue is that the automobile travels on highways at much higher rates sustaining more serious injuries but at an injury rate lower than cycling accidents. Per unit of distance, per period of time, the bicycle injury rate is almost double that of cars. Using such figures one must adjust for the reality. After some study, I can testify that the fatality rate for bicycle accidents under 40km/hr exceed the cars fatality rate at the same speeds.

People in an automobile are more likely to survive injury free in a low speed crash such as found in parking lots. Also very troubling is the lack of a world standard in collecting global statistics between jurisdictions. One can conclude that the accident statistics involving bicycles and pedestrians are tremendously skewed because many of these low speed accidents are not reported. And often those fatalities are called pedestrian fatalities not fatalities charged to bicycle use.

Also, there is no legal mandatory reporting of bicycle accidents like there is for automobiles. Many low speed automobile accidents aren't reported. When a cyclist falls of the bike on a sidewalk and scrapes a knee that injury is never reported. Indeed the fact that an injury comes from bicycle fall such a fact is often never charted by the hospital emergencies or first aid clinics.

The cyclists in the cyclist lobby groups know that the accident rate for bicycles is far greater than reported. The average cycle courier suffers frequent injuries from their professional use of bicycles. And injury free accidents are almost never counted. By far and away if a bicycle accident is reportable or not, I've yet to hear where the cyclist admits fault.

Abuse of the social contract

And here lies one real bugaboo about the use of bicycles. While automobile laws are rigidly enforced cyclists abuse their traffic laws constantly. Very few cyclists obey the traffic laws on a ride. Even bicycle police ride on sidewalks, cross lawns, go up the wrong way on one ways, fail to come to full stop at intersections. And they are the police.

The most egregious law abuse I saw recently was at a Toronto Cyclist demonstration at city hall. They paraded on bikes onto the square. After across Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square, moving pedestrians out of the way, to the front doors of City Hall, these cyclists rolled out a fake bike lane made of old roofing tar-paper .

Nathan Phillips Square is supposed to a pedestrian use only gathering area. Were they a legal protest, they should have dismounted and walked onto the square. They knew cycling onto the square was wrong. Didn't bother them at all. They broke the law regarding the safety of pedestrians to protest the abuse of safety for cyclists by cars. They want bicycle lanes running the length of Bloor. And the demonstration featured the presentation of a petition to the city politicians with no apologies to pedestrians.

There was little police presence for the demonstration beyond the quizzical looks of the normal security guards. I doubt they had the required permit to have a demonstration. In all my time, I have never seen cars drive onto Nathan Phillips Square to protest the lack of downtown parking. The bicycle lobby gets away with anything.

So here lies the heart of an issue. Cyclists want to use streets designed for the efficient movement of car traffic. And in turn, allocate dedicated lanes for use by unregistered, unplated vehicles by users who are not licensed, insured, or subject to vehicular safety regulations. Cyclists pay little or no road tax, energy tax, or tax of any kind. Use of these paved streets are gratis. They even get free parking.

Lobbyists want to use bicycles with no applications of the same legal sanctions applied to motor based vehicles. A driver with a suspended license can use a bicycle on the same road used by vehicles that this person was banned from. Indeed a lot of bike riders drink and ride. Every impaired charge applied to a cyclist usually stands up, cyclists pay a fine, or spend a short time in jail, lose their driver's license if they have one, cyclists simply hop on a bicycle the day after their punishment expires with no fear or sanction. Police prefer chasing cars rather than cyclists.

The worst punishment a cyclist incurs is jail time. Police rarely enforce traffic laws effecting bicycles. How do we know? Well when a cyclist gets a speeding ticket, that's news. It makes news or the rumor mill because catching, charging and convicting a cyclist is an exception not the rule.

There is a special license each for motorcyclists, for professional drivers, for truck drivers, for schoolbus drivers and more. There is none for bicyclists, yet they insist on having a special lane on major routes where other vehicles must meet safety standards, be insured, and be happy to provide tax monies for the maintenance of those roads. They get special treatment in so many ways.

Pedal power cyclists also don't want to share. Moped type vehicles including the recently introduced electric scooter presently have the right to also use those lanes. But the cyclist lobby has recently filed a protest about that also. The electric scooters become more popular, are an environmental gem but the cyclists don't like them.

Active Transportation

One avenue of advocacy is the use of the bicycle for transport of goods into the city core. It is a movement called Active Transport. The theory is that cargo movements into the city core must be made by human powered vehicles. The position does reduce carbon emissions in the city core. But using the factors and numbers supplied by that lobbyist group and Revenue Canada, one can demonstrate that overall and indirectly that humans are poor power converters of energy. Active transportation advocates managed to get a taxable allowance for energy use that car driving couriers have.

Its all in the math. This Canada Revenue discount on the gross income is equivalent to $15.00 per day. It is for energy delivered to the human as food. Food it should be pointed out has one of the highest energy foot prints on the store shelves. Fuel is used to fertilize, til, spray, harvest, process, transport, refrigerate, house, and display food product. And the food must be consumed as most comes out as crap or lost in other human bio activities. So humans are inefficient energy converters.

The Active Transport cyclist travels a bit better than 100km per day. A 4 cylinder car on the other hand does better than 200km per day. The Active Transport carries no more than an average of 15 Kg at any one time over that distance. A car can carry usually 50 to 500kg over the whole distance of its travel.

Usually the fuel costs for the car at 99 cents per litre over that 100 km distance is about $7 dollars. So a bike delivering the capability of moving the average 15kg over 100k at double the rate of a car carrying the same amount. When the larger cargo capability is included, the car becomes far more efficient transport including the energy foot print, than the single bicycle. It would take 33 cyclists to carry the 500kg over 100km. Only one car and driver is used.

To move that material, would cost Revenue Canada $231 dollars on lost taxable income in the energy discount versus the seven dollars declared by a car. What is worse, is that 33 bicyclists on the roads do not curtail traffic congestion especially since according to accident statistics half of those vehicles are going to use sidewalks on their journey at 66 times the likelihood that an injury will occur using the US traffic accident statistics.

While a member of Active Transportation groups, in a study of the issue I presented a comment that bicycles were unsuitable to be a cargo carrying vehicle in the present configuration. Bicycles possess a high center of gravity. The greater the weight destabilizes the vehicle. The rider must balance the bike and the load at the same time.

As a generality an ordinary rider can cope with about 18Kg carried in a back pack. Saddle bags on the rear can extend that weight carrying capability about 300pounds. Unfortunately, modern bicycles lack sufficient sturdiness in mechanical design to sustain those loads over long distances. Bicycles tend to breakdown due to the very high loads on a very fragile frame. Time is lost on repair on bicycle movements exceeding the on journey breakdowns of the automobile. A bicycle are more likely to suffer a mechanical delay enroute than cars.

I found that there were better environmentally sound, human powered inventions more capable than bicycles. They were tricycles. These devices are available today at about the same cost as a high priced bicycles. Yet couriers of the City of Toronto use few, if any of these vehicles for standard delivery. One reason is that they don't go fast enough to suit cyclists. The second reason is that they have very poor snow characteristics. They get stuck easily. Bicycles can be carried across snow banks with the cargo in the backpack.

And that is the reality of Active Transport heavy machines. It only works well in snow free environments. Even the numbers of cyclists decline in snow conditions. This is offset for cars because cars can move faster because all traffic is down. If one can get downtown during heavy snowfalls one finds very few traffic delays due to the lower numbers of vehicles. While Active Transport types of vehicles do reduce pollution the solution to clean air is to convert those vehicle designs to alternative power sources such as hydrogen or electric sources.

So here we have bicycles as only one way but not the major way of getting pollutants out of the air. However the design of the vehicle is meant to deliver an unburdened person rapidly and efficiently. Cargo and freight designs are not competent when the major motive force is human power alone.

Live long and pay monthly

The last issue concerning bicycles has already been outlined but must be revisited. That issue is insurance. These vehicles possess no major insurance support framework to pay for accidents or social liabilities. Any vehicle using publicly supported, and publicly maintained streets should have some sort of insurance. Its not a complicated demand. The vast majority of bicyclists are not insured for that activity.

Cyclists want to use those roads without operator's license, without safety inspection, without plates, without insurance, without adequate personal protection, and without sanction of law. Cyclists do not want to pay extra despite the heightened level of injury due to bicycle operation.

Here is the kicker. If bicycles were introduced today, and not in the world of the mid-1800s few jurisdictions would welcome the invention. Bicycles would be declared unsafe vehicles and banned from public roads. The rates of injury are high. No insurance company would issue the proper insurance because the vehicles do not meet modern safety standards.

Banning bikes would reduce accidents for motor vehicles and a safer environment for pedestrians. Proportionally a majority of pedestrians complain about bicycles on sidewalks rather than cars on streets. Banning bikes saves health costs. The values of the savings exceed the minor environmental benefits gained from cycling.

Money saved by the reduction in health costs due to elimination and allocated to renewable energy development would do more for the environment than treating bicyclists like special citizenry. Banning bikes would reduce car insurance costs. Regardless of fault, cyclists almost always incur injuries in auto bicycle collisions which means excess medical costs.

In many ways the Toronto Cyclists should be thanked. Without their advocacy of bicycle lanes using questionable statistics, this study would not have been done. Cyclists in Toronto and other urban environments have had about 120 years to clean up the misuse of bicycles. They want special favors but give none in return. One favor would be to clean up their act. Because at this point there is a very viable alternative answer to the bicycle problem. The only socially efficient and cost effective solution to the bicycle problem is the simple one. Ban the bicycle.

Thursday, a Thursday

Bonnie Raitt bears no relation to Lisa and probably glad of it. Lisa forgot her homework at the national network of CTV.

Included in that set of homework documents was details of the Chalk River nuclear boondoggle. The Cornservatives claimed that the previous Liveral administration mishandled the file. The Cornservatives set themselves to exceeding the high standard of ineptness.

The real questions present themselves. While everyone wants someone fired for forgetfulness several issues awake.

First, the assistant that tendered an appropriate letter of resignation, be rehired and assigned to do clerical work in Chalk River. Why waste talent.

Second, forgetting those documents is bad enough but who came up with the bright idea of carrying those documents on their person outside the office. Some of those documents whether incriminating or not, were classified papers.

Third, haven't these Cornservative brainiacs ever caught up with technology of this century. If secret data must be carryed outside the office at the very least, let it be carried on an encrypted USB Flash Drive. Hint, people can read words on white paper. One is less likely to forget loptaps and a pin drive carried separately on a thin cable around one's neck.

Fourth, Harper sure knows how to pick them. He should resign. This is the second technologically challenged cabinet minister in his administration to forget their homework. Detention needed.

Piano

At the drop-in for a free coffee. Somebody on the frigging piano. Noise.

Why is it, those who can't play, play. Those who can play, don't. Especially at times like this.

Two, Four. Six. not Eight.

Change of pace. Pace. Race. Race pace. NASCAR. Tired racing series suffering from the woesy woes.

NASCAR appears to be losing its way. And its simple. In the beginning, before the green flag dropped. NASCAR began with racing everyman's car. A hopped up virgin of the car you drove on the street, raced for the checker with the other guys car.

The decline of the American Auto industry seems to follow the highs and lows of NASCAR. Over the last ten years NASCAR abandoned its fundamental reason for being. It no longer is a technological research tool of the auto industry. The cars are all alike.

Originally NASCAR wanted every car maker to be competitive. They achieved it. But they have gone too far. Its now very boring.

For the longest time I had hoped that NASCAR would abandon the carburized V-8 for the mainstay of its racing engines. Almost every common car either has a type of 6 cylinder or 4 cylinder engine.

They would spark almost a massive curiosity as to the racing for these engines. V-8's are almost always used for trucks. And those engines are almost always fuel injected or diesel fueled. NASCAR grew out of the social activity of the North American car culture. Its changes on the racetrack effected every road car. Returning to that mission would renew NASCAR.

Changing to a six cylinder format would allow more variance in engine designs. Changing to a fuel injection mode could provide almost the same racing speeds although on the big tracks like Talledega, Daytona, Michigan and Texas the top speeds would be reduced into the safety margin.

Going to the 6 cylinder, permitting different block designs, would court the interest and more funding from car makers. It would also provide the format for the elimination of the restrictor plate and the dangerous killing crashes that device creates.

June First... The third greatest day in Canadian history.

June 1st, 2009.

I am looking up and down Queen Street. The Moss Park armory looks quiet and undisturbed. No US Tanks.

Pinch me. Today when my fellow Canadians cross the US border, show your passport. You are truly a foreigner, like a Mexican. ***

To the USA guys.

American Revolution 1776-2009, defeat.

War of 1812 - 2009, defeat.

War on Terror 2001-2009, defeat.


***And don't kid yourself... Someday soon... those people without a commercial border pass... will have to apply to the US Consulate for a visitor's visa. Its coming... Its coming.