Democracy at Work
Tonight is a momentous night. City politics worked as they should, and
the incumbent City of Ottawa Mayor, Bob Chiarelli, was voted out of the
position he was getting far too comfortable in.
In an amazing twist, Larry O'Brien, the guy who was trailing
behind Alex Munter in the polls, ended up winning with an astounding 47%
of the vote. Munter got 36%, and Chiarelli got a wonderfully low 15%.
The other amazing factor is that these numbers are really
representative of the population. Whereas the 2003 election only got 32%
voter turnout, tonight's voter turnout was about 55%. Wow! That has to
be the highest voter turnout I have ever seen!
Well, I'm quite excited that my guy got in. In a sub-million city
which employs over 25,000 employees, with an average salary of
over $70,000 per year, I'm excited when he says he will run the city as
a business. I want half of that staff gone. I also hope he manages to do
something about the one billion dollar monstrosity that the light
rail project has turned into. Efficiency is key.
Also, Larry O'Brien looks like Darth Vader without his helmet.
[
] | posted @ 04:42 |
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New Toy
Time to take photography to the next level. I bought a digital SLR camera,
the Rebel XT by Canon. My hopes are to reignite the spark that once existed
when I was into film photography on my trusty old Praktica LLC. Only this
time, I can know if I do something right or wrong instantly.
The camera itself isn't Canon's top-of-the-line model, but most of what
matters is similar enough or the same when compared to their professional
offerings. I don't expect to be using this more than once or twice a week,
so I do not need bullet-proof construction. Furthermore, I keep getting told
that it is the lens that really matters.
The lens that came with the unit is quite acceptable for initial
adventures. The plan is to treat myself to a more expensive piece of glass a
few months down the road. The immediate plan is to invest in an adaptor that
will let me mount the old M42 lenses from the Praktica onto the Canon EF
body. The lenses will force the camera into completely manual mode, but
that's the point. They are good lenses, and it will force me back to basics.
I look forward to many years of quality captured frames of still life.
[
] | posted @ 04:33 |
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Tonight is a momentous night. City politics worked as they should, and
the incumbent City of Ottawa Mayor, Bob Chiarelli, was voted out of the
position he was getting far too comfortable in.
