The toughest day for me was not the day my mother died, but a week earlier when I said ‘Good Bye’ to her for the last time. My mom had terminal cancer. She had fought her breast cancer successfully for a few years, and we had thought she had beaten it, but the insidious disease…
A year ago, mysterious full-page ads appeared in the local newspaper. The ads, from a group calling themselves Manitoba Forward, criticized the provincial government’s ambitious development plans for Manitoba Hydro. As I documented in an earlier blog post, there was very little information on the internet about this group called “Manitoba Forward”, forcing one to…
UPDATE: The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that the cost to the city will now be $7.25 million — up $3 million over the initial budget. That means that Hydro is covering $18 million of the project in the name of infrastructure renewal. There are a few questions that a person might ask at this…
I once had a conversation with a person from an obscure political party who’s platform involved holding a referendum on every major economic or policy decision. “What could be more democratic than that?” he asked. Nothing, I suppose, but the point of a democracy isn’t to put every individual decision in the hands of…
420 meters beneath the ground, microscopic particles of minerals hung in the damp air creating an eerie glow from the distant lights. Standing alone in the dark, damp granite tunnels of the Underground Research Lab near Lac Du Bonnet Manitoba, a person could easily imagine a dragon or balrog emerging from around the corner. The…
Are you stressed and panicked because you’re running out of time to find a Christmas gift for somebody? Are you exhausted from walking through crowded malls and stores, aimlessly looking for some ideal gift that doesn’t seem to exist? Well, here’s an idea that might save the day: Art classes. Seriously. It’s unique and easy…
The concept of small-scale urban homesteading has come up before in Winnipeg, but like most ideas that depart ever so slightly from the status quo, people assumed that it would make their lives miserable, and it ended up going nowhere. Although it fell on deaf ears, advocates pointed out that other cities in North America…
Although traffic was sparse, I crept along the avenue at 15 mph, my eyes darting from the road to the sidewalk and back again. One has to be careful driving around here. They’re everywhere — the stoners — stumbling around, oblivious to their surroundings, often strolling out into the road while mindlessly drawing potato chips…
Opportunities for large scale brownfield development in Winnipeg are scarce, but eventually the lawsuits over Kapyong Barracks will be settled and the building can begin. Perhaps even one day the dream of relocating the rail yards from the middle of the city will be realized, and hundreds of acres of land will become available for…
I have decided to post my impressions and rankings of each candidate. Warning: some of my impressions may be misguided. I have not been following every debate or reading every news release. However I know the names of all the candidates, and a few things about where they stand. I even live tweeted a debate…
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