Manitoba Public Insurance has adopted a policy where law abiding car owners will not be allowed to legally insure they're cars without government approved immobilizers installed. Cars which are on their list of "most at-risk" vehicles to be stolen will no longer be insured without a government sanctioned immobilizer installed.

As the proud owner of a rusty banged-up fifteen year-old car, which also happens to be on "the list", I find this a little outrageous. My car is not worth the cost of an immobilizer, and frankly if someone wants to steal my car I wish them the best of luck.

I would have no problem with the policy if I were able to find another insurance company, but in Manitoba you can't. In Manitoba you can't legally drive you're car if you're not insured. And you can only insure your car with the government-mandated monopoly Manitoba Public Insurance.

After a series of articles in the Winnipeg Sun by Tom Brodbeck, I'm also quite concerned about the irreparable damage this sucker's going to cause to my car. My car is actually about three different cars Frankenstein'd together, and having some witless hack who usually installs car stereos under my hood doesn't instill a lot of confidence. But my car runs great because the hatchetman behind it is very talented at what he does, but the MPI "certified professional" installing the immobilizer is unlikely to have the same magic touch.

Just for fun, the letter I received from MPI closes with the statement, "Get the theft protection you and your newer vehicle deserve." Clearly this concept is designed to target "newer vehicle" owners, not people who own old cars that are worthless.

If you're in agreement with me, please sign this petition by The Canadian Tax Payers Federation to have this policy reversed. It's a travesty that we have a government that feels it needs to control such minute aspects of our lives.

Labels: Manitoba, Real Life, Winnipeg Crime

Dean Kamen has been changing the world for many years now. To Kamen, it's nothing new to invent a device that can improve the lives of millions. His most notable invention to date has been the Segway Personal Transport.

Most of Kamen's inventions however have a medical aspect to them. The Segway was actually derived from technologies used in the iBot all-terain wheel-chair. Kamen has received awards for his work on personal insulin pumps and portable dialysis machines.

Recently, Dean Kamen has started work on revolutionizing the way we think of prosthetic limbs. From the Technology, Entertainment, Design conference:
I've got two friends who have lost their arms just above the elbow. Both have overcome the obvious obstacles that arise when one looses a limb and have achieved some incredible things. It boggles the mind to contemplate what they could accomplish with a prosthetic arm like that.

Labels: Dean Kamen, Real Life, technology, YouTube

An interesting story is developing with local blogger Curtis Webb regarding his blog WinnipegTheft.com (h/t Dust My Broom).

The controversy surrounds this post. The accusation flying through the newspapers today is that Curtis broke the law by identifying a handful of dangerous young offenders, which bizarrely, is against the law in Canada.

The problem here is that Curtis didn't actually (as far as I can find) publish the names. He linked to a video on YouTube that ID'd them. So, if linking to a video is illegal, why isn't it illegal for newspapers to "link" to his website by writing about it? Just because the newspaper medium doesn't allow for clickable hot-links, they still achieve the same effect of driving traffic to a site.

One specific case boggles the mind.

The site also posted the photo of a 16-year-old suspect wanted in connection with the March 26 murder of Tom Phillips. A judge granted police and media special permission to publish the photo for a five-day period, which expired last weekend. The photo was still up on the website yesterday.

Of course it's still up on the website! The picture is still in every paper that published the picture as well. Did the local papers go around collecting and destroying every copy that contained the picture? Not bloody likely. So why should a blogger have to remove an old post? Would the photo published in the local papers not also be available in their archives?

What's really disturbing is the attempt to police blogs. Worse yet, is that "the law" is trying to hold a blogger to a stricter code. Best of luck to Curtis Webb, stop by his site and drop him a line.

Update: Winnipeg First reports that the Winnipeg Police are "investigating". By "investigating", apparently they mean sending intimidating e-mails.

Also, the Winnipeg Sun ran an online poll asking the question, "Should the media be allowed to identify young offenders?" At the momment, there have been 1181 responses to the poll, with a stagering 95% agreeing that media should be able to identify young offenders.

Labels: Canadian Justice, Real Life, Winnipeg Crime, YouTube

Well, maybe it's cold and there's still snow outside, but it's Masters Sunday today! The Masters is the holy grail of golf, held annually in Augusta, GA.

Golf is a frustrating game to begin with. You're only real opponent is yourself, and you're constantly subjected to the whims of the Golf Gods. One small gust of wind can turn perfection into tragedy - likewise a lucky bounce can turn a terrible shot into something manageable.

The most notable of dumb-luck-shots in golf is the hole-in-one:

Elsie McLean thought she might have lost her ball on the par-3, 100-yard fourth hole at Bidwell Park. Instead, the 102-year-old Chico woman became the oldest golfer ever to make a hole-in-one on a regulation course.

Obviously one can't hold a lot of resentment towards Granny for her lucky shot, but it also reminded me of this story from last summer.

Hockey star Alex Ovechkin hit a hole-in-one on his first day swinging a golf club. Ever. [...]

After a few minutes of instruction, he shanked the ball repeatedly. Then he asked for a bigger club and his next shot settled on the green. A few hours, and dozens of balls later, he aced the 160-yard, par-3 hole.

Speaking of good luck...
Enjoy the Masters and the upcoming golf season!

Labels: Funny, Real Life, sports

This week has been taking its toll on me, and it's early in the week. Something that I haven't mentioned in this space yet, is that I lost my summer job a couple of weeks ago. So, being the hard-working, and only bill-paying member of this household, Natedawg has soldiered on - but this week has been lousy.

Mere days after losing my last job, my uncle Bob was kind enough to offer me a job. Seeing as the rent was due, amongst a plethora of other bills, it seemed like a great idea at the time, so I accepted. The only two downsides of the new job are; having to work with my cousin, and the one-hour commute out of the city. But since I don't believe in global warming, it's only a logistical problem, not a moral problem. So if anybody wants to inform me of employment opportunities, I will be listening.

Bovine, the stray cat has also been ill this week. I've never seen a cat with a cold before, but this is one for the story books. The poor little guy has actually had a runny nose all week, which is totally weird. He's been sneezing all week, and actually blowing snot anywhere he goes. He's even lost a bit of his facial fur from sleeping in a pool of his own snot. Live and learn I suppose.

Enjoy Easter, while I'm busy trying to trick my cat into eating vitamin C. And on that note, a hilarious Easter joke from West Coast Chaos.Hahahaha! PETA can go suck an egg!

Labels: etc, Real Life

You don't hear about large jewel thefts in Canada too often, especially $5M heists.

Toronto police are investigating the theft of more than $5 million worth of diamonds from a north-end distributor over the weekend.

The heist was well co-ordinated as thieves disabled a security alarm by cutting telephone lines and then cut open two large safes containing cut and uncut loose diamonds.

One would think that having $5 million worth of ANYTHING would cause an owner to protect himself. Apparently, Toronto folk are a little more lax when it comes to security:

There are no surveillance cameras on the property and police don't have any suspects.

Would you trust $5M to an alarm system and a safe? I know, I know, I shouldn't rag on the victim.... but common!

Labels: Real Life

I'm back up and running at home, with the help of a crappy old laptop (who's battery doesn't seem to charge, so it's stuck to the wall like any other old PC), and as it's before 6am on a Saturday, so clearly I mean business.

Two thoughts this morning: Tim Horton's breakfast sandwich's suck. McDonald's Sausage and Egger is a vastly superior breakfast. Plus, you can't trust a man who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs... that's right, his coffee isn't that special either!

Secondly, the story of my favorite watering hole Hooligan's - and one of the worst tales of how the City of Winnipeg hates business.

Hooligan's is a classic neighbourhood pub. The only other drinking-destinations around here are the Sherbrook, Cousin's, and The Nook. The Nook is fantastic, and has some of the best food on the planet (in my humble opinion), but isn't really designed to be a bar. Cousin's is a deli that is absolutely overrun with Hippies and Marxists-in-training (it gets the University of Winnipeg crowd). And the Sherbrook, the only beer store for miles - also home to all the local lifelong losers.

Hooligan's however is an island of sanity amongst the unsane. The kareokee night has always brought out the freaks, but it's been a launching pad for many of the great local bands. A dimly-light beacon in the night, Hooligan's memory is short - meaning you can make a drunken fool of yourself one night, and all is forgotten and forgiven by the time you wander in the next day.

One day early last spring, almost a full 10 months ago, Hooligan's shut down for unknown reasons. There was no notice to their loyal customers, or staff. One fateful day, they just didn't open up.

As it turns out, there was a plumbing problem with the cities pipes leading into the building.

As it turns out, the work that needed to be done to fix the pipes needed to happen under the sidewalk out front of the building. At the same time, bridge work was being done on the Sherbrook St bridge and it was shut.

The City of Winnipeg, in it's infinite wisdom decided that they would not shut down a lane of traffic to fix the plumbing for Hooligan's, leaving its new owner in quite a bind, since he was unable to open his business.

After months of being forced closed, and once the bridge was reopened, the city finally did the work needed to fix the plumbing. And, it turns out, they did not need to close any traffic lanes. Of course by this time the previous owner had been forced to sell the business, but at the same time couldn't sell the building due to it's recent history.

It's another tragic story of how this city treats businesses as pet projects. They'll tax businesses into oblivion, but refuses to provide them the most basic services needed to operate. Sad, pathetic, and a pretty serious disincentive to take a chance in this market.

Labels: Real Life

Well, unfortunately my PC at home has suffered a cataclysmic motherboard failure. So I probably won't be posting much for the next couple of days until I get a backup in place.

On the bright side, the 5 year extended warranty I got strong-armed into is now paying off aces!

Labels: Real Life

Protecting Stephen Harper:

A young man waving a penis-shaped squirt gun was warned yesterday not to enter a building where Prime Minister Stephen Harper was about to speak.

A plainclothes member of Harper's security detail was overheard telling the youth it would not be advisable for him to enter the building with the squirt gun.

The red-faced youth walked away from the building followed by several friends.

But compare this to Cameron Ward's story:

A B.C. Supreme Court judge awarded more than $10,000 to a Vancouver lawyer suspected in 2002 of conspiring to throw a pie at then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

After a four-year legal battle, Justice David Tysoe on Wednesday found Cameron Ward was wrongfully imprisoned and strip-searched, after the lawyer was arrested during a ceremony to open the Millennium Gate in Vancouver's Chinatown.

Labels: Canadian Justice, Funny, Real Life, Stephen Harper

Don't police have anything better to do:

A B.C. Supreme Court judge awarded more than $10,000 to a Vancouver lawyer suspected in 2002 of conspiring to throw a pie at then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

After a four-year legal battle, Justice David Tysoe on Wednesday found Cameron Ward was wrongfully imprisoned and strip-searched, after the lawyer was arrested during a ceremony to open the Millennium Gate in Vancouver's Chinatown.
(snip)
Ward said he was there to watch the ceremony when he was confronted by police, who asked him whether he was planning to throw a pie at the prime minister.

"And I said, 'No of course not.' ... It would never cross my mind to throw a pie at him."

Police arrested Ward because they said he matched the description of a man running down a nearby street and who was reported to have been overheard planning a pie assault.

Police searched the lawyer's car. No pie was found, but Ward's car was towed anyway -- and the lawyer was put in handcuffs and taken to prison where he was strip searched.

The city was ordered to pay $5,000 for wrongful imprisonment, and $100 for the seizure of his car. The province must also pay Ward $5,000 for violating the right to be secure from unreasonable search.
(snip)
Tysoe said police sincerely believed Ward had a pie, and that the officers did not act maliciously when they took him into custody and were not negligent or personally liable.

There are so many things wrong with this story. First of all, the police blatantly violate a guys Charter Rights, and he gets a measly $10,000 for it.

Secondly, would it actually be illegal to carry a pie around? It's not exactly your typical "dangerous weapon". What about birthday cakes, or even a carrot muffin? Where do they draw the line? The government needs to make clear which baked goods are considered dangerous, and which are not.

Anyway, thats one for the record books, arrested for suspicion of carrying a pie. Cameron Ward says he'll donate his newfound "wealth" to charity, and I've got just the one: The American Pie Council. By the way, January 23rd is National Pie Day in the USA.

Labels: Canadian Justice, Funny, Real Life

After years of being completely legal, unregulated, and causing massive fun for potheads everywhere, the government folks who regulate fun are finally finding out about salvia divinorum.

What "The Man" says:

Health Canada has been 'monitoring' the national and international trend of salvia use but say the long-term effects of the hallucinogen are unknown. In the short term, they say, it has been known to cause unconsciousness and short-term memory loss but they are not aware of any dependency.

"If it ever came to the point where there was an influx of use and police and health-care professionals said this substance posed a threat, then we would take appropriate action," says Health Canada spokesman Jason Bouzanis. "For now, we're continuing to collect relevant information specific to this substance."

Salvia has been used for hundreds of years by the Mazatec indigenous people of Mexico for spiritual trips and is usually chewed or smoked. It gives users a short but powerful hallucination, lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.

Let me enlighten you to the short, and long-term effects of Salvia, I've used salvia before, actually three times. And let me tell you, its the wildest trip you'll find, period. After you've smoked Salvia, drugs like Acid, Exstasy, and Magic Mushrooms seem like Children's Tylenol, a total joke.

The effects are that you leave your body, you "hallucinate". It's not your daddy's hallucination though. While hallucinating on other drugs, you know that what you're seeing is not real, and thats why we enjoy it. Salvia however, you don't know that you're hallucinating. The reality bites you hard in the ass, and thats why its such a disturbing drug, even to the hardest drug users. Time loses all meaning, on a single trip you can feel as though years, even decades have passed. Out of body experiences are also common, though even those are different. People have reported becoming abstract things, like puddles, the paint on the wall, or in my case I became the couch. The real trip for me was spending what felt like 20 years as my couch. At first I didn't like it, it was boring. But as the 20 years progressed, I became content with my position as a couch, and I tried to be the best couch I could be. Sound maniacal? Well, it probably is.

Now you're probably thinking that people on Salvia are dangerous lunatics who have no grasp of reality. And you're right, except for the dangerous part. Saliva completely incapacitates its smoker. The greatest danger you pose to those around you is that you might gather the gumption to stand up, and if you do, you'll promptly be on the ground again. I have never seen someone on Salvia travel more than 3ft, its just not possible.

Scary stuff to the unenlightened, I know! The other things about Salvia that should be known, is that it might be the polar opposite of addictive. Every first-time Salvia smoker will tell you one thing the next day: "glad I did it, but I'll never do it again". It causes long term terror in the mind of the smoker, complete and utter fear of such a mind altering drug. Nobody smokes Salvia and says "Lets do it again!".

Even amongst lovers of the Herb, such as myself, does anybody smoke this stuff more than once a month. Not because its unaffordable or dangerous, just because nobody in their right mind would want to. It's difficult to explain, but ask your local Salvia smoker.

The other great thing about Salvia, is that its a 15-minute high. You are in a different world for 15 minutes, and then you return to This Reality, and hard. Most people need a 5 minute re-assimilation period, but everybody makes it.

The only long term effect of the drug is that the user will ask himself for weeks afterwards "What in the fuck was that?". Which is not dangerous, and some of us go back for more, to try to figure it out (btw - you can't figure it out).

So my question is this: why criminalize it? It causes no longterm harm to the user, it has no addictive properties, it causes zero short-term harm to the community. It's fifteen minutes of fun, nothing more, nothing less.

I would sincerely like to read commentary on why people think this drug should be illegal, other than to support the "War on Drugs".

Labels: drugs, Real Life

The last few days have been a bit of a train wreck. I've got my last exam tomorrow morning, so life will be back to normal then.

The last few days involved a send-off for a good friend. It naturally involved much food, and much more drink.

Saturday night the boys and I were out pounding pitchers at The Pemby, when the bar was ambushed by a slew of sloshed Santas. No less than 150 very intoxicated students dressed as Santa stormed the bar at about 11pm. Thankfully our group only lost one soul to the Santas. He left on the Santas' bus, and returned to my apartment at 4:30am with a new Santa-toque and a tale of public fornication.

I've also got the joys of having a movie being shot on my block this week. I anticipated lovely ladies strolling the streets sipping Martini's, and lots of clever-looking people engaged in witty conversation. Unfortunately, thats not how it turned out at all. I can't park within two blocks of my apartment for the next four days, because the trailers take up the entire block. The staff that mans these trailers are about as classy as a group of Megadeth roadies, with the drinking habits of traveling carnies. Nor does it help that there are three places on the block for these savages to piss-up at night. Just one more reason for me to move West.

Come tomorrow at noon, it'll officially be Eggnog-Season for me. Spiced Rum is preferred, but Dark will do as well. And I can't forget to mention the Christmas Day street hockey game either, which with luck will degenerate into drunken stick-swinging.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Good Kwanzaa to all!

Labels: Real Life