Today is the day people go to vote. I don’t live in Regina so I’m not actually going to vote. This is the time that people can decide whether they want to continue with whats going on now, or to make a change. I personally don’t really see anything wrong with what is going on right now, but that doesn’t mean I am not open to the new suggestions. So whichever mayor wins todays election, they should make sure to use what has been going right so far, and to make improvements and make the city a better place. I didn’t really follow the election at all but it seemed like some of the issues were the same things that we always hear around this city. The roads are terrible, and vandalism/small crime is way too frequent. It should be interesting to see if any developments will actually happen to these issues.
Category Archives: General
General items that fit either no category or more than one category.
Chinese River Mysteriously Turns Red
A half-mile section of China’s Yellow River turned “red and smelly” after an unknown discharge was poured into it from a sewage pipe. A photo from the local paper showed a stretch of the river – a drinking water source for millions – that was rose-colored instead of the usual milky brown. When I was in China I saw the yellow river once. Since I am was living in Jinan, the Yellow River flows almost through the city. When I saw it back then, it was a brown colored water and I thought there would be absolutely no chance I would ever drink it then. Now when I see pictures that the water in a section of the river is red, I know things are getting worse. China needs to wake up to the environmental damage that is going on and punish those that are responsible. You hate to see things like this but maybe this is what it takes to get some action.
The Politics of Ottawa
Over in Ottawa, the federal government is becoming saturated with off-topic back and forth jarring over Peter MacKay and Belinda Stronach. This is an interesting story that goes back a long time now. They used to be a couple but that ended when Belinda left the conservatives and joined up with the Liberals. So much for commitment. Time goes on but it doesn’t seem to heal any of Peter’s wounds. Now last week, a tape and transcript of a conversation show up with MacKay allegedly calling Belinda a dog. So now the government is going back and forth on whether he should be appologizing to her for his comments. He denies making the comments and will not appolgize, and the Prime Minister, Steven Harper, fully supports him. Now, hopefully, the speaker has closed the matter saying he did not hear the comment. That begs the question, what if he had heard the comment? Does that mean the government should spend its time discussing some name calling? What about the more important things that should be worked on like legislation and debate? The outcome now is almost certain, MacKay will continue to deny it since changing his mind now will lead to accusations of lieing. Most likely in the next week, something new will come up for all the politicians to get distracted by!
Google Links Blog Search to Google News
Some time over the weekend Google put links to Google Blog Search on the front page of Google News and at the end of each news search results page. This minor change is just the kind of integration of services the company has said it was going to focus on; something Sergey Brin might call a “feature not a product.”
I have a feeling that these new links will increase traffic to blogging site tremendously as people search for recent news. People enjoy reading the news articles to get the facts and then can see different points of view by reading the blogs. It should be win-win-win for bloggers, readers, and Google.
Weekend Report
This weekend is setting up to be not bad at all. This will be the final weekend of Formula one of the season with a battle down in Brazil. Alonso looks like he is on his way to repeat as Driver Champion but as always look out for surprises. The Riders won their game against Toronto, 13 – 9, and are on their way to finish at or above 500 this season. Not bad, but then again the fans in Saskatchewan were expecting better. They will play one more regular season game before heading to Calgary for the playoffs. Should be a lot of fun. The Leafs won against Columbus, 4 – 2. It was a good game with a scoring coming from 4 different players. Nice job by Wellwood who has looked really sharp this season so far. Toronto is in a tough division this season, with Buffalo starting off really hot so far with a 7 game winning streak. Is it too early to clinch a playoff spot? Well most likely, but I am willing to predict Buffalo will be there.
First Drive to Work
Today was the first day I drove my car to work. I didn’t have any troubles at all which is to be expected now that I have almost driven the car 150km. The road to work in the morning consists of a fair amount of traffic and the occasional unexpected emergency maneavor to avoid a collision. Luckily I didn’t have anything like that this morning. So far, the Honda Civic has impressed me with its handling abilities. It really seems to stick to the road and goes precisely where you want it to go. Next up, I’m going to have to get the undercoating put on at the dealership and I think I’m going to ask about window tint. I think some window tint would add to the darkness about the car.
SQL Server DB Dev Interview Questions
Tim Chapman presents his standard set of baseline technical questions he asks SQL Server database developers during an interview. These questions will help you weed out less-qualified candidates. Having read the questions, I can see how the material from my CS375 (Database Systems) class is going to help me out if I ever decide to get a job as a database developer.
Super Solvers: OutNumbered!
I just had a flashback from a long time ago. I remembered the games I used to play on the computer. The one that came to mind was from The Learning Company called Super Solvers: OutNumbered! This was a great game that challenged the gamer to search through the Shady Glen Television Station to collect clues to find the Master of Mischief. I remember that when you walked around the station, a tv called telly would catch you and you would have to do a math problem to escape. It was all good fun and I remember I played it quite a bit. I am going to check and see if I am still able to play the game now.
New Car Time has Arrived
I finally got my new car this weekend. I went in on Saturday and bought it. It’s a royal blue pearl, 2006 Honda Civic Coupe LX. It’s a really nice car with some unique features. It has a two tiered dash, with a display that seems almost like something from a video game. My sister said the car seems like a spaceship. The LX adds the 16″ rims, the 60/40 rear seats, power windows, and cruise control. The seats are really nice and comfortable with the regular features of air, plus it also has heated mirrors which should be nice in the winter months. The car handles very nice and the steering is precise. The engine itself is a 1.8 litre i-VTEC producing 140hp. This engine provides enough power to get me going and also performs very well, with hopefully 50mpg on the highway. The engine is paired up with a 5 speed. This is where my troubles start!
I have never driven a standard before I bought the car so when I first tried to drive it on Saturday I had some stalling trouble with first. I am going to blame that my dad was in the vehicle, I don’t know what it is but I can’t seem to drive when he is watching me. Learning how to drive by myself I got the groove pretty quick. The clutch is really light and the shifts requires little effort. I haven’t taken the car into Regina yet or on the highway for fear of traffic. I want to be able to drive the car before I get into any sort of pressure situations. I’m doing a reasonable job not of not stalling at all. I only ever have problems when I’m not stopped on flat ground and my car rolls back. Other than that I’m fairly comfortable driving the car.
To summarize, the car is very nice, and I don’t have anything bad to say at the moment. I’m sure after I use the car for a while I’ll start to find things that I wish were different and things that it doesn’t have. As for power and performance, I couldn’t be happier.
New Car Anytime Now
I am badly in need of a new car now. My sister got her license and I am now without a vehicle. I am most likely going to buy a 2006/2007 Honda Civic Coupe LX. Some of the benefits I see in the car are great fuel economy, comfortable seating, stylish exterior, and uniqueness. Well, it is only going to be unique for a little bit before other people buy them, but the thing is that the Coupe looks drastically different from the Sedan. This should provide me with a little seperation from the other cars on the road. That’s one thing I really do not like; going to a parking lot and seeing the same exact car that you have. I am hoping the dealership still has a 2006 left because I’d rather pay a little less since there is absolutely zero difference with the 2007. Everything about the two model years is the same right down to the last bolts. I hope to have it purchased in less than a week but we shall see.