Monday, May 26, 2008

Skydiving Record

According to this Globe and Mail article, Michael Fournier, the Frenchman attempting to break the skydiving record, should have been back on the ground by 7 AM this morning if everything went according to plan. Searching around and I don't see any word yet.

Update: Ah-ha - postponed till tomorrow.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Finally

McCain rejects Hagee's extremism and his endorsement. And then tries to turn the focus back on Obama.

John McCain's Spiritual Advisors are Insane

Discuss.


Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Decemberists Mania

I think it's hilarious that right-wingers actually believe believe this.

The Market Hates Obama?

Quick, somebody give Larry Kudlow a lesson in correlation versus causation.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Vancouver in 1907

The earliest film footage of Vancouver has recently been rediscovered and cleaned up. You can see a preview at The Province website or order a copy of the DVD here. It looks pretty cool. The filmmaker attached his camera to the front of a downtown streetcar and just let it run basically. The city, although very young in 1907, seemed like a pretty happening place.

He's Eating My Brain

A Saanich man survives a Grizzly attack by playing dead. I love the fact that he fits in a complaint about road maintenance.

Obama in Portland

An estimated 50,000 people turn out. Doesn't hurt that it's a gorgeous day here in the Northwest.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Bicycling on Burrard Bridge

So yesterday I had to pick up my bike at a bikeshop at the intersection of Burrard and Pacific, and afterward I headed back Southbound across the Burrard Bridge on my bike. If you've walked or biked on that bridge, you know that cyclists and pedestrians are forced to share a very narrow walkway, and that said walkway is separated from traffic by a ledge of maybe 6 inches or so. Just after the halfway point of the bridge, as I was cycling alongside pedestrians on a sunny late afternoon, a jogger alongside me blindly moved from the pedestrian lane to the cycling lane in order to pass some walkers, failing to look behind him for cyclists. I was able to quickly swerve and he brushed my handlebars, and I didn't lose stability. But if his timing or my timing had been slightly different, I likely would have been body-checked into traffic. Since then, I've been fuming about how a careless jogger could have been responsible for me sustaining serious injuries or being killed.

I know that Vancouver has plans to put bicycle lanes on the Burrard Bridge sometime after the Olympics, but it's absolutely unacceptable that the current situation will be maintained in the interim. Since I'm fairly new to the city and luckily don't have to cross that bridge very often, I don't know how frequently such accidents occur, but a few seconds' Googling brought up this story:
Every day, hundreds of people cycle over the shared path on the Burrard Bridge, one of Vancouver's busiest. Jane Lister was one of them, until her commute home from work one day.

Halfway across the bridge, she swerved to avoid some pedestrians.

"My first memory is the sensation of a tube being pulled from my throat. I broke all the ribs on my left side, and had punctured and collapsed lungs. I fell into a mini van, and my head kind of got trapped between the car and the curb."

It may sound like just another accident between a cyclist and a car, but - in this case - neither was to blame. Instead, the problem was cyclists, pedestrians, dog-walkers and runners forced to share the same narrow path.

Her scenario was exactly the same as mine, except she was thrown into traffic and nearly killed. I agree that the blame is primarily due to the shared path, but a cyclist shouldn't have to suddenly swerve to avoid pedestrians on a shared path. Pedestrians need to stay on the pedestrian side of the walkway. But the city is responsible. Jane Lister sued the city and got a settlement. The city had been aware of the problem and hadn't done anything to remedy it. That was more than four years ago.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Polar Bears

Hey look, the US made the right decision.

Bullshit

I have to say, this is refreshing. Best bit:
“He’s the guy who’s weakened us. He’s the guy that’s increased the number of terrorists in the world. His policies have produced this vulnerability the United States has. His intelligence community pointed that out not me. The NIE has pointed that out and what are you talking about, is he going to fire Condi Rice? Condi Rice has talked about the need to sit down. So his first two appeasers are Rice and Gates. I hope he comes home and does something.”

Thanks, Joe.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Unassailable

It's all over except the concession. The MSM pundits are finally recognizing the fact that Obama's lead is unassailable. I predict Clinton withdraws by early next week.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

NC and Indiana

It looks like Obama has won North Carolina by a very large margin and that Clinton will likely take Indiana with a very small margin, giving Obama a net pickup of delegates. This should be the moment Clinton sees the writing on the wall, but who knows at this point. It would be wonderful if she announced her withdrawal by the end of the week. Time for the real campaign.