calgary at The Observer's Log

Posts Tagged ‘calgary’

You can never go home again

14 Dec 2009

When I was a kid, I heard the phrase “you can never go home again”, but never understood it. I mean, I went home every day after school, so what was wrong with that? It wasn’t until I went to university that I started to appreciate it — I was regularly amazed at how much my hometown seemed to change whenever I was away at school.

When my father died in 2002, the term gained a whole new meaning for me. Suddenly, I couldn’t even go home. My home was where my family lived, which was now only in the past. When my mother moved away, my home became a sightseeing stop.

Then I moved home from Costa Rica, to a house we own. Man, talk about change of perspective.

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O Canada, my home and native land

1 Sep 2009

For anyone who’s been reading this blog for a while, you know two things:

I currently live in Costa Rica.
I’m Canadian.

One of those things is about to change.

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Stampede breakfast, Costa Rica style!

10 Jul 2009

Right now on this very week, back in Calgary, AB, is the Calgary Stampede. It’s the largest outdoor show in the world (at least that’s the story). It usually means a massive influx of cowboy- and cowgirl-wannabes (among the real McCoy, mind you, which the Stampede also attracts in large numbers), a lot of public drunkenness. A lot of Calgarians happen to take vacation during Stampede week, for obvious reasons.

One thing the Stampede is also famous for is something that doesn’t actually happen at the Stampede — it happens just about everywhere else in the city: the Stampede pancake breakfast. It’s a tradition dating back decades, supposedly started when one kind rancher shared his breakfast with those around him.

There’s only two rules with pancake breakfasts: have a lot of people, and it should be free! (There are even websites to help people find the pancakes.)

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Canada, you can blame Calgary

14 Oct 2008

Sigh.

Well, thanks to the residents of Calgary Centre-North, Canada is now stuck with Jim Prentice again. And I’m just too darned tired to rant. Wasted effort at this point.

But I reserve my right to call “I told ya so!” when the lawsuits start.

Just say “no” to Prentice!

14 Oct 2008

Okay Calgary, here’s your last reminder. It’s the big day. Make sure the Conservatives get the message: don’t ram bad laws on Canadians and expect that they won’t notice or remember.

Don’t re-elect Prentice.

Or I’ll be forced to rant. Seriously.

Calgary: Vote “no” for Prentice!

13 Oct 2008

Hi folks, it’s your friendly (but still pissed-off) Ex-Pat reminding you that with tomorrow’s federal election, you can send the message to Ottawa that poor legislation that places handcuffs on all Canadians will not be tolerated.

Please do not reelect Jim Prentice. This man does not deserve your support. Voting for him will allow the same mistakes to happen again.

Calgary, throw Jim Prentice out of office!

22 Sep 2008

Dear Calgary, my former home, I have a reminder and a request for you.

First, please remember that Jim Prentice, one of several MPs up for re-election in Calgary, will be running again in the October election.

Second, remember that Mr. Prentice is wholly responsible for Bill C-61 — that vile pile of ass-kissing lobbyist-driven legislation that will destroy any sense of fair use of media we’ve purchased. Might not affect you yet, but if you thought the RIAA trials south of the border were nonsense…

This is a man who clearly does not understand technology, the people of Canada, or even his portfolio. This is not a man who should be responsible for the Industry portfolio, who does not represent his constituents, and should not be allowed to make more mistakes.

Please do not vote for Jim Prentice. Please.

It’s the end of the world as we know it…

16 May 2008

…and I feel, well, okay. Maybe not necessarily “fine”.

Critical Mass has done a bit of a reorganisation. I emphasise “a bit”. Mostly because this is not the radical shifts we’ve seen in the past. I think this is my third or fourth reorganisation since starting with Critical Mass back in 2000 (admittedly, I’m losing track), and this is the most minor change we’ve had.

At least when you look at the big picture.

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Privatize Calgary Transit

30 Apr 2008

I was recently out in the United Kingdom on vacation. If you know my travel habits, you know I rarely stay in one place for long — I like to move around. (Yes, this often fuels or is fueled by my mild obsession with trains.) It means that I often pay close attention to public transit, and how it operates.

While we were in York, a thought suddenly hit me. I’m sure I’d seen this elsewhere, but it hadn’t really registered. The buses weren’t run by York Transit, or Transit Yorkshire, or anything directly related to the city/region government. The buses were privatized through FirstGroup PLC.

And suddenly I thought: Why couldn’t Calgary do the same?

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I have a steak hangover

1 Apr 2008

Last night I had the opportunity to do something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time — eat at Ruth’s Chris Steak House.

We got one in Calgary a few months ago. It’s built into the base of the Calgary Tower, on the second floor. It’s a really nice decor (although Martin did note that it made him feel like he was dining at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe), and outstanding service (something that seems to be lacking in many places these days).

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