January 2012
5 posts
If you're still reading this you should probably... →
My tumblr will probably become infrequently used.
Check out my new website →
The parking problem →
Jason Kottke writing at Kottke.org
Parking is expensive to create — up to $140,000 per space in an underground garage — but is low-cost or even free to use, which results in strange economic situations and irrational human behavior.
The article Kottke links to is very interesting, although long winded.
The books I read in 2011
I read Neven Mrgan’s post of the same title and got to thinking about what books I’ve read in the past twelve months. I don’t consider myself an avid reader. I very much enjoy reading novels, the problem is the majority of what I read is short form non-fiction. My patience for reading longer form literature, especially fiction, is limited. I’m constantly promising myself...
Gas tax rumblings →
One Man Committee
It takes little political courage for a suburban councillor to pitch a transit fare hike. What would take guts and show real leadership is the introduction of a municipal fuel tax as there is in Vancouver
A modern sustainably minded city should want to encourage the use of public transit. Charging transit users more to ride certainly won’t help. Taxing motorists to fund...
December 2011
10 posts
Fireplace →
Ted Martins made a cool pixel fireplace app for Windows and OS X.
(via Laughing Squid)
WatchMikael-Colville Andersen: Why we shouldn’t wear bike helmets
Much to the chagrin of my friends and family I rarely wear a helmet when I cycle. I’ve been in a couple of bike accidents in my life, but still do not believe helmets to be as necessary as some people insist.
One time when I was 18 I flipped over the handlebars of my (admittedly shitty) BMX and did a face plant in to the...
Rapid transit to ‘nowhere’ →
Leif Larsen writing at The Manitoban:
What’s holding us back is our city’s ingrained attitude toward the automobile and our refusal to invest real dollars and political capital in an effective rapid transit system.
Rethinking Osborne Village →
One Man Committee
It’s time to require developers to go beyond the one-storey stucco box that has become common in the Osborne Village area (think of the TD Bank strip mall, Snap Fitness and Shoppers Drug Mart itself) and require new or expanded buildings to suit the urban character of the area, mainly by building up.
There has been much debate about the Shoppers expansion. I’ve...
Finally getting around to watching Urbanized
Urbanized: A Documentary Film by Gary Hustwit
Google is working on driverless cars. →
“What will begin as households cutting back to a single car, will expand. Why would a family need an entire car to themselves? That’s crazy! It may start as extended family in the same area sharing cars, then neighbors sharing cars, and then entire apartment/condo complexes in cities offering driverless cars bundled into their HOA/rent.”
Eventually humans (particularly North...
"One Night in Skyrim Makes a Strong Man Crumble" →
(via Instapaper)
Transit fee increase doesn’t help those who pay it... →
Observations, Reservations, Conversations:... →
I lived in Osborne Village for my first three years as a Winnipeg resident. During that time I visited Movie Village hundreds of times, in fact during the first year and a half I was there almost every day (when you don’t known anyone in a new city a small movie rental shop is the closest thing you get to Cheers).
Now that I no longer live in the neighbourhood I frequent Movie Village...
November 2011
8 posts
Squashed, Honestly? If you’re out today, maybe get... →
This is how I feel about Christmas.
As an atheist who escaped Catholicism, I don’t have any emotional or religious attachment to the supposed day of Christ’s birth. Christmas festivities and the whole month of December seem like a shallow attempt at disguising capitalism as tradition.
(Via Marco.)
xkcd: Money →
xkcd made a chart of the global economy, breaking it down in to dollars, thousands millions, billions and trillions, and successfully making my bank account seem pathetic in comparison.
(via Kottke)
Progressive Winnipeg: The price of Bullshit just... →
I’m with Graham, I’d like to see all Winnipeg City Councillors give up driving to work, for at least the month of December, in place of riding Winnipeg Transit.
December is a good month for an experiment like this because the snow has started falling, the buses are busier because of the cold weather, and frustration levels are high. I’m willing to bet that by New Years...
“Our primary problem as a species is that giving a shit doesn’t scale.”
– Twitter / @toldorknown
“Indigo founder and chief executive Heather Reisman is poised to shift focus from...”
– Report On Business - The Globe and Mail
This has been happening for years. Walk in to any Chapters or Indigo store and the first thing you’ll encounter is an array of high markup items such as cards, candles, and knick knacks. I saw it happen while I was employed by Indigo and I continue to...
Things I've googled this week
How to tape a hockey stick
Determining what type of hockey player you are (I’m playing hockey for the first time in ten years this week).
Canadian Wheat Board (Lots of talk about the CWB these days, as someone who grew up in Ontario but now resides in Manitoba I thought it was my responsibility as a citizen to learn more about the CWB’s history).
Siphon coffee maker (I want...
UWSA Bike Lab open | The Uniter: Winnipeg’s Weekly... →
I don’t spend much time on the U of W campus, but I walked by the Bike Lab last week and was pretty impressed by the building itself. The shipping container construction is quite striking, especially when you can peer in and see people working on their bikes.
“It should not be thought of as some exclusive enclave for suburban people who...”
– Another downtown upgrade | The Uniter: Winnipeg’s Weekly Urban Journal
Although I’m intrigued by the SHED plans for Portage Ave. I have very little hope that it will be the shinning beacon of hope for Downtown that everyone (especially Centre Venture) is hyping it up to be.
What Downtown...
October 2011
19 posts
A-Zone hoping for cause to celebrate this Co-op... →
Seems like I’m constantly linking to the Uniter, probably because they’ve really been on the ball as of late. Kudos to the folks working over at U of W, keep it up.
Winnipeg gets advice from a ‘one man committee’ |... →
(via Instapaper)
Exchange District branding marginalizes artists,... →
(via Instapaper)
How to bring good design to a platform – Marco.org →
I think these rules apply to most business models not just technology. My favourite businesses exemplify these rules. Parlour Coffee for example. They only offer a small selection of drinks and fewer pastries. Owner / Barista, Nils Vik is like a carpenter handcrafting each cup of coffee, his employees all ‘get it’ as do most of the customers.
Fear and Self-Loathing in Las Vegas - the Daily →
(via Instapaper)
Ron MacLean shares opinions on hockey and details... →
(via Instapaper)
Winnipeg Photographers
Today I got to hangout with a couple Winnipeg photographers at the Legislature for Occupy Winnipeg and Winnipeg Slut Walk.
Check out Trevor Marcyzlo’s site Winnipeg Stree Photography and Jim Todd’s Cool Stale and Whacked for the photos they took today.
Much ado about charity | The Uniter: Winnipeg’s... →
Kelly Gorkoff puts it much more eloquently than I could in this article about The CEO Sleepout.*
*This will probably be the last article I link to about this particular issue.
“Jenny Gerbasi, city councillor for Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry, believes...”
– Planning Winnipeg’s neighbourhoods | The Uniter: Winnipeg’s Weekly Urban Journal
City planners must realize that the future is going to bring a more densely populated Downtown and surrounding area. Making this area more liveable by improving its walkability and allowing for more mixed use property...
CEOs for downtown hypocrisy? | The Uniter:... →
Looks like the Uniter picked up on the Downtown BIZ CEO Sleep-out that Progressive Winnipeg first wrote about a couple weeks ago.
What Downtown BIZ and the CEOs involved don’t get about the criticism they are facing is that no one is saying that because they make a lot of money it’s their fault that people are homeless. What offended me about their late night photo-op was how it made...
I'm not interested in talking about the benefits...
Can we stop writing articles about how Facebook and Twitter are changing the way we get things done? How long after Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone were people still talking about its impact on the world?
Fostering Creativity
For the past year or so I’ve had this inexplicable anxiety related to my lack of creative output. My college experience taught me that I am happiest when I am doing something creative for my own benefit. Unfortunately my creative output wasn’t paying the bills and the 9-5 (man I wish it was actually just 9-5) got in the way. Lately almost all my energy has gone in to my job, which...
CBC's Kevin O'Leary gets schooled on #Occupy Wall... →
““The crud of downtown are spoiling it for everyone.””
– More businesses will flee downtown: store owner | Winnipeg | News | Winnipeg Sun
I’d argue that the paranoid suburbanites and unsupportive city officials are spoiling downtown. Cities will always have panhandlers and homeless. Turning Downtown into a post-apocalyptic wasteland certainly...
Apple - Remembering Steve Jobs →
Very sad to hear about Steve’s passing.
September 2011
30 posts
Progressive Winnipeg: Major problems with the CEO... →
This whole photo op is ridiculous, not to mention insulting.
River City Radio Cure: The Next Winnipeg →
First of all if you live in Winnipeg and care about music, your neighbourhood and the city, you should probably be reading Matt Willams’ new blog River City Radio Cure.
Second, you should watch the video of Jack Jonasson’s talk about the Next City presentation. Jack presents some slides from his tour in Europe while talking about doing something you’re passionate about and...
ECO-PIRATE: THE STORY OF PAUL WATSON →
I’m going to try my damnedest to catch this while it’s playing at Cinematheque.
Occupy Wall Street Interview with Chris Hedges →
Watch(via Michael Moore on Real Time with Bill Maher)
Designing the future | The Uniter: Winnipeg’s... →
I’ve been linking to The Uniter more frequently as of late. Kudos to them for putting together some great pieces about Downtown issues, particularly the need for more small niche businesses and more intelligent urban planning.
I wonder if Sam Katz reads the local weeklies?