Harbour Station ticket ordering

There has been talk on radio and in the letters to the editor page of the paper that Harbour Station needs to update its online and telephone ticket ordering systems.

To what end?

The criticisms I've heard seem to be in the vein of "people can't get tickets online before they are sold out for major events." People demand Harbour Station spend part of its operating budget on making ticket buying easier, rather than using the money for promoting and attracting new events.

Why would Harbour Station change what it is doing after they were able to sell out for an Elton John show in less than a day? If Harbour Station was not selling out events because of their systems, they could do a cost benefit analysis and decide if a change were in order. Right now they are selling shows out without incurring additional system costs. They should keep doing the same until there is an economic case for changing.

Irving Oil headquarters negotiation

Irving Oil executives negotiated a low fixed tax rate for its new LNG terminal in east Saint John. Since a deal was struck with the approval of council in 2005 there have been many critics.

Irving Oil is now proposing to build its new headquarters in uptown Saint John. This will be good for the uptown economy and community and will benefit Saint John as a whole. Still, for this to proceed, the city needs to sell Irving a piece of land (the former sugar refinery site). The land that is needed will be swapped with the port for the land on which Irving wishes to build.

The city should sell the land to Irving Oil for what it is worth. Council should approve this. But if Mayor Ivan Court wants to win a moral victory for the citizens against the fixed assessment, he should ask Irving Oil to agree to the assessment increasing with inflation as a condition of the sale.

While Irving Oil is not the sole owner of the LNG project, and the tax bill may not change, the company could pay this additional “tax” into a special fund that the city can use for special projects (I think environmental responsibility initiatives could be a good fit).

Emergency Ferry Service

I learned today while cycling back from the Kingston Peninsula that a ferry will unload it's centre aisle and rush an ambulance to the other side when needed. This seems reasonable, but was a bit of a novelty for me having never seen this happen before. Hopefully all is well for the person who needed the ambulance.

Future of Fundy Footpath

I went for a hike and camped on the Fundy Footpath this past weekend. Three of us went in to Seely Beach, about 8.2 km from where we started at Big Salmon River. The Footpath is a rugged hike, made more of a challenge by carrying in our camping gear. It was a good time and the difficulty is part of the fun, but I would not recommend the trip for everyone.

However, our provincial government wants to make the footpath’s highlights available to anyone with a car and the desire to gas up and drive through the heart of nature. This will make the Footpath far less of an adventure; I don't want to hike to a camp site knowing in the back of my mind a road is just a few minutes (or less) away.

I find it difficult to understand why the province is putting so much cash into this project that seems to be tied to the hope that it will generate tourist dollars. As gas prices go up, drive-by vacations might soon be rather unappealing. Also, by putting a road through the park, we are hurting our chances of inviting eco-tourists to the area.

I’m happy to have done this hike and hope to get to enjoy more of the trail before a line up of SUVs can meet me half way in.

Photos: Road work being done at Big Salmon River, including a car bridge (left). Clearing and Future road (right).

Tom Young on IOL HQ debate

I love Tom Young.

Here is part of his opinion on the Irving Oil headquarters location debate:

• "There are many reasons the city of Saint John trails other cities in development and most of the reasons are some of the people who live here.
  If you’re opposed to the relocation of the Irving headquarters to their desired site, there’s only one thing I can say…
  …Shake your head if you can stand the noise."

His full opinion is at his blog.

Mortal Combat

I had seen a video some time ago of UC Berkeley's deCadence performing some great a cappella music. Today is the first time I have come across this, an musical ambush of two guys sparring in a park that are given accompaniment in the form of the Mortal Combat video game theme song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOYjtSumBRo

Hilarious.

Would a day of rest reduce carbon emissions?

Would a day of rest reduce carbon emissions? Closing businesses on Sundays and other suggestions like closing stores earlier and not allowing students to park cars at school are some of the things suggested at the Burton Front blog to reduce the amount of carbon we produce.

Less lighting and less electricity usage in general might be a useful start.

Bees!

Anyone with a large pile of sugar should be aware: the bees have escaped!

In northern New Brunswick a highway was closed due to a transport truck full of bees was in an accident releasing the bees that were being used to pollinate blueberry plants.

Guerilla Marketing

I received a reminder on Facebook today that the Canada Day Countdown was this evening. The invite came from Craig Allen, who recently ran for Saint John city council using some guerrilla marketing techniques (chalk drawn website refers on side walks, and apples with stickers with his URL).

While Mr. Allen isn't on council, his techniques were commendable (less waste than big signs stuck about town), and led me to search for some other interesting street level marketing campaigns.

Weburbanist.com has a post with 15 interesting guerrilla marketing examples. The coolest one on the list involves a sign that simulates a car jumping over a drawbridge.

Still, by far my favourite guerrilla marketing campaign has to be one that went horribly wrong: the mooninite Boston bomb scare.

No Vendors

I realize that when a group of vendors selling random nicknacks and junk congregates in front of Rockwood Park, city parks officials might think this makes the city look less than sparkling, but today when I drove up to the park for a walk I was less than impressed that this was the first sign I saw.

I find this a bit less than inviting.

Randy Bachman

I was disappointed to hear that Randy Bachman isn't coming to Saint John in July. I would love to see him play - especially if his performance was full of stories like an episode of Vinyl Tap.

I was going to try to hold a grudge but then I listened to his CBC show this evening and heard him refer to himself, Burton Cummings Fred Turner and Neil Young as the "Four Horsemen" of Canadian rock. He went on to explain and play songs that featured this artists that shaped Canadian rock in 1960's Winnipeg.

I love Bachamn's ability to bring up how prolific he is. Bachman's style of self promotion has led me to refer to him as the Gene Simmons of Canadian music.

Rhetorical consultation

I recall some time back that Barack Obama was being called eletist. John Stewart of the Daily Show gave a good commentary that essentially said that he wanted an elitist president - a president that was better than him and could govern better than him.

I think in Saint John, 20% of the voting population voted for our non-elitist candidate in May, which was enough to make Ivan Court our mayor, and we're starting to feel the results.

Our "down-to-earth" mayor and his cronies are opposing (or stalling) a major development proposed for the city's waterfront because they are "looking out for the little guy" (in this case the little guy is a union that thinks maybe one day the port might expand its industrial operations back into the downtown) and standing up to the corporate elite (in this case a large local company that wants to invest in a city-center modern, attractive, LEED standard-built, headquarters).

We are seeing the bitter folks that didn't want an elite leader - or an elite city that moves forward - say things in the local news like "the Irvings have too much" and writing letters to the editor criticizing the city manager for completing a report on the proposal "behind closed doors."

Openness can be good, and considering all options is prudent, but we can't expect those who lead to ask our advice on every micro detail, this clearly isn't leadership. And just because we're "poor workin' folk" doesn't mean a bitter anti-business mindset is good for our city - in reality it is clearly not.

So mayor Court, get on your high horse (it comes with the robe and chain) and lead our city into an elite future.

Google Maps for cyclists

An interesting thought occurs to me as I prepare for a bike trip to a family member's cottage. I am printing off Google Maps directions that have estimated travel times between various points. These are often eerily close to the actual time it takes to get from point A to B to C.

I think it would be good if Google Maps or another mapping tool allowed for you to put in you estimated travel speed (say 17.5 km/h) and then output your directions based on how long you should expect to take between various points on the map.

If this exists already and I've just missed it, please let me know.

George Carlin

George Carlin died yesterday. A discussion of Carlin's death and works on the CBC this evening introduced me to this quote, that was part of Carlin's Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television routine:

• “We have thoughts, but thoughts are fluid. You know, [humming]. And, then we assign a word to a thought, [clicks tongue]. And we’re stuck with that word for that thought. So be careful with words. I like to think, yeah, the same words that hurt can heal. It’s a matter of how you pick them.”

I really like the quote, its a good thought expressed with good words.

Shaq attacks mortgage problems

An article at the Consumerist talks about a plan by pro basketball player Shaquille O'Neal has to help some families in Orlando who are facing mortgage difficulties. While details are sparse, Shaq plans on using his wealth to take over mortgages and provide advantageous financing terms to some Floridans in need.

How to complain for fun and profit

I read about a book that teaches about writing effective complaint letters that will get attention and empathy from readers who can respond effectively. How To Complain For Fun And Profit sounds like a good read. There is a free chapter online and the book can be purchased in PDF form. I might download it and learn to complain more effectively.

Poverty

The mayor-elect Ivan Court wants to tackle poverty. Good on him. According to News 889, Court plans to work with housing and poverty groups under a Mayor's task force to address poverty issues. Hopefully after this next 4 years serious improvements have started.

Our outgoing mayor was an advocate for housing, hopefully the new mayor will use his term to continue improving the services provided to the poor of the city.

Saint John deserves it

So Ivan Court appears to be the incoming mayor.

His "tough on business" stance could easily be a real headache to the energy boom and could very well cause the paper mills to pack up and leave town.

The two things I like about Ivan are that he is very ethical (I think his motives are pure, he and I just disagree on where the city should be going) and that he was not one of the councilors who opposed the North of Union development.

Ivan good luck.

At least Hooton is gone! This isn't to say Hooton couldn't have done a good job, but I would hate to see the Telegraph Journal succeed in swaying the electorate with horribly skewed election coverage.

Mixed feeling regarding medical school building

I was excited to read earlier this evening that a local business person has offered a building to the province for use for the local medical school (which needs a building before it can open).

I then got a knot in my stomach when I read he was doing this as a political statement with our Deputy Mayor Michelle Hooton at his side. Hooton is running for mayor against incumbent Norm McFarlane who is very supportive of the medical school and against Ivan Court the councilor who has worked on the health portfolio. Not only is she an odd choice for that, Ms. Hooton ran a nasty campaign against the current Minister of Post-Secondary Education when she was supposed to be acting as deputy mayor.

Hopefully this offer is legitimate and Hooton's sorted political past won't put a taint on this if the idea is a good one.

Nasty

Politics in town are getting very nasty.

I was driving to pick up a friend after work today and heard an ad saying "Do not vote Stephen Chase." This wasn't just "be aware of the issues" or "beware of Stephen Chase's ideas" it was directing people on who to not vote for. I was surprised. Chase has a pretty complete platform at his website. His opponents are most upset with his plans to consider public-private partnerships for water treatment.