Election debriefing

Now that the elections are over (voting twice in the space of 6 days, how exciting!), it is time to take a look at the "big picture".

The national results are available here. The seat breakdown means that cooperation between the Liberals and NDP gives them exactly half of the seats in Parliament. It could be messy, and we could be facing another election soon, but I don't know if anybody wants one.

The story that I was following was that of the Green Party. In the end, they got my vote, and that of nearly 600,000 other Canadians, putting them over the 2% threshold, and entitling them to nearly $1-million annually in federal campaign funding. Hopefully this means that environmental issues will make a bigger splash next time around.

Overall, I'm disappointed with only two things. 1) The local riding result (we elected a "new" Conservative), and 2) Voter turnout at just over 60%. I like the minority scenario; it will be interesting to watch.

I'm also preparing for my political viewing next year. Netherlands, like Canada, is a constitutional monarchy, under the reign of Queen Beatrix (long may she live). Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende of the Christian Democratic Alliance is the political head of the country. He was elected in 2002, so I guess there likely won't be an election while I'm over there.

Back to Schoorl

I received a couple of important pieces of information today.

The first came in the mail and was a summons for jury duty, beginning August 26th. Personally, I think it could be quite interesting to serve on a jury in any kind of trial, but I can't. Because I don't think the Netherlands-Winnipeg commute would really be worth it.

The second piece of information pertains to my placement in the Netherlands for the first 6 months of my Intermenno term. I will be working at the Doopsgezind Broederschapshuis Schoorl. This is what the email I received tells me about this place:

“Schoorl” is a Doopsgezind (Mennonite) vacation and conferencecenter with 41 rooms. The director is [name withheld], also your hostfamily. And there are about 5 - 10 co-workers in the age of 35-55 years old and some (teenagers) on call basis working in weekends. . .
Your job will be in household as well as kitchen (probably changes every month): cleaning, set out lunch and occasional kitchen work.

Schoorl is a small town of about 6000 people in the province of Noord-Holland, which also includes Amsterdam. The nearest city of significant size to Schoorl is Alkmaar, a 20-minute bus ride away. Alkmaar is known for its cheese market, and has a cultural centre known as Canadaplein ("Canada square"). It is also where I will likely get my soccer fix, as it is home to AZ, a team in the Dutch Eredivisie (highest level of soccer in the Netherlands).

The local area is known for its sand dunes and is a 20-minute bike ride from the beach. Should be fun.

It's over!

Today was my last day (ever!) working at Shelmerdine Nurseries and Garden Centre. I can't say I am sorry to leave. Of the four May-June blocks that I've worked there, this year was easily the least enjoyable, for a number of reasons. So adios, Hell-merdine.

One of the neat things about working in the deliveries department is seeing all sorts of strange and wonderful happenings around town. Yesterday, driving around in the Windsor Park neighbourhood of Winnipeg, I saw in person for the first time a Segway human transporter. The driver seemed to be doing door-to-door campaigning for the Conservative Party of Canada candidate in that riding. The cynic in me immediately found a correlation between the relative wealth of the individual (seeing as the Segway HTs are fairly expensive) and his political leaning.

Speaking of the election, I am beginning to re-think my choice. I am torn between the idealistic vote, which would be for the Green Party candidate, and the strategic vote, for Glen Murray, to prevent a Conservative win in the riding. If the number of signs is any indication of candidate support, the Conservative candidate seems to be leading.

I'm listening to the new Beastie Boys album, To The 5 Boroughs and I must say, it is pretty good.

Mayor Katz

I managed to get back from work just in time to line up 10 minutes before the polls closed, and cast my ballot for MaryAnn Mihychuk in today's mayoral by-election. Unfortunately, it seems that my vote wasn't enough as Sam Katz, owner of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, has carried the election.

Part of the problem is that in an election such as this, with 9 candidates, 5 of them considered "serious" candidates, any type of strategic voting is made difficult. Vote-splitting between like-minded candidates is often a problem. This type of election might be better suited to a system such as preferential voting.

Road Trip

This past weekend I completed a whirlwind, 4-day, road trip to Calgary with some friends, to visit other friends. Things I did include:

• spending 30 hours crossing the prairies


• climbing Mt. Yamnuska (pictured above)


• visiting the Regal Beagle


• visiting with friends


• sleeping (minimal)

Tonight is the Bombers home opener, and I will be attending. Prediction: WINNIPEG 30 OTTAWA 19.

UPDATE: More trip photos here.

Gmail

It seems I have just received 3 new Gmail invites. That means if any of you are interested in a beta account with Google's email service, I can hook you up. I don't think many people read this thing, so I am not expecting any takers, but post a comment or email me (jdwiebe@gmail.com) if you want in.

Nickelback sucks

To most people, this truth is self-evident. But now there is proof.

The link is to a recording of two hit Nickelback singles, Someday and How You Remind Me being played simultaneously. The fact that the recording is listenable (at least to the extent that any Nickelback song can be said to be listenable) speaks to the formulaic nature of the rock single.

Chorus, verses, peaks in intensity and guitar riffs seem to have exactly the same timing in the two songs. The fact that the song is in the same key also contributes to the effect. In short, Nickelback has recorded what is essentially the same song twice, and placed it on two different albums.

Some bands that don't suck: The Flaming Lips, Radiohead, The Walkmen, Franz Ferdinand, Orbital, The Postal Service, Coldplay, Moby and Kraftwerk.