Ottawa, part I

I had planned on making this entry another rant. I’ve been stewing about stupid things Tom Wappel has been saying lately, the federal budget and miscellaneous other political things.

Then last Sunday and Monday happened.

They were a rather eventful couple of days. On Sunday I was hanging out at WereGirl’s house watching West Wing DVDs and generally relaxing. The weather was unpleasant, but I didn’t need to be anywhere, so everything was tranquil in my world.

WereGirl, on the other hand, had an interview in Ottawa (8 hours away on a good day) Monday morning. She planned on driving all night, doing the interview and then driving right back. She’s a little nutty that way. With the weather being nasty, however, she didn’t want to make the trip alone. PilotBoy, her boyfriend, was in Arizona doing a mountain bike race that weekend, so that left me.

“Dave, come to Ottawa with me!”

“Can’t, I have class.”

“Pleeeeaaaase!”

“I would, but I have class.”

(repeat the above about a dozen times)

“If you don’t go, I’ll have an accident and die!”

Ah, guilt… Yeah she had me here.

“Ok, fine, but I’m doing school work on the way home”

So, around 10pm Sunday night we left for Ottawa. We could not have picked a worse time to travel if we’d tried.

WereGirl drove and fought her way though blinding snow, ice, sleet, big trucks and roads that had not been cleared. I think we ended up in the middle of a weather system heading east and were keeping pace with it. It was really the worst driving imaginable for almost ten hours. The trip was scary in places, but generally not bad. We chatted, called her boyfriend to find out about his race (he’d not had a good weekend and was on his way home) and stopped for coffee and rest stops occasionally.

When we made the turn north on 416 the weather gradually seemed to clear. Things were looking good. It was not no longer snowing, sleeting or raining and the sun was up, so visibility was good. We’d left most of the big trucks behind us on the 401 and it looked like we’d make WereGirl’s interview with about half an hour to spare.

The highway, however still needed clearing.

I don’t know exactly how it started. My nose was down, looking at a map on my notebook when the car hit ice, snow, slush, or something and swung to the right. WereGirl managed to stop it, but we ended up swinging a bit further to the left. Then back to the right. At this point I was a little concerned. Further to the left, and back to the right. At this point we were basically perpendicular to the road and I knew there would be no recovering from it.

“This is gonna hurt…” I thought to myself and held on tight to the door handle.

Off to the right of the highway was a large ditch, about 13 feet deep and filled with weeds and rather wide.

We shot off the edge of the road, flew through the air and landed in the ditch. Dirt and snow flew up and slowly covered the car.

WereGirl and I slowly gathered out wits about us. She noted that the car was still in 4th gear and was currently idling, that wasn’t a good sign.

We got out of the car, and had a look around. WereGirl’s car had no visible body damage at this point, but both drivers’ side tires were rapidly deflating and the rear one was at a pretty odd angle. Three or four other cars had pulled over after having seen us fly off the highway. There occupants were on their way down to the car and asked if we were alright. We responded that we were, and most went on their way. One man stuck around for a bit and eventually agreed to take WereGirl and I to her interview. I grabbed my laptop out of the car, and off we went.

Traffic in Ottawa was pretty awful. But after making a pit stop to find a washroom for WereGirl who by this point desperately had to pee, we arrived at the interview only 15-20 minutes late. Not bad, all things considered.

I went and grabbed some breakfast in the building’s food court while WereGirl went off to do her thing. After a while I finished and decided to explore a little. The office building was only a couple blocks from Parliament Hill, which I thought was pretty cool. I walked up and down Sparks Street for a while. Sparks street is pretty neat in that it’s right in downtown Ottawa, but completely closed to vehicle traffic. I wandered for a while, made note of a pub and wandered back to the building to wait for WereGirl.

She had just finished and was chatting with a fellow applicant when I got back. I waited for her to finish, and then we had to figure out what to do next..

WereGirl made a few phone calls to try and get things moving. She called the local dealer for her car, her insurance company and the police. Everyone seemed a little confused about the fact that we were no longer with the car and promised to get back to us.

We left the building, and wandered Sparks st. a little. We stopped at a couple little stores and explored. Eventually we stopped at the pub I’d found, waited there for her phone to ring and had a couple beverages and some food.

We finished, paid and left. More phone calls had been made, but nothing had really been resolved yet. By this time PilotBoy was home from his trip, and she had him doing some research on the internet for the cheapest way to get us both home.

After a long time the police found her car and examined it, then a towing company got it out of the ditch and to the dealership. There would be no charges laid against WereGirl, and we needed to get out to the dealership to have a look at the car.

WereGirl called the dealership and inquired into getting a shuttle sent out to pick us up. One was not available, but if we used a certain taxi company they’d give us a taxi chit. So, WereGirl called a cab and we stood by the road waiting for it.

A cab from the proper company pulled over, and we hopped in.

To be continued…

Be sure to check back later for the rest of the story, including checking on WereGirl’s car, and our trip home.

Inside the ping pong ball

Valentines day unexpectedly turned into quite the adventure for me this year. My plan had been to do some moping and possibly post here about how I dislike Valentines day since it mostly serves to entice people in relationships to spend money and make those outside them feel like crap. Still stinging from the abrupt end of my last one I am firmly in the latter category. None of that changed, but I didn't do any moping about it.

First a brief bit of background. WereGirl recently started dating a guy whom we shall be calling PilotBoy. Now, as you may have guessed, he earned this moniker due to the fact that he actually is a pilot. Thus earning big points right away with me. PilotBoy is also an American and lives just a little outside Detroit.

For Valentines Day PilotBoy planned on taking WereGirl out to dinner. Not overly exceptional in an of itself. The interesting part was that he planned on taking her somewhere out of town. Way out of town. Flying was to be involved in getting there. Because I have a bit of a thing for airplanes and had been agitating to be brought flying, they both agreed that inviting me along would be a nice thing to do, too. This was going to be lots of fun.

I think the plan was originally to go somewhere in Cleveland. (He was going to surprise us) But the weather was kind of bad, it was raining and cold, so we decided we'd take a shorter trip and have a more modest meal.

We had a pleasant flight there and PilotBoy had me help out with the checklist and let me fly for a bit. I thought this was great. Dinner was at a small restaurant at the airport and wasn't bad at all. Things got a little interesting after dinner.

The weather had changed and the rain had begun freezing. Freezing rain and small planes with no deicing equipment do not get along. We had no choice but to wait this out.

First, we walked to a nearby bowling alley and bowled a couple games. I discovered that I still suck at bowling. The weather was no better by the time we had had enough bowling.

Next we took a cab to the local movie theatre. We saw Million Dollar Baby, which was okay, but really a chick flick and very, very long. (or at least seemed that way). It was, however, not long enough for the weather to clear. By this time it was after midnight, so we decided that we'd best find a hotel and spend the night.

PilotBoy called the cab company and was advised that the soonest they could get a cab to us was forty minutes from then. He negotiated them down to twenty, but that still wasn't great. So, we interrogated the staff and the few other patrons there about hotels that might be within walking distance of the theatre. We didn't get any very promising leads, but a couple we'd asked came back and found us once they'd ventured outside. The weather was nasty enough that they didn't think anyone should try walking in it, so they offered us a ride. PilotBoy cancelled the cab and we thanked them profusely.

We arrived at the hotel and went to check in. The lady behind the desk advised us that she was in the middle of doing an audit and thus would be unable to give us a room for about twenty minutes. We negotiated, but she wouldn't budge. We decided to try the hotel next door instead. This one was also doing their nightly audit, but the man behind the desk was either less lazy or more competent, as he agreed to take our information down give us a room and put it all in the computer once the audit finished.

We ordered a wake up call for quarter after five and retired to our beds.

Morning came way to early. The hotel had a nicer than usual complimentary breakfast so we dug into that and then took a cab back to the airport. WereGirl had a class at 8:30 that morning and we were well on track to get her back in time for it.

The weather looked better and the threat of ice had passed, so we broke ground and headed home.

The sky was still overcast and we entered the clouds almost immediately after takeoff. Most of the flight was like flying inside a ping pong ball. The wings and wheels of the plane were visible out the window, but everything beyond them was pure white. The only times we broke out or the clouds was to briefly skirt their tops. PilotBoy is qualified to fly by instruments (IFR) and had filed the proper papers for that prior to taking off, so this was fine. He navigated us to our home airport and tried to line us up to land.

The weather was uncooperative again, though. There was a massive crosswind, a lot of turbulence and the bottom of the clouds eluded us. PilotBoy aborted the landing and we went back into the pattern. The air traffic controllers directed us around, and we went to try again. As we were climbing out WereGirl declared her own little in flight emergency - she had to pee. Badly. Having warned her to visit the washroom before we left, and because I'm mean, I found her discomfort to be pretty funny. The second attempt was not a lot different than the first. As WereGirl squirmed in her sear we tried one more time, and again were foiled.

PilotBoy decided that we might have better luck at an alternate airport. One was found nearby with a higher cloud ceiling and less wind. Our decent into it was less bumpy and we popped out of the clouds with the runaway just a little ahead of us and to our right. PilotBoy gently set the plane down, and the tower directed us towards the general aviation terminal. On the way there we had to cross an active runway and the tower instructed us to hold for a while before crossing it as there was other incoming traffic. WereGirl was about ready to explode by this time. She joked about the possibility of just getting out and squatting. PilotBoy took a quick look around and told her to go for it.

So, PilotBoy opened his door and WereGirl stepped out of the plane using the open door to shield herself from any onlookers and the wind. PilotBoy and and I intently studied a B-52 bomber parked at the museum in the opposite direction on the airport grounds while WereGirl made a new puddle on the already damp runway.

We taxied the rest of the way to the terminal and disembarked. We would have to try to wait out the weather again. We wandered around the terminal, snacked on popcorn from a popcorn machine, sat around and chatted. By lunchtime things had not improved. PilotBoy rented a car and we went into town for some lunch.

The weather was no better when we finished. So, we waited around for a while longer and then PilotBoy decided that further waiting was likely to be futile and drove us back to Canada in the car, deciding to go back for the plane later.

WereGirl made her last class of the day and I went home and played airplane games on the computer.

With any luck I'll get to go flying again sometime soon. I can't wait.

Just Another Diatribe on Gay Rights

At present there is a bill before the House of Commons that would legalize same sex marriage across Canada. This takes us in pretty much the complete opposite direction of the US, where proposals to constitutionally protect "traditional" marriage passed last November in all 11 states where they were proposed.

Those who oppose gay marriage have already reached an unprecedented level of insanity in the States(protesting SpongeBob? Honestly, how is anyone supposed to take them seriously after that?!). Opposition here has been quieter, but they seem to be gearing up now.

At a recent protest near Hamilton, Ontario an anti-gay marriage advocate encouraged his supporters to lobby their MPs by, among other things, calling their constituency offices after hours and clogging their voicemail systems. (As heard on the CBC news this morning, I'll post a link if/when I find one). I take issue with this, both because clearly I disagree with them, but also because constituency offices do important work that they wish to disrupt for their own ignorant ends.

Constituency offices are there for people to access the federal government. People go there for passports, (especially when they need them in a rush for family emergency, etc), they go when they are having trouble getting government benefits they are rightfully entitled to, basically they go there when they need help. Disrupting this work for political reasons is, in my opinion, despicable.

These folks wish to disrupt that important work because seeing two dudes kiss is icky... Which, incidentally, is seriously the best justification I've seen so far for opposing gay rights. The only other non-vague and actually specific reason I've seen is that some groups seem to feel that gays are secretly trying to "recruit" them or their children, which I find ludicrous. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't care how socially acceptable it becomes, sleeping with a guy just doesn't appeal to me. Honestly the only people I can see this argument making sense to are closeted, self hating homosexuals. I just don't know who else would feel the temptation to cross over and then be so angry about it.

Gay rights is not an issue I want to care about. I was happy enough sitting on the sidelines of the issue, quietly being pleased as they won court case after court case. It meant that society was becoming more tolerant. I like tolerance. Unfortunately, the march of gay rights reached a point where it inspired a backlash. Primarily religious, which I also don't understand.

Every mainstream religion preaches love and forgiveness. Every religion also has various sets of rules to live by. Some have been deemed arcane and are basically ignored. Homosexuality seems to fit well in that list. However, clearly it's not. Religious organizations like Focus on the Family seem fixated on it. They do not love gay people. They fear them. A lot. They fight against teaching children tolerance. To me this seems to clash with the fundamental principles of the church. Which makes it even more bizarre that this group is referred to as "Fundamentalists".

This backlash is the reason I've been speaking up on the issue. I guess I'm the backlash to the backlash. (does that make me the forwardlash?) I just don't like seeing people treated the way the these people treat the gay community. It offends me. Also, I'm reminded of the following quote:

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.

by Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945

These people want to come for the gays,
and though I am not gay, I will stand and fight.

(granted, at least on this side of the border, it's nice to have the government on my side)

State of the Union

I watched US president Bush's State of the Union address this evening. I chatted online with mary throughout it, booing and heckling when appropriate. (In other words, a lot)

The really fun parts were where Bush obviously contradicted himself.

On exporting democracy:

As a new Congress gathers, all of us in the elected branches of government share a great privilege: we have been placed in office by the votes of the people we serve. And tonight that is a privilege we share with newly elected leaders of Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories, Ukraine, and a free and sovereign Iraq.

What a nice list of places the United States has played a major roll in bringing democracy to. Afghanistan and Iraq most obviously and most recently. Ukraine by economically destroying the USSR and Palestine mostly through diplomacy. Democracy is good. I like democracy.

The United States has no right, no desire, and no intention to impose our form of government on anyone else. That is one of the main differences between us and our enemies. They seek to impose and expand an empire of oppression, in which a tiny group of brutal, self-appointed rulers control every aspect of every life.

Ummm... Democracy is good... But, uh, yeah, you kinda actually have been imposing it on other countries. Like those ones you just mentioned...

Today, Iran remains the world's primary state sponsor of terror - pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve. We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium re-processing, and end its support for terror. And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.

America stands with you, but if/when they invade they promise not to impose anything... I guess they'll just bomb you...

On social security:

Today, more than 45 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, and millions more are nearing retirement - and for them the system is strong and fiscally sound. I have a message for every American who is 55 or older: Do not let anyone mislead you. For you, the Social Security system will not change in any way.

For younger workers, the Social Security system has serious problems that will grow worse with time. Social Security was created decades ago, for a very different era. In those days people didn't live as long, benefits were much lower than they are today, and a half century ago, about 16 workers paid into the system for each person drawing benefits.

Our society has changed in ways the founders of Social Security could not have foreseen. In today's world, people are living longer and therefore drawing benefits longer - and those benefits are scheduled to rise dramatically over the next few decades. And instead of 16 workers paying in for every beneficiary, right now it's only about three workers - and over the next few decades, that number will fall to just two workers per beneficiary. With each passing year, fewer workers are paying ever-higher benefits to an ever-larger number of retirees.

Oh my, that sounds pretty bad. But everyone 55 and up can relax as none of this next bit is going to affect them.

Here is how the idea works. Right now, a set portion of the money you earn is taken out of your pay check to pay for the Social Security benefits of today's retirees. If you are a younger worker, I believe you should be able to set aside part of that money in your own retirement account, so you can build a nest egg for your own future.

Wait... If today's workers are paying for today's retirees... And they're gonna set aside money for their own retirement too... Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that either mean less benefits to current retirees or higher deductions? Or maybe everyone can have their cake and eat it too...

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It was a big speech and there are a few more, but those two were my favourites. The really sad thing about the State of the Union speech was that it preempted West Wing and a smarter president I like a lot more...