Mom and Dad's Blooms

Mom and Dad won a Communities in Bloom award for their yard in 2009. They earned it. 
 

Signs of the Times

We picked up our Forever Canada and No to the Nine signs today. Thanks to the volunteers who've been out and about creating the pickup opportunities and spreading the word about how lucky we are to be Canadian. 
 

Alberta Liberal Caucus Swag

Back in 2006, when I worked for the Official Opposition--made of Alberta Liberal MLAs at the time--I was part of the communications team responsible for handing out swag at Official Opposition events, such as town halls. While doing a bit of organizing in my library today, I found two swag items: Alberta Liberal Caucus mints in tins shaped like an old flip phone and a two-button mouse. I threw the mints away--they surely must have expired long ago--but I'll use these to store itty-bitty action figure accessories. 

Given that the Alberta Liberals haven't elected any MLAs for over a decade, I suppose you could consider these collectors' items. 
 

Make Sure You're Registered to Vote

Alberta's unnecessary referendumb is coming up soon, so be sure you're registered to vote in Alberta--there are scattered reports of Albertans discovering they're not registered, and if you're unregistered, you won't be able to cast your vote on October 19

Check your registration status here. 

Thanks to Totty for bringing this to my attention. 

Our Duty on October 19

The folks at Know the Nine have articulated why those of us who care about other people should vote to remain in Canada and then vote no to the other nine questions proposed by Danielle Smith's non-binding, divisive, and distracting October referendum. While the UCP government will do what they want no matter the outcome of the vote, it's still important to show up and express our support for Canada and reject the UCP's attempts to marginalize minorities, make voting more difficult for everyone, and continue to erode our public institutions and Canadian unity. The more Albertans reject what Danielle Smith and the UCP are selling, the harder it will be for them to justify their mean-spirited, socially and economically destructive agenda. 
 

Richard XXX

Now is the summer of our discontent
Made inglorious winter by this climate change
And all the clouds that poured upon our houses
Endless rain and thunder's wrath. 
 

Photoshopped Peters' Drive-In

About a decade ago, Sylvia and I stopped at the Peters' Drive-In in Red Deer en route to Calgary. I took a few wide-angle photos of the place. They turned out well enough. But while experimenting with Photoshop, I found I could use prompts to transform the image into something more dynamic than my original. 

And yet it makes me sad. Had I been more serious about photography, I could have achieved this effect myself, in camera. This feels like cheating. 
 

Back Alley Robot Activated

 

Back Alley Robot

 

A Wooden Performance

Mine, not his. 

 

Request Your Special Ballot for the Alberta Referendumb

Elections Alberta is now accepting requests for special ballots for the October 19 Alberta Referendum. Just fill out the online form and they'll mail you a ballot with all ten referendum questions; fill it out, mail it back, and you've done your civic duty. 

Why Is This Important? 
Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party are subjecting Albertans to a pointless, divisive, misleading, and non-binding referendum. This means that no matter what the results, the Alberta government is under no legal obligation to act on the results of the vote. Given the performance of the UCP government thus far, with its track record of scandals, censorship, pandering to the Trump administration, working to undermine and eventually privatize public institutions, there's every reason to believe that the UCP will simply do what they want and ignore the people--unless of course the vote aligns with UCP values and strategy. 

There are nine blatantly leading questions about immigration and Canadian constitutional matters, all of them dog whistles to cast suspicion and resentment against immigrants and our fellow Canadians in other provinces--but especially the federal government, which happens to be Liberal these days. Surely a coincidence. 

So why vote? Because there's still a slight chance that a massive turnout and a massive vote against the immigration and constitutional questions and a massive vote to remain in Canada will at least give the UCP pause. 

How Should We Vote? 
I can't tell you how to vote, nor can any one else, nor should anyone. But I believe that anyone with common sense, empathy, and a basic understanding of politics should "no" on the first nine questions--not just for the sake of immigrants and marginalized people, which is reason enough, but because voting yes on these issues opens the door to escalating restrictions on personal freedom, loss of privacy, loss of crucial public services, worsening relations with the rest of Canada, and disrespecting the constitutional role of Canada's Indigenous peoples. 

Here's question ten, which of course the UCP has written to obfuscate the issue. Rather than a simple "Should Alberta stay in Canada?" or even "Should Alberta separate from Canada?", we get: 

Should Alberta remain a province of Canada, or should the Government of Alberta commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada?

The available responses are: 

Option 1: Alberta should remain a province of Canada.

Option 2: The Government of Alberta should commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.

I'll be choosing option one, and I hope at least 85% of Albertans will do the same. Also, note the wording of option two, which explicitly states that the next referendum, unlike this one, would be binding--should Albertans vote for option two (and should we get shunted into a parallel universe where the Clarity Act doesn't exist). 

My prescription: 
"No to the nine, and Option 1 is just fine." Or maybe "No to the nine, one for the ten, and let's not go through this nonsense again." 

A Ladle Bit of Humour

A few years back Aunt Jean and Uncle John were in Leduc. Here, we see Aunt Jean pretending to drink from the iron ladle that goes with her dad's forge, which now lives in Sean's condo. That imaginary soup must have been very hot indeed...
 

One Year Later . . .

A friend of mine came back to work today after the recent loss of her mother, and we chatted for a bit before I realized that today is July 8...one year to the day after Mom passed away in the early hours of that morning 365 days ago. In the moment, I found it almost impossible to believe that it had been an entire year, because subjectively it feels like it all happened about three months ago. 

Here's a nice photo of Sean and Mom back in Leduc in 1986. Whatever happens next, whatever happened last year--I still feel lucky to have had moments like this. 

 

Father's Day 2026

If Dad hadn't passed away in 2018, I have no doubt that we would have been BBQing yesterday or today. I wish we were. Rest peacefully, Dad. 

EDITED TO ADD: 
Apparently Father's Day is June 21 this year. Better early than late. 
 

A Close Call

 

Today Sylvia and I had a close call on Anthony Henday Drive. We were in the middle lane when, in the course of regular spot checking, I spotted a large cargo truck swinging into our lane. I had barely enough time to shoulder check on my left; it was clear, so I was able to quickly dart over to the left lane. The truck came close enough to cause Sylvia to yell "Yiiiiikes," and I'm sure were were only a few inches apart for a second or so. 

The other driver showed no sign of awareness, blissfully ignorant of their role in possibly killing one or both of us or at least damaging the vehicle badly enough to turn it into a write-off. 

It was a good reminder that driving is inherently dangerous. Situational awareness is critical, because even if you never make a mistake (and I've made my share behind the wheel), someone else will, and you need to be ready for that. 

Even though I was performing my regular mirror and window checks as I was driving, I was lucky, too. If I'd been checking left instead of right in the critical moment, we might have collided with the truck. 

Stay safe out there. 

An Organic Interlude

Sometime in the mid-1970s, we travelled from Leaf Rapids to Thompson to buy an electronic organ. Mom or Dad shot a Polaroid of us playing with it in the spring of 1977. 

As a built-in teaching aid, the keys on this organ would light up to display the notes. Once you'd learned them, you could turn off the feature and play like a real organist. Mom and Dad got pretty good at it, as I recall, and the organ came with us to Alberta. I think Mom and Dad finally tired of it in the late 80s, or maybe it stopped working. 

The organ's brief presence in our lives is something of an anomaly, as neither Sean nor I play an instrument, nor did Mom and Dad seem to have much interest in doing so aside from this organic interlude. (Pun intended.) Maybe they hoped Sean or I would pursue music. Sean plays the harmonica, but me, well . . . I still have the recorder from the one music class I had in grade four or five, but I was and am pretty terrible. 

This is the our first Mother's Day without Mom, and it feels weird to say it, but I think they might have gotten a kick out of some of the stuff Sean and I have been doing with generative AI tools--taking old photos of fishing trips and turning them into movie clips and so on. Or this: 
 

Sean and Earl as painted by da Vinci. I think Mom would have gotten a chuckle out of this. Dad probably would have shaken his head, but I think he'd like the motorboat animations from our fishing trips. 

Happy Mother's Day, Mom. 

A Little Space and Time for the Science of Centring Yourself

It feels like forever since I enjoyed a few minutes outside, alone, on a nice day, at one of my favourite places. Even better, this occurred just after seeing some of my favourite people at what is now one of my favourite movies of 2026 (Project Hail Mary)--the first I've seen in theatres this year, and only the fourth I've seen in theatres since 2019, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Feels good, must do more often. Get outside, disconnect, look to the stars, not to my screen. 
 

4414 Farewell

Yesterday Sylvia and I drove to Mom and Dad's place one last time so that she could have a final look. The place felt empty, and so did I. Another reminder I didn't need--that all things pass. 

I'm sure we'll drive by someday, if only to see how the new owners change the yard. But it won't be the same--of course it won't be the same. Nothing ever is. 

I remain grateful for the memories, for our upbringing, for Mom and Dad's love and care. 
 

The Last Pickup

Today, Sean and I finished emptying out Mom and Dad's house. In a few days the new owners will take possession. 

It's a bittersweet day. For a long time, this was home, even after we moved out. I'm sure we'll drive by again someday, but it won't be the same. 

Thanks for everything, Mom and Dad, and thank you house, too. 
 

Alberta's Referendumb

I've avoided writing about Alberta politics very much for the last few years. It's because everything Danielle Smith and her crew of UCP grifters do is engineered to hurt Albertans while enriching themselves and their circle of cronies. They've demonized the LGBTQ+ community, censored books, short-changed municipalities, failed to hold the oil and gas industry accountable for environmental cleanup coasts, and encouraged a separatists movement to divide Canada. And ever since she became Premier, Danielle Smith several of her MLAs have been openly cozying up to Donald Trump and his circle of criminals. 

All this infamy has come to a head with the announcement of Alberta Referendum 2026. If you can stand to explore the site, you'll discover the NINE (mis)leading questions Albertans will be asked to vote on this October. You'll find the carefully crafted findings of the Alberta Next Panel, an exercise in finding the answers they wanted to divisive questions. 

Speaking of the questions: five on immigration (controlled by the federal government) and four on the Canadian Constitution. 

All nine questions are specifically crafted to foster resentment of immigrants and the rest of Canada. Even if Albertans overwhelmingly voted YES on all nine questions, Alberta would be put through years of painful, harmful negotiations with the rest of the country. And we would deserve the scorn of our neighbours from coast to coast. 

The most obvious insult to our intelligence? Referenda aren't binding in Alberta. So even if Albertans vote NO on each of the nine questions, the Smith government can do whatever it wants, given they have a majority in the Alberta Legislature and a proven willingness to use the notwithstanding clause to overcome any court challenge. 

Indeed, the Smith government only just announced that Alberta will be switching to permanent daylight savings time--despite the recent referendum where Albertans rejected that very change. Wherever you stand on time zones, why would any Albertan believe the UCP would obey the outcome of any referendum now? 

This also shows that the Alberta government will clearly not enact the referendum question put forward by Forever Canadian, whose petition reached the required number of signatures even before the provincial government changed the rules to make a competing petition by separatists easier to succeed. In fact, Alberta separatists are still on the streets collecting signatures, even though today's announcement seems to make their efforts moot--in that the UCP government have done their work for them. 

Every Albertan with an ounce of sense must take this threat seriously. Please--vote NO on all nine questions on October 19. Even the ones that sound reasonable, like reforming the Senate, are engineered to increase division and, contrary to what Smith and the UCP claim, tear Alberta away from Canada and give future UCP governments more and more power to trample human rights, privatize pubic institutions, and enrich the one percent to the detriment of the rest of us. That's their endgame. 

And the gall--the absolute, unmitigated gall--to drape their separatist, hateful website with the maple leaf. And to claim it's about "a sovereign Alberta within a united Canada." Goebbels would be proud.