Forever Canadian: Signed

Thanks to a couple of volunteers from our very own condo complex, Sylvia and I signed the Forever Canadian petition today. If the petition collects slightly less than 300,000 signatures, the question "Do you agree that Alberta should remain in Canada?" will be on a referendum ballot for all Albertans to vote on, beating the competing separatist referendum tacitly supported by Premier Danielle Smith and the UCP provincial government to the punch. 

And on Saturday, August 16, the Forever Canadian organization is opening a permanent petition signing location at the Kingsway Legion, which is located at 14339 50th Street, Edmonton. You can sign in the front lobby between noon and 8PM Thursday to Saturday and from 10:30 AM to 3:00 PM on Sundays. 

No online signatures are accepted for this petition, so if you want to support Alberta remaining within Confederation, please find the time to sign as soon as possible. Canada isn't perfect, but Alberta alone would most likely be quickly absorbed the United States, with all the downsides that entails--from widespread gun violence to private health care to the very real threat of fascism completely taking over that nation in the imminent future. 

I don't want any part of that, and I imagine most people reading this blog agree with me. 

Alley Invader

 

In the Alley at Noon

 

Frustrated Scavenger

I was in an ill temper today (my present normal), and so this annoying bird received not a scrap. Now I feel guilty. 
 

CARTEL1

"We shouldn't park here," Sean said. 
 

Newton Place Knicknacks

I didn't live in Newton Place for long, but it's where I watched the last season or so of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. I remember hardly anything about the layout of the apartment, and I have very few photos of my time there. This is one of them. 
 

Acid-Washed Jeans

Sometime between 1991 and 1994, while working as a parts driver for Norwest Automotive, I picked up a used car battery from one of our customers. I didn't think anything of it in the moment; I'd picked up used parts for disposal several times already, and this was just one more instance. 

But a couple of hours later, I noticed that my bluejeans were developing white patches in odd places, starting just below my pelvis. Over the course of the day, those white patches spread and the miscoloured denim thinned, By the time I returned home, my pants had developed huge rends, tears and gaps, disintegrating almost entirely into scraps not long after I removed my shoes. 

I figured that the battery must have cracked and leaked some mildly corrosive form of acid down my pants. Certainly my legs were quite itchy by the end of the day, and they'd taken on a slightly pinkish hue. A thorough scrubbing in the shower relieved those symptoms. 

I had occasion to tell Mom and Sean this story tonight; credit goes to Sean for coming up with the perfect title for this post. 

This One Is Lovely

While driving from Leduc to Edmonton on Saturday night, YouTube music's algorhytim slid "This One" through my speakers. To the best of my memory, never before had I heard "This One," and it captured my heart immediately; since that day I've played it dozens of times. 

There's always something new and beautiful to discover, isn't there? 
 

The Upworthy Crust

A few days ago, I learned of the existence of Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria. Edmonton has two locations, and today I visted the BMPP in Windermere. 

I bought the smallest available pizza, the 12-inch medium. This place offers single slices comparable in size to little people and a giant square pizza measuring 54 inches per side. Zounds! 

I was overwhelmed by the variety offered on BMPP's menu. I was sorely tempted by the Mexican, but since this was my first time here, I opted for the Stinkin' Cup and Char
Pepperoni . . .

. . . along with a serving of cheese toast. 

Cheese toast first: it's pretty good, but very, very greasy. It's loaded with garlic butter and cooked to perfection, with crispy-edged bread and cheese slightly stiff but half-melted, just how I like it. The portion size is generous for two people, and fair for four. My only quibble is how they assemble the portions into sandwiches, which results in the cheese slices melting together. This isn't a problem if you eat a portion as a mini-sandwich, but creates issues if you try to share. 

As for the pizza itself, it's scrumptious. The tomato sauce is savoury and slightly spicy--delicious enough that next time I might ask for extra sauce, as my pizza was fairly light on the stuff. This pizza comes with white and red onions, but I hardly noticed them, which makes me wonder if their flavour was overpowered by the pepperoni, the sauce, the seasoned crust, or perhaps some combination of the three. 

Speaking of the pepperoni--the key ingredient of this pie--it's as meaty and pepperoni-spiced as one could hope for. But I think the real star is the crust, which offers a satisfying flaky yet chewy texture and even a little heat thanks to the onion seasoning. 

I really enjoyed my first experience of BMPP, and I look forward to trying it again. 

The Leaning Streetlight of Edmonton

It was a windy day in Edmonton today, and while out on errands I spotted this precariously positioned streetlight right on our street. I called 311 and a fellow named Steve assured me a crew would head out right away to fix the problem. I'm sure the situation has been straightened out. 
 

Terra Losa Rainbow

On Saturday night, a rainbow appeared on the drive from Mom's place to home. I shot a photo of it with my phone before picking up a Coke for Sylvia. 
 

Validating Our Worst Selves

As sometimes happens, I had a pretty lousy week (by the standards of my particular forms of privilege). I missed a day of work, the news was getting me down, I'd accidentally inconvenienced a couple of people, I wasn't getting much sleep, I had no drive to accomplish household tasks--the sorts of problems that really should be taken in stride. Instead, by Thursday I'd worked myself into a state of fierce self-loathing. 

Today I felt much better, thanks almost entirely to simply cuddling with Sylvia through Thursday night. As we drove to pick up groceries today, I made light of my maudlin mood of the days prior, mocking myself by saying things like "Oh, I've been so mean to people over the years" and "I've been a complete idiot so much of my life" and "I've accomplished nothing." I said it in a tone that tried to suggest I knew such feelings were silly, but Sylvia saw through me, as usual. She admitted that she sometimes felt that way too, but then she said something that hit me like a bombshell: 

"Why do our negative thoughts get all our internal attention and validation?" 

Yes! Why? All my life I've validated my worst feelings about myself while at the same time dismissing or devaluing the positive assessments of other people. I'm not alone in this. 

I wonder what percentage of human beings validate their bad feelings about themselves, and what percentage enjoy a healthier, more balanced view--not narcissistic, but a view that accepts their good and bad qualities without feeling undue self-loathing or overweening pride. Furthermore, I wonder that genetic traits or environmental conditions make the difference between mental health and depression and other disorders. 

I've written a few times about how much I loathed my first job after graduating from the University of Alberta: driving a truck full of automotive parts to different garages on the south and west sides of Edmonton. I had that job for three years, applying for other jobs all the while, and the longer I was there the more I began to believe that I'd never do better. (To give myself some credit, I recognized, even as an ignorant twentysomething, the inherent value of any job that in some way helped the community; I didn't feel as though I was "above" the job, just that it didn't suit my interests or skills.) 

For several months of this three-year period, I was living with my parents and commuting to Edmonton with Dad. After one particularly rough day, I confessed to Dad that I thought there must be something wrong with me because even after years of trying, nobody wanted to hire me. (I'd gotten the truck driving job thanks to Dad.) 

"Earl, that's bullshit," Dad said forcefully, startling me a little. "You're a very smart kid, but these are tough conditions. It won't be long before you find something much better suited to all the things you can do." 

Dad's no-nonsense clarity helped quite a bit that day, and he was right; it wasn't long before I moved on to better things, though not without some amusing misadventures. 

Sylvia's question today has helped me realize that I need to investigate why I've given so much weight to the ways I've failed other people, the ways I've failed to live up to my expectations of myself, the ways I've hurt others--almost always unintentionally--and yet, NOT always unintentionally, and when you hurt someone, what do your intentions matter anyway? 

This is turning into a screed, so I'll conclude with this: If you've ever had feelings like mine, I hope you'll give yourself a break. Believe people when they say nice things about you; don't devalue their judgement or support. I'm going to do my best to take my own advice. 

For the Want of a Dashcam

Earlier today, Sylvia and I headed to Leduc to help Mom with some gardening and return her leaf blower. To avoid construction on the southwest leg of Anthony Henday Drive, we drove north instead, figuring it would be faster to drive all the way around the city than wait for the inevitable backlog through the construction zone. 

That choice could have gone very badly for us. Just a few minutes into the drive, we rounded a gentle curve and discovered an upside-down kayak was blocking the entire middle lane--the one we were using. I barely had time to shoulder check and maneuver into the left lane to dodge the obstacle. 

Fortunately, the kayak was bright green-yellow and I spotted it instantly. Had we hit it, at the very least the kayak would have ruined our front end and undercarriage; at worst, I might have lost control of the vehicle. 

Our car was the first to nearly collide with the kayak; while all this was happening, I caught sight of a man getting out of a pickup truck and getting out his cell phone, presumably to call emergency services. Several vehicles behind us had to swerve clear of the kayak as well, and as I lost sight of the man with the cell phone, I hoped we wouldn't get himself killed trying to drag the kayak to the shoulder. 

Everything happened in just a couple of seconds. It was a good reminder to stay alert when you're driving. 

How's It Goin', Eh?

Today I worked at the office for the just the second time since March 2020, and I took a moment to visit the new(ish) statue of Canadian comedy icons Bob and Doug McKenzie. 

Beauty, eh? 

Muttart with Mely

Here's Mom, Sean, me, and Great Aunt Mely (short for "Amelia") at the Muttart Conservatory sometime during the early 1980s. I barely remember the occasion, but I assume Dad must have been there shooting the photo. 
 

81

We didn't know it at the time, but this was the last time Mom and Sean and Sylvia and I celebrated Dad's birthday--a few days early, on January 27, 2018. We had a nice time, and as I think about Dad on this, what would have been his 81st birthday, I'm grateful for that gathering and all the other times we spent together. I hope he's flying or watching a football game or cursing a blue streak while renovating a room somewhere. 
 

I've watched the video for ABBA's new single "I Still Have Faith in You" dozens of times now, but only today did I notice that at about 3:07 in the video there's a ticket stub for ABBA's 1979 concert at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. Thanks to Sean for providing the link above to a cool CBC story about the concert. 

And here's the music video itself. 

 

Heat Wave 2021

Art by KC Green, 2013

Welcome to the coolest summer of the rest of your life. Edmonton is expected to enjoy (to varying degrees, pun intended) temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and above every day this week, more +30 highs in just a few days than the region has experienced collectively in the last five years. Of course, weather is not climate and even outlier events like these cannot be definitively linked to global warming, but the problem is...when are extreme weather events like this no longer outliers, but the new normal? 

 

Paperclip

Here's the manual for the software that got me through the first two years of university: Paperclip. Paperclip was pretty primitive compared to modern word processors, but it did precisely what I needed it to do: made it possible for me to type and print my assignments instead of writing them longhand, which would have surely doomed my chances at graduation. 

Paperclip came with a unique form of copy protection: the Paperclip Key, a small grey dongle you plugged into the Atari 130XE's joystick port. Without the dongle, the software wouldn't operate. It took me years to wonder idly if the key was just an electronic switch that made the computer think a joystick button was being held down. So I pulled out the key, plugged in a joystick, held down the fire button, and lo and behold the software worked. A determined pirate could have copied the software, plugged in a joystick, and held the button down with electrical tape. Still, they wouldn't have gotten the manual, and for all the bother why not just buy the software...

Autoduel Manual

Here is all that remains of Sean's copy of Autoduel for the Atari 8-bit computers. It's a thick manual rich in complexity and lore, back in the days when computer games often included not only really well-produced manuals, but also maps, keyboard or joystick inserts and attachments, reference cards, and, best of all, little tokens and toys that represented something you might encounter in the game. 

Autoduel itself was a fantastic game, based on Steve Jackson's popular Car Wars strategy game. The premise is simple; you start out with $2000 and need to buy a car to start "auto duelling" in the arena or on the highways of the northeastern USA. Sean and I played that game for years, until at last the disc stopped working. 

The road to fun with this game got off to a rocky start, however. Sean bought the game with birthday and Christmas and allowance money he'd saved for quite some time, and the first copy we bought was defective. Sean and I returned to the computer store in Heritage Mall where he'd purchased Autoduel, and the proprietor refused to help, claiming we were returning it under false pretenses and had pirated a copy of our own before returning it. 

This is one of the few times I've gotten really, really angry in public. All I remember saying is "He's ten years old," in quiet fury. The man behind the counter grumbled and muttered a little more, but in the end he exchanged the defective copy of the game for a fresh one. Thankfully, the new copy worked. 

Incidentally, Sean and I recently Kickstarted the latest edition of Car Wars, so at some point in the future, when COVID-19 is no longer a threat, we'll get together to reignite the spirit of a game we really loved back in the 80s.