Dead Crow

I spotted a dead crow this morning and reported it here. It might have died from the West Nile virus but a bit later I saw a BC Hydro truck repairing something just above so perhaps it was electrocuted.

Movie Recommendation: One Week

One Week is about living and dying. It's also about freedom out on the open road. And did I mention, it's also about Canada!

It follows a man on a motorcycle, driving from Toronto to Vancouver Island. I've driven much of this route, in one form or another, several times so it was wonderful to see many familiar scenes once again.

4-stars, highly recommended! Do rent it if you get a chance.

Ron Silver R.I.P.

Ron Silver, a great actor and outspoken conservative pundit, died yesterday after a 2-year battle with cancer. You can learn more about him and his career here on IMDB.

Update: Ann Coulter shares her very personal thoughts on Ron Silver.

Surreal Moment at YVR

I drove out to the airport at 11:30pm in order to pick up my uncle, who was flying home from Hawaii. So there I was, waiting around the International Arrivals area when on the large screen TV came the news report about the death of Robert Dziekanski just metres away from where I was standing! They played the video over & over again in slow motion while everyone in the waiting lounge watched.

They've remodeled the place completely though that it would be impossible for a newcomer to YVR to even know where the incident happened.

Is The Radical Left Now Killing People?

A tragic story has emerged out of Vancouver, where a homeless woman who refused to go into a shelter accidentally burned herself to death, undoubtedly trying to stay warm.

This afternoon, David Eby, executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association and a founder of the Pivot Legal Society, appeared with Sean Leslie on CKNW. You can listen to the interview here (at 36:45). In my opinion he showed little concern for this woman dying and instead just used her death as an excuse to further his political agenda.

One caller severely chastised him for taking both sides on this issue, namely:

1. He has long criticized the police and other public officials for forcibly detaining those who they felt were a danger to themselves or others.
   
   
2. Within hours of the woman's death he was blaming the authorities for this woman's death. Read the news story and decide whether the authorities are at fault.
   

Mr. Eby can't have it both ways. Why would it have been so difficult for him to come out and say, "I have to admit that we were wrong in this case. Under such extreme weather conditions, the authorities should have the right to forcibly house people if they feel there's a reasonable chance that harm will come to them."

But thinking outside of the self-administered ideological blinders is not possible with members of the Radical Left like Mr. Eby, is it? Now a woman is dead and he hasn't changed his views one little bit. I don't know whether to feel more saddened or more sickened by him & his ilk. I don't know about you, but if I ever see him walking down the street, I'll definitely change over to the other side.

R.I.P. Scruff

My good friend, John & Fiona, just lost their dear cat, Scruff, after what I understand is 19 years on this planet. Even in her old age, Scruff fearlessly guarded their North Vancouver home from raccoons and bears. This lovely and beautiful creature will be missed by all.

R.I.P: Benazir Bhutto - 1953 - 2007

UPDATE: Mark Steyn weighs in.

Robert Dziekanski's Death: The Incompetence Continues

Canadian Border Services held a heavily controlled press conference to release their inquiry into the death of Polish immigrant, Robert Dziekanski, on October 14th. As I expected, it revealed nothing particularly new in substance, other than they had no idea what he was doing for 6 hours and 31 minutes, in between when he passed through primary inspection and when he tried to leave the luggage area.

It annoys me to no end how the process of tracking passengers is completely flawed. Nobody in this organization knew where he was. When his mother tried to find out, they didn't even know he had arrived!

Being in the I.T. business, it seems so glaringly obvious how a simple mobile database tracking system could have been implemented as long as 5 years ago. Federal Express has one. So does Wal-Mart. So does Amazon. But our Canadian government? Nope, they're still living in the 1980's.

How difficult would it be to have mobile wireless computers on every mobile official at the airport, each getting an update from their central database every minute. Anyone not accounted for, for more than 30 minutes could be red flagged and brought to the attention of one or the attention of many.

Additionally, each handheld computer could have prepared messages and/or questions in every language known to mankind, displaying them visually or audibly or even as welcome videos. Simple, simple, simple.

Yet will something so obvious get implemented? Probably not. Or if the government were to take on such a project, it would cost $100 Million and never get done right. If such technology was needed by a private sector facility, they would buy something "off the shelf" and just make minor modifications to suit their specific requirements. While I don't sell this kind of software myself I know many firms who do. I estimate the cost per mobile employee could easily be kept under $1,500 per person, for both the hardware & software.

What a concept, having timely, accurate information in the Year 2007! Who would'da thunk it possible?! Certainly not our public bureaucrats.

Inspirational Lecture by Professor Randy Pausch