Anno Corvus Corax

There's been a lot of talk lately of this being the Year of the Dragon in Chinese tradition.  Here in Saskatoon it may be more appropriate to talk about the Year of the Raven.  Normally ravens are seen briefly here as they pass through late in the Fall and early in the Spring.  This Winter however they've hung around in signficant numbers.  Could the unusually warm weather have something to do with this?  Whatever the reason they seem to like it here at the moment.  It will be interesting to see what happens in the Spring when their cousins the crows, and birds like gulls, return.  It would also be interesting to know what effect they're having on the larger birds that do hang around Saskatoon all year round, like the magpies and blue jays.  And smaller birds may find themselves facing more problems due to the prescense of yet another species that may prey on them.

Visual.

What's your visual prescence online?  To the best of my knowledge there are only two photos of me online, one I took myself,  and my accidental capture when GoogleStreet View scanned Saskatoon a few years ago.  You can't see my face in either, which has been okay by me in the past.  All you can tell is that my hair is brown, and I could do to lose some weight.  Other people have extensive photo collections of themselves on places like Facebook and Flickr.  They're obviously more physically comfortable with being seen than I am.  In a way it's funny given how many people are paranoid about their online security.   There are people I've never met who I might recognise if I ever ran into them, merely because I saw their Flickr feed.  Of course it's a big world, and that's not likely to happen, but it is something to think about.

What's Stew With You?

Back in July(it didn't seem that long ago) I posted about trying out the microwave beef and mashed potatoes from Hormel's Compleats line.  Yesterday I tried the beef stew from the same product line.



The photo on the package of this stuff looks more appealing than the one on the roast beef.



But here's the actual stew itself.  Not the most appealing looking stuff, is it?

The stew was okay, but I don't think I'll buy it again.  I can buy Puritan brand beef stew for a $1.25 a can at the local Dollarama, and I think that stuff is a bit better product, even if it takes longer to cook.  The Hormel stew cost me $3.50 at Safeway, and that was on sale, the regular price being $4.75 or something like that.

NGD.

It's been a long time since I bought a guitar.  I'd been thinking about buying something this year, so yesterday I pulled the trigger and bought this Squier Classic Vibe Thinline Telecastter. 





Of these photos I like the back the best, as it nicely shows the figuring of the mahogany used for the body.

The Telecaster was the first successful solidbody "Spanish" (that is, made to be played by fretting) guitar to see mass production.  The Leo Fender design was first released under the Esquire name in 1950.  When local guitarists convinced Fender to change the neck design so it had a truss rod, allowing for adjusting the curvature of the neck to compensate for climate effects, Fender renamed the guitar the Broadcaster.   Several hundred were produced before the  Gretsch Company asked the name be changed since they already had a Broadkaster drum line.  The result was a final name change to the one that would stick with the instrument, Telecaster.  Fender would soon revive the Esquire name for a single pickup version of the design, versus the two pickup Telecaster.

Telecasters have been offered under the Fender brand name ever since, a production run second only to the hollowbody Gibson ES-175, which debuted in 1949, making the '175 the electric guitar model produced the longest. 

This Squier model is based on the late '60s Telecaster Thinline, designed by the late Roger Rossmeisl(who designed many of the classic Rickenbacker instruments used by the Beatles) with help from Phil Kubicki.  It features a mahogany body with a hollowed out chamber and accompanying f hole, both features originally being an attempt to create a lighter version of the Telecaster than the original solidbody design.  This emulation is part of Squier's Classic Vibe line, which has been getting a lot of attention from guitarists of late.  These Chinese made instruments run in the 300 buck range, and show a nice level of quality for that price. 

Fender established the Squier line of instruments in 1982 when it began selling Japanese made instruments.  Fender had acquired the V.C. Squier string company in 1965, and decided to use the Squier name for their initial Japanese line in case reaction proved negative.  Instead Squier went on to be Fender budget oriented line, with production over the years moving to South Korea, Indonesia, India, and China as production costs increased in more developed countries and as guitar manufacturing capabilities grew in sophistication and quality in new places. 

This is a nice instrument.  I haven't popped off the pickguard to get a look at the electronics, but this one is surprisingly electrically quiet for a guitar with single coil pickups, which are prone to 60 cycle electric noise.  It seems a good shielding job was done.  Some folks have complained about the neck width and depth but they haven't bothered me yet.  If you're looking for a budget electric check these out. 

Crunch

While doing some shopping today I decided I wanted some chips.  Unfortunately Real Canadian Superstore didn't have the Old Dutch chips I wanted.  After a bit of looking around I decided on a package of President's Choice Organics line chips because the price was good.

I certainly didn't choose them because they were organic.  Frankly the idea of organic junk food is rather silly.  Whatever minor health advantages being organic might give you they're still potato chips.  Just like regular, non-organic potato chips they have quite a bit of fat.  Using organic sunflower oil doesn't change that.  I don't think they taste any better than any other potato chip, although they're quite good.

Betcha Wanna Pet Him.

It was that time of year again.  Dudley came to visit last week.



Here he is waiting for everyone else to come back.  I'm afraid I'm not that entertaining to dogs.



I'm pretty sure I took this one mid chew of one of his dog treats.  His eyes look a bit odd because I used the redeye tool of the Kodak software I use on them. 

I should have tried to take more pictures of him.  I especially wanted one of his tail frantically waving as he was the centre of attention, but I couldn't pull one off.

Two Sins.

I've commented in the past at my annoyance at how messy many people are, casually throwing trash on the ground, often from vehicles.  But things like this are even more annoyng.  Walking down McKercher Drive this afternoon I came across this bottle of Pepsi lying on the ground.  As you can see it's half full.  Why would someone toss away a half full bottle of pop?  If you can't drink the whole thing take it home.  At the very least throw it in a trash can.  Better yet consider buying a smaller serving next time, even if you have 2 bucks or more to throw away, which is what one of these usually costs around Saskatoon these days.  As you can imagine I dumped out what remained in the bottle before taking it home for my container recycling pile.

Old Timer.

Today I received a nice surprise in change for a twenty, this 1989 issue Canadian 10 dollar bill

This series of bills, along with its counterparts of other denominations, are refered to as "bird" bills by some folks for obvious reasons.  Given the excellent shape of this bill for its age I wonder if it didn't sit in someone's desk drawer or other drawer for a long time.  (The serial number for this ten was removed via edting by me, hence the white areas.)

I Disagree.

This poster, seen in a bus shelter, is one of several that are part of an anti-gambling addiction campaign from Saskatchewan Health.



Here's a closeup of the main text of the ad.  I can't agree with it.  Many people certainly overestimate their skill at poker.  But this ad in my opinion implies poker is far more of a game of chance than it is.  If poker is such  a result of "luck of the draw" why do people like Phil Hellmuth, who has won 11 World Series of Poker bracelets in various events, exist?  How is it possible for people to get better at playing the game?  We're not talking about something like roulette, where the player has no physical influence on the game after he or she chooses the number they want the ball to land on.  My own experience is that I've done better as time has gone on as I've learned what works and what doesn't.  Am I a great player?  Nope, and I know my limitations.  But you won't convince me skill doesn't play a major role in poker.

We Approve.

The Saskatoon Health Region has recently started a billboard compaign promoting vaccinating children under two.  Besides the bus ad above I've also seen a billboard as well.  It does make me wonder if there's a lot of antivax nonsense floating around Saskatoon that they feel the need to counter.

Vaccinate your kids.  The antivax arguments are not only silly, they are a risk to childhood health since they lead to children not being vaccinated.

Go Pass In Action.

As a followup to yesterday's post on the new Saskatoon Transit Go Pass system here's a shot of the electronic fare box used.  This includes a printer for transfers on the right of the unit.

And here's a closeup of the top of the unit.  To use your Go Pass you hold it close to the blue area for several seconds.  The unit then scans it and confirms your pass is currently paid up.  I found it worked with my pass sitting in a card sleeve in my wallet, so I won't have to take it in and out all the time.

Apparently not everyone got the message about the changes.  Even this morning there was a lineup of people trying to get into the customer service office in the downtown bus mall.  You can in fact already buy the passes elsewhere, but apparently you need to go to customer service to exchange any existing transit tickets you have for a Go Pass.  I bought mine at the Centre at Circle and 8th Shoppers Drug Mart.  Some people were probably hoping to get their pass personalised, which allows you to easily replace it without losing your existing balance on the pass should it be lost or stolen.  I'll probably do this as well, but I think I'll wait for a week or two and let the rush die down.

One interesting thing I did notice is that the bus driver apparently has to sign in and out of the unit if he leaves the bus.  I wonder if this kind of information might not be examined by management to keep an eye on what the drivers are doing when buses are stopped at the various bus malls and so on.

If you have any comments about the new system feel free to leave them in the comments section.  I would especially be interested in hearing from anyone who is familiar with the actual technical operation of this and similar systems.

End Of An Era.

Today marks the end of an era.  It is the last day Saskatoon Transit will use bus tickets and conventional bus passes.  You can see examples of the adult monthly passes they've issued over the last few years in this photo.



This is the final paper pass issued, covering January of 2010.  The switchover was chosen for the beginning of February given that the World Junior Hockey Championship was running in Saskatoon at the start of January and they wanted to avoid complicating  things for visitng bus users.



Passes and bus tickets have been replaced with this, the resuable Go-Pass Smart Card.  A disposable one day version is also available.  The buses have all had electronic fare boxes installed that will read these passes as well as accept coins, which they will count to ensure you pay the right amount.  Paper money will no longer be accepted, which is just as well given that paper money tended to jam up the old coin tubes.

23rds Not The Charm.

Last night City Council discussed the plans for renovating the troublesome 23rtd Street bus mall. Although no actual work has been done yet the project is expected to go over budget, and the councillors sent the current design proposal back to Saskatoon Transit for more work. They feel the proposed design isn't patron friendly enough, and doesn't consider the potential for housing businesses. But I have to wonder about Maurice Neault, whose idea is that the terminal building be put on stilts, 15 feet in the air, in an effort to create some sort of cool landmark. Does Neault actually use the buses? If he did he would see that many users of the system are seniors, mothers with young children, and the disabled. His "skyterminal" would therefore require elevators to allow access to these customers, who will not be likely to climb two storeys of stairs to access whatever public facilities might go in the terminal building. A street level terminal building is much more accessable and much more welcoming.

I'll also use this post to make a prediction. One of the ideas in the existing terminal plan is for some sort of coffee shop. It will not surprise me at all if this turns out to be a Tim Hortons. Currently the nearest Hortons to downtown is by Kelsey Institute on Idylwyld Drive. They have no outlet in downtown proper, and the bus mall would be an obvious location for them to build one.

Words Versus Images.

I spotted this billboard on a bus this morning, and immediately noted what could be considered a problem. This is supposed to be encouragement for you to worship God. Yet the arrow on the "U turn allowed" sign points downwards, which can be taken to mean that "getting closer to God" is actually bad for you. Yes, that sign may be accurate to real life, but it belies the message they're trying to get across. It would be more appropriate, in more ways than one, if the arrow pointed upward instead.

For those of you not familiar with it the United Church is a uniquely Canadian church, founded from a merging of several Protestant groups in 1925. It is Canada's largest Protestant denomination, but how much longer that will be the case remains to be seen. The church has shed quite a few members over the years as its clergy and beliefs have become increasingly liberal, leading to more conservative members finding other places of worship.

Better Late Than Never.

I really should have posted this last week when he was here. Oh well, here's a shot of Dudley during his yearly visit to Saskatoon. It's too bad I don't have some more lively shots of him that would reflect his behaviour around a crowd, but I never seem to end up with any.

Smear.

This photo wasn't supposed to to look like this. It's supposed to be a shot of people at an event at the Saskatoon Public Library I was at today. Unfortunately I accidentally moved the camera just as the shutter snapped. But even though it's an accident I actually like this shot. It looks like a deliberate work of abstract art even though it isn't. So I've given it the title Smear, and here it is for everyone to see. And no doubt go "Gee, that's a crappy piece of blurry crap."

This post makes me think I need to go through some of my old posts and add photo tags to them.

I've started a blog for photos I've been taking of Saskatoon. You can see it here.

Gas In Saskatoon, October 31, 2008.

Gas dropped another couple of cents this week to 102.9 cents a litre. However as I understand it oil prices rebounded a bit this week, so perhaps this will be the last drop for a while. I've decided I'll only do these posts if the price of gas changes, so at some point I will probably skip a week or two.

The photo this week was far more heavily cropped than the previous ones, hence the lower quality.

Have You Seen Her?

If you live in Saskatoon the answer is yes. This photo, seen here on a large billboard, is part of the current Midtown Plaza shopping mall advertising campaign. As with similar photos used in past campaigns I'm curious to know if this photo was taken specifically for Midtown Plaza, or if it's a stock photo or part of other campaigns by the mall's owner, Oxford Properties. So if you've seen it elsewhere let me know.

Sorry, Guys.

I like you. I really do. But I'm afraid I need to start seeing you a lot less often. Spending too much time with you is just not good for me.

A Saskatoon (Non)Fact.

In some areas of Saskatoon power is provided by mysterious electrical creatures. As can be seen from this warning sticker on one of the boxes containing them these creatures are enraged by their captivity, and if released will attack the nearest possible target.