sober second thought

Woo-ha!

After you use the new super-powerful and energy efficient Husky hand dryers at MEC, you'll never feel the same way about your skin's relationship to the rest of your body.

Note: This blog entry is in no way sponsored or endorsed by either Husky or MEC. Any effusiveness on the part of the author is inspired purely by the effectiveness of the hand dryer and that funky rippling thing that happened to his skin.

Crackerjack

What's that saying ... "any press is good press"? "It's always nice to have your work recognized"?

Activists, companies split over Kyoto panel

Environmentalists threaten boycotts

[...]

"John Bennett, senior policy adviser for the Sierra Club, said that if the government wants to get industry involved, it should invite companies, such as Shell and Suncor, that have been more supportive of Kyoto and the government's environmental plan.

Mr. Bennett said environmental groups are giving Environment Canada a bit more time to convince them environmental concerns will not be sidelined by the views of industry at the four tables. "If they don't, there will be a boycott of all the tables," he added.

"The companies that fought the hardest against doing the right thing end up with the most influence with the government. It might have been some crackerjack's idea that this would be a smart way to get them in the house, but they weren't thinking what that communicated to Canadians."

Rick Smith of the Environmental Defence Fund expressed similar concerns, saying: "It's another bizarre decision by the government. It's yet another fox-in-the-henhouse scenario."

[...]

This from a Globe and Mail article on Monday. If you read the full article, you'll see it's not all bad (Pembina's Marlo Raynolds was relatively positive!).

Anyway, you can imagine how good a mood this puts people in.

Life in the Bike Lane

I'm back from vacation, but it took me a little longer to get back on track with the blog. I thought I would post a few cycling-related shots in honour of Lana, who channels Lance, recently posted one of her excellent Ottawa shots with a cycling/urban planning theme (and had it featured at ottawastart.com), and is sadly retiring placeandthyme.com. We'll miss your site, Lana!
Ottawa [view large]

This is from the canal, believe it or not (near the Canal Ritz, but from the opposite side -- i.e. Colonel By).
Ottawa [view large]

I often bike to Carleton and back (from Centretown) in the evenings.
Ottawa [view large]