CARbon tax

So as of July 1st, BC will be the first jurisdiction in Canada to have a tax on automobiles. Yes, we're being taxed to force us to go green. The whole province. The details look like this: We're all getting a $100 dividend in March. The idea here is that it's meant to jump start us on the taxes, cause not only are our cars being taxed, but our fuel is now being additionally taxed by 2.4%. Yeah, we don't already have the most expensive gas in Canada...let's tax it more.

The whole idea about this tax is to get us out of our cars, and thinking more environmentally. There are 3 major flaws to this new green regime:

1) British Columbia is more than the Lower Mainland. It's actually a REALLY fricking big place. See?



It's big, mountainous, and spans a ridiculously large degree of both latitude and longitude. It has many many many many many many...many trees, lots of resources to feed primary industries (water, minerals, animals, etc.). So that means that the vast majority of the province is not really suited to Toyota Priuses or Smart cars. And the industries that feed our economy are not really designed to operate on 120 brake horse power vehicles with no towing or hauling capacity. So basically everyone north of Vancouver and east of Chilliwack is being dinged hardcore. Plus, up north...hell, up on top of the local mountains, it can get crazy-cold, so telling people to turn down their thermostats to save on heating fuel...ummm. As a former Northern girl (as in Northwest Territories), I'd say, "Bite me. Seriously." Are you f---ing kidding me?


2) Do you know how expansive the Lower Mainland is? So expansive that this google maps screen snap doesn't get it all....Chilliwack is just east of Abbotsford, and Mission is North of Chilliwack, and both feed into the Lower Mainland in big ways.

You know how many people *don't* get to live in Vancouver, but still have to work there? Not only is it insanely expensive to live in Vancouver, but these days, you can't, cause everything's all full up. And most people don't want to, so they live in (only slightly) slower-paced suburbs and bedroom communities (like everything North, South and West of Vancouver-proper), and work in Vancouver, and COMMUTE. Why commute?

3) Let me introduce you to why people commute instead of taking transit:

This neato little screen shot is courtesy of Translink, the all-knowing, all-powerful....overbearing Overlords of Transit. What is says is that it will take me a minimum of 44 minutes on transit in order to get to my current temp assignment on Annacis Island (ie. stupid-crazy industrial area to get to) for my job that starts at 8 am. Because I'm a temp, I don't have keys, and have to wait outside for 20 minutes. Or, I can get there on time for a trip of 50 minutes. And none of this timing takes into consideration the horrendous afternoon rush hour traffic. Or, I can drive for 20 minutes and still have a life.

Plus, okay, the price of gas has gone up from 69 cents a litre to $1.19 a litre, and that didn't change the driving patterns of people here (except they bitch about the price of gas more), so what idiot thought we'd suddenly see the Light Green and hop out of our cars over an additional 2.4 cents a litre?

Start the Clock

Today I checked my Student Information Account at SFU, which is a daily occurence, as I watched item after item being dropped from my list of things necessary to complete my application for Grad School. I took care of everything I could early on, and my fate was then in the hands of my 3 referees. One got her letter in almost immediately, because she was leaving the country, but the other two had lots of stuff on the go, and reference letters were not priorities. Last week, in the midst of trying to get things back to normal, one more letter arrived at the MPP office. With the deadline looming (Feb 13th), I was starting to worry about the last one not making it in time because I learned that the prof had been quite ill, but this morning, I checked my to do list, and it was done! So a huge, huge thanks to three profs who came through on time, and who provided excellent references (they wouldn't have said yes if they didn't think I was right for more school).

Now my fate shifts once more, into the hands of complete strangers. This is the scary part. Two years ago, I was only beginning to fathom my potential when it came to Grad School. I'd always assumed I wasn't a good enough candidate because of my false starts early on, and no small part of me believed I wasn't smart enough anyways. Now, I know I'm better than good enough. The question though, is this: will the Strangers think so too?

Stay tuned...

Do it already!

It's been a couple of years of thinking on it now, and I think it's time to act. This year, I'm signing up to do the annual The Weekend to End Breast Cancer. It's a two-day, 60k walk in September, and I have to raise a minimum of $2000 to be allowed to walk. Now, I haven't registered yet, as I'm waiting for information to be sent to me, but just so you all know, once I get the info, I'm serious, I'm registering, and I'm asking for your support. My beloved Gramma started my life suffering from Breast Cancer, and hers ended shortly after losing her second breast almost 23 years later. My good friend, Heidi, faced a 95% chance of developing breast cancer in her lifetime, and she got proactive last year to do something about it. I myself am too chicken to get tested for the gene that indicates a likelihood that I'll have breast cancer at some point in my life, but I'll be damned if I don't do something to raise money for research for a cure or for better treatments.

This walk happens the weekend before the wedding, and if I'm willing to put my feet through 60k of walking, you'd better believe that the walk down the aisle will be a piece of cake :)

Sad state of (historical) affairs

Look, I know there are many people who don't like history, who think it's boring, and useless, and doesn't apply to their life in any practical way. I'm also aware of the abyssmal rise in calls for the removal of Social Studies from school curriculums in Canada. And let me tell you why this is all wrong. Well, aside from the old adage 'those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it, there is a more...significant reason for why this is wrong: simply put, imagine generations of people, looking stupid. Yes, I mean it. Stupid. And we all know what fondness I have for stupid people.

So what prompted this? Well, on the Yahoo Canada front page, I found this. There are of course little things that can slide, maybe some people mixed up fictional characters or legends with those who created or propogated them. But seriously??? 23% of Britons actually think that Winston Churchill was not real? One of Britain's most influential forces (yes, he was more than a man, he was a force to be reckoned with) that shaped a nation under duress...is a myth?

Gandhi is a myth?? WTF??!?!?

There could be an argument of semantics made that Churchill and Gandhi have been elevated to mythical status as they grew in history, but fictional? Holy Stupid People Batman! I mean no disrespect to all British people, obviously only a significant portion of 3000 Brits qualify for this particular scathing attack. But I guess I can't believe that things have regressed to this point.

Stupid. It's not just for George W. Bush anymore. *sigh*