A Lesson In Every Vote Counting

I just read that the recount in Kitchener-Waterloo has just finished and the Conservative Peter Braid's victory over incumbent Liberal Andrew Telegdi has been confirmed. After the recount, the margin of victory was just 17 votes. That kind of blows my mind, thinking about how the outcome could have gone 2 very different ways depending on the moods of a handful of people on election day.

And I've Never Been To Boston In The Fall

I'm having way too much fun with that lyric.

Anyway, here I am in Boston to do a training course for work. I'm here all week, so I have to figure out something to do to stave off the boredom. Where I'm staying is not quite in Boston, per se, but just outside of it in Newton, MA.

What's the deal with Air Canada Jazz? Why does it even exist? They use the same website to buy a ticket as Air Canada... They use the same gates at the same terminals as Air Canada. And, for the most part, they fly the same routes as Air Canada. Why not just have everything as Air Canada? For example, I booked a flight to Boston from Toronto on aircanada.com, and the flight time that I liked happened to be a Jazz flight. Nothing different than booking a regular Air Canada flight, just in name. Anyway, when I check-in at the airport, I was informed that my flight had been cancelled and replaced with another leaving at the same time. The only difference... this flight is regular Air Canada, instead of Jazz. Same price, same terminal, same departure time, same nifty touchscreen on-board video... just a different name. Again... what's the point in Jazz? Even if there are some routes that are only served by Jazz, why not just call them Air Canada?

Election Today! Vote!

Hey guys, just a reminder to get out and vote today.

I'm so very much looking forward to tonight. One of my favourite things is to watch election results roll in. I'll have my TV on with picture-in-picture and my laptop feeding me results beside me. Awesome!

I thought I had made up my mind on who I was voting for a few weeks ago, but switched late last week. From the looks of the polls, it seems there was great volatility in voter preferences over the last few weeks of the campaign (but not as much as in the stock market), so it'll be a very interesting result. Here are some predictions I've found around the net:

electionprediction.org has the results at 125 Conservative, 94 Liberal, 51 Bloc, 36 NDP, and 2 Independent.
Similarly, democraticspace.com has it at 126 C, 92 L, 52 B, 36 N, 2 I.
However, Ekos has their prediction at 136 C, 84 L, 51 B, 35 N, 2 I.

My gut feeling has the Conservatives in the mid 130's range, which agrees with Ekos. We'll see. I can't wait.

Two Weeks Of Games That Don't Count

I got a last minute e-mail to be a spare this week for curling (my team had a bye this week), and wouldn't you know it, I was on a winning team! That feels different. But the scoreboard at the side still won't change as this wasn't with my regular team. It's only fair since I didn't count the exhibition loss last week.

A Lot Can Change In 5 Years, But Not Necessarily

Today, October 6th marks exactly five years since I started working here at Paradigm Transportation Solutions. Think about that time frame... five years. In five years, I started and finished University... also high school, for that matter. Comparing those different periods, it's amazing how little things have changed in the past five years. I know that I'm fortunate to have such a stable career situation, and as far as I can tell, I should be here for the foreseeable future. Anyway, it's a day of celebration (by buying my own lunch out) and of reflection...

Today, We're All Undefeated

Curling starts tonight! Exciting times. And I get to use my brand new Curling pants!