October blading

Been a tough month for blading. It has been quite wet, and with the change to fall, so comes my other (winter) activity, curling. So, my time is greatly reduced. Of course, injuring myself earlier in the month did not help.

I was left 27km short of my second goal 2,000km. I managed one blade, bringing it down to 12km...but there I stuck. Last night, I finally managed that milestone. Would have liked to finish this in September, but I will take what I can.

In 2003 I managed 200km (or so) in October. This year I will be lucky to get 60km. I guess it depends on the weather, my schedule and other factors. I generally measure anything before May and after September as one month as my kms drop quite significantly.

But, I reached 2,000km (in 98 blades) and I have one more blade to reach 100. What this indicates to me is that with my schedule, activities and the weather I should plan around 100 blades in a year. To increase my kms, therefore, I would need to focus on my kms per blade, not increasing the number. I was over 20km average this year, and that would be my goal again next year. I will probably set 1,800km as my main goal, 2,000km being my second goal.
The date will be what I am trying to reach. In 2004 I reached 1,200km on August 27th. This year I reached 1,500km on the same day. My goal would be to reach 1,800km by that date.

Teachers

We have a teachers strike on at the moment. This is a tough one to judge. I am not in favour of teachers having the right to deny their services to children just as I don't believe doctors, nurses, policemen or firefighters should have that right either.
They are an essential service. However, if you take away that right from a person you need to replace it with a mechanism which allows them to be treated fairly.

The first thing I would like is a separation from the financial issue of salaries and the classroom conditions. Just as a private company does not allow their employees to dictate to them the conditions within the company, the teachers should not be allowed to dictate those terms. I do believe that they have a voice in that though. There should be an independent panel with representatives from both sides who decide on those factors.
It is hard for me to consider a 15% wage increase (over 3 years) when I myself have had nothing for 4 years now, and probably none again this year. Part of this money is considered 'catch up'. This is the part I don't understand. The teacher's union states that other teachers, in other provinces are getting more money than they are. So, they want to play catch-up. Why? Software Engineers in Toronto make more money than I do, I pay for the priviledge of living here. If I approached my employer and said 'give me the same money as a Torontonian' they would tell me to move to Toronto.
If teachers feel that Alberta gets more money, then move to Alberta...you have a right to move your services to whichever place suites you, and your financial desires. However, if you want to live in Lotus-Land, then you are going to have to accept the wages offered.
As far as a wage increase, that is different. I think all people deserve to have a fair and equitable wage increase. Costs are going up, things are expensive and we need to keep up with that.

I should note that a wage increase which matches inflation, drives inflation.

I am hoping that this will be settled soon, and fairly....but I think you can bargain better when you are working than when you are not.

Terrifying Times

With all of the talk about terror, the war on terror you have to be concerned with the world that we live in. But among all of that, what scares me most is the people who claim to be protecting us from these threats.

The US scares me. The polarization of the conservative and liberal agendas and the intolerance that the current government shows towards people who do not share their point of view is not a positive development in our world. Worse in a country which describes itself as the 'home of the free'. How can one cherish freedom, free-speech and at the same time condem those that make it.

The scariest part of this is that I do not see it changing. For 20 of 28 years we have had successively more conservative, Republican adminstrations in the US. Each time it has become worse, starting with Reagan and now with Bush jr, who is by far the worst. Is it the rise in the power of the evangelical churches which is to blame? Is it their influence over the President which is causing this issue. Why is the church the least tolerant of other people when their very teaches were for tolerance. Christianity teaches tolerance, yet they are not?