1. 15th anniversary.
This week Kim and I celebrated 15 years of wedded bliss. You didn't miss much, I was at work. Kim did a nice post about it, short, but well written and full of meaning. I can't outdo what she wrote, so I simply direct you there and say ditto.
2. Kid heading off to Muskoka Woods
13 year old is off to Muskoka for his grade 8 year end trip. 4 days with 500 students at a resort built just for kids. Nice. My grade 8 trip was to Peche Island in the middle of the Detroit river for 2 days. Yippee. The only thing that made that trip worthwhile was the rumours of it being haunted by the ghost of Hiram Walker, who had a house on the island over 100 years ago. Kid's bus left at 5:30 this morning, or as we used to call it, 0:dark early. Sheesh.
3. Taliban resurgence.
The Taliban is moving into Bulan Province in Pakistan, only 60 miles from the capital. Why the hell can't these idiots be stopped? Why did the weak government in Pakistan make a deal with these obviously dangerous morons to control Swat Province? Why should we worry? BECAUSE PAKISTAN HAS NUKES. Worst case scenerio - The Taliban holds one of their now famous show trials in which people are convicted of showing a toe or listening to music and have their heads neatly removed and handed to a relative, (along with the bill for the work). Except it's Isreal, or Jordan, or some other secular middle eastern country. Boom. Think about it. The resurgence of the Taliban is the biggest threat to world peace since Hitler.
4. Kim's fundraising efforts
Kim is raising money for her trip to the Odyssey of the Mind finals in Iowa this May. Today she is working a car wash BBQ, while planning a pasta dinner. They spent yesterday canvassing businesses for support, and managed to grovel up some nice donations. More is needed. Please visit Kim and donate all your hard-earned money.
5. Windsor on strike
Right now in our fair city the following organizations are on strike;
Veteran Cab - the largest taxi company around; the issue is the company wanting to jack up lease fees to cover their shrinking bottom line. Problem - the drivers also have a shrinking bottom line, this demand would create slave labour. 320 out.
City of Windsor Outside workers - Garbage men, parks and rec, maintenance, et al. Demands are pension related. 400 out, and the city now stinks, but parking tickets are optional.
City of Windsor Inside workers - licensing, social services, day cares, engineering, et al. Demands are again, pension related. 1400 out.
Red Cross? Yeah, I was surprised to. I didn't read the story, so hey, my research sucks this morning, give me a break, it's early and I can't read yet.
6. The big Three
So the city is essentially shutting down. Add to that the contract negotiations between Chrysler and the CAW regarding concessions needed in order to achieve a deal to save the company, from the federal and provincial governments. Fiat is in there somewhere, standing in the wings to 'rescue' the ailing company. But this rescue won't be any more than a transfer of technology to help Chrysler build smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Funny, you'd think corporate espionage would have handled that issue a long time ago. If that's all Fiat is bringing to the table, why bother? If Chrysler really wanted to build smaller more efficient cars they would have already done it by now. The fact is the corporate management has never removed their collective heads from inside their collective asses to realize that building massive guzzlers is a bad idea. Want to fix the car companies? Fire everyone making six figures and replace them all with soccer moms. Chrysler minivans are built here in Windsor and the assembly plant employs around 5,000. Spinoff from that line is in the thousands of manufacturing jobs around the province, most of them here in Essex County. I don't care what Chrysler and Fiat agree to. I don't care if they build toasters, just as long as someone comes to some agreement that saves thousands from losing their homes and this city becoming even more of a ghost town than it already is. Whether or not you agree with unions, we need those jobs. Shut the fuck up, cut the budgets, make agreements, and keep this city working.
7. Crappy TV
Why do I bother paying for cable? I have over 180 channels, 50 of which are playing CSI or NCIS at any given time of the day. 50 more are only broadcasting reality TV shows which stink. Another 20 are news channels which are completely depressing, and a few are sports channels that play obscure crap only people lacking in teeth and brain cells would watch. The TV has been taken over the youngest, I'm now listening to Hannah Montana in the background. All day, every day. Shut the damn thing off already.
8. The weather.
Spring has finally hit. I'll end this tirade on a bright note. I sat on the porch this morning with my coffee and a smoke, reading the paper, as the sun came up. Birds were singing, no cars were running, all was right with the world. I actually smiled when I realized I was out of cat food (as Stanley was biting my leg), I had to walk to the store. A wonderful 15 minutes of peace, warm spring breezes, and peaceful contemplation. I hope it lasts. Today should be around 30 degrees. Nice and hot for Kim's car wash, they couldn't wish for a better day. Too bad I have to work today, my bike would be out already.
So there, I've caught up on the week. Hope you've enjoyed sharing my little grey cloud, it's been therapeutic for me. Now I don't have blogger guilt.
Have a wonderful day.
