Pie Palace

Ages ago, when I was still part of the CU Greens, we invited William Kemp to speak about energy efficiency, and why it’s a good idea economically. The moral arguments for improved energy efficiency don’t hold nearly as much sway in our society as economic arguments, so it seemed like a good idea. The talk was pretty well received, but Kemp was speaking as a home owner, and most of the folks there were students who weren’t going to think about being home owners for the next five or ten years.

But it looks like the Ottawa Public Library has invited Cam Mather to speak on November 1 on the same topic: energy efficiency for urbanites. It turns out that Cam Mather is William Kemp’s publisher, so he’ll probably be fairly knowledgeable.

Ottawa is going to be having a Zombie Walk on October 22. Come in costume! Gather at Beechwood cemetary.

Now that I’m getting a new home, I’m casting about looking for magazines to subscribe to. I used to subscribe to the Globe and Mail, but I find its coverage rather bland (they “feed the goat:” publishing topical articles to fill space, rather than providing any kind of background or insight). What’s worse, I don’t have time to read a daily newspaper, so I’d like to start subscribing to a few magazines that will provide topical articles that are relevent for more than 24 hours.

So far I’ve decided upon New Scientist, The Walrus, and Photolife. Does anyone have any suggestions for other mags? I’m looking for something either current-affairs-y, or technical; preferably published in Canada; that covers more than headlines news.

The Ottawa branch of Stand up for Mental Health is putting together a comedy show as a fundraiser for folks with mood disorders. It’s at 7:00pm on November 30. Tickets cost $20. I can’t find an URL for the event, so call 613 567-4379.

I’m struggling to learn Eclipses’ hotkeys. There aren’t a lot of resources on the interwebs, but one good (and short) list can be found on the Computer World website. Note that Control-Alt-Up and Control-Alt-Down now move the cursor to the preceeding and succeeding class member.

No, really! We spoke in the ol’ H. of C! David Chernushenko spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs about Bill C-16. The bill, put forward by the Conservatives, would see Canadian election dates fixed, occuring on the third Monday in October, every four years.

I’ve heard it remarked that if bill C-16 were passed, there non-confidence votes wouldn’t result in an election. Instead, the House of Commons would have to blunder on until the next fixed date. Having read the bill, I’m not sure if this is the case. I would love to hear from anyone who knows. The Green Party position certainly doesn’t mention that, instead it suggests that the government should put more effort into moving towards some form of proportional representation.