This is why privatized medicine can't work. Because it's easier to make money on frivolity than to do work actually helping people:

A board-certified anesthesiologist with a medical degree from the University of North Carolina, Dr. Burke is, according to his website, the “first physician in the United States to formally dedicate his career to the treatment of hangovers.”

Earlier this month, he unveiled his new treatment clinic, a 45-foot-long tour bus emblazoned with soothing blue and white graphics and his business’s name, “Hangover Heaven.” Inside the bus, it looks like a cross between an ambulance and a conference room at Embassy Suites. IV drips hang from the ceiling, patients are swathed in blankets, but there are also spacious leather sofas with built-in beverage-holders and flat-screen TVs. EMTs administer relief to patients in the form of branded medical cocktails. The $90 Redemption package contains one bag of saline solution, vitamins, and an anti-nausea medication. The $150 Salvation package includes a double shot of saline solution, the vitamins, the anti-nausea medication and an anti-inflammatory as well.

That was a brilliant strategy.
My first thought was - why did they both look inside both of their balls? You only have to look at one...

Of course they made a game show of the prisoners dilemma - why haven't I seen this yet?

Beck, I think you'll like this:

It really disappoints me that the CBC didn't bother to do something better than donate them to Goodwill... like connect with collectors, or other record sellers, or even see if Folkways could benefit from some of the material.

Alas, shortsightedness is not a trait of just our political leaders... (and the pollsters)


And I think the results of this election scream for a serious look at switching to proportional representation, rather than FPTP. That doesn't mean it'll happen, the winning party wins because of FPTP and is thus less likely to be interested in a switch, but I really think it's time for change.

The other excuse I've heard from the pollsters is that they all got the same answer using different methodologies, so they can't all have gotten it wrong! "We were all equally wrong, so that means we were right. Right?" Poor schmucks.

If any of you listen to Vinyl these days, and are still in Edmonton, the CBC music library has been gutted and you can buy their old records at Goodwill. It is mostly classical realm of the music world. There are several thousand records there. It's about $2 a record, so if you know what you are looking for, there are some deals to be found. Be prepared to put a fair bit of time in as the volume of records is overwhelming.

It is neat to have a piece of our Canadian history, but also sad that a collection of this caliber was dismantled in this way.

Many of the Records are labeled as to when they were acquired, and have individual tracks labeled to the exact play time, often overriding what was printed initially by the manufacturer. One of the records has a note tapped to the sleeve saying, "Do not use, "the rite of spring", as background music. This was requested by the composer himself when he was still alive. Please let's respect his wishes.( see letter from Boosey & Hawkes, 15/08/77" Tidbits like this excite me.

Two more thoughts about last night:

- voter turnout increased 40% from 2008!

- if the Liberals normally receive 20-25% of the vote, and a large segment of that (10-15%) moved to the PCs out of fear of the Wildrose, then can we conclude that, without strategic voting, the Wildrose would have won an overwhelming majority with just 34% of the vote? Has the time come to reexplore first-past-the-post and its problems?

Pollsters make excuses:

“The voters were moving so quickly . . . We finished our last poll Thursday night, four days before the election. We were seeing already movement away from Wildrose toward the Conservatives and that really accelerated in the last 24 hours,” Mr. Coletto said.

...

“I think in the last day of the campaign, maybe right up until election day, Wildrose cratered. We did get part of that [trend], but it continued,” said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research.

...

“Early in the campaign, it was socially undesirable to support the PCs . . . so people were telling us they intended to vote Wildrose, that they intended to vote for change and then at the last minute voting intentions changed very quickly,” Mr. Coletto said.

Catchy guitar riffs-Check!
Persistent intense drum beats- Check!
Power ballads- Check!
Choir vocal backup -Check!

Could be a bit more crunchier or ethereal it would be perfect.

Will definitely give them more of a listen.

Thanks Tone!

A Megaman-inspired rock opera. Al, I think I've found your new favourite band:

The Protomen - Light Up The Night

It's surprising how many people I've talked to who are seriously torn over who they are voting for this election. I really hope it translates into a significantly higher voter turnout than usual.

Given how the most recent polls look, if you fail to vote today you will be indirectly responsible for allowing a party with no grasp of the consequences of their actions into power. It's illegal to tell a person how to vote, but the consequences of this election will probably throw this province back 50 years in the way they think.

A wildrose polster called my girlfriend's parents' house last night. We were eating dinner naturally. They asked first to speak with my girlfriend's dad and brother. When told they weren't home, they then asked to speak with my girlfriend's mom or my girlfriend. Form your own opinions on that one, but I say the bigotry is built into the party from top to bottom. I honestly wish the election was a week from now because I don't think we've scratched the surface of that kind of thinking coming from the Wildrose.

Please please go do something about it today.