If you happened to be watching A-Channel News @ 11 you might have briefly heard Paul Mennier mention there was a bit of excitement down by the flooded dock of the Edmonton Queen. Well, here's what happened:
It just so happened that Nicole and I were taking a walk through the Rivervalley to gawk at the flood waters, and on our journey back home, we came upon the dock. There was quite a few people there taking pictures and videos, an EPS presence, and A-Channel was all set up in front of the flooded scene to do a live report for the evening news. Just as I'd finished taking a video of the river, I casually noticed a drunken old man standing close to Paul Mennier and the "Police Line" barricade tape. I figured he was just rambling when he said something to the effect of "You want a story? I'll give you a story!" then took off his jacket and started walking towards the river.
Paul started screaming at the guy to stop, then started screaming for the police officer, who was casually leaning against his cruiser talking to his buddies. The officer eventually ran down to the man and it looked like things were under control (the drunk slowed down and faced the officer) when things went wrong very quickly. The man darted for the bank, the officer tried to tackle him, and then yelled out for help.
In the few instances it took us onlookers to fully grasp the situation, and even start to react, the old guy was in the icy waters and disappeared from sight. A half dozen of us immediately rushed down the path alongside the river to try and see what'd happened to him - I was running so fast my cell phone launched into the bushes. I got to the end of the Queen and the guy was nowhere in sight! A few anxious seconds later, his head popped up from under the water, and the crew of the EQ threw him a life preserver.
At this point he was still 20 metres from the shore, and floating past tremendously fast. He struggled to grasp the preserver then continued to speed down the river past the pedestrian bridge. More cops came running by as we directed them where to go; heck, Paul Mennier himself stopped to ask me what had happened! The whole fiasco was the damnedest thing I'd ever witnessed and the adrenaline was still pumping when I walked back to the dock to rendezvous with Nicole.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but it's frustrating to think why I didn't do more. Things like this happen in a flash, and to be honest, my initial reaction was hesitation. Could I have rushed down to help the cop in time? Was there something I could have done to reach the freezing, drunken man from the flooded shore? They always tell you to leave things like this up to the professionals, but I was right there and a man's life was hanging in the balance. I can rest easier knowing they eventually pulled him out of the river, alive, but it was more than a little unsettling to witness.
Currently: Programming the coffee maker. Will we have brew awaiting @ 7am!?
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Bark-o-Zap
So, how was your Father's Day? Nicole and I went over to Vegreville to visit the parents over a fine steak barbeque. Mom picked out these awesome steak medallions wrapped in bacon, 3-types of shish kabobs, and naturally, stuffed us full of countless side dishes. Dad got to kick back and relax as I worked the grill (hey, he's allowed one day of tranquility per year, I suppose) but those M&M steaks were so tender and flavourful that I couldn't take much credit for how perfect they turned out.
Little Maizey got to meet her "cousin" Babie for the first time. I brought along the camera for the occasion, but was too absent-minded to take a single picture. Babie's got 10 years on her, so wasn't as much in the mood for youthful playing, but at least they didn't attack each other. A few well-timed growls put Maizey in her place, that's for sure.
There were two unexpected excitements during the visit: 1. Maizey dug up one of Mom's flower beds, and, 2. Maizey managed to get her head stuck under the fence gate. We actually needed to take the gate apart to get her freed, so that was a little scary. It also explained, though, just why she was making so much noise!
Finally, it looks like we'll be picking up an electronic Bark Collar to train Maizey not to make so much noise while we're gone. Our neighbours in the apartment building are getting a bit upset, and we've already had one anonymous letter slipped under our door. Here's hoping that the collar works, or I imagine we'll be living on the street come next month...
Currently: Realizing that I've turned into one of those annoying dog owners who only has dog-related news to talk about.
Little Maizey got to meet her "cousin" Babie for the first time. I brought along the camera for the occasion, but was too absent-minded to take a single picture. Babie's got 10 years on her, so wasn't as much in the mood for youthful playing, but at least they didn't attack each other. A few well-timed growls put Maizey in her place, that's for sure.
There were two unexpected excitements during the visit: 1. Maizey dug up one of Mom's flower beds, and, 2. Maizey managed to get her head stuck under the fence gate. We actually needed to take the gate apart to get her freed, so that was a little scary. It also explained, though, just why she was making so much noise!
Finally, it looks like we'll be picking up an electronic Bark Collar to train Maizey not to make so much noise while we're gone. Our neighbours in the apartment building are getting a bit upset, and we've already had one anonymous letter slipped under our door. Here's hoping that the collar works, or I imagine we'll be living on the street come next month...
Currently: Realizing that I've turned into one of those annoying dog owners who only has dog-related news to talk about.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
The Answer
Too much free time on your hands? Got a lot of nice stuff you'd rather do away with? Well, my friends, the solution is simple! Get a puppy.
Now don't be mistaken, I'm very fond of our little scamp, and at 3 months old, it's to be expected that she'll be stirring up havoc and mayhem. For the most part, I think Nicole and I are doing a fairly decent job within the environment we're provided; a small, white carpeted apartment. In less than a week, we've got the pup trained to "go" outside and if stuck indoors, on these inviting grass-scented training pads. Accidents have been few and far between, but I don't think dabbing puppy piss out of dense carpeting is a pleasant experience at any frequency.
Her teeth are mini razor blades, and make short work out of anything not constructed from solid granite. Shoes, area rugs, furniture, floor lamps, electrical cords, even the TV cable outlet in the wall have fallen victim to her miniature mandibles. It's a great lesson to learn before producing offspring - anything within reach will be destroyed, and expensive and/or nice things will be the first to go.
But despite all the destruction, the reeking puddles, the barking, and the energetic nipping and biting, it's a great experience, and once she settles down and finally falls asleep at your feet, all is forgiven.
Currently: Enjoying a fine Stella Artois as I relax before bed...
Now don't be mistaken, I'm very fond of our little scamp, and at 3 months old, it's to be expected that she'll be stirring up havoc and mayhem. For the most part, I think Nicole and I are doing a fairly decent job within the environment we're provided; a small, white carpeted apartment. In less than a week, we've got the pup trained to "go" outside and if stuck indoors, on these inviting grass-scented training pads. Accidents have been few and far between, but I don't think dabbing puppy piss out of dense carpeting is a pleasant experience at any frequency.
Her teeth are mini razor blades, and make short work out of anything not constructed from solid granite. Shoes, area rugs, furniture, floor lamps, electrical cords, even the TV cable outlet in the wall have fallen victim to her miniature mandibles. It's a great lesson to learn before producing offspring - anything within reach will be destroyed, and expensive and/or nice things will be the first to go.
But despite all the destruction, the reeking puddles, the barking, and the energetic nipping and biting, it's a great experience, and once she settles down and finally falls asleep at your feet, all is forgiven.
Currently: Enjoying a fine Stella Artois as I relax before bed...
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Rendezvous with Vegreville
So I was laying on the floor in the middle of the living room, in what Nicole described as an impossible contortion of elbows and angles, when the good ol' Pysanka showed up on CBC Newsworld. It was an episode of Culture Shock and they had cameras going around Central/Eastern Alberta and documenting all the strange, large Ukrainian monuments. Vegreville clearly took centre stage, overshadowing that town with the giant pyrogy and Mundare with its giant ring of kubasa. Scott's dad was even interviewed to relate the importance of the attraction to the community, and I even learned something new - that the design of the egg was the first use of sophisticated computer graphics!
I seem to have phased back into a sci-fi reading kick as I've dusted off my Rama collection. The first book, Rendezvous with Rama was just as good, if not better, than I remembered. It's very easy to get wrapped up in its story and read the whole thing in one sitting - you just feel compelled to see what's gonna be revealed on the next page. From there, I hit Rama II, which was published 16 years later, and while it was still decent, it contained a lot of stereotypical soap opera crap. Love triangles, over-blown characters, numerous and unnecessary side stories and plots, etc. It did, however, make me want to tackle The Garden of Rama, despite remembering that this series continues to get more absurd with each book. I guess not absurd, per se, but the sense of wonder and discovery in the first book is never really recaptured or built upon adequately.
Currently: Ready to hop into bed...right after I take the puppy out for a walk
I seem to have phased back into a sci-fi reading kick as I've dusted off my Rama collection. The first book, Rendezvous with Rama was just as good, if not better, than I remembered. It's very easy to get wrapped up in its story and read the whole thing in one sitting - you just feel compelled to see what's gonna be revealed on the next page. From there, I hit Rama II, which was published 16 years later, and while it was still decent, it contained a lot of stereotypical soap opera crap. Love triangles, over-blown characters, numerous and unnecessary side stories and plots, etc. It did, however, make me want to tackle The Garden of Rama, despite remembering that this series continues to get more absurd with each book. I guess not absurd, per se, but the sense of wonder and discovery in the first book is never really recaptured or built upon adequately.
Currently: Ready to hop into bed...right after I take the puppy out for a walk
This is a Test...
...just updating some Blogger settings. I've got studying to do, so of course this is the best time to start fiddling around with my website minutiae.
Currently: Cramming a half-semester's worth of Karl Marx into my noggin'
Currently: Cramming a half-semester's worth of Karl Marx into my noggin'
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
The Damned
If it's true that one can judge a society by how their lowliest member is treated, then things aren't looking so hot for us folks with Arts degrees.
Case in point, the status of the washrooms on the UofA campus. The Tory building is one of the buildings used primarily by the Faculty of Arts, and oh! the horrors you'll witness if you venture into its lavatories. Broken faucets with only cold water, cubicles without locks, cake-less urinals, and stacks of brown paper towels to dry your hands. The acrid stench of stale urine is enough to literally peel the paint off the walls. I do not believe they actually clean these washrooms - they're free-range cess-pools. (Can I use that many hyphens in a row?)
In comparison, the attached Business Building has washrooms more elegant and space-aged than Bill Gates' house. Motion sensor toilets, urinals, sink faucets, and paper towel dispensers! All the stalls have functional locks, and there's not a stink to be smelt. Heck, even all the lighting works. Seeing as how both buildings are about the same age, it makes me wonder why all my crumbling Arts buildings haven't been renovated.
Well, no, that's not true...I don't wonder why. I know why. And it's unfortunate indeed.
Currently: Placing free long-distance calls to Tijuana, just for the hell of it.
Case in point, the status of the washrooms on the UofA campus. The Tory building is one of the buildings used primarily by the Faculty of Arts, and oh! the horrors you'll witness if you venture into its lavatories. Broken faucets with only cold water, cubicles without locks, cake-less urinals, and stacks of brown paper towels to dry your hands. The acrid stench of stale urine is enough to literally peel the paint off the walls. I do not believe they actually clean these washrooms - they're free-range cess-pools. (Can I use that many hyphens in a row?)
In comparison, the attached Business Building has washrooms more elegant and space-aged than Bill Gates' house. Motion sensor toilets, urinals, sink faucets, and paper towel dispensers! All the stalls have functional locks, and there's not a stink to be smelt. Heck, even all the lighting works. Seeing as how both buildings are about the same age, it makes me wonder why all my crumbling Arts buildings haven't been renovated.
Well, no, that's not true...I don't wonder why. I know why. And it's unfortunate indeed.
Currently: Placing free long-distance calls to Tijuana, just for the hell of it.
Saturday, June 04, 2005
The Future is Friendly(er)
Yes my friends, a great day is finally upon us. Nicole and I have utterly rid ourselves of Telus! We're now slaves to a different corporate entity - Shaw and their almighty digital phone service.
The world seems a brighter, happier place today.
Currently: Taking the new internet service for a test-drive.
The world seems a brighter, happier place today.
Currently: Taking the new internet service for a test-drive.
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