Bad Dogs or Bad Neighbours?

As a cat person I am keenly aware that we live in a dog-sentric society. I prefer cats for a number of good reasons which I can cover in another blog. In fact, I think I already did that once. At any rate, it seems that my neighbourhood has either a few bad dogs or bad dog owners.

What do you do about the neighbour two doors down who lets their dog run up and down the street shitting on everyone's lawn? I would never hurt an animal, so that option is off the table. Do I simply take the dog crap off of my lawn and put it on their lawn? If I do then that means I have to deal with someone else's dog crap. I've thought about the anonymous letter explaining the possible courses of action that could be taken if they don't stop their yappy little runt from taking a crap on my lawn. Direct threats are out of the question. What is one to do?

What do you do about the other neighbour, again two doors down on the other side, who have a dog that simply won't stop barking? Do you call the municipality's bylaw enforcement? This awful Rover thinks that anything that moves in the same postal code is worth barking at. Again, you really can't blame the dog, can you? The dog is just awful by nature, as many dogs are. It's up to the owner to train their dog and keep it in check. The blatant unwillingness to do anything about such a rotten animal shows a level of maturity and sophistication so low it may show up on reality TV.

Ultimately my experience in dealing with rotten neighbours, be it those awful people who cranked the music up to eleven at 1am (thankfully, those folks moved away) or noisy dogs has shown that bylaw officers aren't particularly effective. So I have to take the matters into my own hands in a creative, non-threatening, non-violent way. I'm smart. I'll figure it out.

I really hate dogs. Almost as much as I hate humans, since so many of them have IQs on the level with their rotten dogs. There are some great dog owners out there, but they seem like they are outnumbered by the bad in a society that seems to be willing to let dogs get away with anything. Don't get me started on the nasty aggressive breeds like pit bulls and rotties. People who defend these breeds are only fooling themselves. But ultimately it is the yappy dog and the pooping dog I hate the most.

But that's just the way I see it.

2 Case Studies In Why Both The Hard Left and Right Are Terrible

In my adult life I've heard some of the same bullshit enough times that I really just can't stand it much longer. From both sides of the political spectrum the sheer amount of dogmatic nonsense that I continually hear is unfathomable. People for whom flexibility is the same thing as "selling" out. Beware of these people, they have narrow minds. People who think that Stephen Harper is the devil are just as silly as those who think that George W. Bush was a great President. Here are some examples of how each of these moronic ideological encampments are disastrous in practice and dishonest in debate.

1. A Tax On Your TV

I recently had some family members return from a trip to the UK. Over there you seem to have to pay a tax on everything, for everything. Yet their standard of living is far lower than here in Canada. Want a TV in your house? You must pay an annual tax for that of several hundred dollars. Don't want to work? No problem, just take government provided benefits. Want to own a house? Forget it. You'll never have enough money. There are the wealthy and the struggling. What we, in Canada, consider a middle class simply doesn't exist. And while people were out celebrating the death of Margret Thatcher so few realize that they lost all the gains that she got them. People there aren't poor because of exploitation by the right, they are poor because of exploitation by the left. This is true all across the bankrupt wasteland that is Europe. A continent controlled by a fat, bloated bureaucracy, the unions who protect them, and the extreme left. This is a socialist nightmare compared to a truly mixed economy.

2. Who Needs Accountability Anyway

After the financial meltdown of 2008 you'd think that the USA would realize that despite all the blame that they simply need some sensible regulation (a-la Canada). Look at all the exploitation that led to that meltdown. On the left you had the bleeding hearts of the world telling people who couldn't afford a house that they too should be able to buy one. The willing accomplices on Wall Street were more than happy to extend a 60 year mortgage to these folks. And so many people remain in such a situation that a rise in the interest rate that would actually make saving pay for the young and retirement incomes increase for the old can't happen without causing a depression. And after the meltdown did they learn their lesson? Nope.


Here in the mixed-economy paradise that is Canada we have a secretive government that seems bent on alienating people at every turn. But let's give credit where credit is due. Our debt to GDP ratio is the lowest in the G20. Our taxes have decreased in the last 15 years thanks to some sound and sensible choices by successive Liberal and Conservative governments. Really, one couldn't tell the Chretien Liberals from the Harper Conservatives. To me, that's not a bad thing. But to some people the label "Conservative" is bad no matter what. As I said, beware of people like that on both sides. They never think things through. Makes me happy that Harper is PM and not them.

But that's just the way I see it.

Edmonton's New Arena: I Can See It Now!

Back to the drawing board? Sometimes that's the best thing than you can do. What's that old saying? Not getting what you want is sometimes the best result? In the case of the Katz Group/City of Edmonton arena project, perhaps it is best if this project go back to square one. Well, that's unlikely to happen, right? They'll find a way to get the money that's missing from the project.

There's already a ticket tax, but the cost of going to hockey games is already ridiculous, so you can always increase that tax. Live hockey is only for the wealthy and corporate "partners" anyway. Edmontonians will be finding that out in a very real way shortly. The cost of seeing live concerts is ridiculous so why not bump that fee up as well? They'll find it, the wealthy will pay for it, and that's fine. There are multiple ways to get that money. If not the wealthy, then they'll find a way to soak homeowners or businesses for it. Never you worry my fine hockey loving friend.

Since the arena is likely to happen even over most Edmontonians' dead bodies, let's envision what Edmonton's downtown looks like on those 45 hockey nights per year (90 if the Oil Kings play in the new arena) plus various other dates for concerts and other events. Let's peer into Jay's crystal ball......

It's December, 2015....The 11th place Oilers are playing at 7:30pm tonight! I'll be at home watching them lose to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sportsnet....in HD! What a great young team this is! They're sure to have their breakout year any season now. I can feel it. And when that happens...look out NHL! Bam! It's 5:30PM and hockey fans are starting to pile into the downtown. The folks who can afford to go to the games are wealthy enough to pay for parking anywhere, so they're driving. The folks who got the company's tickets are packed on the LRT.

104th Avenue doesn't seem to be flowing very well tonight. Hmmm... In fact, not one car is moving. People seem to be fighting for parking spots at the many different small parking lots littered around the downtown core. Those leaving work at this time trying to get home to watch the game on TV are blocked from getting out of the parking lots by those fighting to get in. ETS bus drivers are generally reading books as they wait for the actual possibility of their bus moving.

100th Street between the Royal Alex hospital and the arena is no better than 104th avenue. Frustrated drivers look as though they might abandon their cars on the street and walk to the arena. Meanwhile, towing companies are making a killing removing illegally parked cars from Kingsway Mall and NAIT as people have parked their cars and taken the LRT. But hey, those shoppers and evening students don't really matter in comparison to pro hockey anyway. Screw 'em!

On the other side of downtown, the lineup of cars from the Hotel MacDonald to the bottom of the hill is an amazing sight! I'd post a video of it to YouTube but the novelty of that wore off in November. 105 Street and 109 Street have cars lined up all the way from the Legislature to 104 avenue. It's a pretty sight, all those headlights and red brake lights. Christmas really is here!

Those lucky ducks who got the company's tickets have jam packed the Clareview and Century Park LRT stations, and tonight only three people passed out from oxygen deprivation! Things are improving. If only there were more than one line in each direction...but nobody thought that Edmonton would ever need it. How could they?

I get home and cook dinner for my lovely wife and then settle in with an adult beverage and watch the first period of the game. Oilers are only down 3-1. What a great team. What a visionary city. I love it here. Too bad I have to take my car to the repair shop for that bent tie rod that occurred when I hit that 4 foot pothole. It's worth it, though. We have a pro hockey team and a shiny downtown building that's revitalizing everything.

I turn the channel. There's a Thursday night NFL game on. I am reminded of how good things can be....

Whew! Back to the present moment. I think I'll put that crystal ball away. Somebody might have a change of heart.

But that's just the way I see it.

4 Easy Tips For Great Home Living

I haven't posted on this blog for awhile, and I'm sure that all of you continually check this space for new updates in the event that I post something truly brilliant that can enrich your lives. Well, wait no more! Today I have for you 4 easy tips for better living around your house. These simple tips will decrease your stress and frustration levels without you even noticing because you don't notice that when these tips aren't followed you are ever so slightly annoyed. So, in advance...you're welcome.


1. Toilet Paper Should Get Hung Over The Top
When you're sitting down to do your business, why reach that extra 2.34 inches? Just sling that TP over the top and a small bit of annoyance in your life will go away......

2. Do The Dishes Right Away
Let's face it. Letting things pile up doesn't decrease work. It actually increases it and concentrates it into one period of time. Foolish. Do your dishes and don't leave dishes, glasses, and plates laying about. Take care of things as they happen. You'll get used it it, even louts like you. Lazy bugger!

3. Cut your Grass Every Week
You suckers who live in condos and insist on paying both property taxes and condo fees need not read this point. But your lawn will grow. Even if you neglect it like a low-brow trashy slug (there's one on every block).  So cut it every week and the amount of time you spend on each cut will be small. Unless you live on an acerage. In that case you're screwed, but you chose it, so invite me for a BBQ.

4. Drink Alcohol
Booze is better. I don't mean that 10 drink drunk thing (that's for the trash who don't cut their grass). I mean have a drink every day. I know you want to keep fit and healthy, but relaxation in a  busy world can be hard. A little help never hurts. Plus, most people I know are nicer after 2 drinks (even if they're ass nasty after 7).

That's all I have for now. The posts aren't regular these days, but it is for good reason. Until next time, be sure to be clean.

But that's just the way I see it.

Student Protests: Lazy Government Relations

Every now and again a government will make such a preposterously bad policy choice that people take to the streets in protest. In instances where the government has clearly made a ridiculous choice that will cost lives or trample on people's human rights, mass protest is a valid, necessary thing to do. Think about things like Tianamen Square, the Vietnam War (where 600 Americans were dying each week at its height and over 50,000 by the end) or segregation. These are things worth protesting over. $300 tuition hikes or 7% budget cuts? In my view, not so much.

Student groups seem to love to protest. In the 1960s students were protesting the carnage of the Vietnam War. Since then students have been protesting everything. I've always found it disturbing that students will protest government restrictions on free speech, but then protest speeches by political leaders they don't like or anyone backing Israel. And fail to give them the money they feel entitled to? Well, we're going to bang pots and pans in the streets (rather than go to class or get a job, oddly losing out on much more money than any government could cut).

Student leaders should understand why it is that sectors of the economy like healthcare, mining, oil, agriculture and even K-12 education get their slice of the pie but the easy place to cut or raise revenue is at post-secondary institutions and students. It's because students don't professionally lobby, choosing the lazy way instead: the protest. Those other sectors aggressively lobby in a focused, professional way and often get what they want.

Any leader of a college student group that believes that they can embarrass the government into doing what they want is fooling themselves. Students have never effectively gone to the public with a message that says "post-secondary education is essential to your standard of living". They always fall back on the classic and useless "students are hard done by" line they've been using for generations. But the public, particularly the parents who pay for so much of tuition, fees and books, don't believe that students are hard done by. People who own iPhones and can afford to drink beer tend not to be viewed that way. Until the method and message change, the results will be the same.

The students protesting in Quebec last year think that they forced a government out of office, but they were wrong. The government was going to lose that election over corruption allegations long before the little red squares came out. And the party that replaced them ended up raising tuition anyway, and now the students are protesting again. So they didn't get the free tuition they wanted and have no allies in government to help them. What a foolish strategy. Youth really is wasted on the young.

Here in Alberta, student groups, who tend to me much more sensible than in Quebec, are beginning to have small protests over budget cuts. To think that these protests will be effective is naive. What they will do is reinforce the cliche that students can never be pleased and that they prefer protests to any other form of communication. In some ways that stereotype isn't fair, but it exists and for a reason.

The Government of Alberta isn't going to change its mind and the people making these decisions will have even less trust for student groups. Instead of engaging government in a personal, meaningful way long-term, student groups marginalize themselves and make it easy for government to ignore them. If student groups were more vocal about the good things that government did and offered them political capital occasionally rather than only choosing to talk when bad things happen, then it might make governments think twice before blowing off that asset with a budget cut or bad policy. And make no mistake, cutting post-seconadry by 7% is a bad policy choice for a jurisdiction that desperately needs labour and economic diversification. But if all you do is complain all you can expect is nothing.

The student movement needs to suit up and put away the signs. Their better option is to focus on convincing the public why their sector matters and how failure to support it could cost them personally.

But that's just the way I see it.

Why The Edmonton Oilers Should Clean House Upstairs

It's time to clean house in Edmonton. You can call Oilers fans impatient all you want, but you'd be wrong to do so. The Oilers were once a great dynasty, but have been the definition of suck for 20 years now. For the past three years they've finished at the bottom of the NHL, gotten the #1 overall pick, and have done sweet bugger all to improve. It's time to start pointing fingers.

Target #1: Kevin Lowe

A lot of people figure that even though Steve Tambo has been the GM of the Edmonton Oilers for a few years that it's really Kevin Lowe that's still running the show. And as a GM Kevin Lowe was awful. This is the guy who traded Chris Pronger for Joffrey Lupul and Ladislav Smid, traded Ryan Smyth for Robert Nillson and Ryan O'Marra (all over a $100k contract difference), could have traded Mike Comrie for Correy Perry but messed that up by asking Anaheim to pay for Comrie's bonus, signed career 3rd line centre Shawn Horcoff to a lengthy contract at a $5.5M cap hit with a salary starting at $7M a year and traded down in the draft to pick Marc Pouliot, passing over Zach Parise. Honestly, how could this guy possibly still have a job? He gave up two first round picks to get Dustin Penner.

Target #2: Steve Tambellini

The current GM has done absolutely nothing to improve the Edmonton Oilers even though he's selected first overall in the draft for three years in a row. Prior to that he made such great moves as trading fantastic backup goalie Mathieu Garon for Ryan Stone, trading Erik Cole for Patrick O'Sullivan, hired Pat Quinn as coach, then fired him, hired Tom Renney as coach, then fired him, hires Ralph Krueger....he'll get fired too, and for good reason. The Oilers have burned through the entry level contracts of Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle and have nothing to show for it, not even one playoff appearance. That's 5 years from Tambo. 10 in total with Lowe and Tambo. Time to clean house.

Here's why:

The Oilers haven't done anything to supplement the high end talent they've drafted with their #1 picks Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov. Furthermore, of those three players none of them addressed the biggest need the Oilers have had for years: a big, powerful centre. Now they are in the position of having to move assets to get the right mix of players. They have talent like Hall, Nugent-Hopkins, Yakupov, Eberle, Hemsky and Gagner, all of whom are bona-fide top-six forwards in the NHL. Yet they keep losing with them. The reason is that they don't mix well because they are all the same kind of player: small and skilled. They don't have a power forward on the team. They don't have a legitimate #1 defenseman on the team. They don't have an enforcer that doesn't cost them goals. And the team just has too much AHL-level talent and not enough NHL-level talent. Read: Sutton, Potter, Belanger, Hordichuk, Jones, Petrell and Brown.

So here's the current listing of Oilers, by position:

Centre:
Sam Gagner, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Shawn Horcoff, Eric Belanger

Left-Wing:
Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi, Ryan Smyth, Mike Brown

Right Wing:
Jordan Eberle, Ales Hemsky, Nail Yakupov, Ryan Jones

Defense:
Ladislav Smid, Justin Schultz, Nick Schultz, Jeff Petry, Marc Fistric, Correy Poter

Press Box:
Lennart Petrell, Theo Peckham, Ryan Whitney

Farm Team Assets:
D: Colten Teubert, Oskar Klefbom, David Musil, Alex Plante
F: Ben Eager, Teemu Harkikainen, Darcy Hordichuk, Tyler Pitlick, Anton Lander


Needs:
Big top 6 centre, big top 6 winger, top 2 defenseman

To get a big centre then they have to replace either Gagner or Nugent-Hopkins. You can't trade Nugent-Hopkins because he was #1 overall, but what can you get for Gagner?

To get a big winger you need to replace either Hall, Eberle, Hemsky, or Yakupov. Hall is too good to lose and Yakupov is a rookie, so you're choices are Hemsky or Eberle or both. Hemsky makes $5.5M next year but has never scored 25 goals and gets hurt a lot.

To get a top 2 defenseman they would need to trade away a valuable asset, and they don't have any valuable assets on their blue-line. Ryan Whitney is done and is worth nothing. Ladislav Smid is a good player but is a UFA this year...one who the Oilers haven't even started talking to about a new contract. So to sign him after the trade deadline of April 1 will cost considerably more.

Ultimately the Oilers will be forced to try to shop Sam Gagner, Ales Hemsky, Jordan Eberle and Ladislav Smid in order to get the right mix of players. Too bad they don't have a talented enough GM to get the necessary deals done.

The Oilers will finish close to the bottom again this year and will pick in the top 5 of the first round. They ought to use this pick wisely. They ought to have a better GM making the pick. They ought to clean house upstairs. Enough is enough. It's time for Oilers owner Daryl Katz to stop begging the taxpayer for money for arenas and start giving his customers a reason to pay for that entertainment.

But that's just the way I see it.

Budget Season Makes For Funny Magic Tricks

After going through the comedy that was the Alberta Government's budget a couple of weeks ago, we now get the comedy that is the Federal budget. But just how funny is it? Can Jim Flaherty match the comedic stylings of Doug Horner? Can Stephen Harper pull a rabbit out of the hat or will he use smoke and mirrors a-la Alison Redford? Let's take a comparative peek and find out, shall we?

Government budgets are funny things. Part financial document, part political document, they always seem to anger somebody. In the case of Alberta, the budget would bewilder accountants since it doesn't actually contain a consolidated financial statement. Nowhere in that budget will you find a figure showing what the government's true fiscal position is. They just don't tell you what their deficit or surplus is. It tells you what their operational deficit is and what the deficit is after cash adjustments, operationally. They tell you what they are spending on with respect to capital projects and how much will be borrowed. They tell you what their policy will be with respect to savings. But they don't put it all together to show the financial position of the Province.

A move like that is unheard of. The 20-year comparison that used to be in every budget document is also gone. It doesn't exactly make the government look trustworthy. In fact, it makes them look like they're hiding something. Adding the numbers up can prove to be a shell game at best and any government really ought to be more transparent than this.

With respect to what is actually contained in the Alberta government financial plan, it basically goes like this: spend a wee bit more overall, but take a hatchet to post-secondary education to balance it all out. Of course this is the easiest road to take politically, as the post-secondary education sector has no powerful lobby. The cut from the bottom approach will help them show that they are holding the line on spending, but it isn't the kind of strategic thinking we were sold when voting for Alison Redford. Cutting education doesn't help your labour market, doesn't help diversify your economy away from resources, and doesn't help attract new businesses that need skilled workers. And if you're trying to get away from the boom and bust of the resource sector, then you might have expected better from Ms. Redford. She's doing what's politically best, not what's best for the Province.

The Alberta government also has some rosy projections with respect to revenues. They see an operational surplus next year thanks to increased revenues. We'll see if that actually happens, and if not, then expect cuts to other sectors next year.

People like me need to bear a few things in mind, of course. No matter what the opposition says, Ms. Redford is exactly right when she says that resource revenues are a principle cause of what is now a structural deficit. Well she doesn't admit to the latter part of that statement, but it is true nonetheless. Alberta has been awash in oil and gas revenues for years and has taken a hit thanks to excess supply of both in the USA. Alberta needs ways to move its product faster and to more places, hence why the Keystone XL and Northern Gateway pipelines are so important. So when Ms. Redford says, "it's not my fault", she is partially right.

Alberta also spends almost $2000 more per person than any other jurisdiction in Canada. This is defensible, in my view, since Alberta also adds 100,000 people every year. Those roads, schools and hospitals won't build themselves. But the government has to admit that it has a structural deficit. Adding in the amount the government is borrowing to build with the operational deficit amounts to $5B or more in the hole. Since half of that is coming from a rainy day fund, Alberta will add almost $3B in debt this year alone. They have to come clean on that. It may well be necessary, but hiding it doesn't increase trust among voters and cutting from the bottom rather than doing a real analysis of the top-heavy healthcare system doesn't increase people's faith in their judgement or abilities. How long can they count on a free pass because their opposition sucks? Not for much longer I suspect.

Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty took a "let's lull them to sleep" approach that seems to have angered both the left and the right. When the extremes hate you then you know that you're doing something right. Flaherty held the line on spending to less than inflation, and shuffled around spending from some places to other places. This allowed them to package up old spending as new spending. But in the end, the Government of Canada is right to avoid lavish promises until they are back in surplus. If the last 5 years has shown us anything it's that good fiscal management has kept Canada in an enviable position globally. The Conservatives seem to have recognized this and want to put us back in the black in 2 years. They're doing it without cuts, and with some savvy politics.

The left is angry because they didn't spend enough on this or that. The right (particularly the increasingly annoying columnists at the National Post) is angry because the government didn't cut spending. But the government's growth projections are in line with projections from both the private sector and the OECD so they aren't fudging the numbers. They're going to let economic growth catch us up and balance our books. The big ticket in their budget was the reduction of tariffs and sporting goods. Boring stuff, yet the right thing to do overall. Well, done Mr. Flaherty.

So Mr. Horner may tell more jokes, but Mr. Flaherty's jokes are better.

But that's just the way I see it.