On the Calgary Breakfast Show this Morning ...

... this headline caught my interest:

Westjet suspends their unaccompanied minor program
Joel Kom, Calgary Herald

This allegedly in the face of a situation with a girl in Montreal, but as I posted on my blog back in August, this isn't anywhere NEAR the first time this issue has plagued them, and this response may seem to many people to be too little too late. See the site below:

http://www.casemp.com/

Getting Married Anytime Soon?

Things to watch out for with your photographer:

Wedding Photographer to Pay Damages for Lousy Photos as posted on the Contracts Prof Blog.

I Didn't Watch It, But I Can Hear The Horns Honking Outside

Saskatchewan Roughriders Win the Grey Cup

Seems that the score was 23 - 19 ... there should be a lot of shiny, happy faces in class tomorrow.

A friend of mine from class (and her fiance) made the trek out to Toronto for the game ... I'm so happy their trip was SOOO worth it ... and I can't wait to hear about their trip!

And .... They're Out - AGAIN!

Pakistan has been ousted from the Commonwealth - again.

Canada supports Pakistan's ouster from Commonwealth
By: Mike Blanchfield, CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen @ the Star Phoenix Website

2nd time in eight years - yikes.

Saskatchewan Party Wins in Saskatchewan

It's time for change
Sask. Party takes majority gov't
By James Wood, with files from Janet French, TheStarPhoenix.com

So ... the NDP is out, the Saskatchewan party is in ... should be interesting.

The Provincial election results from all of the Saskatchewan ridings are here:
Star Phoenix

I like the saskvotes.com website too - spells it out quick-like:
http://www.saskvotes.com/

The Saskatchewan party platform held some very interesting points, including:
- Increasing post-secondary spending by 28%
- Elminiating PST on used cars and trucks (uh ... wow that this even has to be there)
- Keeping Crown Corporation public --> this could be super interesting to watch

The entire platform can be read here:
http://www.saskparty.com/assets/pdf/New%20Ideas/SecuringTheFuturePlatform.pdf

I always find it frustrating to read this kind of stuff, because to me it reeks of marketing, not substantive policy or political statements.

Ubiquitous Theme of the Day

The ludicrous price differences (on the SAME goods between US and Canadian retailers) that Canadian consumers still endure in the face of our dollar being on par with the US dollar ... I listened in to Charles Adler's radio program about it, and Jason and I discussed randomly with the owner of the 8th Street Book & Comic store (awesome store, BTW).

There's going to have to be some radical changes pretty soon, or consumers will choose saving $$$$ over patriotism.

Even without the over-inflated car prices issue (which is the subject of a class action lawsuit), I did these random checks myself:

Weezer Blue Album = $9.97 with free shipping on orders over $25.00 @ Amazon.com (American)
Weezer Blue Album = $10.99 with free shipping on orders over $39.00 @ Amazon.ca (Canadian)

I'd love to look up more examples right now, but I'm not in the mood to surf.

It's Hard Not to be Paranoid

With events like the Dawson College shooting last year in Montreal, and the Virginia Tech shootings of this year, it's hard not to be paranoid to some extent to be on a busy and bustling campus everyday.

It becomes especially hard when my PAWS announcement bulletins are peppered over the last few weeks with safety advisories like this one:

October 15, 2007 Safety Advisory

Please print and post for those without access to email.

On Oct. 15 at approximately 8:00 a.m., Campus Safety was informed a letter of a threatening nature was found posted on the East exterior door of the Physics Building. Saskatoon Police Service was immediately informed and initiated an investigation.

The safety of students, faculty and staff is our foremost concern. It does not appear that there is any cause for alarm. The University is working closely with Saskatoon City Police and will keep the campus community updated if there are any further developments. Updates will be posted to the Announcement channel on PAWS.

We will continue to inform the campus community of all immediate safety concerns through campus email.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please contact the Saskatoon Police Service at 975-8300. Campus Safety reminds the University community to report any suspicious activity to 966-5555.
----------------------------------
Posted to Faculty, Staff and Students
By University Communications / ECO

A couple of weeks ago there was an announcement about the Thorvaldson building being vandalized with hateful propaganda.

Is it just me? Or ... are these announcements a little scary.

The communication from the U of S always seems to downplay it a little (or is it just me) ... which I find even scarier. I know that if the police are investigating, they can't release a lot of detail, but I kind of feel in the dark about it all.

I study in the Physics building all the time ... makes me paranoid, which sucks. I don't like being paranoid.

Calgary Municipal Election Results Are In

From my brief scan it doesn't look like anything too out of the ordinary ... Dave Bronconnier still mayor, BUT ... Alderman for the ward where I would have been voting (had I had the foresight to advance vote ... alas, I didn't), John Mar a newbie with a background in law enforcement, beat out incumbent Madeleine King (who's been one of the kingpins in Aldermanity -yeah, I just made that word up - in Calgary, representing the downtown area)... race was SUPER close though, so I guess that official results could be different when all is said and done.

Unofficial results as reported on the City of Calgary Website
Unofficial Results as reported by the Calgary Sun

Physics is My Religion

I love physics, and everything that has to do with the subject. I read about Dimensional Theory, and I force my Husband to watch TV specials about String Theory with me. I have one class in the Physics building this year, and I sometimes find a quiet spot there to do some reading ... so ... I've been surrounded by spacey-awesomeness from time to time this semester, and I'm loving it.

How exciting to read about this, then, in the Star Phoenix:

Space weather focus of U of S project
By Wendy Gillis

I love being reminded of how big the universe is, and how even our biggest problems can be put in perspective.

Sigh.

I HEART Radiohead

... and like any other Radiohead fan, I've been ever so excited about the release of their new album.

What I didn't know, and what I found out by surfing the Freakonomics blog, is that Radiohead is pulling some pretty gutsy moves with this album.

Looks like Radiohead will be releasing their album sans record label ... they're going to be selling their tunes through inrainbows.com, and some sources say it'll be a pay what you will kind of deal.

Check out these articles:
GreenPlastic.com
Freakonomics Blog


How exciting!!

Here's the site:

http://www.inrainbows.com/Store/Quickindex.html

Check it out, buy it, support the innovation!

Information For EVERYONE!

Yay! Access for us all:

The Star Phoenix: Public Wi-Fe service expands to campuses by: Jill Smith

BUT ... Apparently Saskatoon's Growth is Tops

I had this article brought to my attention by a friend:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/09/13/citieseconomies.html?ref=rss

It is CBC, and I am still a little miffed with them due to the shenanigans that I wrote about in August, but it's an interesting article to post alongside the loss of affordability article!

Saskatoon Housing Affordability

Interesting.

Looks like housing affordability stats for this area have their most dramatic quarter ever.

Norm's Real Estate Blog: Worst quarterly deterioration of housing affordability on record for Saskatchewan: RBC

I'm so happy that I get to move on Sunday.

Son of a GUN!

Wouldn't you know it.

We buy a house on a bus route, and I get really excited about the fact that a bus stop is RIGHT outside our front door. Literally, steps away.

AND ... what do I read today in the Star Phoenix?

THE route right outside our door will be eliminated.

AURGH! YES, I know that I really will only need to walk two blocks to grab the direct bus to the U of S, but I was looking forward to being spoiled on REALLY cold days by waiting inside for as long as possible.

Sigh.

I just checked the overall route map at Saskatoon Transit that reflects all the route changes in September, and it's really only a block and a half that I'll have to walk. Sniff. I guess I'll be OK. Yeah, I know I'm whining, but I'm sick with a cold, and I'm dreading the move that will quickly ensue. So ... yeah. Whining is on.

Hopefully All My Friends Have Places to Stay

Luckily, a friend of mine in Saskatoon has graciously offered me a bedroom in her condo until the possession date for the house that we bought, so I'm set.

As for the rest of the people in my classes, I sure hope they've got something set up too.

The Star Phoenix reports today that:

Gov't response to housing crisis 'totally inadequate'
Affordable housing shortfall estimated at 3500 units in city
by: Darren Bernhardt (excerpts below, click the link for the full article):

"Minister (Kevin) Yates' announcement falls far short of an adequate response to what is now a housing crisis and, furthermore, it signals that the government doesn't seem to understand," said CHSA president Cheryl Loadman.

On Wednesday, Yates, the community resources minister, announced a series of changes to the social assistance allowance, transitional employment allowance, rental housing supplement and provincial training allowance in response to the financial pain caused by a booming real estate market.

There was nothing for low-income workers who don't quality for provincial assistance programs, other than the establishment of a help line for people struggling to find housing in their price range or facing evictions and large rent increases.

CURRENT HOUSING NEEDS IN SASKATOON:
- 9,000 families whose housing is unsuitable, inadequate and unaffordable
- 26,000 post-secondary students
- 18,000 people with special needs
- 6,600 new immigrants and 240 refugees
- fast-growing First Nation and Metis population
- 40 per cent of First Nation and Metis renters have core housing needs
Source: Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP)

Yikes, hey?

It's Official

Lisa and Jason bought a house in Saskatoon (well ... actually, Jason and his brother Chris bought the house ... but since I'm a non-owning spouse I have a stake either way ... yay Homesteads Act)! Over the last week I haven't posted much since we've been finalizing all the details, but all of our conditions were lifted on Friday.

Exciting.

We're going to try and have a basement suite developed and ready to rent by November 1st, so hopefully we'll be able to help with the renting crisis that is plaguing Saskatoon right now.

There was an announcement put out through PAWS pleading for people to put students up as boarders, and the Globe and Mail reported the following last Monday:

Mr. Pepler [president of the Student's Union] fears students may take for granted that they can find accommodations and will be in for a shock when they realize the place they were going to live has been converted into condominiums.

He said he's already heard stories of students being forced to live in tents because they can't find places to live. One member of the students' union staff recently took someone in who was sleeping in a car.

"The big crunch is going to happen in September - in Sept. 1 and the week after - when students come in from out of country and out of province and realize there is nothing for them," Mr. Pepler said. "We're preparing. We're trying to put together contingency plans for a crisis. We know there will be one. We don't know the extent of it."

Another issue is affordability.

Brittany Holderness and her four roommates are locked into a lease at a townhouse and pay $855 a month. But she has been told that will jump to $1,200 a month when it comes time for renewal.

"Right now my colleague in Calgary is paying less rent than I am," said Ms. Holderness, who is president of the students association at the Saskatoon campus of the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology.

Also, we paid under list price, which seems to be somewhat of a rare occurrence in Saskatoon ... although not a unique one, if you follow Norm Fisher's real estate blog:

http://www.teamfisher.com/blogs/norm_fisher/default.aspx

That's about it for what's happening in my world. The house thing is a little all consuming right now.

We got to spend the weekend with Jason's family, in celebration of his Mom's B-Day. There was some Guitar Hero, and some karaoke, all in all it was pretty much a rock-star weekend.

Jason's brother Glen was in Wyoming competing in the Long Drive competition there, winning a ticket to the Re/Max Long Drive World Championship Tournament in Mesquite Nevada this October.

This site lists him as the Open Division Winner. Pretty awesome and amazing. I look forward to his progress through the 14 rounds that it takes to win the Championship in Mesquite.

While I Was Perusing ...

... this real estate blog for Saskatoon, I happened upon this Star Phoenix article from April of this year:

City of the future
Saskatoon in North America's Top 10: U.K.'s Financial Times
Janet French

Hopefully this bodes well for anyone that's investing in real estate, you know, that topic that I'm thinking about sometimes. Real estate in Saskatoon.

Seriously Scarce

Available rental units in Saskatoon, they're few and far between. Jason and I called almost every one in the paper, every one that we found online ... and they were all already rented.

I'm not sure what will happen to students that don't have accommodation yet.

Many places that I talked to stated that there weren't any openings for October either.

I know that Calgary is going through a similar crunch, especially with the SAIT residence building being behind schedule.

Yikes.

Doesn't This Remind You of Dr. Evil ...

... for some reason?

Taming Tornadoes to Power Cities by Tyler Hamilton in the Star

PS.

Congrats Cocoa Locoa on the Modern Bride mention - how exciting!!! Mmmmm ... dangerous looking at Cocoa Locoa's website ... drool factor is high.