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Sunday, November 16, 2008 - 7:10 PM
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Who's Your ISP?
- Hits: 2038
And the internet is down. So I call Shaw, a quick 1-1-2-2 through the voicemail menu and I'm speaking to an analyst - Matt. I'm taken off guard by how quickly I've gotten through. So we do a quick reset of the modem and the internet is back online - he advises me it may be a problem with my router. Friendly, quick, efficient. So far so good.
Sometimes I wonder...
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Unsent Letters
- Hits: 1458
So you've invited yourself over, a long day off of work and you thought you'd come by to unwind, have a drink, and I wonder why you're here.
There are no hugs and kisses, the've always seemed a bit strained, forced, so we've dispensed with them entirely.
You've been good to me, I know, all things considered, as well as you've been able, and I know what effort my friendship costs you. How my disorganization frustrates you, my financial incompetence worries you, my "carefree" attitude annoys you, my sexuality intimidates you.
And yet you still want to be here, or more likely, feel "obliged" to be here, to drop around, to put a happy face on our sad relationship.
You sprawl out in the chair, I light a candle, we begin the long pause that is our conversation, when it grows awkward you root around in your bag to review old photos still on your digital camera, almost 500 of them, by yourself, looking through the pictures....
I stare off into space and drink my wine, listen to the radio.....
And then you announce you're tired, I understand, and we go to bed, at night I listen to you snoring, to you gnashing your teeth, and I wonder why your here.
Property Taxes in Calgary
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Rants
- Hits: 2232
And much in the news is the intention of the City of Calgary to raise property taxes, yet again. For the nth time in as many years, and for several years to come, a staggered, slow motion robbery of criminal incompetence.
The tax increases are necessary, we're told, as a result of the cities overwhelming success, we need to pay for new sewers, roads, traffic lights, better delivery of utilities, trash collection....the list is endless.
Now note that I'm not a property owner, and these tax hikes, I believe, in the end will benefit me indirectly by lowering the value of properties.
But the increases are wrong. It's money misspent. In the past 5 years house prices in the Calgary region have doubled, tripled in value. From which it is reasonable to extrapolate that property taxes have as well doubled and tripled. Yet for some reason this is not enough.
It comes down to leadership, or lack thereof. Our Mayor, Dave Bronconnier, has always been quick to ask for a handout. In this instance, as mayor, he doesn't have to ask, he can demand. And so he does.
I have no doubt some of the money will go, indirectly, towards the causes stated. I have some serious doubts that this will in any ways serve to mitigate the stresses upon the city, or otherwise improve delivery of municipal services. I am absolutely certain that a prolonged strategy of raising taxes to finance the cancerous growth of the cities suburbs can only be viewed as insane.
There are other solutions.
For example, I'd suggest that property taxes be based on entirely different criterion than "The assessed value of homes". People should not be penalized for taking pride in or renovating their properties. If anything this should be encouraged. Such an approach does nothing to halt or control the growth of low density suburbs that sap the cities resources without contributing anything in return.
A better approach might be to divide the city into zones, with those zones nearest the center of the city paying the lowest property taxes, while those towards the outskirts pay higher. The logic behind this is straightforward - high density inner urban areas are easier and cheaper to maintain (think parks, public transport, delivery of services such as trash, energy, water...) than those less dense areas further from the center.
To further refine this, let's use property taxes to encourage density in our urban areas, freeing up our prime agricultural land for .... what else, agriculture! (I'm full of wacky and counter-intuitive ideas like this).
To do this we could assign a flat rate tax per zone based on the number of square feet/meters each property occupies at ground level. Someone who owns a 1500 sq foot lot with a one bedroom bungalow on it in Zone 1 pays the same property tax as someone who builds a 10 story apartment complex on the same sized lot in the same Zone. The effect of this is to encourage people to make good use of urban space. Side effects include reduced municipal costs in terms of delivery of services such as transport, waste removal, etc. Fewer roads and sewers would need to be built or maintained, in time a reasonable public transport network could be developed, the benefits are endless. And Calgary would, in time, begin to resemble an urban area as opposed to an endless suburb.
There are many more sound strategies that could be used to reduce property taxes and improve the living environment our city offers.
The first step we need to take is to replace our mayor.
Lemony Snicket - A Series of Unfortunate Events
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- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 1296
Currently I am in midst of reading the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" series of books to my children. Which is excellent, and I would recommend you read it to your children upwards of 8 years old. What distinguishes it from other works for the same age range is the authors rather demented sense of humour and perpetual small subversions that give away more about the world they're growing into than most people would be comfortable discussing or acknowledging. Which, if you're like me you're always eager to discuss and the book gives many introductions to topics that can easily expand into a cheerful evenings conversation....
The story focuses on 3 children - Violet, Klaus and Sunny, (AKA the Beaudelaire orphans), who were left without parents after a mysterious fire destroys their home, and the villainous Count Olaf, who attempts to possess himself of the Beaudelaires' fortune by various intrigues and adventures. While superficially very humourous, and written at an age level most younger children could easily understand, the books also offer many winks and nods to an older and more informed audience via asides from the narrator, Lemony Snicket.
Some quotes:
"For instance, as I crouch here behind the altar of the Cathedral of the Alleged Virgin...."
"The most important thing we do at the hospital is paperwork...."
And, of course, he scrupulously dissects such adages as: "Children should be seen and not heard" and "No News is Good News".
These quotes and topics above are but a very few of the many themes covered in book #8 - "The Hostile Hospital". Overall, these books are excellent, and I would recommend for children aged 8-14, although I've heard of adults who have read and quite enjoyed them as well.
Please note, that while the movie of the same name possessed characters of some resemblance, all qualities end there.
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