I was collecting signatures for Corb Lund’s Water Not Coal petition on Tuesday when a lady blurted out at me and a couple of other people that were there to sign.
“Maybe Alberta should just join the United States!” she jeered.
Clean water and separatism aren’t the same issue at all, and one of the folks lined up turned to ask her why she would say that.
She exclaimed, “What? Do you like Mark Carney?”
“I’d take Carney over Trump!”
She shook her head and walked away, and that pretty much ended things, but it’s a snapshot of the political climate right now: a conversation about separatism is happening in Alberta. MLA Corey Hogan makes the case for Canada:
A couple months ago we had a ferocious wind storm that toppled over our neighbours’ giant spruce tree. It was one of those double trunk trees, so actually only half the tree fell over. It still left quite the impression.
Before
After
The neighbours had the rest of the tree taken out within the week.
Last Friday, feeling a bit ambitious, I decided it was time to clean the gutters on the garage where years of pine needles had collected and solidified. I got out the extension ladder and my new electric leaf blower and, knowing how packed in the needles are, I also grabbed some scrap wood from the garage to loosen them up.
I made sure to check that the ladder was secured — but I guess I must have extended the ladder at the very last minute — and then headed up hands full.
I was about two thirds of the way to the top when as I stepped, I suddenly felt the extension half of the ladder come sliding down crushing my foot under my own weight. I pulled up on the outside wrungs enough to slide my foot out only to have the ladder continue downward on my other foot. Once again I wrangled my foot out and once again the ladder came crashing down on my other shoe.
It was at this moment I acted too hastily and decided I needed to get both feet out at the same time (somehow). I feel so stupid — here I am still holding on to the leaf blower and scrap wood in my hands — what was I thinking? Surely I could have had the presence of mind to ditch it but no, I was determined to make it up the ladder.
I ended up not being able to get my foot out right away and the next thing I knew I had lot all contact with the ladder except for my stuck foot and felt myself falling backwards off the ladder. I felt that existential dread as I wondered how hard the ground was going to feel from a two meter drop straight onto my back.
As much as the fall hurt, I could tell right away that it was my foot that was most injured.
So a week later and I’m feeling mostly recovered. It’s still a bit black and blue in places but the doctor said she didn’t think it was broken and that with sprains, you can walk on them but to just take it easy and try to keep it elevated and on ice occasionally. The eaves are still not cleaned and it’s going to be quite some time before I get back on the ladder.
Michael: “As a popcorn musical, ‘Michael’ is an undeniable Thriller. As a work of biography, however, it’s Bad — and quite possibly Dangerous.” — Oscar Goff, Cambridge Day
Animal Farm: “Some adaptations, it seems, are far less equal than others.” — Liz Declan, Screen Rant
Super Mario Galaxy II: “We all have a finite amount of time on this Earth, and I cannot think of a single reason why you should spend any of yours on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” — Kristy Puchko, Mashable
Lee Cronin’s The Mummy: “The titular writer-director Lee Cronin puts the Cannon family through a gory and disgusting hell that somehow feels inconsequential. Also, and more importantly, it’s boring.” — Rachel Ho, Exclaim!
Last week marked 40 years since the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. PBS Newshour sent a couple of reporters into the exclusion zone for an update on the site, including a look at the drone damage done by Russia in 2024 during the Ukraine war.
On Thursday, Apple reported all time high revenues for their second quarter:
“Today Apple is proud to report our best March quarter ever, with revenue of $111.2 billion and double-digit growth across every geographic segment,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “iPhone achieved a March quarter revenue record, fueled by such extraordinary demand for the iPhone 17 lineup. During the quarter, Services achieved yet another all-time record, and we were excited to introduce remarkable new products to our strongest lineup ever. That included the addition of the iPhone 17e and the M4-powered iPad Air, along with the launch of MacBook Neo, which is captivating customers all around the world.”
When I think just how high their stock price has come, it sometimes makes me wonder how rich I would be if I’d never purchased a single Apple product but instead put all that money into buying shares. How much money would you need in order to feel like it would have been worth it to never have entered the Apple ecosystem? Some back of the envelope math indicates that the iPod Color I got in 2004 would now translate to about $171,000 CAD if I’d gotten stock instead. I don’t even want to start adding up my other devices.
