New Sorels
Originally uploaded by mendel

I bought boots today! Sorel’s 1964 re-issues. I wanted winter boots that I could tuck jeans into that didn’t look like I was going on an Arctic expedition, and I liked these because they don’t look like modern high-tech winter boots. I figure they’re anti-fashion enough to be hip.

There’s going to be a lot of trudging around snowy and slushy neighbourhoods in the next month and a half, and my only insulated boots are ankle-height — the net effect is that the bottom of my jeans get wet and salty, and with dry denim I’m trying to break in that’s not good, because it’s not like I can just throw them in the washer or even scrub spots to get the salt out.

But now I have my dorky boots.

(I went for a walk earlier just to walk through some slushy corners and unplowed spots. This is basically the winter equivalent of buying rubber boots and going out splashing in puddles. Whee!)

RCMP horses end 30 years of roaming on Parliament Hill

Mounties on horseback have stopped clip-clopping about Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, quietly ending a 30-year-old Canadian tradition.[…]

She added the decision was made after the RCMP’s musical ride staff realized that the public is not as accustomed to horses as it was three decades ago, when most people knew not to walk behind the horses or make sudden movements near them.

“People run to the horse, they grab the tail,” Deschênes said, adding that police were concerned that kind of horseplay could lead to an accident in the future.

Was that necessary? No, I don’t think that was necessary.

(Also, I bet those people now know not to walk behind the horses.)

• Sellers may offer to accept personal cheques, money orders, cashier’s cheques, certified cheques, Canadian Tire Money and other negotiable instruments.

(For those going “Canadian what?”, see here.) Also, while Canadian Tire Money is permitted, cash is not.

Now I want to sell things on eBay and accept only Canadian Tire money.

It’s 7 megapixels, the size of a deck of cards with a decent lens (I’m spoiled by the f/1.8 lens on my Olympus, but this is as good as any on this class of camera), and while it doesn’t have manual override of everything it’s got enough flexibility for 90% of what I’d use a camera for, and it was on sale for cheaper than the 5-megapixel version!

We went down to the Byward Market for a few hours today for the Canada Day celebrations (note to self: do not do this next year), and when I wasn’t trying to fight through crowds I played with it a bit. I managed to forget about all of its special modes but still got a handful of pictures. I’ve posted them all to my flickr account.

We eventually gave up on the Market — the combination of hot sun, hundreds of people, and limited menus with inflated prices doesn’t make for a particularly good place to flop — and we headed down Elgin Street for dinner instead. We ended up at Maxwell’s with a window seat, a bottle of wine, and some yummy pasta (and later a slice of chocolate pecan torte and cappuccinos) for a couple of hours, and then just came home and flopped. Stompin’ Tom was on TV and that was better than the musical lineup downtown anyhow.

We bought a present for Spratt! We’ll have to mail it soon.

Also: Eek, I’m getting married in one week!

You can tell they’re terrorists because they mix battery brands. Ok, so there’s a gun in a bag, but other than that I’d think they busted a HAM meet. Solders of fortune, etc.

<Substitute> Peace be upon you, Ali. In the drawer in the kitchen are many batteries. Other members of the cell cannot tell which are charged and which are not. Could you make sure to throw out any dead batteries before the day of jihad? Thanks again, Abu.

So maybe they were in a rush to get the story up and wanted a picture and that’s all the police or local reporters had come up with. That’s fine, the story eventually stops being “developing” and they can put a new picture up, and they did:

Ah, yeah, that’s a lot more terrifying. Family-band radios, flashlights, and a barbecue grill! Who’d they arrest, Macgyver?

<Substitute> In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful. Ali, Abu and I have both talked to you before about the kitchen drawer. The disorganization in there impedes the struggle and makes it difficult for other members of the cell to construct bombs and even to repair the Aerostar’s fuel pump last week. We have taken everything and put it in a blue Ikea bag. Please sort it out before we get back from Toronto. Allahu akbar, Malik.

The IKEA bag is a particularly nice touch. I use those bags to take down recycling and to carry groceries up from the car — if they outlaw IKEA bags, the terrists have won!

The fact that the Speaker is a Liberal is significant because it could tip the balance of power in the minority Parliament. Since the Speaker only votes in a tie, the Liberals now have one less vote.

Someone want to wake up the copy desk? Thanks. (And of course everyone will be reporting it the same way, even though it can’t produce any change in the outcome of a vote. Grr.)