IndigoFire

Apparently, there are some people that would rather that other people not vote, and are calling them with false information about changing poll locations. This is a complete fabrication. The polling station locations have not changed. If you have a voters card, go to the location on it and don't trust anyone calling you about a change. Check elections.ca to double-check locations or for any voter information.

... actually, no. That's not fair to the monkeys of the world.

I just spoke to the GM of Goodlife on Weber St. It took about 13 minutes for her to tell me that she doesn't have a clue. We went over the whole thing with the rules, and cheques and so on. It turns out that I can actually pay for months or even the whole year on credit card. It also turns out that what the Membership Consultant told me about switching to a promo rate later was not true. The GM refused to give me the club rules, and even got them confused with the club's policies and procedures.

Useless. Completely useless, the lot of them.

I seriously thought I was going to get a gym membership yesterday. I even went to the Goodlife on Weber Street, chequebook in hand, ready to sign up. And then a curious thing happened. As I read through the contract - which makes it very clear in the first line that "this is a legally binding agreement" - I notice that it calls out the club's rules and regulations. Specifically, it says that I must obey the clubs rules and regulations. So I ask to see the rules.

"Oh, they're just standard rules," they say. Ok, but what are they? Turns out they don't actually have them written down. "But they're just normal rules," they insist.

I let this one go for a bit, and then we get to payment. They want my banking info in order to do a direct debit. I'd rather give them cheques. Apparently that's problematic. But it's not their problem, it's the banks problem. They don't like post-dated cheques. I point out that their contract has clauses specific to payment by cheque. They point out that they have $N thousand members, and they all pay by debit; that they're a big company and therefore they can be trusted.

This is when I point out that they don't even know their own rules and regulations. I'm not giving my banking info to a group that can't even tell me their own rules. I leave without a membership and even more stressed out than I arrived. Do you call this the "Goodlife"?

If I've done this right:

• 1 gal of av gas burned produces 22 lbs of CO₂
• Conversely, 1 tonne of CO₂ is equivalent to burning 100 gal of av gas
• If the average carbon offset costs around $20 / tonne of CO₂, this costs approximately $0.20 / us gal or $0.05 / L

This seems a little low, which is good because it puts the scheme in the "very doable" category. For reference, av gas is currently around $2 / L, so $0.05 / L is a drop in the bucket.

Sources:

1. Conklin and de Decker article on CO₂ in aviation
2. Carbon Catalog list of providers in Canada

Cuba was awesome. I had a great time, relaxing with many Canadians, some non-Canadians, and even a few Cubans. There are many stories I could tell about the trip, but in the interest of actually getting something written tonight, I'll just post a few notes and links.

• Pictures are on my gallery (yes Mobile Me sucks for comments, feel free to post here)
• swimming with dolphins
• video of an iguana.

( A few travel notes )

I'm seriously considering a last-minute vacation. I thought this would be pretty simple: pick the best last-minute deal, and go. Except that I'm creative, have a reasonable budget, and ambitions. This makes the choice not so simple.

( Choices, choices, choices... )

Those are my choices. I'm leaning towards Cuba right now, as it's the simplest answer.

BTW: To my friends who are in the US, would you please convince your overlords to stop being such dicks to visitors? I'd really like to come and see you, and possibly go soaring in the future, but I'm really holding back on that while there's a risk of getting groped, beaten up, and thrown in a cell for saying just the wrong thing. Yes, I consider Cuba safer than the US right now.

Easy: The airplane I have my eye on. Interesting that this came up today, as the airplane is currently out of my reach and going further that way with each passing day. More accurately: I'm realizing every day just how out of reach it is. I might also buy a hangar at the airport, if one is available.

No, I wouldn't quit my job. I love what I do, even if it can be quite draining at times. I might buy a house. I'd definitely look to invest more in my company, and would likely use whatever else is left as capital for a future project. That's really what I'm about: making things happen, building stuff.

An open letter to Lawrence Cannon, Minister for Foreign Affairs, regarding the situation in Egypt. Please feel free to use any part of this you would like for your own letters! Message or email me for the original doc.

I don't seem to get email notifications from LJ on anything. Is there some master switch somewhere? Is anyone else getting notifications?

How's this for a visceral reminder of fire safety: I came home last night to find a police cruiser blocking the street and fire trucks partly blocking my driveway. Fortunately, it wasn't my house they were there to see, but it wasn't too far away. The fire was across the street, apparently started on the porch. I couldn't see any of the people that lived there, and the fire crew wouldn't tell me if anyone was home at the time. Sadly, I don't know my neighbours well enough to even know who lives there, but my heart goes out to them.

Update: the story on CTV

Update 2: The story in The Record