19Dec 2009 by R&O No Comments

The Port Moody Nerd Park

Life in Port Moody, Observations
According to the Tri-City News, Port Moody is close to signing a partnership agreement with a city in China as it moves ahead with plans for a high-technology business park. The agreement with Tianjin, Port Moody's sister city near Beijing is to provide our city with information as local officials and business people create a proposal for the high-tech park. What does Tianjin know that we don't? Well they have a few of these parks of their own and they will "...show us how to get started and the difficulties they encontered because we don't want to repeat their mistakes." according to Mayor Joe Trasolini. "We want to be coached" he said. Fair enough but don't our American friends down south in Silicon Valley know a bit about this stuff?…
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06Dec 2009 by R&O 20 Comments

Bad Vet

Observations, Of Interest, People
Dr. Hakam Singh Bhullar of Atlas Animal Hospital in East Vancouver has lost his license. The B.C. Veterinary Association held hearings into the allegations and stated that "The findings demonstrate such a high level of moral turpitude that Dr. Bhullar's conduct is deserving of the most extreme penalty, that of erasure." And what is the good doctor's explanation? Why racism of course. What other reason could there possibly be? Actually there's a number of other reasons. The association posted it's decision and cites 17 charges including "debarking" surgery that led to the death of a dog. I question why any vet would perform such surgery on an animal and support the association's decision based on that alone but there's more to the story. Dr. Bhullar owns the veterinarian clinic which…
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09Oct 2009 by R&O 6 Comments

Suprise, Suprise

Observations
So Robert Dziekanski's mother has filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the four RCMP officers involved in the tasering and resulting death of her son at YVR. What a suprise. Isn't it standard operating procedure to sue, sue and sue some more when anyone (or their family) find themselves in the midst of a high prifile event punctuated with death, suffering and tragedy? Don't we, the taxpayer who end up paying for most of these lawsuits in the end, expect the victim will receive large quantities of money for real or perceived slights or injustices? Yes we do. And therein lies the problem. My perception of the Dziekanski incident is clear. A grown man is, for some unexplained reason, unable to make his way to the exit area of a…
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03Oct 2009 by R&O 1 Comment

I hate winter

Observations
Here comes winter. I hate winter. I hate skating, I hate skiing, I hate snow, I hate ice, I hate everything about the season and stare at the calendar waiting for the first day of spring. It really annoys me when people refer to the beauty of the winter season and how much they love everything about it, including, dare I say, CHRISTMAS. Well, my annoying winter-loving friend, explain how anything can look beautiful when it's dead and covered in ice and snow? Where's the beauty in mucky, dirty slush, treacherous roads and driveways, and bare frozen trees and bushes? To say nothing of winter fashions that include large bulky coats, big goofy boots, puffy gloves and a selection of equally hideous hats that ensure we all look completely idiotic…
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