This is just gossip at present, from one of the aunties whose nephew works in construction. She says he said that Kingsgate Mall has finally been sold, that the buyer is Jimmy Pattison, and that he is going to change the Buy-Low there to a Save-on-Foods.
My research online shows that that Pattison group includes both Buy-Low and Save-On-Foods, as well as several other named chains. Their site says that they put different stores in different locations, depending on which best suits the conditions in the neighbourhood. So, why would Buy-Low be switched over to Save-On? Maybe the demographic of the neighbourhood going up has something to do with it. Buy-Low has already added a deli section, which is not at all cheap, and a few other hi-end items. Their prices are also higher than the smaller local stores for fruits and vegetables. [They also compete with the downstairs Shoppers Drug for loss-leader grocery items (be sure to check ice cream prices in both stores before deciding where to buy).] I'm wondering if Save-On-Foods is designed for a richer demographic than Buy-Low.
At least it's not an IGA!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Saturday Tai Chi at Mt. Pleasant School
Dr. Lyla Yip's Tai Chi class is meeting outdoors at the Mt. Pleasant School on Saturdays now at 1 pm. We're still working on Chi Gong exercises, plus the Yang style 24 steps, plus have recently started following along and getting idea of a Chen style 24 steps that has larger, looser movements. We are mostly older women, and we have a very pleasant and relaxed time while improving our balance, limberness, strength and grace. Come join! We are each giving Lyla $10 a month.
Bus service "improvement" for whom?
Translink kindly puts out a tiny newsletter for bus riders. The headline for the April 10 edition, the last I picked up, says "Better bus service starts April 20." The article begins with "Bus service is getting better ... All over Metro Vancouver we'll be making improvements to bus routes and service for the summer. Read on to find out what bus services will be improved in your area."
So, reading on I find that service on the 9, the 84, and the 99-B, which serve our area, are among 14 routes on which "services will be adjusted to reflect lower summer ridership." In other words, bus service will be reduced!
No details on how long we'll have to wait for the bus now.
So, reading on I find that service on the 9, the 84, and the 99-B, which serve our area, are among 14 routes on which "services will be adjusted to reflect lower summer ridership." In other words, bus service will be reduced!
No details on how long we'll have to wait for the bus now.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Why I'm Voting for BC-STV May 12 - NUANCES
Of all the reasons given for supporting the proposed new electoral system for British Columbia, I haven't heard much at all about my favourite. It is voter self-expression.
Under First Past the Post (our current system), you get to vote for one choice for an MLA, and if you want to be a strategic voter, then you are always honour bound to vote for the candidate you think can beat the candidate you fear or mistrust the most. So, say you don't want the Liberals to get in again, you think well I have to vote for the NDP because if I vote for a weaker party, I'll be throwing away my vote.
If you're not a strategic voter, under first past the post, you can express that you really resonate to the message of the Work Less Party, for example, and devil-take the results. But if you're one of only maybe 300 people who vote for that party, you'll feel really marginalized - you'll have no way to know how many voters love the idea of reducing the work week and spreading the jobs around more. And neither will any of the political parties.
Strategic or unstrategic, in either case, you're going to have some cognitive dissonance; and to resolve that, you basically have one choice - to become more cynical. Because you have to choose between voting your feelings and being "practical." And being practical means you have to choose a party you are not very enthusiastic about just at the moment, to keep a party you dislike from getting in.
If you get cynical enough, then you have one more choice. You can stay home from the polls altogether, and a lot of people do that. And then everyone says "look, the public doesn't even care who gets chosen - they're not interested in politics."
But say we actually pass the BC-STV. Opponents say that in countries where it's used, the major parties still win just about all the seats all the time, so it doesn't make any difference. But what they're not looking at is the information that the voters can pass on to the people who do get elected, and to each other, through the voting process.
If you were to choose a Workless Party candidate first, and a Marijuana Party candidate second, and an NDP candidate third and the Green Party candidate 4th, for example, you'd be contributing to a statistical record with nuances. It could could show if there's a public inclination towards cutting the work week and legalising pot; yet, because neither of those candidates would get elected (not soon, anyway), your vote would still roll over to support organised labour against the free-traders. You could even vote for most or all the NDP candidates running in your riding and if the NDP got more than enough votes to elect their candidates then part of your vote would still be left over to help elect the first Green to the provincial legislature. Strategic voting would be really strategic then, in more ways than one.
Under First Past the Post (our current system), you get to vote for one choice for an MLA, and if you want to be a strategic voter, then you are always honour bound to vote for the candidate you think can beat the candidate you fear or mistrust the most. So, say you don't want the Liberals to get in again, you think well I have to vote for the NDP because if I vote for a weaker party, I'll be throwing away my vote.
If you're not a strategic voter, under first past the post, you can express that you really resonate to the message of the Work Less Party, for example, and devil-take the results. But if you're one of only maybe 300 people who vote for that party, you'll feel really marginalized - you'll have no way to know how many voters love the idea of reducing the work week and spreading the jobs around more. And neither will any of the political parties.
Strategic or unstrategic, in either case, you're going to have some cognitive dissonance; and to resolve that, you basically have one choice - to become more cynical. Because you have to choose between voting your feelings and being "practical." And being practical means you have to choose a party you are not very enthusiastic about just at the moment, to keep a party you dislike from getting in.
If you get cynical enough, then you have one more choice. You can stay home from the polls altogether, and a lot of people do that. And then everyone says "look, the public doesn't even care who gets chosen - they're not interested in politics."
But say we actually pass the BC-STV. Opponents say that in countries where it's used, the major parties still win just about all the seats all the time, so it doesn't make any difference. But what they're not looking at is the information that the voters can pass on to the people who do get elected, and to each other, through the voting process.
If you were to choose a Workless Party candidate first, and a Marijuana Party candidate second, and an NDP candidate third and the Green Party candidate 4th, for example, you'd be contributing to a statistical record with nuances. It could could show if there's a public inclination towards cutting the work week and legalising pot; yet, because neither of those candidates would get elected (not soon, anyway), your vote would still roll over to support organised labour against the free-traders. You could even vote for most or all the NDP candidates running in your riding and if the NDP got more than enough votes to elect their candidates then part of your vote would still be left over to help elect the first Green to the provincial legislature. Strategic voting would be really strategic then, in more ways than one.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Tai Chi classes on Saturdays, 1 pm
Dr. Lyla Yip is teaching Tai Chi classes at Mt. Pleasant School now that it's spring, outdoors under the overhang. Several of the aunties are attending - try it, you'll like it. It's very good for improving balance and flexibility and strength, in a gentle manner. Drop-ins welcome. Generally we do some chi gong exercises and the 24-step version of the Yang style, and now she has started showing us how to do a short form of the Chen style, too, which has larger and more fluid movements than the Yang. Here's Lyla's web page: http://www.dr-lyla-yip.com/
Warning about Shoppers Drug Seniors Day Coupons
On the last Thursday in March, I bought $50 worth of goods at Shoppers in order to get the 20% senior discount. They also gave me a coupon worth $10 they said could be used "on your next visit." When I tried to pay with this coupon on my next visit, they told me the coupon was expired. The fine print showed that it had expired on March 29, only three days after it was issued.
The Fencewalker
At North China Park one can often see the fencewalker these days. The man drives a black car up to the Great Northern Way side of the park, gets out, and hops up onto the chainlink fence. He squate while he gets his balance, and practices balancing on one foot and letting his other leg swing loose. Then he gradually works up to standing and walking. If he missteps and has to come down, he starts over. He is moderately good at this, but clearly aims to perfect it.
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