On the DEWLine 2.0: Dwight Williams

Yeah, I noticed that this morning.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/slater-laurier-parking-garage-ottawa-collapse-closure-1.7468706

"Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:

Passenger rail is a safe, efficient, sustainable, affordable, and accessible mode of public transportation;
Due to federal cutbacks and underinvestment over many years, Canada’s current passenger rail services lag far behind those available in other countries;
Since its creation in 1978, VIA Rail has lacked both the legislative mandate and stable budget necessary to maintain and expand passenger rail service in Canada;
While VIA Rail's on-time performance on tracks it owns is over 90 percent, it is only 60 percent on tracks it shares with other railways;
Rail privatization and outsourcing schemes in other countries have led to higher fares, reduced service, deteriorating safety performance, and lower salaries for workers;
Unlike other public passenger rail providers around the world, VIA Rail lacks representation from passengers and workers on its board of directors; and
In its Corporate Plan, VIA has warned that its long-distance fleet, built in the 1950s, is overdue for replacement, without which it will soon be unable to provide services in Atlantic and Western Canada.

We, the undersigned, Residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Incorporate the contents of Bills C-371, the Rail Passenger Priority Act, and C-236/C-640 (41-2) the VIA Rail Canada Act, in a Government Bill and prioritize its passage through the legislative process;
2. Commit, in the 2024 federal budget, the funds necessary to renew VIA Rail’s long-distance fleet;
3. Provide passenger and worker representation on VIA Rail’s board of directors; and
4. Revise the High Frequency Rail project to protect VIA Rail’s role in delivering public passenger rail service along the Windsor to Quebec City corridor."

https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4754

I think we can declare that as having happened for my region overnight. The school buses on the Ontario side are officially cancelled.

1. Scientific American: Moral Injury Is an Invisible Epidemic That Affects Millions - published in 2022. This is a thing that politicians with kind intentions might be dealing with, too...

2. Canadian Press via CBC News: Foreign interference means Canada should get serious on media literacy, advocate says - published in 2023. A concern of every nation at this point, yes?

3. CBC News - Is the Bank of Canada making things worse? - published in 2023. Central bank bosses seem to be missing the points of much of the wider public right now, don't they?

4. CBC News - Construction labour crunch leaves Canada in need of boosting ranks of home builders - published in 2023.

5. Post News - COVID-19 Update for July 2023: Risks Are Low But Rising, and Too Many Are Ignoring Longer-Term Risks by Augie Ray

So I subscribe to this mailing list called the Weekly Typographic, organized by the League of Movable Type. This week's instalment led me to an essay on highway signage as put together in the United States (and adapted to some extent in Canada as well):

https://www.beautifulpublicdata.com/the-style-guide-for-americas-highways-mutcd/?mc_cid=6948264b0b&mc_eid=b51f2e7655

Yes, friends and acquaintances, there is a style guide for these things, and it runs currently to over 900 pages in hardcopy format.

All those road trips my parents took me on over the years of grade school and high school...they had an effect on my choice of hobbies. License plates, highway signs...this is a part of why I got involved with Spacing Media, of course, as well as developing interests in graphic design along with comic books and science fiction in TV and film. I think I've discussed this before. Many of you reading this remember that. It seems a good idea to cover that ground anew for some of the people just starting to visit regularly.

This is part of a map I've been designing with help from assets from Maptorian. I was inspired by a map in the old Dent's Canadian School Atlas devoted to Canadian airline connections across the country, as well as by a recent job interview for a graphic design position.

I'm making this with Adobe Illustrator CS4, in case you're wondering.

Good morning, and good luck.

We had a power outage overnight, about two hours before I woke up. I didn't even notice how long it lasted, but the CPAP machine still "think" that I had seven hours' usage out of it.

Apparently, we're supposed to get a lull in the waves of rainfall passing through town today.

More on other topics later. Like, perhaps some discussion of the city council's transportation committee meeting scheduled for later this morning. Not sure yet.

Got some pix of the construction of one of the new O-Train stations, doubling as the renovation of one of the old Transitway stations here in eastern Ottawa.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwight_ew/albums/72177720297478784

Also, got some laundry done this morning before I went out for my day's shopping errands.

Rain day, too. Not the worst rain we've had, just enough to keep the spring melt moving along.

Oh, and I got a haircut last week. The CPAP machine mask harness was part of the impetus, the new job search was another reason. Although some people seem pleased with it regardless of the motives.

This could further inconvenience our own respective lives:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/truck-convoy-fundraiser-gofundme-1.6346639

On the other hand, we've got global organized pro-fascist terrorism to stomp into the ground.

On the third hand, Snyder's First and Seventeenth Points:

1. Do not obey in advance
17. Listen for dangerous words

Sidebar: GiveSendGo is getting attention in the courts now, too:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/freedom-convoy-2022-donations-frozen-give-send-go-1.6347345