Ajax, my love...no more

Well, our less-and-less-beloved mayor Steve Parish has done it again. Openly declaring that it does not matter what the residents of our neighbourhood want. Just like they brought in 10-ton buses into our quiet, narrow residential streets to wake us up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 AM for no passenger at all, and creating traffic and safety hazard when the residents made it abundantly clear that we do not want any of this. Just like they carefully planted silver maples (they grow to 20-30 m tall) right in front our windows when we asked the town not to ruin our beautiful and expensive view of Lake Ontario.

Now they are going to put a 5,000 sq ft building and a parking lot for some 30-50 cars onto a park that we have been enjoying in its original natural state when walking dogs, playing games, gathering for picnics and so on. He and his people at the town hall would not have it. He wants to put this building there with washrooms (I am OK with this one piece of the plan), meeting rooms, bistro and what not. Noise, traffic, environmental damage, loss of greenery, break-ins will follow.

We had a rally yesterday to ensure the town leadership hears our voice. Almost the entire community, over 750 individuals, signed a petition to ask the town leadership to reconsider, and not to put in that monster of a building into our neighbourhood. What is this "leader's" response? That we do not own that land. Ergo, shut up, go home, roll over, and let the big dogs decide. There will be another consultation in March with some modified plans being presented, and then construction will start.

Mr. Parish has just lost 750+ votes. Of course, he may not care. just like he does not care about the residents. He may have had enough of politics, and wants to leave anyway. But if that's the case why did he care to show up at all? For the free cookies?

Any resident who has not signed the Lakeside Park Construction Petition can do so here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/ajax123/petition.html


Update:

Please visit the Friends of Lakeside Park site here:
http://web.mac.com/kremu/Friends_of_Lakeside_Park/Welcome.html

Beautiful lunar eclipse

February brought us record snowfall but also an amazing display of natural beauty, a total lunar eclipse that was observable through clear sky.

Heretics of Dune by Herbert Frank

I started reading this book with great anticipation (I seem to have developed some sort of an addiction to Frank Herbert's books). It lived up to all my expectations and more. At the same time, it was a disappointment. Let me explain.

The book is one of the best of the Dune series, though it takes effort to go through the first half or so. While it takes the author many chapters to set up for the conclusion (I had to struggle to immerse myself into the spirit of the book), the Heretics of Dune has everything a Dune fan desires: myths and intrigue, tactics and machinations, heroics and love, thoughts behind thoughts behind thoughts (a Herbert trademark), and of course, great story telling.

While going through the first 200 pages or so, I may have just become saturated by the Herbertian style. I must confess having somewhat lost my interest in whether it will be the Bene Gesserit, the Tleilaxu, the Honored Matres or some other yet unnamed force in the universe claiming ultimate victory in shaping mankind's destiny.

But at the conclusion (albeit a bit too abrupt) all comes together. Purpose and means. Collision between choice and predetermined fate. Willpower, determination manage to finally alter the unalterable. Against all odds the heroes are brought together and carry out their mission.

A most ingenious symmetry evolves in this installment of the Dune series. The same but different theme runs through almost every page of the book. Siona and Sheena; Teg and Leto I; Bene Gesserit and Honored Maitres. Every major power and player has a counterpart from the Scattering that shows similar traits but with a twist.

The word 'whore' is used way too often in the book for my taste. Maybe I am getting a bit prudish with the passing of years but I believe there could have been a more fortunate way of expressing the Bene Gesserit's hatred toward their arch enemy.

A cool quote from the book:

There was a man who sat each day looking out through a narrow vertical opening where a single board had been removed from a tall wooden fence. Each day a wild ass of the desert passed outside the fence and across the narrow opening - first the nose, then the head, the forelegs, the long brown back, the hindlegs, and lastly the tail. One day, the man leaped to his feet with the light of discovery in his eyes and he shouted for all who could hear him: "It is obvious! The nose causes the tail!"

Baby it's cold outside

Yes it was cold outside. And, baby, it was -19 Celsius (-30 if you factor in wind-chill). But nature did not mind. As a matter of fact, it was so beautiful, I could not resist, and had to go down to the lake to inhale more of our good mother nature's freshness. Took some pictures too. Check out the link.