My Morning Ride.

There'sNoCloudLike
LowCloudVille


For the first time in weeks there was an easterly blowing down the back alley this morning.

And it was cool.

And it was just beginning mist.

So I actually went back inside to get my jacket.

The house was quiet, as it has been pretty much all week long. Bigger E. has been felled by some kind of stomach flu...Smaller (but getting taller every day) e. is away in Chicago, tapping (yes, tapping!)...And C. has been away in Victoria, but is now back and has taken the Whackadoodle off for an all-day playdate with another dog of similar size and disposition (much jumping and tumbling will occur I'm pretty sure).

I really should have taken the day off, but I've got a bunch of new lectures to deliver in a few weeks and there is a paper I've got to push out the door before the hordes arrive again...

Anyway.

The silver lining?

Don't know about you but I can see a wee bit of brightness peaking out of the lowest end of that far western sky off in the distance...

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In case you missed it...Posted up a quick take on the Privacy Commissioner's DybthnicGate report yesterday, but there are now two solid follow-ups from available...The first is from the watchdogs over at Integrity BC who make a bit of a fuss about who the Commissioner did NOT interview...The next is Bob Mackin's very thorough dissection of the report that makes it very clear how narrow the scope of it was and that, despite the sound-bite anchors that the Watercarriers have been dropping, it was not a total exonneration...

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If you want a killer round-up of recent goings on in Lotuslandian provincial politics...Head on over to Tom 'TopHarbourcat' Hawthorn's place for a whole bunch of gems like this:

...Premier Christy Clark made a surprise cameo this week when sworn in as MLA for Westside-Kelowna. The august ceremony took place overlooking the waters of Vancouver harbour and not of Okanagan Lake in her home-away-from-home riding.

To the everlasting embarrassment of British Columbia’s media, such newspapers as the Vancouver Sun and the Victoria Times Colonist published handout photographs of the event released by the B.C. Liberal’s government caucus.

The swearing in appears to have taken place within shouting distance of the Vancouver Sun and Province newsrooms. No photographers left on staff? Or no invitation?

I can see why the government would like to control its image in the media. I cannot see why the commercial media should play along. Shameful...

Gosh.

With all this kind of most excellent 'alternative reading' available these days (Mr. Hawthorn's piece was also published in The Tyee) it kinda makes you wonder why anybody even bothers to read The Dean pulling his punches (again) anymore, eh?

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How do we know that certain fine folks in certain finest-of-the-fine circles have taken note of the investigative digging of Norm Farrell?...Well, it would appear that they have sent the flying bot-monkeys after him...In response, Norm just turns straight upfield and makes like Bo Jackson to obliterate them.

Speaking of sports...Kinghell piece by Dave Zirin in The Nation this week about what Johnny Manziel and Trayvon Martin did, and did NOT, have in common....Really dig the fact that Zirin's inspiration came from a Tweet with the ring of truth by an old ballplayer named Charlton Jimerson:

“Johnny Manziel ate Skittles, drank beer, won the Heisman. Trayvon Martin ate Skittles, drank ice tea, got murdered."

And, just to be clear, Mr. Jimerson who, based on the fact that he grew up in Hayward California, likely went through Fruitvale Station thousands of times as a kid, knows of what he speaks because he's been everywhere on that spectrum between the kid on a corner in a hoodie and a big man on campus.

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And, speaking of more sports (but not really this time), Mr. Beer 'N Hockey gives us his take on why the Dippers really lost the last election...The only thing I know for sure after reading it?....The two Bills will not like Beer's missive.

And, finally, the last word on even more sports, pride, and a guy named Putin...From the irrepressible Dan Murphy.

OK?