The hubby and I were posted to Winnipeg from 1998 through 2003. I like to say that after spending 5 winters in the ‘peg, I’ve done my time in purgatory and will immediately be going straight to heaven. Other than meeting some amazing people while we were there, one thing we really loved about Winnipeg was the variety of different restaurants in the city. Pick and ethnicity and you’ll likely find a restaurant where you can nosh on your favourite nibbles.

While watching the CTV news in Winnipeg tonight I caught a story on the Diner’s Digest website. This site lists all restaurants with health infractions that resulted in the restaurant’s closure. Restaurants will be listed for a year. There’s also a link to restaurants convicted of violations along with the fines levied.

The closures list includes restaurants that were closed due to fires, broken dishwashers, and rodent or other pest infestations. I’m the curious sort so I had to check out the site and determine how many of the restaurants on the list that I’d eaten at in the past. I’m happy to report that I’ve not eaten at any of the restaurants on the convictions list. I wasn’t so lucky when it came to the closures list. On the bright side, of the two restaurants on the list we’d routinely eaten at, one was closed due to a fire while the other was closed due to flooding. At least their food handling wasn’t in question…

It’s a very interesting concept and I for one would be interested in seeing a similar list made available in Edmonton. I do sympathize with the restaurants that appear on the list due to issues such as fire damage and can understand their complaint about the site. Despite the reasons for closure being listed on the .pdf file, owners are concerned that prospective clients won’t take the time to read the reason behind the closure before deciding whether or not to partronize their establishment.

Technorati Tags: Winnipeg, restaurants, health hazards, Diner’s Digest

Poppy pots are being stolen throughout Calgary. The poppy fund is a major source of revenue for the Legion and provides support for veterans and their families.

Technorati Tags: poppy, veterans, legion, theft

I adore reading. I’m forever grateful that my husband equally shares in my worship of the written word. We often share books, but once the books are read we struggle to find a place to put those we’d like to keep and re-read later.

I’ve written about bookcrossing.org here before. To date, we’ve registered 33 books and released 23 of those into the wild. Only one has been picked up and journaled. I’m not sure if the rest of the books made it into the hands of other readers. I do hope someone has found them and is reading them. If not, I hope they’ve passed them on to someone else who might enjoy them. I’m very curious to know what’s happened to the books I’ve released over the past few months.

My book geek is peeking out from behind the curtain. These days I’m hard pressed to find anything more exciting than reading someone’s journal entry for a book you’ve released.

Technorati Tags: bookcrossing.org, books

The Dominion Institute is gathering signatures on a petition calling for the Canadian government to offer a full state funeral to the family of the last surviving veteran of World War One. The preamble to the petition reads:

“We the undersigned feel enormous gratitude for the sacrifice made by all the Canadian Armed Forces through the ages in defence of this country and its values; acknowledge the very special nature of the sacrifice made by those who fought in the First World War in appalling conditions and with terrible loss of life; note that only three First World War veterans remain, and urge the Prime Minister that their sacrifice, and all of those they served with under arms from 1914-1918, be celebrated by offering a state funeral to the family of the last veteran of the First World War resident in Canada.”

Canada provided a state funeral for Pte. Ernest Alvia (Smokey) Smith, Canada’s last Victoria Cross recipient, in 2005. It seem a totally appropriate and dignified remembrance for Canada to offer similar state funeral to the family of the last World War One veteran. I’d also like to see a similar offer made to the family members of the last surviving World War Two and Korean War veterans.

If you weren’t previously aware of this petition or have not yet taken the time to sign it, I urge you to do so now.

h/t to small dead animals and halls of macadamia

Technorati Tags: Remembrance Day, state funeral, WWI, World War One, Smokey Smith, solider, Canadian Armed Forces, petition

Mimi Lenox asks

Can we affect change by sending a silly graphic around the globe with childlike scribblings and paint-by-number glee? Will it really matter?

I don’t know the answer to Mimi’s question, but I think it’s one that we need to consider – both from a sociological and informal learning perspective.

Does what we write have an impact on others? I think that’s the whole point of writing – to suggest, convert, amuse, entertain or encourage others to view something from another perspective.

The power of the Internet and it’s ability to generate social connections between people from opposite ends of the world has been touted for years. Usenet readers and mailing list subscribers were early members of social networks. We are starting to harness this with the advent of social sites such as Friendster (now defunct), MySpace (radically changed from its original form, thanks to the advent of Facebook and Twitter) and Yahoo! 360 (no longer a thing). Web 2.0 may bring this a step further into being.

So, if social connections exist and what we write has power, why can’t a group of people posting a similar graphic calling for peace – whatever the word peace means to you – wield similar power?

I’m joining Mimi in her quest today in the hopes that she will find answers to her questions. Perhaps along the way I’ll also find my own.

Technorati Tags: Dona Nobis Pacem, informal learning, inter-connected, social networking, web 2.0