bradm

That'd be The Legendary Red Dog Tavern, and while it's currently closed for renovations, it's slated to re-open in March, 2009. Aloha, Brad

The main music venue I've heard of is The Montreal House; JSB is playing there this week, and James McKenty And The Spades (who used to play there regularly) are there on Feb. 14. Aloha, Brad

Have some Glenlivet on hand, and we'll jam along with your gargling. Aloha, Brad

While we haven't done any gigs for almost two years now, the band I'm in, Inglewood Jack, has been busy rehearsing, composing, and recording (along with bringing a new drummer up to speed), and we're really excited to get back to performing with an appearance on the Ottawa Live Music radio program on Thursday, January 22, 2009, from 11pm to midnight. We'll be in the studio performing for most of the show, with the rest taken up with being interviewed and fielding any calls that come in. The program is broadcast on Carleton University's CKCU-FM, but is also streamed over the web. We'll be playing new tunes, revamped older tunes, and maybe a cover or two. (The program will also be recorded for later listening.) As I said, we're really excited about this, as we think our sound and compositions have progressed significantly during our hiatus time away from performing. If you're up at that time, we'd really dig it if you tuned in and listened to us. Aloha, Brad

If you can find it, is really good. Aloha, Brad

Straight malt Scotch for me, preferably an Islay like Lagavulin (or Bruichladdich or Port Ellen). Aloha, Brad

Happy Day, Roller! Aloha, Brad

I wonder if we could convince DSO (or some other Dead cover/tribute band) to tour the same cities as The Dead, but one day behind them all the way, each night recreating the previous night's Dead show (and charging half or less than half of what The Dead are charging)... Aloha, Brad

I just had yet another waitafreakingminute moment. The Ottawa CBC news station had a report on the strike, focusing on how long it'll take (6 - 12 weeks, apparently) to get buses back on the road after the strike is over*. The big issue with getting the buses running is safety inspections; the longer the buses sit there, the more of them will have to be re-certified. (The CBC reporter asked a mechanic on a picket line what has to be checked out. The mechanic replied, "Everything. Brakes, steering, suspension lights, everything.") One option the city is reported to be considering is asking the Ontarion government if the regulations regarding safety certifications and inspections can be relaxed during the time the buses are being brought back to the road. So. The City of Ottawa wants to regain control of scheduling to bring it into line with federal safety regulations, but at the same time wants to have provincial safety regulations relaxed/waived. Mixed Message O'Brien continues to tick me off. Aloha, Brad * It'll take so long that about 400 drivers will be laid off (until the buses are up and running) as soon as the strike is over.

You can that kind of thing with prosciutto, too. Aloha, Brad

http://www.archive.org/details/rre2009-01-15.at4041.flac16 Aloha, Brad

The LCBO lists a couple of absinthes, one from the Czech Republic, and one from France, but I don't know "real" they are. Aloha, BRad

It looks like The Trews, with James McKenty And The Spades as the opener, are playing in Kingston on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009, at The Ale House. Tickets are $18. Aloha, Brad

Words fail me. Aloha, Brad

I'm getting more and more ticked off at the city. Given that it could take two weeks to find an independent "fact finder", and then who knows how long to find the facts (assuming a finder could be found), and given that the city hasn't said (or, I bet, even considered) how the found facts will change the city's stance on scheduling, why the heck are we doing it? (It would have been a great idea about six months ago.) The only conclusion I've come to is that the city is using this to artificially prolong the strike, to put the union in a more desparate position, one where they'll begrudingly accept the city's (next) offer. In other words, this isn't a compromise, it's a weapon; the city can now say, "Hey, we're being nice, we want an independent review of scheduling, so the ball's in the union's court, they're the ones prolonging the strike." (Further, the city's dropping of the $2500 productivity bonus is also not a compromise, because it was something the city was giving to the union. I want to see the city compromise by giving up something it wants, not something that benefits the other side.) The union isn't making much in the way of points with me, either. In particular, I want to see the union justify how its members can work in ways that exceed the limits specified by the 2007 federal regulations. Forget that Ottawa has an exemption from the regulations, that just means the federal government doesn't have the authority to enforce the limits; I want to know why the union thinks the limits they live by are as safe as or safer than the federal limits. Aloha, Brad

It was mentioned on one of Alan Mercier's slides this afternoon, but I don't have much more info on them. The regs were passed in 2007, and cover things like how long you can drive without a break, how many days in a row you can work (Mercier pointed there are drivers who have worked 45 to 190 days in a row) before a day off, and so on. Apparently they cover the O Train drivers, but not the bus drivers. Aloha, Brad

(This isn't a challenge or anything, and I don't mean it to sound antagonistic.) Would you agree to altering the scheduling so that there couldn't be any violations of the federal regulations? (I admit that Ottawa has an exemption from the regulations, so there's no requirement that Ottawa drivers comply with them, but I also understand that the existing collective agreement has limits in it that are different from the federal limits.) Aloha, Brad

It looks like Ottawa City Council is back in session, and Rogers22 is running it live. I came in during the middle of a presentation by Alan Mercier, head of OC Transpo, and it helped answer a question I've had for a while. Mayor O'Brien has used "safety" as an issue for why OC Transpo wants control of scheduling, meaning that the way drivers were scheduling things wasn't safe. Shouldn't there be regulations (federal or provincial) governing things like how long drivers can drive without a break, or how many hours off they need in a given period of time, etc? It turns out there are: the federal government passed them in 2007, but with a three-way catch: the cities of Windsor, Gatineau, and Ottawa are exempt from the regulations. One councillor expressed confusion as to why Ottawa didn't need to conform to the regulations (and mentioned going to the feds to get Ottawa's exemption removed), and another councillor asked the city's solicitor if the issue of OC Transpo not following the federal regulations (even though we were exempt from them) might come up in a civil suit resulting from a crash. The solicitor replied that if he were the one bringing the case, he'd bring up exactly that issue. It also looks like the city has revised its bargaining position slightly: they've agreed to take the $2500 signing bonus off the table, and allow for the appointment of an independent fact-finder to look at the scheduling issue. Aloha, Brad

City, union strike deal over Para Transpo Aloha, Brad

I'd like to see something like Shattered Visage (i.e., a sequel to or continuation of the original series) brought to film. Aloha, BRad

Luther Wright is in Ottawa at the Elmdale the night before that, on Jan. 30. http://music.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=music.showDetails&Band_Show_ID=38527337&friendid=78837506 http://www.jambands.ca/sanctuary/showtopic.php?fid/65/tid/250599 Aloha, Brad

AMC has full epsidoes available for streaming: http://www.amctv.com/originals/the-prisoner-1960s-series/ They also have an upcoming 'Prisoner' miniseries, with Ian McKellen. Aloha, Brad

'The Prisoner' was also freed yesterday. Aloha, Brad

If you install the beta, remember to read the fine print. Aside from the amount of stuff Windows 7 will send back to Microsoft, Aloha, Brad

Is anyone interested in going to the Black Sheep on Friday night for Snailhouse + The Olympic Symphonium? I want to go, but need a ride. Aloha, Brad