I bought a red shirt off the clearance rack at Winners on Friday.

It is a collared, three button, cotton knit, red shirt with the arms argent (silver/white) with an eagle gules (red) display facing dexter (right).

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Everyone at some company is supposed to take web courses. One of the course descriptions (that allows time for exploring the web on your own) provided this pearl:

The web is not an information highway, it’s a tidal wave bearing gifts — and incidentally washing away anything without a strong foundation.

What could that mean?

Last Friday Ojo and I went to Queen Street Commons cafe (operated by the Working Centre) where we each had Thai noodle salad. We walked around in Victoria Park for a bit.

Later we stopped by a new cafe on King Street, Maestro. It is down a spiral staircase from the sidewalk. The blackboard sign list all sorts of coffee served. We tried Serbian coffee. It was very strong brewed with finely ground coffee beans still in the bottom of the cup and served with a glass of mineral water.

I rarely drink coffee and it was interesting to me to taste how much sipping the mineral water affected the flavour.

The guy also told us about Turkish coffee, Greek coffee and others he had on his list. We also asked about another type of coffee listed on the sign outside, Canadian coffee. That’s just regular coffee.

A problem with brand loyalty programs is that points can be devalued unilaterally.

Aeroplan recently announced that for its so-called Tango fares that they will be worth a quarter of the normal value.

• Effective for travel as of September 15, 2007, earn 25% Aeroplan Miles for distance flown on scheduled flights operated by Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz within Canada and between Canada and the Continental U.S.A. (including Hawaii) with Tango fares (R, G, P, E, N, T, K booking classes) and X booking class.

You won’t get there any faster though.

This isn’t as bad as other instances in other plans where accumulated points are devalued by things like changing reward thresholds.

In these programs as you accumulate points the company has to count it as a liability and put away money to account for it. That money will eventually cover the cost of your reward. They get, hopefully for them, increased business and the time value of their reward offset fund.

Devaluing loyalty points is attractive in the short term because it instantly reduces liability and frees up cash from the fund. It could also be attractive in the long term because the change might not affect the members’ perceptions of the loyalty program to the same degree.

I was interested to learn last week that the creek in which Waterloo killed beavers last year was once called . . . that’s right, Beaver Creek.

Laurel Creek has been tested, studied and so changed by human intervention as to be unrecognizable by those who lived here 200 years ago. Even its name has changed. It was Beaver Creek in the 1800s (one branch retains the name), but at some point was changed to Laurel Creek.
– The creek The Record 4 Aug 2007

How prescient that name change was. Now let’s go find some laurel trees.

John of ostomyathlete.com and Rob of IDEAS (Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society) are competing in the TransRockies Challenge V as part of an awareness campaign for IDEAS. They are both ostomates, which means because of disease they have had surgery to make an artificial hole for waste.

Both Rob and John compete in triathlons and do other athletic feats that would be great achievements for anyone.

Rob and John will demonstrate to society that illness is only an obstacle to overcome, and that focus on ability rather than disability leads to better quality of life.

This describes the purpose fo the team, the campaign and their plans:

Team CanadaHomeHealth.com/IDEAS’ main goal in racing the TransRockies is to raise awareness of the Intestinal Disease Education and Awareness Society. The organization was founded by Rob Hill of Vancouver, BC to help remove the stigma associated with intestinal diseases and people living with ostomies. The society conducts a wide range of activities including school talks, presentations to professional organizations and awareness campaigns throughout BC, Canada and North America. This summer, the society will also support a day camp program for children living with IBD in Vancouver, BC.

CanadaHomeHealth.com is sponsoring John and Rob’s team. It will be called “Team CanadaHomeHealth.com/IDEAS”.

I was walking somewhere Friday and a woman talking on a cell phone asked me for directions.

w: Can you tell me where Regina Street is?

R: Yes, it is this street that we are on. (I gestured along the sidewalk on which we were both standing)

w: (listened on the phone a bit more) Where is Erb Street?

R: It is that street right there (I point 8 metres ahead).

I wonder if that was at all helpful.

Jurek took this great photo of a cat and mouse. It is Tigger and an unknown mouse of no fixed address.

Ipsos tells me that most Canadians are accepting of the Prime Minister’s use of “God Bless Canada”. I already thought about this issue from hearing United-Statesians’ use of “God Bless America” after speeches, like the name of the Irving Berlin song.

I have often said that Canadians should close their speeches with “O Canada,” which is the name of our national anthem. It is suitably open and progressive for Canadians and I predict a >90% approval rating.

Anyway this is what Didier’s people have to say about it:

When asked to consider Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s recent use of the term “God Bless Canada” at the end of all his speeches, the majority of Canadians (65%) indicate they feel this is “acceptable and he should keep doing it”. But one in four (26%) feel that this is “unacceptable and he should stop doing it”. According to a new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service/Global News.

Speaking of our national anthem many people don’t know the additional verses, albeit unofficial, from the Weir poem upon which the official anthem was based. There are some choice lines like:

May stalwart sons and gentle maidens rise; To keep thee steadfast through the years; From East to Western Sea,

which is from the third stanza or this part from the second stanza:

O Canada! Where pines and maples grow. Great prairies spread and lordly rivers flow.

The translation from the french version is also interesting:

O Canada! Land of our forefathers
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers.
As in thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic of the most brilliant exploits.

Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights.

That is much different in meaning than the English version. The dual message is reminiscent of the Conservative slogans during the first election of 2006. In English it was “Stand up for Canada” and in French it was “Changeons pour vrai.”

I wonder if that quarter of people would be happy if Harper ended his speeches with “God keep our land” ou “Protégerions nos foyers et nos droits.”

The Kitchener-Waterloo lacrosse team is moving up from Senior B to Major Series in the Ontario Lacrosse Association. I just saw the 7 March 2006 announcement from K-W Kodiaks:

With the unanimous support of the Board of Governors of the Major Series Lacrosse, the KW Kodiaks have purchased the St. Catharines Athletics from former owner Bill LeFeuvre with approval to immediately move the club to Waterloo for the 2006 season. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The new Kodiaks, moving up to play Major Series Lacrosse, will be a blend of the best players from the Athletics with those of the 2-time Presidents Cup Champion Kodiaks. The existing Kodiaks’ Executive, coaching staff and support staff will remain in place to guide the new club.

The Kodiaks organization has done well. The team only restarted in town three years ago. They won two cups and now they are joining the majors.