Swans' $20 MPI Justice

Well, the office of the Minister of Justice called this morning.
A formal statement was read to me by the Executive Assistant saying,...
Well, I will have to put it into my own words as I did not take formal notes.
Basically, an error was made in the 'order' of the mailing out of 'interim statements.'
Until August 7th, there will be a reversal of these charges, to the people who didn't receive the first interim statements, allowing them to pay their car insurance on time without penalty.
My morning coffee tasted so much better after that short but clarifying statement.


I would like to thank Andrew Swan and his staff for such a prompt and satisfying response to a small problem, individually, that affected so many, collectively.

Fresh Perspectives

What would one expect to find at the Fringe Festival? Certainly not a bride with her 'little black dress' entourage... feasting on a street vendor hot dog. You can see by the photo ( permission for the photo granted by the bride herself), that these ladies are really chowing down... no pretentious faking it for a a media blurb. Now, most people just wouldn't expect this scene to be unfolding in Old Market Square along with the Fringe Festival. I don't know if they planned for this coincidence or if they were 'surprised' by it, but, I do know this... they knew how to take advantage of the situation... whether or not it was part of their list of original ideas for photo ops.
Now, that's just classy!

Seeing the perfect opportunity in a less than perfect setting is the difference between a pessimist and an optimist.
Aren't they cool?

MPI Swan Justice

FYI... Manitoba residents
I received my MPI renewal in the mail with a 'charge late fee' of $20.00. Now, it just didn't seem right that the first notice couldn't possibly have reached my door in time for me to pay it without penalty. The postal strike has been over for weeks now, yet I have not received a 'interim statement' without penalty charge on it.
Why not?
I phoned MPI and they gave me a little swan dive excuse about how we are all responsible to pay our bills on time... "the letters you receive are only a courtesy," I was told.
I told them that, "...if there is a change of policy on the part of the company, the people should be notified of the change."
That sounds reasonable, right?
I suggested that MPI never did send the first renewal letters, using the mail strike as a bluff.
When I demanded proof that they had mailed out the original 'interim statement' for their installment plan, an MPI employee admitted that they were never sent.
Now,... I called the Minister of Justice, Andrew Swan, and spoke with his executive assistant, who said that she will get back to me.
When I asked her how I should proceed with my payment, while we wait for this situation to be resolved... she said, "It is your choice to register your vehicle, or not. The choice to...,"
Now, I understand personal responsibility... I have raised three children to be responsible... and I also have always chosen to pay my bills... and I also strive to pay them on time... so,...
I'm just asking for a fair and just opportunity to pay them on time.
If MPI no longer chooses to be courteous and send us 'interim statements,' they should let us know before they are going to become discourteous.
To choose not to send us our 'interim statements' without telling us... is really taking away our choice to pay our bill on time.

I am waiting upon the office of the Minister of Justice to get back to me...

Pelican Poset

The Pelican stood tall on the man-made lake. It was comfortable in its surroundings. As the Canada Geese waddled over, they drew the attention of the Pelican. It was clear that the antisymmetric relation formulized an intuition wherein neither element preceded the other in this poset.

  Both species seemed to be working on preorders of the key property of transitivity and equivalence. Within this cell, on this beautiful, calm evening, this set, with respect to the equivalence relation, were considered... equivalent. Watching the behavior of the cell group proved the verity.

On the water, images mirrored reflexive relation ~

Deseo Distributism

Simmy had her thinking cap on... what can I do with this 'Deseo' perfume? Perfumes are personal and she had purchased this one on a whim. So,... needing to get something out of the purchase even if it wasn't going to be used for its' original intent... she decided to write a 'connective story.'
What do G.K. Chesterton, Michelangelo, and 'Deseo' have in common?
Well,... the shape of the 'Deseo' perfume bottle, in 3D form, reminds me of the distributed form of the 'Distributed Economy,' a third-way economic philosophy developed by G.K.and Belloc.
If I had purchased enough bottles to create a connected form, then the model would present, quite satisfyingly, a 3D model of this philosophy, that... because of its' forward sailing ship angle... would be as infinite as the Munsell color system.
Michelangelo would likely really appreciate this angled tetrahedron perfume bottle and chuckle at the physical representation of what his cornea and lens could see every time he painted his famous pictures.
All in all, the perfume bottle is a great Looking Back to Look Forward modern representation of a distributed economy.
The 'structure and anarchy' of the design is a tense struggle and parallel to The Man Who Was Thursday.
Aren't we ever so glad that G.K.'s stint in the film industry as a silent cowboy didn't sidetrack his writing career.

Now, to whom can I distribute this bottle that may 'deseo' (desire) it?

Great Train Robbery

It was a calm beautiful day, the train was chugging along the tracks in a steady, harmless pace. The passengers were unaware of the danger up ahead.

  Calamity Jane and Wild Bill were trying to keep their horses calm but the excitement in the air had the black stallion rearing up in protest. Gold grubbing thieves, the daring duo were after the jewels from the passengers on board.

Wyatt Earp had infiltrated the little gang and was waiting for his chance to board the train before Wild Bill and Calamity Jane got wind of his true identity. In a valiant move, Earp climbed on board,...

to rescue the passengers and Wild Bill,... well, he missed the train.

All in a days' excitement when you ride 'The Prairie Dog Central.'

Wild Heart Fireworks

Just after Lamoureux was done with his fireworks, oldest construction son pulled his out of his bag and off to the field... a little cheering troupe followed.
It was always interesting to beat off mosquitoes while trying to catch a photo or two of the midnight shower. The big finale was 'Wild Heart' which sounded like a romance novel but really it just takes one to hold those roman candles fearlessly.
Oops! Didn't the instructions say never to hold them... must be a 'Wild at Heart' male.