From Spannerbook: The Best Deal in Town

Spannerbook

It’s a constant, valiant and mostly thankless struggle to keep a city’s infrastructure working properly. The only time people notice it is when it fails or is getting replaced. York Road looks like a war zone these days but when it’s finished, it will be a showpiece. In about a month, everyone will marvel at the freshly paved tree lined street with a bike lane that will score a perfect 10 on the Guelph Factor scale. What they won’t see are the tons of new water pipes for both supply and waste below the surface. The only visible change for the sewers will be that each cast iron drain lid has a fish stamped into it. This will hopefully prevent those who are tempted to dump liquid waste down a street grate from doing so, keeping it out of our various bodies of water. If caught, you will immediately be…

View original post 761 more words

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday September 8, 2016

We’re back! It’s back to business as usual this week on Open Sources Guelph as the team re-unites to tackle the latest issues of the day. We’ll kick off with the circus south of the border, which promises get even more circus-y now in the final two-month stretch of the campaign. Up here in Canada meanwhile, the Ontario PCs have won a beachhead, but can they use it to build a coalition for 2018, and at what cost? Another Conservative, one trying to win federal party leadership, has encountered trouble of her own making, and a beloved Canadian ~~moose~~ news anchor announces the date of his final broadcast. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday September 8, 2016” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday September 1, 2016

This week, Open Sources Guelph marks Labour Day by taking a break from our labours and remember fondly the time when politicians really did have the best words. We all know that political speeches have the capacity to be uplifting, to make us think, to engage us and spur us to action – and not just in the movies. That kind of rhetoric has been at a premium this election cycle in the United States, but it still exists, at least in the archives. So as Adam A. Donaldson takes the week off to engage with fellow nerds at Fan Expo Canada, Scotty Hertz will countdown the greatest hits… of political speeches. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday September 1, 2016” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday August 25, 2016

We wind down the summer here on Open Sources Guelph with more of our patented political discussion about hot button issues of the day. For instance, is Donald Trump now actually *trying* to run for president? He hasn’t said anything grotesque this week, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to talk about. And just because the House is in recess, it doesn’t mean that Canada’s federal politicians aren’t making news, even if they wish they weren’t. In media matters, we’ll look at the never-ending newspaper strike on the east coast, and wonder where all the reporters are in the deep south. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday August 25, 2016” →

The Weekender: Don’t Hate the Player, Hate His Pawns

A few months after he secured the nomination, and several weeks after he was official made the Republican candidate for President of the United States, it seemed like Donald Trump finally made the pivot to the general election this week. Of course, if he waited much longer, the November election would have looked more like a coronation for Hillary Clinton, but as the man said, better late than never. While Republican party heavyweights like Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell may be the most relieved ,or – if only for a moment – slightly less concerned about a full GOP repudiation in three months time, the most relieved must be Trump’s spokespeople, who get a break from having to defend the insanity. Continue reading “The Weekender: Don’t Hate the Player, Hate His Pawns” →

Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday August 18, 2016

So what’s in the news? It seems like it’s non-stop Trump zaniness, but this week on Open Sources Guelph, we ask a more important question: is this the end of civilization? One major magazine seems to think so, and we’ll break that down and figure out if we’ll remember one week in July as beginning of the end of society. After that we’ll talk about swimwear, cars, and power! But while that sounds like we’re doing some kind of manly man show, these are actually serious political issues that need to be discussed. Continue reading “Open Sources Show Notes for Thursday August 18, 2016” →

Old Grey Mare She Ain’t What She Used to Be

So this made a lot of news, and understandably so because it is hilarious as hell. Last week, at an event in Kissimmee, FL, Republican Presidential candidate (sigh) Donald Trump did his usual stump speech, but the news kept on coming long after he left the stage and supporters were filing out of the venue. One old guy, a member of the legion of over-45 set that Trump has attracted in large numbers, saw the media pen and thought he would give them a piece of his mind, and it went a little something like this… Continue reading “Old Grey Mare She Ain’t What She Used to Be” →