Local Elections and Shout Outs.

Author's Head-Note: I'd just like to take the time in advance to thank the lot of you, bots included, for 1000 career page-views, which we passed shortly after my supper time this evening. your continued readership means a lot to me, and watching that little ticker climb is a good motivator for keeping this going. Thank you very much.


Saint John Municipal Elections
So, the time has come again to elect our city council. Municipal government has the most direct impact on our day to day lives... something we start to forget when we think about the larger issues of medical care, criminal law, and Realpolitik. Municipal officials have the rather inglorious job of keeping track of who has title to what land, how our garbage is connected, how our water is kept clean and plentiful, and all sorts of other mundanities that we, frankly, take for granted. Elections will be held on May 14th for council and mayoral positions. Traditionally, municipal elections have been dominated by retirees, which has given our city a strong anti-change slant. That'd be good, if we weren't in major need of an overhaul. Occupy Saint John might have been a dismal flop (though, for full disclosure, I'm opposed to Occupy as a whole), but that liberal base is exactly what a city mired in decades of ignored problems needs.

House Keeping
It's been eating away at me that the Intro to Rationality video isn't up yet, and there's a very good reason why: I've yet to find a solution to my sound quality problem, up to and including using a bluetooth headset to record audio. I'm going to find an affordably-priced mic, perhaps through one of my tech savvy friends.

Also, you might have already noticed, but I added an orange donation button up in the top right corner of the page. Honestly, feel free to ignore it. At present, my out-of-pocket expense for this project is pretty much near zero. But it's there, if you're in a giving mood.

Shout Outs
It's a good time again to give some shout-outs to people who have helped make the blog a success, starting, of course, with the readers themselves. Whether you're still hanging around from CAF, or you're someone new from off of NationStates, or you found me through another blogger, I hope you're enjoying the read. Drop me a line or a comment at any time and I'll be sure to get back to you! Secondly (and as importantly), my dear darling, who keeps me honest when I'm leaning too far to the right, or left.

Also, I'd like to than Cam of A Woman's Place, for two reasons: I often find my writing material of the day while I'm reading her posts (or interviewing her directly), and she generally lets me get away with throwing the odd link up on her comments... which, let's face it, are usually tangentally relevant at best. Kudos, many happy returns, and thanks for the Effert thing.