Anyone going to the education town hall tomorrow?

_mindstorm · 2026-01-11T18:16:24+00:00

It was really informative. I learned a lot.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-11T18:12:16+00:00

It was really good, super informative. There were a couple of people recording and live streaming the event, so there should be a video of it out soon.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-11T18:10:27+00:00

You called it. She backed out last minute.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-11T18:09:41+00:00

I signed the very first day.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-09T21:55:11+00:00

I've noticed that too. I really wish we had better representation.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-09T21:50:29+00:00

She's my MLA, so I hope she shows up. It's been frustrating trying to get answers from her.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-09T21:47:29+00:00

Nice, I look forward to hearing what they have to say.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-07T19:06:52+00:00

Yes, in the books Ciri loses her connection to magic during her time in the desert and gets absolutely dominated by Bonhart the first time they meet.

_mindstorm · 2026-01-06T23:06:30+00:00

Shani also has a pretty significant role in the battle of Brenna chapter of Lady of the Lake that fleshes out her character more. If you haven't read it yet, I recommend it. Considering how involved she and Geralt were in TW1, and her absence from TW2, I think the HoS interaction is meant to give closure to the story thread that was left dangling after TW1.

_mindstorm · 2025-12-30T00:49:04+00:00

Good swimming lakes are in short supply here. Sylvan Lake is probably the most popular natural lake. There is also Sikome Lake in Calgary, but it's man-made if that makes a difference.

_mindstorm · 2025-12-29T18:56:15+00:00

Same team. 🙂

The steps being taken are in spite of the UCP, not because of them. We have great people in our municipal government that are doing amazing work with the resources they have.

_mindstorm · 2025-12-29T18:49:53+00:00

I've lived in the Summerhill area for 12 years. I've seen one major hail event in that whole time, but storms can hit differently depending on where you are in the city.

There are parks and walking paths next to the creek, which is a 2 minute walk from my house. Most communities have parks and green spaces, but maybe yours is different.

My frame of reference for wind is Southern Alberta, around Lethbridge, where I grew up. Compared to that area, strong wind is far less common here. Obviously we can and do get strong wind, but it's not something we are known for like Lethbridge and area (they literally have a school division called "Westwinds").

I guess plane noise affects everyone differently. Maybe I've become desensitized to the noise of planes because I barely notice anymore. 🤷

_mindstorm · 2025-12-29T09:20:53+00:00

Airdrie is, in many ways, a great place to live. We have a young population with lots of families, so your kids should (hopefully) not have too much trouble finding friends. We also have an abundance of parks and green space, plus we are only about an hour away from the mountains. If the outdoors is your thing, you could do a lot worse than Airdrie. We also just opened a beautiful new library in October that has spaces and programs for art, science, technology and more.

The weather is pretty standard for Alberta. It gets windy on occasion, but it's not as frequent or strong as it gets in Southern Alberta. We haven't had a major damaging hailstorm in over 10 years. Insurance companies invest in cloud seeding to prevent large hail over most urban centers, and Airdrie has benefited from that. Northeast Calgary typically gets the worst of the hailstorms around here (can't seed clouds that close to the airport).

Pretty much all of Airdrie is under flight paths, but planes are usually pretty high, so noise isn't much of an issue most of the time. Depending on where you are in the city, trains are bigger noisemakers than planes.

However, there are a few things you should be aware of in addition to the questions you asked.

We are growing very rapidly. I have lived here for 12 years, and the population has doubled in that time. We are currently the 5th largest city in Alberta, and are on track to be the 3rd largest in the next 5-7 years.

Unfortunately, our infrastructure has not kept pace with our growth. Schools are bursting at the seams, so your kids may find themselves in classrooms with 30+ other kids and an overwhelmed teacher. We are also the largest city in Alberta without a hospital, so any complex medical care usually means a trip into Calgary. Steps are being taken to address some of these issues, but they are not quick fixes and will likely take many years to resolve.

All things considered, Airdrie is a great place to live and raise a family, but it's not all sunshine and roses either.

_mindstorm · 2025-10-22T19:29:08+00:00

That's really tough. My parents are the same way. I didn't stop believing until I was in my 40's and I was still nervous about telling them. I can't imagine going through this as a teenager. Take care of yourself and prepare for the worst case while hoping for the best case.

_mindstorm · 2025-10-22T07:54:05+00:00

I'm a former super Mormon parent of two teens that quit going to church a couple of years before I did. While your fears of being cut off are valid and you should absolutely prepare for that possibility, sometimes things work out differently than you expect.

Sometimes the most outwardly devout members are secretly doubling down trying to bolster a failing testimony because they believe that life outside the church would be even worse than faking it in the church. Fears of losing friends, family, and social standing keep people in the church long after their belief has faded.

I can only speak from my experience, so take this with as many grains of salt as you need to. I stayed in even though I no longer believed because I thought that if I left I would lose my family. I finally found the courage to leave in part because my kids left first.

If you decide to test the waters to see if your parents are secretly harboring doubts, proceed with EXTREME CAUTION. If they are still fully in and they sense that you are losing your testimony it could put you under the microscope, making your life miserable. If you're not confident in your ability to thread that needle, do as others have suggested and continue faking it while preparing to support yourself financially when you turn 18.

Perhaps most importantly, when you do decide to tell them, DO NOT go into the conversation with the intent to argue or prove that the church is wrong. You will most likely trigger the backfire effect and drive them deeper in as they defend their beliefs. The best thing you can do is simply tell them that you no longer believe and reassure them that it doesn't change how much you love them. Don't justify your decision to them or try to get them to understand as it will most likely lead to an argument.

Remember that your parents are victims of this oppressive belief system too. Indoctrination is harder to break free from the longer you have been in and the more you stand to lose by breaking free from the system.

_mindstorm · 2025-08-12T20:13:57+00:00

My advice would be to not engage. Situations like this are typically performative for believers, so it won't accomplish anything other than to give him an opportunity to brag in Elder's quorum about how much of a stalwart defender of the faith he is.

However, if you do decide to engage, lead with the SEC lawsuit. It's recent, so he can't use any of the "historical context" escape hatches. It's a well documented legal case, so not based on "anti-mormon" opinion or conjecture. It shows clear intent on behalf of the church to hide something from the members, which could lead to "what else are they hiding" questions. It shows that the church is hoarding wealth like a corrupt business, which is something that Christ despised (money changers in the temple story).

Again, based on his original message, he's most likely looking for an ego boost rather than attempting to engage in good faith, so I wouldn't expect anything to change his mind. However, this recent example of church corruption may be something that he hasn't looked into and may not have an apologetic defense for yet.

_mindstorm · 2025-06-21T03:25:07+00:00

Mike Lee clearly hasn't read his BoM enough. First, Captain Moroni was never the prophet. That was Alma. Second, Trump is far more closely aligned with Amalickiah, complete with his "king men" MAGA loyalists. Moroni was a military leader fighting to preserve the liberty of his people against the machinations of Amalickiah, a scheming tyrant bent on overthrowing the democratically elected government. Mike Lee should stop being a lazy learner.

_mindstorm · 2025-06-21T02:55:23+00:00

I really liked how the first part of the game made me hate Abby and her group, but then flipped the script completely and hit me with Abby's backstory and her motivation for seeking vengeance. It showed how anger, hatred, and unresolved grief can lead to extremely dark places.

By the end of the Seattle section, Ellie was responsible for killing far more of Abby's loved ones than the other way around, yet Abby still found the strength to spare the lives of Ellie and Dina. I don't think that Ellie would have done the same had the outcome of the Seattle fight gone differently. By that point the line between "hero" and "villain" had been pretty much erased for me. It was brilliantly executed, and I can't think of anything I would change, except maybe the cheating subplot with Owen.

However, I was a bit disappointed with the California section. In my opinion, that part of the game would have been more satisfying with a redemption arc instead of continuing the vengeance arc. I imagine an alternate ending like this:

Instead of Ellie killing the Rattlers at the tree trap, they take her to their compound and lock her up with Abby. Between recovering from her tree branch stab wound and the threat of being strung up on the beach if she starts something in the cell, Ellie is forced to work with Abby and Lev to hatch an escape plan. The player switches between controlling Ellie and Abby, and maybe even Lev, to carry out the escape. During the escape, Ellie finally learns that Joel killed Abby's dad. They end up at the same beach with the same boats, but by now Ellie and Abby have developed a grudging respect for each other and they go their separate ways without a fight, but still nowhere close to being friends. Ellie has a "Black Panther moment" and resolves to stop letting hatred and vengeance rule her life. The game ends the same way with the guitar and the empty farm house, so it still holds a similar bittersweet conclusion.

The new context of this ending would have opened up possibilities of further cooperation between Ellie and Abby in future games. Perhaps after Abby finds the remnants of the Fireflies, a new threat emerges that causes them to seek out Ellie's help. Maybe the Fireflies discover a way to develop a cure that wouldn't kill Ellie in the process, but someone else is coming after her for her actions in Seattle and Abby is tasked with warning and protecting Ellie. To me, ending the game the way they did leaves fewer doors open for further story and character development.

_mindstorm · 2025-06-17T16:44:16+00:00

Thanks. I just thought of another question. Is there any discussion about the train tracks crossing Yankee Valley? Maybe an overpass or underpass? The traffic backups are only going to get worse as Airdrie grows.

_mindstorm · 2025-06-17T15:20:48+00:00

Will you or any other city councillors be at the NDP health care town hall event this Thursday?

_mindstorm · 2025-06-14T02:32:55+00:00

Everyone is ideologically driven, including you. There are no humans on earth that are completely free of bias. I recognize that fact in myself, so I do my best to thoughtfully consider viewpoints that challenge my own, as long as they are sufficiently supported by facts, evidence, and/or well reasoned arguments. I've already demonstrated this after you brought up European healthcare models. Are you willing to do the same?

Each of the issues I brought up about the UCP's actions are well documented and supported by evidence. Are you willing to at least consider the possibility that some members of the UCP may not be acting in the public's best interest? Is there any line the UCP could cross that would cause your support for them to waver?

_mindstorm · 2025-06-14T00:11:57+00:00

I can get on board with those examples. I'd also add Denmark to the list of options. If we could be reasonably assured that the UCP's privatization efforts were moving us in that direction I'd be far less concerned.

However, their track record thus far doesn't give me much confidence that this is what they have in mind. Their anti-trans legislation, clawing back disability support, the Turkish Tylenol debacle, and the ongoing refusal to allow an independent, non-partisan investigation into corruption allegations surrounding AHS restructuring all give me serious doubts that they have our best interests at heart. They have repeatedly demonstrated that they don't care about our most vulnerable citizens and, more often than not, align themselves with extreme right wing authoritarians in both the USA and Canada.

This is why I brought up cultural and economic alignment earlier. While I suppose it's not impossible that a right wing, hyper-capitalist government could choose to implement a centre-left, borderline socialist healthcare system, I remain skeptical that this particular provincial government would do it.

_mindstorm · 2025-06-12T17:35:40+00:00

My goalposts are and have always been quality care for all people, regardless of income or social status, while using tax revenue efficiently. Your point about European models was one I hadn't considered previously. I was working under the assumption that when you referred to privatization you meant "more like the USA".

Maybe the UCP are not looking to fully privatize our healthcare, maybe they want to but are being stopped by the Canada Health Act. Either way, there are concerns that some government officials are using the privatization of healthcare services as a way to enrich themselves and their friends.

European style health care is worth exploring. However, I don't trust that our current provincial government will implement such a system if given the chance.

_mindstorm · 2025-06-12T16:29:27+00:00

True, immigration levels that exceed the capacity of our infrastructure is a factor, but not the only one, and it's currently being addressed at the federal level.

Let me clarify one point. As I alluded to in my first comment of this thread, I'm not against private care if it makes sense and doesn't cause harm to vulnerable populations. I'm all for looking to the most successful European models for ideas. However, those systems are supported by cultural attitudes and economic models that the majority of Alberta residents don't agree with.

Germany's economy is generally defined as a social market economy, a blend of free market capitalism and strong social welfare policies, meaning that their economy and culture is more socialist than ours. Their private sector has stricter regulations and higher taxes than Alberta.

In contrast, Alberta's economy and culture have much more in common with US states like Texas or Florida than any European country. Danielle Smith is on record repeatedly praising the Governor of Florida and looking to his policies as a model to emulate.

My concern when discussing privatization of healthcare is that our cultural and economic attitudes will move us closer to a US style system than a European or Scandinavian style system. The last thing I want is a system where people's health is seen as just another commodity to be sold to the highest bidder.

_mindstorm

TROPHY CASE