Carolyn Bertram, Liberal MLA, and Hon. Chester Gillan, Minister of Health and Social Services, had a lengthy exchange during today’s Question Period [RealAudio] regarding the Best Start program.

Bertram is not a great orator: she appears somewhat ill at ease, and sometimes it seems like her passion gets in the way of her clarity. But she’s got passion, and it shows.

Gillan isn’t a great orator either: he tries to play the misdirection “talk loftily and nobody will notice I didn’t answer the question” card, but it doesn’t work, largely because his punch lines just fade away into nothing.

Bertram wanted to know why the Government is freezing funds for Best Start. Gillan wanted to say “we don’t have the money, but we still care about the children.” He didn’t do a very good job.

It wasn’t a decisive victory, but on balance I think Bertram won the day.

Prompted by the example of my officemates, I went shopping for compact flourescent lightbulbs tonight for the house. I was dismayed to find that all brands I could find have a big warning label on the back saying “contains mercury: use proper disposal methods.”

Can anyone point me to an evaluation of the comparitive evils of the presence of mercury in these bulbs vs. the energy they save?

The bar formerly know as “The Playhouse” at the corner of University Ave. and Fitzroy St. in Charlottetown, under renovation for as long as anyone can remember, reopens Wednesday, November 24 at 5:00 p.m.

As far as I understand, the Reid family, formerly of JR’s (etc.) down by the railway station, are the owners now. I think their renovation qualifies as the slowest in history; I’m quite excited to see the results inside.

My first meal out with a Real Islander (okay, he wasn’t born here, but he had recorded a CD of his songs, many of which were odes to PEI, so I think he qualified for some sort of “early-release program” from mainlandedness) was at the basement restaurant at JR’s. There was a lot of beef involved. And country music. It was great.

Here is a useful resource if you’re a BBEdit user: lets you know how to do more sophisticated search and replace operations. Amazing what you can do with a little imagination.

Is that what this tells us?

Dietitians of Canada tells us. They can also help you find a list of Czech-speaking dietitians.

In 2001 I called them abominable and inane. In 2002 I asked:

…why is it that the expensive centrepiece of our primary secular and religous holiday consists of a illuminated duck drinking from an illuminated champagne fountain?

Finally the Capital Commission has come to its senses; here’s a clip from a story running on the CBC Prince Edward Island website (emphasis mine):

Give them a few more years and they’ll have Founder’s Hall converted to something useful, and Nickelback banned from the waterfront.

These folks in Italy are podcasting. I don’t understand a world of Italian, but it certainly sounds like a lyrical language. So I’ve signed up to see if I can tunnel some subconscious Italian comprehension into my brain.

This is traditionally the time of year when I have a sudden urge to ditch PEI and run away to Lamu. Too much cold, wind, rain, and no sign of improvement for seven months.

Let’s look back.

In 2003, I bought a new pair of pants and Daniel started a weblog.

In 2002, I was railing on about the Capital Commission again.

In 2001, I was recalling Robertson Davies and obsessing about television.

In 2000, it was all about I’ll Be Seeing You. That is my favourite of the pieces I’ve produced for radio.

And in 1999 it was poems about snowflakes.

Before then, darkness.

Here’s an excerpt from yesterday’s entry in the weblog of The Global Trip, written by a blogger named Erik who’s on day number 391 of a trip around the world:

DAY 391: Because of the hole in my leg from the pus drainage operation of the abscess I developed in Nepal, I wasn’t exactly the most beach-worthy traveler in India. While salt water might have aided in the healing…

Erik is a good writer, and his blog is a comprehensive tale of his travels, with a good mixture of travelogue, personal reflection, and wacky tales of adventure.

You can follow Erik’s trip — along with the round-the-worlding of a group others — on the Blog Around The World website.