It's Not A Free-for-All!

A little word to all those that drive on Burlington's streets...it's not a free for all! 

I recently arrived back in Burlington after being away for 4 months at college in Haliburton. It's a sad, but true fact that Haliburtonians drive way better that we do. It's pathetic! Yesterday, I was involved in several near accidents at many different locations around the city. I was cut off by a truck, nearly P.I.T maneuvered by a van and was nearly front end impacted at a stop sign by a woman with the cellphone to her ear that couldn't wait her turn. Those are just a tiny number of the incidents that stand out. In front of Notre Dame High School, I watched a man blindly turn into Ireland Park without checking for pedestrians. The poor kid missed hospitalization by centimetres. 

Every day that I drive around Burlington I see someone do something extremely stupid that could end in tragedy. I'm surprised that I don't see more accidents then I do around here. What's more surprising is that nobody from Burlington has been on Canada's Worst Driver yet. Half the city could qualify! I'm tired of seeing cars dart past me going 40 over. I'm even more sick of being cut off and watching impatient morons run reds. It amazing that some of you got your licence in the first place. What's even more amazing is that they haven't been suspended. It should not be my job, nor the Halton Police's job to bring this up and say that this is a problem. Most Burlington drivers are between the ages of 18 and 70 years old. You're all adults! You should know better! Grow up! I sound like a mother scolding her child.

I'm not a perfect driver myself and we all make mistakes, but here are a few pointers we could all benefit from. Next time you go to change lanes...shoulder check. Next time you see a yellow light...slow to a stop. Next time your cellphone rings (I don't care how important it is or if you have Bluetooth, it can wait!)...voicemail exists for a reason. Pay attention while driving. Be observant. You could very well seriously injure or kill someone if you are distracted or just being an idiot. If you hit and kill someone running a red light...that's manslaughter...that's jail. I know that's an empty threat, but you could be the next driver to make headlines in this very newspaper you hold now, for killing a kid on a bike. Don't say; "It will never happen to me". It very well could. 

Drive safe.

It's Over...

Yesterday, my 8 month long art program ended...emotionally. The past few months have been a massive roller-coaster for me. At times I was confident and happy. Other times I felt betrayed and depressed. But hell, in the end I succeeded and completed the Visual and Creative Arts Diploma. Finally I've finished something I've started. I developed an art form that is truly mine and now I can't stop doing it. I have artist fever.

I am now confident in the fact that I am an artist. When I first came to the Haliburton School of the Arts, I had a pure technical background of working with metal as a millwright and an ironworker. I came for just the Artist Blacksmith course, but somewhere along the way...I'm not sure how...I got bitten by the VCAD bug. I would attribute it to three things. The first thing was that I wanted a diploma, not just a certificate and VCAD seemed easy enough (hehe...right). Another reason why I got interested in VCAD was the Fleming office staff. They all encouraged me to take the program. The final reason is pure peer pressure. During both my Blacksmith and Glassblowing certificates, I hung out with people who were in VCAD. The previous year of VCAD seemed to have so much fun. I sort of got reeled in. I'm so grateful for that.

I still remember that first day. The only person I knew from before VCAD was Melissa, but that didn't stop me from trying to talk to others. On that day, I made friends...and I freaked some people out with my loudness. Fair enough. Not everyone can deal with my antics 24/7.

The Toronto trip a month or so later was where I made a so called "clique" of friends. Melissa and my buddy Will were dating by this time. The three of us were rooming together, but I went out to give them alone time. That's where I met the two people that would eventually cause me to reinvent myself. We laughed, talked and went down Church Street together. They were both so different from anyone I had ever met before. I liked that. I respected their sense of importance.

Things eventually evolved and egos got bruised. Those two Church Street friends went their separate way from me. C'est la vie. I went through a small phase of depression when I lost them, but through losing them I realized I had friends who would never abandon me. After a long period of hiding inside my shell, I broke free. I realized that even though my generosity got me into trouble, it has also saved me.

It's foolish to want to single out those who made a big impact on me this year, but I have too.

Will and Mel: Endless hours of entertainment came from you two. You guys helped me though so many troubles and insecurities. I'm extremely thankful for that. You guys are a great couple and I hope to God (Will don't start...lol) that it stays that way. You two work so well as a team, but you are always make others feel like they belong. When I was far away, you guys tried your best to pull me in. As much as I resisted, you yanked harder. Thank you for all you have done for me. I won't forget you two ever and I hope to see you over the summer. Did someone say cottage? :P

Jessie R: Oh man, girl. Six hours a week of driving together really allows you to learn so much about a person. I learned about your family and friends from outside of school...annnnnd you let me rant. I'm thankful for that as I can get very touchy behind the wheel of a car. We both know this because of my compulsive tailgating and road raging. I've unfortunately scared you a few times. It was great to have your company and support during those long drives. It was also awesome just to chill outside of the car and do stupid shit like we do. I hope to see you shortly as I missed a goodbye on Wednesday.

Carly: I've never known someone as empathetic as you girl. Trying to slip an emotion past you is harder than trying to get all 12 bosses down in Heroic Mode on World of Warcraft! Lol! That makes no sense to you. You were there as soon as you sensed my inner meltdowns. You always offered a safe place to talk about how I was feeling. That is a trait I believed that, until I met you, only angels possessed. Perhaps you are an angel in disguise. Thank you for all that you have done for me. Good luck in BC. I hope to see you someday soon.

Andrea S: It is always great to have that one person you know you can trust 100% with anything that you ever told them. You are that person. Your happy go lucky attitude always brought a smile to my face whenever I was down. It's great to have someone who acts just as mature (or lack there of) as I do. Thank you for all your support. IOU a 60 mph sea-doo ride in thanks. Perhaps that will help repay my debt.

Rose: After being and only child for many years, I am proud to say that I've found my sister. It's going to be hard to be separated from you. It felt like someone was stabbing me when you were upset about me leaving. No matter what anyone ever tells you, you're awesome. You are worth so much to me. I care a lot about you. You've helped me through some very trying times. I can only hope that I've done the same for you. If you ever need anything no matter how big or small, I'll be right there to deliver. That good bye was one of the hardest things I've ever done (second to saying bye to Kristen of course :P). Don't forget me. If you do, I'll be right there within seconds to give you a huge shove in reminder. Hehe. I'll attempt to visit you in Lindsay this summer. Hopefully at some point you can come to my cottage, chill on the dock, jump off the cliffs and of course, get tossed off the sea-doo. I'll see you at commencement Rose. It will be great to hear you sing again. Hopefully we will be graduating together. Never have I ever farted and blamed the pet for it. Lol, you nut! I love you man. (PS. Duet sometime?)

Now...I'm lost. I'm being forced to separate from the people I have grown to love and respect. This is not like the end of Blacksmithing or Glassblowing. Those people didn't really take the time to learn about me. It's different now. I've come out with lifetime friends. The courses are ending, but I pray that this is not the end of our contact. Stay safe this summer. I love you all.

May the road rise up to meet you,

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

And the rain fall soft upon your fields.

Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

Lisa Marie

Peacewind

So Raise Your Glass

VCAD is nearly over. On Wednesday we are set free back into the real world. For some reason though, I can't help but think that I've failed on so many things even though I've passed the course. The marks may be good, but the relationships within are brittle. I've never had this much drama go around...not even in high school.

They say college is the best time of your life. I had fun, but so many things put a damper on my experience. I unintentionally pushed away a good friend. When I did that, I retreated into my cave and sat of World of Warcraft from 4pm to 2am daily. I began to have difficulty getting up in the morning since I didn't have the motivation of driving people to school anymore. I was getting slandered for simply refusing to remove someone's trash from their house. My other friendships became strained because I wouldn't shut up about what had happened. I repeated myself over and over again.

This sort of thing happens to me almost yearly. I feel like a drama magnet. I don't want to be. Perhaps for once, I should stand up and say exactly what I think of certain people and contain myself no longer. Or perhaps, I should burn that black envelope with everything written down and hope that the wind carries the message. I kept promising justice, but I'm not delivering. I'm not a victim, neither are any my friends or classmates. We're all at fault for everything that went wrong. We're artists...we're too different from each other. There can't always be peace.

At the beginning of the year, I drew quite symbolically and in black and white. As the year went on and things began to happen, I retreated and hid my emotions. This caused me to abandon my symbolism for patterned repetition with colour. It was like every day was the same, but under a different name. My life went from being an open book to a locked diary. As I evolved more and more, I began to show my emotions again. The earthquake in Japan helped me to regain empathy and sympathy for others. I drew my emotions in colour.

During my artist talk a few days ago, I robbed the class of explaining the meaning behind my drawing named, Impermanence. This was simply because the true meaning had to do with two people sitting right in front of me. Their eyes tore through me like a knife. I got scared. So, I related it to the Buddhist idea of nothing lasts forever and everything changes. That is not the real meaning. The real meaning is very deep and the first time I've put my emotions on paper for all to see. I don't know if I'm correct about what has happened, but this was my interpretation of what did. I will now tell you the truth behind this picture. It's important for me to do so. I need to move on.

Each circle represents someone. I'm the blue one. My black ring is thin but hard to break. I can be bent to people's will, but they can't force me to change. I am attached to the red circle. There is a small space of harmony between us. It comes across as a reddish purple. The red circle is thinner. She can be manipulated. Her mind can be influenced. She's also hard to break, but it is easy to flow over the wall and invade. The yellow circle is large in size. Her wall cannot be bent, broken or flowed over. She doesn't allow for much harmony. The lack of orange portrays this. She invades the red circle and tries to push the harmony between the red and the blue apart. Yellow has no harmony with me and would rather I go away. This is what I'll do. If they want to be loners...well...they did it to themselves.

There...I let it out. I'm frustrated as hell with those two, but I won't let it get the better of me. I know what will happen at the end of the summer when they are done the summer courses. They'll be long in my past by then and I won't care about them anymore. That is my whole problem right now. I care! I'm not sure why, I just do. Impermanence was actually a project prescribed to me by the counselor here in Haliburton. She told me to get creative, draw my feelings and then write on top of it everything I wanted to say to them. I made two copies of the drawing. One is for display in the school, the other has everything I want to express written all over it. It has been folded into a black envelope and taped shut. This envelope is under lock and key. The counselor instructed me to burn it when I'm ready to give up all emotions attached to them. I realize fully that the last day of school will be the day that I can. I won't ever have to see them again.

It may seem that I hate them. I don't. They may think that I do. I don't. I'm not a very religious person, but I think Jesus was an incredible man with brilliant and revolutionary ideas. "He among you who is without sin, may throw the first stone." I am not about to point out everything they did wrong. I did stuff wrong too. We are all at fault. The Buddha also reminds me that "hate never ends through hate". If I were to hate them, I'd never ever be who I really am again. I realize I'm not making much sense. My brain is fried from this school year. I'm totaled. I can't wait to get on my dock and just let it all out. Hello Summer! It's been too long.

I'm wrong in everything that has happened. I'm right in everything that has happened. On Wednesday, the feelings and words will be burned away. I'll be free.

"So raise your glass if you are wrong in all the right ways." -P!nk

Thank you to my wonderful partner, Kristen, who has helped me through all the trying times this year. From three hours away she was able to reach out and hold me. I thank her dearly. She is my light in a dark place. I am so blessed to have her in my life. I love you Kristen :D

Japan

"Ten Thousand" is up on eBay.ca. All proceeds from it's sale will go to the Canadian Red Cross Relief Effort. You can view the auction here.

The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan was overall massive and devastating! On March 11th, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck Japan. Several minutes later, a tsunami estimated to be as high as 12 feet, crashed over the protective barriers in northeast Japan. Entire cities were wiped out in seconds. Those who didn't make it to higher ground were washed away to sea along with thousands of cars, homes, rice fields, shops and other debris. As I write this post, almost 6000 people are pronounced dead with over 8000 people still missing. In human life, so far this is not Japan's deadliest earthquake. If there was any country so prepared and ready, it was Japan.

Slowly, Japan is recovering. Transportation networks are beginning to be cleared and supplies are being distributed to many shelters. Tokyo, although not badly damage, is returning to its usual hustle and bustle. "The Big One" has passed. Japan can breathe easier knowing that another earthquake of this magnitude will likely not occur for another thousand years. Now comes the time where Japan has a chance to put themselves even further ahead in technology. They have a chance to make all the new things more efficient than what they had...if that is even possible.

Even with the healing and rebuilding slowly getting underway, there is still a crisis. While I have no doubt that the Japanese will get it under control, they are still worried. The reactors and spent fuel rod pools at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant are overheating. So far, minimal radiation has been released and the heat has been kept relatively under control. While we were all asleep last night, the Self Defense Force dropped tonnes of water onto the number 3 reactor by helicopter. Right now there are several military grade pump trucks spraying water into the plant. These pump trucks are normally used in riots to keep protesters at bay. Today their purpose is much greater. 

Tokyo Electric is now busy installing new high voltage power lines to the plant. When the tsunami hit the reactor buildings, it took out most of the power which caused the pumps to fail and the reactors to overheat. I have been watching Japan's English new channel, NHK World News quite closely about this matter. The return of power to the plant will help stabilize the problem, but will not solve it. The pumps used to circulate water in the reactors and spent fuel rod pools also need repair. Some are clogged with debris and the back up gas generators are flooded. They were not located high enough off the ground to escape the tsunami.

All the reports I've heard say that even though all the affected pools and reactors are literally in "hot water", this incident is very unlikely to turn into something more severe. In 1986, the number 4 reactor at the Chernobyl Power Plant ruptured during a systems test. This cause massive radiation fallout all over Europe. Several years earlier in 1979, Three Mile Island had a meltdown in number 2 reactor. Some fallout was released but not enough to severely damage human health. The Fukushima Daiichi incident, although high profile, is unlikely to cause any more damage than Three Mile Island. So far, a meltdown has not been reported.

Now comes the big question. Should nuclear power even be utilized? Worldwide since the start of nuclear electricity in 1954, there have been over 100 separate accidents reported. Almost 60 of those have happened after Chernobyl! The human cost for these accidents other than Chernobyl, is low. Chernobyl killed 50 people directly and 4000+ people over time. In 1957, 33 people were estimate to have died in Windscale, UK when plutonium piles ignited. Seven other people were kill in separate accidents. All of them were in the United States, but none of them were in Three Mile Island.

My opinion is this...as of this second it really doesn't matter if we should continue using nuclear power or not. Right now the real issue is cooling down the reactors and spent fuel rod pools. Once that is done, we can talk. I never thought nuke power was a smart idea, but Japan has 18 of these plants. They produce over a quarter of their power! In total, 4 of the 18 plants were damaged in the quake and tsunami. One of them, Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant, is even more into the devastation zone than Fukushima Daiichi. Onagawa's number 3 reactor was affected but not damaged by the earthquake, nor did it's cooling system fail. It was only a turbine fire. The plant shut down for a short while, but is now safely back online. This tells me that a nuclear facility can survive an earthquake and tsunami with little issue. 

Regardless, I think these things are dangerous. They had their purpose, but now it's time for their phase out. The waste generated is worse than carbon emissions. Radiation can kill nearly instantly if the level is high enough. This a 1950s piece technology...we're in 2011. We can do some much better! With the amount of rooftops in Tokyo, solar panels and/or windmills would be a very efficient way of replacing this dangerous technology. Japan is the most tech savvy country on the planet. I'm sure they could pave the way to a green, clean and radiation free country. They could become a role model for every other country on the planet striving to use safe renewable resources.

According to several sources, Fukushimi Daiichi reactors 1 and 3, once stabilized, will be decommissioned after over 35 and 40 years of service.

As of March 17th, 2011, this table diagrams the issues at the plant. It comes directly from the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and is updated whenever new information comes in.

Status of Fukushima I at 17 March 22:00 JST (17 March 13:00 UTC)[189]	Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3	Unit 4	Unit 5	Unit 6
Power output (MWe)	460	784	784	784	784	1,100
Type of reactor	BWR-3	BWR-4	BWR-4	BWR-4	BWR-4	BWR-5
Estimated core fuel assemblies (3y / 5y rotation)[190]	200 / 340	350 / 575	350 / 575	0	350 / 575	500 / 810
Estimated spent fuel assemblies[191]	292	587	514	1500	?	?
Fuel type	Low enriched uranium	Low enriched uranium	Mixed-oxide (MOX)	Low enriched uranium	Low enriched uranium	Low enriched uranium
Status at earthquake	In service	In service	In service	Outage (scheduled)	Outage (scheduled)	Outage (scheduled)
Fuel integrity	70% damaged (estimated)[97]	33% damaged (estimated)[97]	Damaged, MOX fuel	Spent fuel damaged	Not damaged	Not damaged
Reactor pressure vessel integrity	Unknown	Unknown (Damage suspected)	Unknown (Damage suspected)	Not damaged (defueled)	Not damaged	Not damaged
Containment integrity	Not damaged	Damage suspected	Damage suspected	Not damaged	Not damaged	Not damaged
Core cooling system 1 (ECCS/RHR)	Not functional	Not functional	Not functional	Not necessary (defueled)	Not necessary	Not necessary
Core cooling system 2 (RCIC/MUWC)	Not functional	Not functional	Not functional	Not necessary (defueled)	Not necessary	Not necessary
Building integrity	Severely damaged	Slightly damaged	Severely damaged	Severely damaged	Not damaged	Not damaged
Pressure vessel, water level	Around half of the fuel	Higher than half of the Fuel	Around half of the fuel	Safe (defueled)	Safe but dropping	Safe
Pressure vessel, pressure	Stable	unknown; battery dead	Stable	Safe (defueled)	Safe	Safe
Containment pressure	Unknown	Drywell: Unknown, Suppression pool: Atmosphere	Stable	Safe	Safe	Safe
Seawater injection into core	Continuing	Continuing	Continuing	Not necessary (defueled)	Not necessary	Not necessary
Seawater injection into containment vessel	Continuing	To be decided	Continuing	Not necessary	Not necessary	Not necessary
Containment venting	Continuing	Preparing	Continuing	Not necessary	Not necessary	Not necessary
Integrity of fuel in Spent Fuel Pool (SFP)	(no data)	(no data)	SFP level low, Starting water injection	SFP level low, Preparing water injection, Damage to fuel rods suspected	SFP temperature increasing	SFP temperature increasing
Environmental effect (NPS border)	646 μSv/hour (0.646 mSv/hr) at 11:10 on 17 March
Evacuation radius	20 km from Nuclear Power Station (NPS). People who live between 20 km to 30 km from the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Station are to stay indoors. USA, Australia and South Korea have instructed their citizens to evacuate a radius of minimum 80 km. Spain advises to leave an area of 120 km, Germany advises to leave even the metropolitan area of Tokyo.
INES	Level 4 (estimated by Japanese NISA and accepted by the international IAEA); Level 6 (estimated by the French nuclear authority and the Finnish nuclear authorities)[2][192][193]