Jeers: to revealing numbers. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has put up their numbers for their annual Thanksgiving weekend traffic blitz. In all, 312 tickets over four days, 178 of those for speeding — and six impaired driving arrests. Given that the police gave out a public notification that the blitz was coming, it’s fair to assume that, in any four-day period in RNC jurisdiction, there are probably a similar number of both speeders and impaired drivers on our roads. That’s a cheery thought, hey?
Cheers: to unhappy judges, speaking their minds. This, from the written verdict in a Nova Scotia Small Claims Court eviction appeal: “Hatfields. McCoys. Honey badgers. Amateurs all, compared to the parties to this appeal. … And what a dispute it is. The players in this appeal agree on little, except their extreme animus towards each other. If they have any common ground at all, it is likely that each would prefer they had never met the other.” Is the judge a little tetchy? “I do not need to eat a whole egg to know that it is rotten. … Everyone involved in this dispute needs to grow up.” Tell us how you really feel, judge: “Both (sides) are mudwrestling and I wouldn’t want to do business with any of them. … This is a property, not a kindergarten.”
Jeers: to diplomacy and an example of sort-of speaking their minds. Here’s the Liberty Consulting Group, a firm hired by the public utilities board to monitor progress at the Muskrat Falls project, explaining oh-so-delicately how they feel about the chances of the latest version software — the Interim B version — for the Labrador-Island Link power line actually working this time: “The Interim B version is scheduled for delivery… and may replace the Interim A software for the planned re-commencement of commissioning. However, the Interim B software must still successfully complete twice-failed Factory Acceptance Testing. Doing so requires both delivery of the Interim B version and a level of success its predecessors have not attained.” Well, we’re certainly reassured. Couldn’t they just have tried, “Don’t hold your breath, folks”?
Cheers: to acquiescing to our artificial overlords to maintain decorum at all costs. From VICE: “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology opted to hold its annual meeting … as a virtual event. At the end of presentations, attendees can ask written questions, but it quickly became apparent that some words and phrases —including many that are utterly ubiquitous in paleontology — were verboten.” The outcome? “Participants in a virtual paleontology meeting were not permitted to use the words ‘bone,’ ‘sexual,’ or ‘hell’ in early digital Q&A sessions, sparking amusement and frustration from researchers attending the online conference.” Sigh. But at least no one was needlessly offended.
