Regarding which cell phone is best

Alright I've owned an iphone 3g, a blackberry torch, and now a Sony Xperia. And I can say definitely in conclusion blackberry hands down has the best messaging system, followed closely by iphone and Android is catching up quickly... BlackBerry's recourse is to sell the blackberry software on the android platform and license their keyboard patents to competitors at the same time continuing to manufacture their products, but instead focus on end to end security* for government and big business contracts. Recluding from the civilian market and putting blackberries in the hands of policemen and soldiers, given time, will allow the blackberry phones to again become fashionable. BlackBerry then can control a release back to public demand.

*end to end security - blackberry would have the opportunity to make a completely anonymous phone here. This would be a great patent to have once anonymity becomes more valuable to consumers

2 iphone apps for Calgary Transit

Hey y'all

I've found that there are 2 iphone-only apps for Calgary Transit: inTransit and Next Stop both of them seem to be pretty nifty, however, I don't have an iphone and can't review them for you so leave a comment if you've used either of these badboys!

Update!

I found  Transit Hub Calgary  for Android and am currently testing it out - it's a bit of a heavy download at 11 MB, and doesn't seem to fetch updates automatically which could be problematic for those of us who are lazy about keeping your phone updated. Will post a follow up review!

Fina-Effin'-ly Calgary Transit has Text Messaging for bus stops

http://www.calgarytransit.com/sms/

Finally we get a feature that other cities have had for a while now. You text the number 74000 with your stop number in the message, and it will return the next bus times. Pretty neat huh!?

I hope that this is the beginning of a tech revolution for Calgary Transit - first we got the signs on LRT stations that tell you when the next train is coming, and now text for bus stops. Next I hope that they tackle that gawdaweful website... I can't honestly believe that the overhaul of www.calgary.ca didn't include the Calgary Transit website. Google is currently doing a much better job of transit tracking - the algorithm on the CT website doesn't really do the best job of optimizing trips. The site otherwise is clunky and outdated. We should be taking cues from sites like http://www.bart.gov/ and implementing a better experience.

Read FFWD, it's good fer what ale's ya

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/news/smoke-on-the-border-8791/

A good read about a fire that is blown way out of proportion.

Diane Colley-Urquhart is a jerk. Who the hell voted in this soulless heathen?
-Will

Alberta Budget 2012 online

The Alberta budget for 2012 just went online and can be found here:
http://budget2012.alberta.ca/index.html

I haven't read much of it yet, but it seems pretty par for the course, a manilla envelope in front of a beige wall. Mediocrity, yet again.


nothing in there about our damn high speed train ... grumble grumble...

-Will

Thank you Apple, for Microsoft.

Here is a blog you should read:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/

It's about what MS is doing with Windows 8, when you look at your new copy of Office 2010, and think to yourself "WHY ON GODS GREEN EARTH DID THEY HIDE THE ONLY !@!#?!@! THAT I KNEW HOW TO FIND" you will find a thoughtful, mechanical, statistically backed up reason behind every UI adjustment that they've made to MS products (the exact opposite of how governments work). While I was completely caught off guard when they brought in the "ribbon" it didn't take long for me to love the ribbon.  The ribbon is peaceful, powerful, zen. Learn to leverage it to your use, and you too can be a ribbon lover.

Before this degrades into a penthouse forum letter about the ribbon, I want to quickly mention why the title. I hate/love Apple. Mostly hate. Apple, however makes great designs because they care about the integration of form and function of their product all the way through (hardware to software) and they have now eaten enough market share to shove that lesson down Microsoft's throat.

I love the ribbon,

-@willcwf

4 new Rec Centres will finally go ahead for Calgary

My man Nenshi announced today:
http://blog.calgarymayor.ca/2012/02/media-release-funding-solution-for-4.html

We're going to go ahead with the new (desperately) needed rec centres for the city.  Rec centres are my favourite projects to work on (my first project was the SW Edmonton Rec Centre that's my terrible render on the left!) Apparently the funding will come "through a reallocation of existing money in the Community and Recreation Levy as well as a portion of the City’s GST rebate" Fair enough. I spend my GST cheques on booze, but the City's plan is a good one too.

Public Input Wanted for Crowchild Trail

Head on over to http://calgary.ca/crowchild to have your say heard in the debate whether we should add an HOV lane to Crowchild, ie: busses and carpoolers only. I've seen and used these lanes with great success in other cities, and it would be a great addition to Calgary's infastructure. Northbound Crowchild makes more sense to me, feeding the new lane onto 9th avenue and into downtown. Southbound, however, thanks to the new Glenmore flyover, is rarely plugged with traffic, and I doubt that any benefit would be gained in the immediate future.

Cool ass link!

A traffic simulator in Java - check it out here: http://www.mtreiber.de/MicroApplet

Also make sure to check out this AMA on reddit from a Traffic Engineer: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/okt3j/iama_traffic_engineer_ama/

Blogger on android!

I got blogger on android, I hope you are ready for mobile updates! Half the content and twice the spelling errors!

Have your say in the Alberta budget!

Hey all -  Make sure to head over to http://alberta.ca/budgetdialogue.cfm and fill out how you'd like the budget to be done for this province, more participation means more meaningful results!

Calgary Biking Survey!

Hello to all 3 readers!

If you like to bike in the city, and want some say in what developments will be made for bikers in the city, make your voice heard!

http://bikecalgary.org./centercity

For Your Perusal: The 2011 Citizen Satisfaction Survey

Turns out, Calgarians are actually pretty happy with the direction that the city is going in. People are still the most concerned about roads, infrastructure and transit, but are happier about them than in years previous years.
http://www.calgary.ca/CS/CSC/Documents/2011%20Citizen%20Satisfaction%20Survey.pdf

Nenshi & Wong Announce Customer Advocacy group AND CHANGE FROM THE TRANSIT TICKET MACHINES!

There's a lot of things packed into this video and they all deserve attention, but the most important fact here is that CT is getting better, and will start doing things that make sense. Accepting credit/debit and giving out CHANGE for cash purchases at the CT Ticket machines! Everyone rejoice!

If you would like to sign up to be a Customer Advocate of Calgary Transit, the link is here: http://www.calgarytransit.com/ctcag/ and the  group will start forming in the coming weeks.

Surprise! Calgarians spend too much on commuting

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Calgarians+spending+much+time+money+commuting/5299228/story.html

This shouldn't come as a shock. Calgary needs a major infrastructure overhaul (which it's sorta getting with the half-assed West LRT and the 3/4 assed ring road) but more importantly, Calgarians need an attitude overhall. Driving a truck or SUV because you "like to have your own space" is ridiculous and will not help the community at all. We need to band together, get a little more comfy, and really invest in public transit before this city's urban sprawl gets out of control.

New Calgary.ca !

Calgary recently spent a lot of money on a new site. I've had a little look at the new layout and I love it. Dollars well worth it to present a proffessional, world class city to our online visitors, while maintaining usefulness for citizens. To use it, I highly reccommend a quick tour of the available buttons, then try a couple of searches. That's how it's designed to be used.

http://calgary.ca

Interesting And Pertinant TED Talk

Ran accross an interesting video that says that all cities are destined to die and fail over time. Interesting theory with a couple of graphs that contrast some questionable things. But a seemingly strictly mathematical view does provoke questions about how to avoid his predictions.

Diverging Diamond Intersection

Stumbled across an interesting article about "Diverging Diamond Intersections" It seems pretty similar to the setup that we have on many overpasses in Calgary (Shaganappi and Crowchild for example) but with a very different twist. The roads on the overpass are reversed. Read the article for more information - I think that this might be a solution for shitstorms in Calgary like 16th avenue and Deerfoot.

http://www.slate.com/id/2300425/

Calgary Sun (I'm surprised too): Calgary Transit Growth Stalled

http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/07/25/calgary-transit-growth-stalled-report

Take a look at this article outlining that Calgary Transit's ridership increased the least amongst Canada's largest cities last year. I'll bet that the bigger heads at CT are hoping that the West LRT will change all that.

Wayy too long for an update, but: Slugging it is!

Hello,

Came across this! Around the D.C. area, they've got those High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, and the citizens have really put them to use! In short, drivers need passengers in order to get into the HOV lanes, and passengers like cheaper and quicker alternatives to the bus! There is a whole list of rules and etiquette, and the whole thing seems like a great idea with a weird name! Check out the link for more information. Do you think that this would be a workable solution in Calgary? I'm a little wary only because none of Calgary's major roads actually go downtown or to transportation hubs. HOV lanes would have to be added to roads like Bow Trail, Memorial Drive, McLeod Trail & 14 street, and even then, these roads don't particularly lead anywhere useful train or bus-wise.

http://www.slug-lines.com/