Health Sciences Area

I deleted my Twitter account after 10 years. I apologized for saying the eastern end of Health Sciences Centre was like a war zone. I have worked downtown at different times for years. Like a lot of Manitobans have spent lots of time in places like HSC for myself and for family. And this past January 2020 I was assaulted right out on the street in front of the hospital. It is around the fourth time I've been assaulted, three in downtown, one in North End.

I tried to not let it affect me but in the aftermath, I was having a hard time walking in a grocery aisle without feeling someone was going to strike out at me. It is irrational of course. But it was also irritational to not think something might happen if I was not situationally aware. And it is always better to cross the street than risk a chancy encounter. Trust me...two black eyes later, my head is on a swivel.

The last time though and with Covid shutdown, I had to do something to reclaim my fear. I have always walked but I was determined to walk everywhere and take pictures in part to know that I did it. And I commented to re-learn the city I lived in but was not always seeing from my car. If I saw a boarded up house or burned out place, I didn't shy away. If I saw a new business, a development, I was sure to talk about.

Twitter probably is not the right format me. It lacks context and nuance. I'm trying to be a better person so I will stick to blogging and my personal non public Facebook.

I will assume that if anyone has read this far, they want to read and see pictures. I screen comments to avoid ad mail and have no problem with debate but I've left Twitter behind.

Above is the Tecumseh parkade of Health Sciences Centre. It was built to accompany the similarly sized Emily Street parkade next door which had a waiting list of staff for years. For visitors, it is still possible during the week to not find a space in any local parkade. And for those who do and spend the day, it is sticker shock.

The parkade cost about $40 million plus and the first one around same cost. That is $80 million or cost in infrastructure. People would like free parking but then it is likely there would be no spaces at all. It is such a tough thing for people to have the costs. But there is no way to provide the space without there being some sort of charge due to all day parking by staff, residents and businesses and homeowners in the area.

Surrounding HSC are a lot of surface lots and we are only likely to see more as 8000 staff work in the area and probably a few thousand one in related fields of laboratory, clinics and blood services. Add to the 850 beds of hospital and thousands of out patient services, it is one of the larger hospitals in the country.

On the approach to the Tecumseh parkade is The Manitoba Buddhist Temple. While it seems incongruous, there are a lot of faith places nearby.

A lot of road construction has been on active transportation and bike paths run down Bannatyne and as seen here in the picture, McDermot. While it is possible to ride your park, it is altogether a different things to safely lock up your bike. It is one of the most frequent things stolen and this is with good locks.

It can happen anywhere in the city but for those who might want to ride to work and park outside at HSC, it is a risk that even with a double lock and one wheel taken off, you still might lose your bike. We need security parking areas and garages.

It is one of the reasons I don't like having my bike out of my site.

The McDermot Avenue Baptist Church is just across the street from hospital. It is a lovely well maintained church and cared for houses on the street.

Still amazed at a temple in front of a large parkade.

Along Notre Dame west of the hospital has been an illegal parking lot for near 15 years. How do we know it is illegal? Well, the city planning department itself describes it as such. 

There were buildings here and at some point they were knocked down. It became a gravel lot and charged $65 a month for parking. No landscaping save for a fence and and light. A violation of zoning and it existed year after year because that is what the city does. It lets it happen. 

Well finally, the owner of the land has come up with a plan. It is before zoning now and has a three or four floor mixed use building with commercial on the first floor consisting of two medical clinics and a planned convenience store. Above that will be apartments.

It sounds like a good project but it is another example of the city allowing land hoarding and parking for decades with no site improvements while owners plead that they do have a plan. This has been an illegal parking lot for years. It is depressing.

The only way for neighbourhoods to be reclaimed is to stop illegal use of property. It hurts everyone when rules are broken. I can only imagine property owner here has been seeing less revenue as the pandemic hit and now they act.

The city should ensure that zoning approval here makes this property full utilized.

Notre Dame as a street has some residential, commercial and some industrial uses all side by side. It has a number of ethnic groups who have clubs and cultural centers on it. And it has had some restaurant firsts on it.

Little Nana's Italian restaurant is in the historic Beverley Block. It is interesting to see how the street will evolve. One and two floor buildings predominate but as with the parking lot mentioned above turning into mixed use, one wonders what change could be coming in next ten years.

The squat building in front of the parkade is an administrative building alongside a surface parking lot. A surface parking lot across the street exists to serve Health Sciences Centre as well. And so it goes. Buildings come down and lots go up and street life suffers and the lots run illegally or with minimal standards.

Off in the distance the new Manitoba Clinic takes over the old Shell gas station. There are some amazing views from the windows. The clinic investment is an indication how important the doctors thought keeping their position near the Health Sciences Centre was.

Old bank buildings converted to union offices. A nurse's local is further down. With a population bigger than a small town, the needs of the hospital and the university campus that is part of it are great. And after all these years, they are still figuring things out.

I was posting pictures and comments about the city while blogging years before I did so on Twitter. Most blogs have discontinued because long form writing is tough and not always permissible with jobs or life. Most migrated to Twitter and some on closed limited sites on Facebook. I think Twitter's immediacy is it's strength but it lacks context as no one gets the background from two paragraphs. Effort has to be made before understanding can happen. 

Worse, it is so easy to be manipulated or to manipulate with misinformation. I probably kept on with it during the pandemic longer because I was suffering. And to that end, some good people were met. But it is probably not the best format for me going forward.

To those that I didn't thank or say good bye too, you have my gratitude and my compliments. Hope you all do well and have the best life.

As for my blog, it is my thoughts and not the final word on anything. But it is a conversation not a place for abuse. I won't engage in that.

Jollibee's to Open Third Location on Nairn

Jollibee's restaurant opened their very first Canadian restaurant in 2016 at Polo Park to huge success. For several months there were line-ups every day and some Filipino Canadians coming from other provinces just to to get a taste of home.

Since then other Jollibee's have opened in Canada including another on McPhillips in 2017.  Success for the Philippine's biggest restaurant export always meant expanding beyond serving its own community.  It is that confidence that probably led to the decision to expand to eastern Winnipeg in the former Chicken Chef location (2006-2021) at 1130 Nairn.

Chicken Chef moved further east to 1600 Regent from their former location. After 15 years at a site that once was Taco Time and several other restaurants,  Chicken Chef has proved it has a customer base in the area.

 Nairn/Regent is an extremely busy road. The side of the road your business is on can really dictate the traffic seen. On Nairn, it is almost always on the south side. It could be quite busy at lunch and dinner at this Jollibee's location.

Look to see them open in weeks.

Beer Can at the Granite Club

The Granite Club is this year's host for the Beer Can and it is much bigger than we have ever seen it.

The previous location just on Main Street was extremely popular as case counts went down for Covid 19 in the summer but restrictions remained tight for operations inside bars and restaurants.

The Granite Club is a beautiful building and curling (like a lot of sports) has taken a hit this years as a result of closures.

The city has footdragged on patios forever. Still does. Or overcharges. If we want streetlife, it can't be by making everyone go inside. And if we want to stay safe, we need more outside. That is not just from pandemics but having people around leads to a collective watch group. I mean...aren't we all people watching? Hard to be up to no good when everyone is watching. And nowadays...recording.

The view is amazing.

Osborne Village overlooks the site across the Assiniboine River. You have to bet that the patio has not gone unnoticed there.

Danger is still all around us. Outdoors is better than indoors for the moment. Be mindful of those who are vulnerable. Things are still serious out there. We don't want even further restrictions.

Enjoy your patio time.

My Car After Deer Collision and My New Car in the Showroom

On Wednesday, March 10 I was headed home from work. The time change hadn't happened yet and I was even a bit later as I stopped to pick up dinner. At 7:15, it was fairly dark and I just turned off Roblin Boulevard onto the Charleswood Bridge to come home. There were a few cars ahead, a few behind. Some were passing me on the left as they were going faster and I was merging into the lane and had not achieved maximum road speed. 

I was almost at the bridge, still being passed when deer appeared on the bridge! Not just one but a few. They zipped behind me, then far in front. All at once. Before I could react, a deer hit my car with huge force and lifted the car up and to the left and hard back down again. The deer flew past the windshield.

I immediately pulled over and thankfully a paramedic behind me saw what happened and pulled over in front of me. It is hard to see but the door bent, maybe the frame and I had to push to get out. I was already dazed. The seatbelt had broken my zipper and I had a bleeding nose but hadn't remembered hitting my head. As it turns out it was my own hand and arm flung up and back from the wheel that caught. As for my jacket, I hadn't realized it cut me up under it till later.

All this was the seatbelt and force of being lifted up and to the side and back down hard. I was hurt. I filed collision report and took the above pictures. I didn't feel right and was so sore. By Friday I reported my injuries and Saturday went to hospital where it was determined I had a concussion and injuries consistent with the collision. I confirmed with my family doctor and am a week into treatment with protocol in place till April 2.

I wasn't sure about my car until late Wednesday. I got an estimate Monday at repair shop and they felt it was repairable and said I kept my car I good shape. Alas, they said damage, even without airbags deploying was near $7 or $8 thousand and they said the car was worth $10,000. They wrote it off.

I asked around and while I'd have preferred to have it repaired, I worried the car would not be the same anymore. And I asked around a few shops and they said the valuation of the car was fair.

Here is the car I bought.

It is a 2021 Hyundai Elantra. It was returned after only a few months after purchase and was discounted for sale. The tint on windows, the car starter and rims as well as undercoating were all added by last owner. I received an additional $500 from a draw that day which I added rustproofing, paint protection, fabric protection and carpet protection. Car has 9 year warranty and I bought extra insurance for missing key and door dings which I experienced with my last car.

I didn't want to part with my last car but sometimes you just can't keep it because of damage.

Star Trek: Picard

Star Trek has always been an aspirational series. Despite the conflict and adventure inherent in drama, the idea that humanity would work together past and through it's own difficulties of worldwide bigotry, hatred and war to become galactic explorers was good to see. Issues on Earth that were difficult to process in ordinary television or film formats were given a freer reign in a science fiction format. Race, war, nations and bigotry were all addressed.

The original Star Trek set the stage, the Trek films showed it could be box office and this paved the wave for a fully funded syndicated series not dependent on networks for financing or site to show all the episodes. Star Trek: Next Generation broke a lot of rules in 1987. It would go to run 178 episodes over seven seasons with rising ratings throughout that period. From it would spawn additional series set on the same time line and even one going back before the Original Series.

When the original series began, I only recognized two names. One was Levar Burton from Roots fame and the other was Patrick Stewart who I knew best from Dune. It was a large cast and the promotional material made it seem like it would be an ensemble work and it was. The glue that held it together was that character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

Patrick Stewart, after the last movie, said that he would not reprise the role of Captain again. However, streaming TV, the money and the chance to tell a different type of story drew him back. The Shakespearean veteran did have a few demands. The series would not be him in uniform presumably captaining the Enterprise. It would be in the Star Trek world but one reflective of his age.

Hollywood routinely has a problem portraying age on the screen. They either make the characters play the role as if they were 30 or 90. There is hardly an in between. For women it is often worse. The new Trek series struggles with this mightily. Two new characters, Dahj and Elnor in their 20s, play the young, naive but amazingly skilled members of the ensemble.

The Next Generation series was poor at portraying young people. For example, the Wesley Crusher character or Worf's son never rang true as growing, fully realized characters. The closest the Trek universe ever did present a family was on Deep Space Nine but even that was a bit of a reach for the series. As far as older people went, there was never any room for them in the cast except as guest stars.

So...the Picard Trek was something out of the ordinary for a televised series in that it featured as its lead an almost 80 year old man. Since Next Generation had a more cerebral captain than the Original Series with an action packed, cavorting captain this is not a huge change. Still in a limited series, a story arc should have something that drives it forward. To that end, this Trek does.

However, Star Trek fans can be a prickly bunch. And in recent years fan boys and fan girls have been pretty vocal about what they want to the point of attacking the actors as if they were one the ones that produced the scripts that cast too many girls or denied a relationship some wanted to see on screen. Woe is the showrunner who ignores this or gives too big a nod to to those who only have single mindedness for what a character should be.

So...for the purposes of this review I am going to judge the show on this criteria of it being faithful, unfaithful or innovative to the Trek story. Not every story has to be canon. The animated series was great Trek fun not connected to story canon on Trek. Likewise, the latest Star Trek movie series is a re-imagining of the series while Discovery and Picard are canon. It can be confusing for casual fans.

The plot for Picard is that the great man has been in retirement for years at vineyard in France after resigning his commission. Since the captain has always been a man of principle, this could be regarded as a faithful version of Trek. He is drawn into an adventure to save lives along with the Federation but finds he must do it as a civilian with a new crew and a new mission.

I enjoyed the series but find that it has a hard time balancing drama and humour. This may be remedied with additional episodes but one wonder if there is patience for it to find its footing. Many Star Treks TV series seems to have to re-set themselves because they can't seem to be grow without loosing their way. 

Renovations of Grocery Stores all Over Winnipeg- Charleswood

Even as the pandemic continues, it seem every grocer has been renovating. The need for pick up and collect, delivery and other service needs is undeniable. Walmarts took over their auto sections to make way for this service and almost every other grocer/merchandiser is doing the same. Safeway/Sobeys and Real Canadians Superstore/Extra Foods had too much redundancy in the market and too much corporate exposure to newcomers Red River Co-Op Grocery and Save on Foods. Hence, the conversions all over the city to Fresco for some Safeway/Sobey's locations and some No Frills for Extra Foods locations. 

Charleswood Safeway in the picture is getting a makeover inside and out. Most Safeways have had alterations inside for their produce areas as well as deli but many have not had the full exterior and interior work we have seen going on nearly everywhere. Tuxedo Safeway is also going through it.

Red River Co-Op Grocery has new buildings going up at Seasons of Tuxedo and St. Norbert. There probably won't be a grocer that hasn't had a makeover by spring. And at that time, we might be out of the pandemic but will we have created new habits of click and collect or delivery.

Food prices have spiked and it has been bad but hopefully, a lot of of competition into the new year will see Winnipeg benefit in having better prices. A vaccine can't come soon enough.

646 Kingsway

From fall of 2019 till mid October 2020, I went to my parent's house and spent hours renovating, clearing things out and preparing the house for sale. Yesterday the check arrived a month after possession. The last thing cleared today. Thanks for all the help people have given when I really needed it.

I have posted many of the pictures of the renovations. Possession was October 15. Hit snags on that day but it is finally over.

My cat appreciates that I'm not there hours every day,

My mom and dad really didn't get to see it those last days. My dad was able to have a tour but he was anxious. My mom would have cried about the stairs and then have forgotten about it and ask to go back.

The last day I went to every room and looked at it. The last of the family in 50 years of ownership to see it. It was sad.

Burger King and Tim Horton's Coming to Seasons of Tuxedo

Even in the pandemic, construction in Manitoba never abated. And at Seasons of Tuxedo north and south of Sterling Lyon  there was no let up even as the Outlet Collection Mall was closed or on reduced hours.

On the south side of Sterling Lyon, adjacent to the Rec Room and across from the mall is construction of a Tim Horton's with drive-thru. It is likely that from an apartment window, you will be able to see two and possibly three Tim's already.

Just south of the Tim's (which this week is just working on the drive-thru part) will be a Burger King also featuring a drive-thru.

It might seem like no big deal but keep in mind the majority of River Heights and Tuxedo has no drive-thrus. No Tim's till Charleswood and that has only been in recent years. It is for this reason that two Tim Horton's are so close to each other on Kenaston. Demand is high for those who work, shop and live in the area.

Even with the pandemic on, work has not stopped on the Seasons of Tuxedo north and south of Sterling Lyon. Retail and restaurants is the least interesting from a demographic point of view. What has been interesting is how many multi-unit housing units have been going up. Since the population in the area 10 years earlier was zero, this represents a significant lift in density and is affecting transit in ways that is likely to see growth. 

Still, this is a car world we live in and without a doubt this will cause more cars to pull in and out of this side of Sterling Lyon. While there is talking of synchronized lights, you cannot turn off Kenaston heading west without hitting two lights that will always stop you. And the wait times are getting longer.

To date, there is still no sidewalk or bikepath on the northside of Sterling Lyon at Seasons of Tuxedo. It is an oversight that is having real consequences for safety because it means unnecessary crossing just to use the east/west sidewalks and bike paths.

I have no problem adding restaurants to the area but more has to be be done for those who now actually live right in this retail hotspot.