Workaday

Grafting along trying to hammer some client procedures into workable data models, my only company the rain hammering on the roof and my dog fussing around, I had a break for a quick browse around what the rest of the world is up to and checked out the local news. Take for example this story about one of the local detachment of the RCMP being ticked off for comments put on his Facebook page, one example of which was reportedly;

"How come every chick I arrest lately refuses to put clothes on and they're the ones you never want to see naked."

Really? That should boost RCMP recruitment. Was he referring to this place?

Not a week appears to go by without a local drug bust. Last week was Pacifica Heights and the local grow-ops keep the RCMP drugs squad fully employed.

What the drug gangs seem to ignore is that Nanaimo is a city that operates on a personal rather than an impersonal basis. People talk, and gossip gets around. While most folk agree that what people get up to is their own business, many do tend to be law abiding. Well, up until the bars close that is. The comings and goings of less than agreeable people does get noticed, yet certain groups are, or were, tolerated and even approved of. Would you believe I once heard a used car salesmen bemoan the shutting down of the local Hells Angels chapter? Swear to God it's true.

Downtown does have problems as an economically depressed area, with all that entails, although I've noticed a certain amount of gentrification going on with the promise of the new Cruise ship terminal. Mind you, as part of my voluntary work I do get to see the inside of some places that could only be improved by a major Tsunami. Strange how so many have 40 plus inch plasma screens and full cable service though. The kids all have new trainers and laptops yet there's bare concrete floors, loose floorboards, and electrical wiring hanging out of the wall. Go, as they say, figure.