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If I Was Mayor of Saskatoon - Part One - By Daryl Kabatoff
March 9th 2020 AD 8:33 am 26,394 words Material Within Features: Aviation, Boating, TIG Welding Banking and Wealth Management Blinkin’ Lights Diamonds, Gold and Money Female Fashion Trends Largest Building in Saskatchewan British, German and Russian History High School Students, Hockey Players Gun Laws and Native Governance Restaurants and Fine Dining Religion and Humor If I was mayor of the City of Saskatoon I’d end of the money grab of the 30 km/hour school zones. The schools should post reduced speeds but with illuminated, blinkin’ and more frequent signage. There should be no fine print on traffic speed signs, it is unreasonable for drivers to slow down to read fine print on street signs, then check the date and time of day to see if the information conveyed applies to them. There should be no reduced speeds in school zones when the students are inside the schools, so at the start of classes the speeds on the illuminated and blinkin’ signs should return to 50 km/hour and cease blinkin’. The speed should only be reduced to 30 km/hour for 30 minutes before the start of classes, during the lunch hour, and for 30 minutes at the end of the school day. An end to reduced speed limits near high schools, for the high school students should have learned how to cross streets before graduating from grade 8.. High school students who impede traffic by recklessly crossing streets should face fines to help pay for the cost of the new brightly blinkin’ 30 km/hour primary school zone signs (and to reduce home and business taxes). Instead of 30 km/hour zones for the high schools, give the high school students crosswalks where they may push a button and get traffic to either slow down or stop. People like blinkin’ lights, give the high school students a few blinkin’ lights that are activated by pushing a blinkin’ button. Reimburse the money of the ticketed drivers who were fined for exceeding the poorly marked 30 km/hour school zone limits. Drivers who were ticketed in these zones for speeds up to and including 55 km/hour should have their fines cancelled and money returned. This reimbursement should be funded by ticketing drivers who are in violation of traffic laws. Enforcing the fines for unattached trailers left on streets will go a long way in raising money to reimburse the drivers who were ticketed in the school-zone money grabs. The poorly made and poorly placed signage has resulted in not just traffic fines, but in increased insurance rates, together these increased costs resulted in the loss of mobility to some citizens - City Council should work to refund all these losses incurred by their negligence. Increased the number of speed limit signs. Some 60 km/hour zones are so poorly posted that drivers have not seen the existing one or two signs and instead travel at slower or faster speeds. Signs indicating speed limits should be posted regularly along streets and freeways, on every second or third light pole or power pole. Several of the 50 km/hour zones can be increased to 60 km/hour, and several 60 km/hour zones should be increased to 70 or 80 km/hour. There is a small 90 km/hour section on Circle Drive that should be reduced to 70 or 80 km/hour. Improved traffic flow by increasing speeds on Chief Mistawasis Bridge and on the roadways leading to and from this bridge. Improved traffic flow by connecting Clancy drive to 18th Street, passing beneath Circle Drive as this will alleviate the congestion on 22nd Street and Circle Drive. Improved traffic flow by widening sections of Circle Drive so that merging onto this freeway will become far less dangerous. Taylor Street should be moving four lanes of traffic at a consistent 50 km/hour, if a high school insists upon lower speeds during school hours, then get your blinkin’ signs and your blinkin’ lights to communicate the lower speeds in a clear and in an unambiguous manner. Put some study into alleviating congestion on Circle Drive between Avenue C and Millar Avenue. An overpass at Highway 12 and Marquis Drive is required but should be delayed due to mismanagement of city finances, and when it does finally get built it should have enough clearance to allow farmers to transport their grain bins. Improved traffic flow by re-routing the Yellowhead Highway to either one or two miles west of Dalmeny Road, and connecting to the existing Gordie Howe Bridge via a new road located between Cedar Villa Estates and the CN rail yard. This would be hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper than building a proposed bypass on the far east side of the city; furthermore having traffic totally bypassing the city will negatively affect local businesses and result in an additional hundreds of millions of dollars of lost revenue. If the provincial and federal governments desire to fund a bypass, then utilize Grasswoods Road and a new Grasswoods Bridge and have CPR locate their new bridge there as well. It would be in error to get Saskatoonians to pay for a traffic bypass for it would negatively impact businesses for decades to come, as was done in Regina. Improve the traffic flow on Idylwyld Drive by widening the street to 6 or 8 lanes and perhaps give the buildings lining the street a European style similar to, matching or blending into the style of the Bessborough Hotel or the old Eaton’s building on 3rd Avenue South. Beautifying the city will improve the lives of the merchants, the residents and the visitors. We should study the issue of somewhat similarly improving 20th Street West. Reduced property taxes via the enforcement of existing traffic laws. Ticket drivers who hang any obstacles to vision, such as dream catchers, on their rear-view mirrors. Ticket the drivers who debadge their vehicles and obscure their license plates. Ticket the drivers who tint their front windows. Ticket drivers who fail to come to a complete stop at red lights and stop signs. Ticket the owners of the unattached trailers left on the streets. Removal of red-light cameras, it is a cash grab that largely benefits those who own the cameras. End to dedicated bike lanes, instead seek to improve road surfaces where bicycles are numerous. Most bicyclists in Saskatoon don’t want bicycles and bike lanes, they instead want automobiles and their own houses. The city should work to remove lead from pipes and also bury power lines to insure the city doesn’t suffer power outages during ice storms. An end to water fluoridation, the substance is toxic. Also a ban on toxic sales receipts, the chemicals cause mental and reproductive disorders, and cancers. The toxic sales receipts are a far greater problem than single use plastics, we should focus on the issue of the toxic sales receipts and eliminating that threat before even addressing the issue of plastics. The Federal government refuses to act to ban the toxic receipts, the provincial governments do not appear to be concerned, and so the responsibility to protect Saskatoon citizens falls upon the shoulders of the civic government. Allow people to continue to poison their children and themselves with toothpastes and deodorants, people should be free to choose. Removal of the blue recycling bins… people may still recycle their tin cans, plastics and papers by dropping off their scrap metals, plastics and paper at designated locations. Garbage pick-up should be conducted in alleys should the neighborhoods have back alleys. Individual homeowners will pay less for garbage pick-up each week if they don’t set their numbered bins out each week. The city should assist some people to obtain rotating composters so we all may take advantage of the leaves and grass clippings and improve the soil throughout the city. Any future arena and velodrome should be located near the downtown core, in the central industrial area (the city yard site) near the existing sports and recreational facility of Harry Bailey Pool. I support the building of a single velodrome before the building of a second arena, and am unwilling to spend taxpayer’s money for either venue. Trains should not be transporting dangerous goods through the center of the city. The city yard site should be used for future world-class arenas, swimming pools, gymnasiums, a velodrome and a stadium. Either remove the tracks to provide more room for the sports facilities or repurpose the tracks to transport people to and from these sports venues to distant parking lots. We should not be spending many hundreds of millions of dollars for a dangerous goods traffic bypass without first eliminating the transport by trains of dangerous goods through the center of the city. Canadian Pacific Railways should be required to post a $3 billion performance bond to cover future damages should they continue to transport dangerous goods through the center of the city. CPR needs to begin building a train bridge to cross the river elsewhere, now. Canadian National Railway also transports dangerous goods through the city, they too should be required to post a $3 billion performance bond. Land south of 19th Street West between Avenue C and the freeway, and also land south of 20th Street between Avenue A and First Avenue should be utilized for city residents to develop metal working skills and build small projects, with the immediate goal of becoming skilled enough with TIG welding and aluminum fabrication so that they may build their own small aluminum landing craft, small speed boat or paddle-wheeler. This is land closest to the poorest of the poor, the site is ideal for giving hope to people that have given up hope, and has river access for launching their finished boats. The higher quality TIG welders that have pulse capability smoke less than most every other welding technology, these welders, grinders, and other equipment that produces smoke, should all be used in conjunction with smoke extractors as the smoke generated from grinders is as harmful as the smoke generated from the welders. These pulse TIG welders utilize very small amounts of power when used to weld thinner materials, lowering the overall costs of the program and lowering the cost to the participants as they learn how to use the equipment. Those who participate should be provided with secure lockers so they may store their own personal welding supplies and small projects, such as their own tungsten anodes, filler wire, cutting and grinding wheels, masks, gloves and other welding supplies. As devices used for sharpening tungsten anodes are easily contaminated, they should obtain their own anode sharpening devices. The tungsten anodes are held by TIG torches that can be contaminated and broken, people should purchase a TIG torch that feels comfortable and fits their hands and needs. As breathing masks get coated with germs and become moldy, participants should obtain and care for their own should they have desire for one, and they should consider building themselves powered air respirators, perhaps by using the parts from a battery powered drill. Participants should pay daily for the electricity and argon gas they consume, and of course will be required to pay for any metal they require for their chosen projects. After the students demonstrate proficiency with AC pulse TIG aluminum welding (by completing small projects such as a fuel tank for their car, truck, bicycle or motorcycle, landing craft or plane), then they would be eligible for a secure space were they may over time assemble their own small aluminum boat or plane. There should be no woodworking, gluing nor painting conducted in the facility as efforts must be made to maintain air quality and reduce explosion hazards. There should be no MIG or other welders in the facility in order to force the students to become proficient with the TIG welders. After the participant demonstrates his or her ability to TIG weld, they will set their sights to manufacturing components for their boat or airplane or for their trailer. The aviation department should have priority over and total oversight of the boat building department and should assume responsibility to maintain security of all people’s projects, and not allow unauthorized access that jeopardizes the integrity of the projects. The aviation department requires people who are skilled in TIG welding and will not waste resources on purchasing nor on training people to operate MIG welders. The MIG welders would be certain to lessen the build time of the boats, but the issue is not to reduce build time of the boats but to teach people to become better TIG welders so they may attempt to build airplanes. Don’t turn people away when they arrive to the facility, provide the person with a chair in a classroom and show them instructional videos rather than application forms questioning their eligibility to participate. I envision a multistory building that would perhaps be the largest building in the province, and if the facility is not large enough to allow people secure space for building their boats and airplanes, then additional facilities would be made available. There would be coffee shops, and ample walkways that would allow visitors to view the projects from behind glass, perhaps we can integrate pedestrian viewing tubes into the facility similar to the tube conveyors at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. We can use assorted city facilities to teach people to pilot both boats and planes. Allowing people to innovate and create will likely reduce drug use, violence, suicide and sodomy, and save tax money over the long term. The city should anticipate future provincial and federal governments that encourages innovation and allow people to fly aircraft of their own designs and with minimal or no red tape and interference. Present laws prohibit the homebuilt aircraft from carrying adequate amounts of fuel and prevent the use of multiple engines, both of which adds great measures of safety. Laws prevent people from experimenting with variable swept wing designs, which also increase safety by reducing stall speeds when required. The city should make land available on the eastern and south-western outskirts for landing and parking these homebuilt creations. The city should not wait for future provincial and federal governments to encourage innovation and consider providing space and encouragement for unemployed and underemployed city residents to build their own aircraft now. People should start building their aviation creations now, knowing that future provincial governments will not hamper their ability to innovate, create and fly their own creations but will encourage and help enable them instead. It is a combination of 1) government restrictions, 2) government red-tape and 3) high insurance costs that hamper and even curtail people from innovating, building and flying their own aviation creations, the city of Saskatoon requires new provincial and federal governments to assist us to overcome these hurdles, but we should do our best without their immediate assistance. The provincial government should be allowing people to “freely” innovate and build and fly their own aviation creations. The City of Saskatoon should similarly be free to partake in this relaxing of aviation regulations and provide space for the construction of approved designs of aircraft inside city-owned properties. It has been done elsewhere and can be done he groups of people build copies of the same aircraft, when the airplanes are completed then the builders draw lots for them. Or these planes may be “completed” without the engines and avionics, after distributing the aircraft (via drawing lots), then the new owner will have the option of which engine and avionics to install into his or her plane. We should be allowing groups of people to manufacture multiple copies of the same plane(s) of proven designs in the city facilities, rather than allowing individuals to use up space building something unique that may never fly or will fly poorly. People should be free to innovate and build their own bizarre aviation creations, but not in city owned facilities and tie up resources - perhaps later when the program is more advanced and space can be spared if your pet project has merit. There may be groups of people who desire and choose to build copies of triplanes, or biplanes, or short takeoff and landing (STOL) bush planes, or high-flying powered gliders that have retractable landing gear, retractable propellers and perhaps small retractable jet engines, or very stable and fast planes that have forward swept wing designs, or helicopters, or gyrocopters, or low-flying ground effect planes. Governments worked hard to prevent innovation and the construction of aircraft in Canada, many aircraft the Canadian government did manage to help build (with taxpayer money) were sold below cost or outright given away to Islamists in foreign nations. We should reverse that and work hard to encourage the development of the aviation industry, starting with an aviation industry dedicated to helping impoverished to fly their own airplanes in Canada. We should be making planes that give us access to the northern lakes. We should be building fuel efficient “powered” gliders capable of traveling high up in the jet stream. We could be building scaled down biplanes or triplanes and use them for paintball dogfights, spectator admission fees could amount to substantial sums. We could be building rocket assisted planes that are optimized to travel the distance of 300 miles to Edmonton and Calgary. We should pay attention to the Australian Jabiru program as it allows flexibility in choosing cabin sizes and provides engine and wing options for the builders. Furthermore Jabiru manufactures aluminum engine blocks then completes these new engines with cheap mass produced parts originally designed for automobile engines, Saskatoon’s aviators can accomplish similar. I don’t see people building replica WWII fighter planes that are powered by 2,000+ horsepower V-12 engines and burn massive amounts of fuel, but instead scaled-down planes that utilize smaller engines that consume far less fuel. Using modern carbon-fiber composites, old designs may be resurrected and made stronger, lighter, more fuel efficient and safer. Some designs are far easier to build than others, back in the day Russian children easily built Yaks out of plywood and similar composites, there is absolutely no reason why children in Saskatoon can’t build improved and somewhat scaled-down Yaks using a combination of aluminum and the newer improved materials. We would not be permitting replica Messerschmitt Bf-109’s to be built in the city-owned facilities as the narrow stance of landing gear is a design flaw that killed many pilots. And I’m not sure why anybody in their right mind would want a replica German Focke-Wulf 190, or a replica British Spitfire, or a replica American P-51 Mustang, or a replica America P-47 Thunderbolt, or a replica American P-38 Lightning, or a replica of some stupid Japanese fighter plane when they could easily build and own their own replica of a Russian Yak, likely racism plays a role in their decision making processes. As mayor of Saskatoon I will battle against all forms of racism and sexism. I can’t sing enough praises for Yaks, and getting the Russian children to build Yaks was perhaps the best move Stalin ever made. Yaks outperformed both the Messerschmitt Bf 109’s and Focke-Wulf 190’s and ended German air supremacy over Russia. Stalin gave the children new hopes and dreams when he got them to build the Yaks, and the Yaks these children built saved Russia from utter ruin. The Russian children were wise to not question Stalin and did what he told them to do, many grew up and became alcoholics. Saskatoon should open doors for people of all ages to learn, to innovate and build, in the hopes that they do not become adult alcoholics like the Russian kids. Composite planes such as Yaks should be manufactured in separate buildings to reduce air quality issues in the main TIG welding building, as working with composites can become an awful mess. Stalin had the kids build Yaks out of composites due to the shortage of aluminum, today we can use more aluminum in the construction of the planes together with stronger, lighter and less toxic composites. Resins should be chosen that give off fumes that are not so deadly… some resins are optimized for clarity, some for their ability to withstand heat, some optimized so they flex, others optimized to not vent extremely toxic fumes. The composite planes, such as the Yaks, have better performance due to their better streamlining. Some people will happily deal with the stink and the mess of working with the composites in order to benefit by ending up with a plane that has superior performance, such as the Yak. Airplanes and boats require engines and people will be given space to rebuild engines, start by TIG welding a stand that holds your engine (and loose parts) off the ground so you may roll it out of the secure storage locker and work on it in the appropriate room given the task at hand. Give each engine a secure storage space so the owner may keep his or her engine secure when they are not present to work on it. Airplanes require slower revving engines than the typical car engine, done to prevent propeller tips from going supersonic. Motorcycle engines may be adapted for use in both boats and airplanes. Rebuilding engines can be costly, numerous people may be starting rebuilds that they are not going to complete in a timely fashion and so will likely require the engine storage lockers for years. Some people may start rebuilds and then discover their engine block is damaged and unusable. People will have to TIG weld new intake and exhaust manifolds and modify their engines in additional ways should they desire to adapt them for aviation.. Allow people to rebuild engines that are not suitable for airplanes as the engine could always be used in a boat, and besides they will learn skills that may later be applied to aviation engines. It isn’t up to the city to provide people with parts so they may fix their engines, but the city should provide secure space and encouragement and the odd tool. The Subaru Boxer 4-cylinder car engines are often used by hobbyists for use in their homebuilt airplanes, many in-line water-cooled 4 or 6-cylinder car engines could prove to be adaptable for either single-engine or multi-engine homebuilt planes. Small block Chevy V8 engine blocks and heads are available in aluminum, if using one or more in an airplane, there will be need to mechanically reduce the speed of the output with the use of geared propeller speed reduction units. There are no reasons why we can’t be manufacturing small radial or small horizontally opposed or even small jet engines for ourselves. People working together can accomplish much, we should endeavor to get people to work together to accomplish new transportation goals. The $3 billion performance bonds held by the city will go a long way towards building the TIG welding facilities and purchasing some tools. There are “kit” planes and there are “plans built” planes. We can quickly begin production of planes if we can decide upon one or more of the existing proven designs of the “plans built” planes. The citizens of Saskatoon could get together and start building planes without having support of the mayor nor the city councilors nor of any other people holding political office whether provincially or federally. Groups of people getting together and co-operatively building planes is a realistic goal, and we should work towards the change of laws to allow for greater freedom to fly our creations. People may build their planes individually or may build them as a group, or a combination of these options. For example, 100 airframes can be constructed as a group effort by 100 people, and then chosen by lot. Once you have your own airframe then complete it yourself with your own choice of engine, avionics and landing gear… less costly options can be chosen to complete your plane. If you are not flying at night then you don’t require to purchase and install them blinkin’ lights. If you only desire to land on snow or water then you don’t require wheels. Consider manufacturing a seat that fits your personal physique. SIX BUILD OPTIONS: Build Option One - TIG weld a Boat: Build a boat rather than a plane as your first major project as it will likely be easier for most people to complete, but build with the use of TIG welders so you may be more confident should you choose to build an airplane at a later date. Builders will be encouraged to manufacture one of perhaps a dozen different boat designs, including a small landing craft that includes a small heated cabin and is capable of transporting either a seadoo, skidoo or an ATV. Build Option Two - TIG weld an Airplane: TIG weld and machine a combination of aluminum, stainless steel and/or titanium parts for your planes, after the smaller parts are manufactured then the builder will be provided space to construct the larger air frame. If the builder desires a titanium airframe, then the builder will be improving their titanium welding skills by making a few small titanium parts for their plane, such as a titanium oil reservoir. Will the builder want a replica WWI biplane or triplane, or a WWII replica fighter plane, or will they opt towards building a powered glider, bush plane, amphibian, ground effect plane, gyrocopter, helicopter or other? Build Option Three - TIG weld a Trailer: TIG weld a trailer for your boat or plane. As with the other projects, trailers will be constructed by first building the smaller components and storing them in secure lockers before granting room to construct the complete project in a secure building booth. In lieu of a trailer, participants may instead choose to TIG weld a deck for the back of their truck that lifts and lowers their boat or plane into place. Build Option Four - No TIG Option: Become the owner of an airplane without doing any of the TIG welding. Instead get involved with constructing wings and machining other parts. The building of wings involves a large number of tasks that do not involve TIG welding. Your work in building wings and machining other required parts can be traded for a TIG welded airframe. Build Option Five - Rebuild an Engine: People who TIG weld or machine a few parts for the aviation department will be allowed to use the facilities to rebuild their own internal combustion engines. Likely some machining will be conducted off-site due to lack of required machining tools. Build Option Six – TIG weld Tracks and Tanks: Manufacture four tracks for the front and rear of your 4-wheel drive vehicle. Or manufacture two tracks for the rear of your rear-wheel drive vehicle and manufacture skis for the front wheels. Also TIG weld aluminum, stainless or titanium gasoline tanks, diesel fuel tanks, water tanks, alcohol or oil tanks that fit your particular truck, car, boat or aircraft. Start by TIG welding together the rolling cart(s) that holds your tools and parts, and fits into your secure storage locker. There “may” be other opportunities to participate in the aviation program without building a complete plane, such as focusing on propeller construction and then being rewarded by catching rides on other people’s boats or planes. People who have planes would like to try out different propellers, if you made propellers you would also be making friends.. Help build carbon fiber propellers that retract into the nose, wings and fuselage. Perhaps the builders will have an interest in gyrocopters or helicopters and so larger rotors would need to be constructed. Perhaps there are people who would like to build small blimps for themselves, and perhaps the City of Saskatoon could provide secure storage lockers for their incomplete projects as well. If you don’t follow through with your work then the parts you constructed may be used by another… the parts you build can be passed down to a friend or family member or donated to the aviation department to use at their discretion. A finite number of designs would be permitted so that people who lose interest in the project can more easily pass the parts they did manage to complete to others who adopted the same design. The aviation department will be in charge of administering the boat, airplane, trailer and engine departments, and will be designing and providing security to the entire facility. People should have the confidence that their projects will not be compromised in any way. Anybody building composite planes or composite wings, and people involved in painting and gluing, will conduct their affairs in separate facilities designed to handle the stink and the mess. The senior aviators in Saskatoon’s aviation department may eventually develop planes of our own designs, and turn those designs into easy to build kits. There are sure to be accidents and people will lose fingers or other appendages, these can be humorously pickled and placed on display as we should always make the best of our situation, maybe we could even illuminate the containers with blinkin’ lights. Anyway, Stalin was wise to give the students the option to build the composite Yaks, for those Yaks saved Russia from utter ruin. |
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If I Was Mayor of Saskatoon - Part Two - By Daryl Kabatoff | Chris Behm | Soaring | 1 | March 5th 20 02:47 PM |