Morning Vignettes PT 2 at The Little Red Roaster

While my wife and I chatted over coffee and bagel this morning at The Roaster, I noticed a current copy of ‘the beat’ magazine atop a folded newspaper next to my elbow.

I picked it up, thumbed through pages starting at the back, and looked for ‘pegg’s world.’

Found it. This month’s story by Robert Pegg. In praise of Mr. Peanut. Photo of Mr. Peanut included.


[“Mr. Peanut rocks”: photo link here]

I read the first paragraph or two, then skipped to the last. The story sounded familiar, in a good way.

And it was. It contained material from a recent blog post I’d read a few days ago at ‘sonny drysdale presents.’ All excellent, entertaining and with a great conclusion.

And that’s what we look for in good writing, right? A snappy intro, a gripping middle and a great conclusion. (Someday I may even try that stuff myself).

Sonny writes about how he was able to win a bet with his son because of his superior knowledge re Mr. Peanut.

In spite of the great conclusion, it left me troubled.

Superior knowledge I admire.

But his own kid?

[End of Scene 2.]

***

Please read Morning Vignettes PT 1 for important context.

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Morning Vignettes PT 1 at The Little Red Roaster

I slept like a rock last night (maybe had something to do with my 40 mile ride on the exercise bike while reading ‘song for the blue ocean’ before going to bed) and woke up bleary eyed.

As I washed the blear out of my eyes my wife asked if I wanted to go the The Roaster for coffee.

“Sure,” I croaked.

The morning air must have been extra crispy because by the time we reached the coffee shop I felt somewhat alive, even energetic.

I heard two men with familiar faces talking about not having small bills to break a twenty as I squeezed into a nearby chair.

I reached for my wallet and said, “I think I can help.”

I pulled out two old fivers and a brand new ten dollar bill.

As I initiated the trade I said, “The ten just came off the clothesline this morning.”


["Thanksh for the coffee, Babe."]

One smiled, took the money, fingered the ten, handed me the twenty and said, “Feels and smells fresh.”

I knew I had a growing audience at the time so replied, “Right out of the laundry room.”

I sat down a satisfied man.

Coffee. My wife paid. Easy human contact. I established an old standard counterfeiting scenario.

And scored perfect timing with the last line as I slipped my behind into a comfy chair.

I shoulda been in movies.

[End of Scene 1.]

***

More ‘fine art’ here.

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Follow Up: Are Conservatives fair to the average taxpayer?

I would say ‘no.’

I would also say I only bring this up because I produced a long and useful rant last week (some things you just shouldn’t hold inside) and a little news clip about Canada’s Federal Conservatives really seems to connect with that.

So, here’s the thing in a nutshell.

(Nutshell really seems to fit as well whenever I refer to Conservative John Baird. Sorry, I digress).

Related to toxic pollutants in the Alberta oilsands, then Environment Minister Baird said, “We acknowledge that we’ve got to up our game.”

[I’ll explain who has to up their game in a sec.]

“Industry’s got to do the same, the province has to as well. If there are costs, we will find a way to make it happen.” (Dec. 22, 2010, London Free Press)


["Let the little guy pick up the tab": Cartoon GH]

The news clip went on to say ‘how the government will cover those costs isn’t clear. While the (expert) panel recommended a user-pay system, Baird wouldn’t commit to charging industry.’

In other words, industry can kill the waters in Alberta but not have to pay costs related to upping the game in cleanup.

So, who will have to step up to the plate and help out?

Go look in the mirror. If you pay taxes, the person staring back at you will have to pay more.

Is the Conservative government fair to the average taxpayer?

No, and it gets worse.

Stay tuned.

***

Some editorialists and letter writers believe only the public sector needs to step up and help out.

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Deforest City Blues: Is corporate welfare fair?

Is corporate welfare real? Is it fair?

London resident Shawn Lewis makes it clear in a letter to the editor of the London Free Press that he doesn’t think local corporations or businesses deserve more tax money.

Hey, I’ve been concerned about that too recently, because rescuing our city, province and country from growing debt and high unemployment figures shouldn’t all fall to the public sector.

Shawn responds to the same news article that I cited in the recent past, i.e., ‘(Mayor) Fontana floats a new tax’ (Dec. 16, Free Press)


["All hands needed on deck": photo GH]

Our Mayor expressed a wish to impose a special levy (for an economic development fund) on local taxpayers so that monies can be collected and used to encourage local economic development.

I wrote about it in my blog here.

I wrote about it in my weekly column here.

Shawn writes, “Corporate welfare is what Mayor Joe Fontana is proposing with the new “economic development” tax for 2012... we already subsidize development and industry in London at ridiculous rates. We repeatedly hear claims from the corporate sector and its right-wing political friends that the private sector can do things much more efficiently than the public sector, so why should the public shell out more tax dollars for corporate welfare?”

(What I can the big waive, Shawn calls welfare).

Shawn concludes, “The taxpayers need to understand that, by and large, it is not the public sector costs that keep driving up our cost of living; it is corporate welfare run amok.... we need political leadership that puts people - not corporate profits - first.” (Dec. 24, 2010)

Good luck with that one, Shawn.

Lest you get the feeling I think the private sector is made up of only bad guys who wear black hats and ride black horses, let me say that it does much good.

But with editorialists and letter writers proclaiming that it’s time for the public sector (with no mention of the heavily subsidized private sector) to step up, accept wage freezes, reduce pensions, etc. in order to rid the region of debt and unemployment, I thought it was only fair to share this letter, you know, for balance.


["Full Dilbert cartoon here"]

Is corporate welfare real? Is it fair given the circumstances?

***

Some Lite News here, you know, for balance.

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Climate Change Concerns: Will extreme weather events create more debt?

The Aussies are talking about a billion dollars worth of damage due to their latest flooding event in Queensland.

I don’t doubt their numbers. They had a similar flood a few years ago. Stoic beggars.

Here in SW Ontario, municipal governments will soon have to pay a few high bills as a result of our recent snow event. And if we consider the cause, higher bills will likely be on the way.


["My advice: Buy a bigger snow shovel": photo GH]

A local writer says, “Due to the third warmest summer in recorded history, the lake temperature was about 1.5 (degrees) C warmer than normal and as a result more moisture evaporated and condensed to snow and the lake effect was much greater than many of us had ever experienced. Severe weather events are a part of our lives and municipalities and regular citizens need to understand that storms of the past may not be the same as storms of today.” (I. Greasley, Letter to Editor, Dec. 24, London Free Press)

Londoners are experiencing warmer temperatures year by year, on average.

Will we be able to afford the higher bills related to weather events in our area?

If budgets get tighter, what services will we cut? Snow removal?

My advice: Live small, reduce spending, pay down debt, save money for tough times ahead.

And buy a bigger snow shovel.

***

Another word about Climate Change Concerns (and Australia) is posted here.
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Bird Watching: Tracking an illusive cardinal

It is not uncommon to see a male cardinal stop at my feeder after three females have grabbed a snack.

It is rare, however, for the male to sit still long enough for me to get a clear picture.


He likes hiding in a bush outside a side window. [Photos GH]


He likes posing for the neighbours, but not for me.


He likes my seeds but prefers to sing while resting in another neighbour’s bush.

Maybe next time.

***

Please visit more Bird Watching here.

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Zoom w a View: A flash of juncos create fine art

For those who don’t know, the collective term for a group of juncos is ‘flash,’ as in, a flash of juncos gathered beneath my feeder and made a heck of a mess.


[One junco is just called ‘one junco’: photos GH]

Except, sometimes they don’t leave a mess.


[“A Single Trail through the Snow”]


[“The Perfect Turnabout”]


[“Seeds Ahead”]


[“Feeding Frenzy - Opus Number 1”]

Clever artists, are they not?

***

More Zoom w a View right here.

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Bird Watching: An old couple of mourning doves

This pair of birds reside in a blue spruce tree outside my back window.

They remind me of my wife and I while watching Coronation Street every weeknight.

During a commercial break one of us will say,


“Would you like tea or coffee?”


“Yeah, that sounds great,” the other will reply. [photos GH]


“Then, you’ve got 60 seconds to run to the kitchen and plug in the kettle.”

That’s how it works after 40 years of wedded bliss.

Don’t believe me?

***

More Bird Watching here.

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Newspaper Clippings: The taller the trash pile, the better

I tip my hat to Ian Gillespie, columnist for The London Free Press, for saying what I was thinking (well, almost) about grievances from local residents related to Toronto’s trash.

(Ian. G.’s full article here.)

Yes, Toronto produces a lot of trash, dozens of truckloads per day will enter a landfill site in our backyard, our sight lines along the 401 will change and the smell SW of town will ripen.

But Ian rightfully nails our complaints to the wall.

He says:

“London, we should remember, is the city that’s ranked 10th out of 12 larger urban centres in Ontario in terms of waste diversion.”


[Fresh Kills landfill: "On a clear day you can smell for miles"]

In other words, if we’re going to complain about sight lines, look closer to home.

Ian says:

“When it comes to trash, nobody does the “out of sight, out of mind” attitude better than London.”

“We refuse to take any real responsibility for limiting our waste, and we’re shocked when another city does the same.”

“And here’s the kicker: London did almost the identical thing about 30 years ago when the city disregarded objections from the annexed township of Westminster and built a giant landfill site there.” (Jan. 5, London Free Press)

All fair and good observations.

In my humble opinion, the taller the pile of Toronto trash the better. If it one day rivals the (now-closed) Fresh Kills landfill site on Staten Island, N.Y., fine.

Maybe then we’ll take notice of our own trashy habits, excessive consumption levels, and endless waste.

***

What’s that smell?

I don’t always compliment articles in the local paper, like a recent one that rips the public sector. Click here for the whole kit and caboodle.

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Climate Change Concerns: Australian flood - Is it no big drama?

Deep flood waters are beginning to recede in some regions of Queensland, according to a recent news clip.

And according to a few Aussies, they’re getting used to big troubles.

After reading a short news bite in the Jan. 5 issue of The London Free Press (i.e., “the small town of Dirranbandi was an island. “It’s totally surrounded by waters,” said Mayor Donna Stewart), I Googled ‘dirranbandi flood’ and linked to an article by Dan Nancarrow of the Brisbane News and read that, to some, it’s no big deal.

For example, I read the following:

“The small southwest town of Dirranbandi could be completely cut off from the rest of the state by this time next week, but that doesn't seem to faze its unflappable residents.”

“Last year's floods were the worst the town had seen since 1890.”


["Will we just grow used to extreme conditions?"]

"It's no big drama - we're getting used to it," Mr. K. Smith said.

“...we're lucky compared to these other little towns, Theodore, Condamine and all these other towns that went underwater, there'd be nothing worse."

Sheep farmer Gerry Grant said... "I went into St George on Thursday last week and I got a bit of extra food, we keep it in the freezer, so we're pretty right for a while. We know what to expect this time where in March it was unknown.”

Dirranbandi resident Phyllis Howard said... she was prepared for the town to be isolated once more. "We were cut off for three weeks last year and we managed.”

So, to some it’s not a drama, folks will manage.

But yesterday, after reading that “the state is the biggest exporter of coal used in steel making" (Jan. 5, London Free Press), I wondered if nature was just biting back because of rising carbon emissions.

And today I wonder, as climate instability worsens in the future and other towns go underwater (like the aforementioned Theodore and Condamine), will we too just get used to it and shrug it off as if there’s nothing we can do about it?

Common sense tells me that if we don’t learn from present day disasters of great magnitude, then disasters of greater magnitude will follow.

***

Is nature biting back in Queensland?

Please click here to read more Climate Change Concerns.

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Deforest City Blues PT 5: Where do Londoners get complete news?

Though many Londoners realize they shouldn’t look for complete news in The London Free Press, thanks to Quebec Media Inc. or the QMI Agency, the money and mindless muscle behind the paper, others eat up unbalanced editorials and parrot or champion editorial at many an opportunity.

A couple of days ago, Joe Carr wrote the following in a letter to the editor:

“Let’s get real. The economy is still in a fragile state. Provincial governments and municipalities are struggling to keep taxes under control and give relief to hard-pressed taxpayers.”

So far, so good. No need for me to crack the whip at poor Joe. He’s just venting.

And maybe he’s going to share a worthy idea related to tax control.

He says:

“It is time for the police, firefighters, teachers and others in that reasonably safe employment group to step up to the plate and help out. They are well paid (and deservedly so) and if they took a wage freeze for a year they would still be well paid.”

Certainly, the public servants mentioned would likely survive a wage freeze. But... and this is a big but... are public servants the only ones that should make a sacrifice to help “keep taxes under control and give some relief to hard-pressed taxpayers?”

There are other members of society too with money, some of them with bags of money, with some of the bags coming directly from taxpayers’ pockets.

Joe might change his tune if he heard more often that taxpayer subsidies to London developers and industries have been equal to $13.5 million annually in recent years. Joe might one day think that if he wants more bang for his buck for hard-pressed taxpayers he should look to the private sector, not the public.

According to recent news, one economic development group in London has an $800,000 surplus and still our Mayor thinks a special levy (upon the public, for the private sector) is in order to help with local economic development.

Mr. Carr laments, “Many (public servants) took large raises during the hardest portion of the recession...”

No mention is made of raises in the private sector or the ridiculously high level of compensation given to CEOs in private business at the same time.

He concludes, “It’s time to give the people who suffered through this scary time a chance to catch up. The economy needs these people to work and make a decent wage for the economy to fully recover.”

Excellent conclusion, in my humble opinion. I’m sure there’s not one among us who disagrees with helping people catch up or recover.

What I do disagree with, however, is the total absence of any mention of the equal, if not greater, responsibility of the private sector.

Can problems related to unemployment, wage loss and uncontrollable taxes only be laid at the feed of the public sector?

No.

Joe Carr is wrong. QMI Agency is wrong.

We’re all in this together, and where sacrifices and changes (perhaps to employment and tax structures) can be made, they should be made.

We’re also in this equally, and there is no one among us without equal and growing responsibility to right many wrongs that exist.

In conclusion, I say there's nothing wrong with news agencies, editorialists or letter writers saying that there is much the public sector can do better. Savings can be made, many efficiencies can be considered. But there is also much, if not more, that the private sector can do better and Londoners should be able to read about it in their dailies.

To use Joe Carr’s words, it’s time for the private sector to “step up to the plate and help out” as well, and QMI should recognize that fact and editorialize about that side of the equation as often as they slam the public sector.


I'm glad I got that off my chest. I feel better already.

***

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 1 here.

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 2 here.

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 3 here.

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 4 here.

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Bird Watching: Quiet days, except for the squirrels

Stupid athletic squirrels.

They watch me as I put seed into my feeders and then walk back inside.

As soon as the door shuts behind me they are plotting, drawing diagrams on an Etch-a-Sketch, flexing their tiny leg muscles, and scaring away the birds.


["Evidence points to a misstep by a flying squirrel!": photos GH]

I’m pretty sure one bold squirrel has jumped from overhanging branches, bounced off the roof of the feeder and landed upside down on the deck below. I hope it was on his head.


["Kerthump!"]


["He shook himself off to try again!"]

The beer cans are thwarting their climbs across the clotheslines so they have to resort to desperate measures.


If I ever see one jump from the tree branches I’ll let you know.

Those stupid athletic squirrels!

***

My last entry about the bird feeder is here.

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Climate Change Concerns:Will worse floods batter Queensland in the future?

I get some news about the flooding in Queensland from our local paper, The London Free Press, and some of it makes me think, ask questions, wonder.

How are people managing? Is it the largest flood ever in that region? Will such floods occur again?

Yesterday I read the following:

“The state is the world’s biggest exporter of coal used in steel making and the flood waters have brought production and shipments overseas to a virtual standstill... Australia accounts for more than half of global coking coal exports.” (Jan. 5, London Free Press)


[“Flood gauge in Rockhampton, Australia. Not as high as 1918”: A. Lang]

I wondered, is nature biting back? Will climate instability related to carbon emissions wreck worse havoc in the future, in Australia and elsewhere?

Besides looking for news about Australia in the local paper, I also link to the blog ‘Rooted’ for current photos and news about water levels in Rockhampton.

While checking out Anton Lang’s blog I came across a recent post, Ask a climate scientist, dated Dec. 31, 2010 that dealt with climate change, consequences, concerns, etc.

Very interesting reading as well, including the 37 comments.

If, as some believe, it is going to get worse before it gets better, should Australia and other countries - including Canada, my own - decrease their use of coal?

***

More Climate Change Concerns here.

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Read This: Tarka the Otter, an amazing tale, I’m sure

On Tuesday night I watched a film on TVO entitled ‘On the Trail of Tarka’ by Paul Williams.

Absolutely brilliant, in my humble opinion.

Here are a few words about the film, as written by a DVD distributor:

“In 1927, Henry Williamson wrote Tarka the Otter, about the life and death of an otter in Devon.

“This film goes in search of Tarka's descendents. Do they still fish the same pools as their forebears?

“Williamson's otters were treated as vermin and were trapped and hunted for sport. Today the otter is an endangered species and our attitude towards it has changed.

“Do the lives of modern otters reflect this shift?

“Combining well-loved fiction with modern-day fact, this film contrasts the dramatic events of the novel with actual events from a modern otter's life.”

And again, the film was absolutely brilliant. Truthful commentary, superb filming, with a great connection to the background story.

Did you see the film?

(Click here to visit the film-maker’s website).

Have you ever heard about or read H. Williamson’s 83 year-old book? I recommend you look for both film and book.


[Photo link to amazon.co.uk]

I think I’ll take a look for the book now. I otter do it right away before I forget.

***

Here’s another book I recommend highly: ‘song for the blue ocean’ - see Read This, right hand margin.

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Deforest City Blues PT 4: Where do Londoners get complete news?

If you want complete news don’t look to Quebec Media Inc. or the QMI Agency, the money and mindless muscle behind our local paper, The London Free Press.

Sometimes, a letter addressed to the editor contains more truth than a QMI editorial.

Case in point: Shortly after an editorial entitled ‘Canada must take lessons from European debt woes’ (Dec. 28, 2010) hit the streets, a reader responded with some valuable information.

Margaret Hoff wrote this letter:

“The QMI Agency editorial... concluded Canada must cut spending on social programs like full-day kindergarten so we won’t have the problems of Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain. None of these countries have full-day kindergarten programs.” (Jan. 3, 2011, London Free Press)

(Geesh. You would think a newspaper editor would know stuff like that. Sorry, I digress).

“The countries in Europe that have outstanding childcare programs are the countries that are bailing out the others. They have learned that spending money on quality childcare is an excellent investment that reduces other government costs.”

(Geesh. You would think a newspaper editor would know... sorry, I digress).

“The Ontario full-day learning system needs tweaking, but will demonstrate its value in years to come.”

(Geesh. Sorry).

I think QMI is short on details related to the good that public programs can accomplish and the high costs associated with subsidizing businesses across Canada because it’s too busy applying a thick coat of black paint, or ink, to the public sector.

Why so much black ink?

***

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 1 here.

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 2 here.

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 3 here.

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My Memoirs: And I’m Not Even Dead Yet

My Memoirs: And I’m Not Even Dead Yet

[Post 4]

Chapter ONE - The Early Days in Burgessville PT 2

I visit Burgessville, my first hometown, on my motorcycle once or two times yearly.

I like visiting my first school, now an under-funded museum, with one room unchanged from the 1950s. Last summer I was given the full tour by a kind-hearted university student who was inside preparing for a summer vacation program for young children.


["The two-room school in Burgessville is still standing": photo GH]

I also like visiting my first home and the current owners, Les Knotts (a prolific birdhouse builder) and his wife Betty.


["My first home is half a block from the school."]

The house and property are of goodly size but seem absolutely huge in my earliest memories.


["It took hours to crawl to the edge of the property."]

When I think about my first six years of life in the tiny village, a limited number of memories surface, most of them as warm and fuzzy as a pair of Dr. Denton’s sleepers.

The memories are fairly clear ones and include each of my parents as well as three siblings (out of four) that also spent their early years in Burgessville. I have a few that feature neighbours, an irritated car driver and a scary guy in a peaked cap who chased me around the local Co-op for some unknown reason.

The stupid ass. If it weren’t for him my time in Burgessville would have been completely untroubled.

Well, almost.

My earliest memory that includes my mother doesn’t end well.

She wanted me to eat my crusts at breakfast and I refused.

“There are children in India who would love to have your crusts,” she said.

Stop the movie right there.

I’m in pajamas, I’m about three years old, and my mother, who is tight with a missionary family that attends the Burgessville Baptist Church (the McKenzies - you wouldn’t know them), wants me to stay at the table and eat dried crusts of bread, or else she’ll send them off to India, wherever the heck that is.

As a kid, I felt I had only play one card to play.

I said, “If you want to send them to India, go ahead. I’m not going to eat them.”


["Kim and I sit at the kitchen table. No crusts allowed!"]

Knowing me the way I do, I’m pretty sure my mother had zero chance of forcing me to stay at the table to eat the crusts.


["My mom and I clown around with a paper bag."]

Fortunately, our relationship improved, and one day she complimented my chalk drawing of the Indian chief that appears on American nickels of that era. She even helped me draw the side view of his eyes, and for that I thought she was wonderful.

And I was right, as usual.

***

More exciting adventures will surely follow, perhaps on some sort of regular basis, now that the holidays are over.

Please click here to read ‘Chapter ONE - The Early Days in Burgessville PT 1.’

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Deforest City Blues PT 3: Where do Londoners get complete news?

If you want complete news don’t look to Quebec Media Inc. or the QMI Agency, the money and mindless muscle behind our local paper, The London Free Press.

For QMI to say, as they did in a recent editorial entitled ‘Canada must take lessons from European debt woes’ (Dec. 28, 2010), that public sector programs and wages are the chief reasons Canada is headed toward the same problems facing England, Ireland Portugal, Greece and Spain, is almost comic.

I actually got more truth from a same-day Dilbert cartoon.




["Final panel and punch line below"]

For some unnamed editor to write that social programs are unaffordable and “we cannot continue to fund costly programs such as all-day kindergarten... we must get civil service salaries and lavish pensions under control... we must get public sector pay hikes under control - now... they are ticking time bombs waiting to blow up in the faces of future generations” is a far cry from “reliable, complete and up-to-the-minute news coverage” as per the QMI mission statement.

Why?

Because not one word is said about any expensive short comings in the private sector or business enterprises.

I can assure you, if there are time bombs in the public sector, there are far greater ones in the private.

For example:

Our own mayor recently expressed a wish to impose a special levy (and create an economic development fund) on local taxpayers so that monies could be collected and used to encourage local economic development.

(I wrote about it in my blog here.)

(I wrote about it in my weekly column here.)

Here are the juicy bits:

“The city waives development charges — levied to help pay for the cost of growth — for new and expanding industries. Those charges totalled $9.5 million in 2009. Instead, taxpayers picked up the tab.”

“Homeowners are also paying $4 million a year in higher water rates than recommended, so business can get a break.”

“Those two policies alone amount to $13.5 million a year.” (‘Subsidies In Spotlight’ by Norman De Bono, The London Free Press, August 17, 2010)

If you can show me that London’s public programs and wages would be as unaffordable as QMI implies if our wise city fathers had $13.5 additional dollars at their disposal - annually! - then I’ll eat my hat.


["Trust me. The hat is safe": photo GH]

And London is just one of dozens of medium-sized cities across Canada supporting private enterprise through public tax dollars. The total amount of subsidies, bailouts, no-interest loans, etc., must be in the billions.

I’d ask QMI Agency for a number but I’m sure they don’t know. They’re so busy painting the public sector black that they have no time to notice how quickly and deeply the private sector is bleeding the country dry.

Read ‘song for the blue ocean.’ (See ‘read This’ in right hand margin). Private fisheries are bleeding the oceans dry.

Read ‘The Politics of Oil.’ Private oil refineries are bleeding governments, whole countries dry.

Read ‘The Collapse of Globalism’ in which I recently read the following:

“It was noticed that from the second half of the 1990s on, two-thirds of American corporations paid no federal income tax. Yet corporate profits were soaring.

“Ninety percent of companies paid under 5 percent of their total income.

“In Equatorial Guinea, newly rich in oil, the national income is statistically sixth in the world. In reality the money goes elsewhere (i.e., not into the public purse, e.g., to help with public education) and the multinationals involved are complicit in its disappearance.”

On every corner of the globe private enterprise has degraded the land, sea, air and public purse for the sake of profit and power.

Yet QMI degrades the public sector, and like the upstanding private citizen that it is, forgets to mention any harm its fellow corporate friends have done to the public purse they all eat and benefit from.

According to a Dilbert cartoon featured on the same day as the unbalanced, incomplete editorial (note - I'm being very kind), there’s a common name for the type of sandwich that private enterprise wants the common man to eat every single day of the year.


["With a tip of the hat to Scott Adams and Dilbert.com"]

Can you guess its lovely name?

***

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 1 here.

Please visit Deforest City Blues Pt 2 here.

Some common men will say, "I've never tasted a Sh_t Sandwich."

They would be wrong.

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Zoom w a View: I went no farther than the backyard

London received warm temperatures and a lot of rain while I visited Fenelon Falls for the New Year’s weekend.


Three feet of snow completely disappeared from some corners of the backyard.


Ice, 3/4 of an inch thick, replaced it.


[“Ice formed while I was away”: photos GH]

This morning I welcomed a layer of fresh snow on the back deck.

Less chance now for me to fall and not get up.


Drip, drip, drip.

***

We will have to get used to rapidly changing weather patterns, thanks to climate instability.

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Lite news: Trying to find balance with daily frustrations

I’m sure you’ll be surprised to know that I get frustrated on occasion. My head spins.

Some readers will surely say, “Yeh, from what I’ve read, GH always sounds so well-balanced!”

Why, thank you.

However, I grind my teeth regularly about some small things.

For example, when I saw pineapple pieces in a plastic container this morning a few ‘unkind’ thoughts crossed my mind.

Why the plastic? Must we buy food that’s shipped 1000s of miles?


Within a millisecond, however, I cooled down because I realized the pineapple was purchased primarily for our grandson. My wife wants him to have daily portions of healthy fruit. Local turnips and Brussel sprouts just might not pass the sniff test.

My reasoning didn’t make me feel 100 per cent better, just some better.

Then, when I tried to nab a piece I couldn’t open the stupid container.

I can open bags of potato chips, never a problem. But certain plastic grips make some containers grumpy-adult-proof. They’re enough to make my head spin.

Almost fall off.

So, I ate a Brussel sprout from Beamsville.

Surprised?

***

Lite News or ‘another frustration’ (depends on your point of view) here.

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News from Australia: It will get worse

Veen, a talented blogger from Australia (music, movies, mutterings), sent the following news within an email yesterday:

“Today's forecast is even worse for the poor souls in Northern Queensland.

“Quite a few towns are 100% isolated and the army has to resort to aerial food drops.

“To think that only 3 or 4 months ago those communities were receiving drought relief funds!”


["Recent photo from AllVoices (link below) out of Bundaberg"]

I searched for recent photos of the area and was rewarded with current ones (and news) by Medeshi at AllVoices.

News: QUEENSLAND'S flooding crisis could last for a month, with water continuing to rise in parts of the state and Rockhampton almost cut off... The crisis has been triggered by Australia's wettest spring on record.

More news here.

More news here.

The news seems to say... it will get worse before it gets better, and it will be years before some sense of ‘normalcy’ returns to the affected areas.

***

I ask again, instead of attempting or applauding tax freezes, should Londoners be putting funds away for tough times ahead?

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London Weather: Get used to new weather patterns and money removal

Thanks to high carbon emissions, global warming and climate instability, new weather patterns are developing.

Though local TV weather reporters will continue to wear plastic smiles at all times, some of the new weather patterns are going to be very expensive for the common man to bear.


[“Three feet of snow before Christmas”: photos GH]


[“Yesterday, the table was bare of snow.”]


[“A layer of ice was the order of the day, yesterday.”]


[“Today, more snow has fallen. More on the way.”]

Snow (and money) removal budgets will grow and insurance rates will rise as more homeowners deal with the consequences of rapid dumps and thaws and dumps and thaws.

Though our personal and collective expenses will rise because of changing weather patterns here in London, costs will be a drop in the bucket compared to those in more extreme climates, e.g., Queensland, Australia.

We likely already feel very sheltered when compared to the 1000s moving to higher ground while leaving most possessions behind.

***

Instead of attempting or applauding tax freezes, should Londoners be putting funds away for tough times ahead?

Recent Climate Change Concerns found here.

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Deforest City Blues PT 2: Where do Londoners get complete news?

The welfare state has roared back to bite the British lion in the rump.

Ditto for the Irish economy.

Saddled with massive debt and staggering under unaffordable social programs, both the British and the Irish are facing massive cuts.

So begins a recent editorial in our local paper, The London Free Press. (Dec. 28, 2010)

And shortly after I read it, I began to write a long but useful rant. (Some stuff you just shouldn’t hold inside!)

Though the headline, i.e., ‘Canada must take lessons from European debt woes,’ wasn’t a bad start (we all might be able to learn something from the debt crisis in Ireland and England), the first 3 sentences above left a lot to be desired, especially certain key words.

I.e., the welfare state... unaffordable social programs.

Does QMI Agency call this “reliable, complete and up-to-the-minute news coverage” as per their mission statement?

Don’t make me laugh. If social programs are the only or chief cause of fiscal problems in Britain and Ireland then I’ll eat my hat - the sexy straw number made in Caracas, Venezuela!


["The sexy straw number from Caracas": photo GH]

And if that’s the chief lesson Canada will learn from European debt woes then I’ll even eat the silk hat band.

The anonymous editorialist makes the point that “this country has weathered well the economic storm that has battered the U.S. and Europe. But we can’t sit smugly back on our laurels.”

Good for him or her. Smug is bad. Cocky, even worse.

But to suggest only the following remedies is way past smug, way beyond cocky.

“We cannot continue to fund costly programs such as all-day kindergarten when we can't afford them.

“We must get civil service salaries and lavish pensions under control.

“We must get public sector pay hikes under control - now.”

Why, the writer’s list is so incomplete, so devoid of proper balance, it is little wonder he/she didn’t provide their name.

To conclude the above list by saying ‘they are ticking time bombs waiting to blow up in the faces of future generations’ is so much a joke the whole piece deserves to be posted on the comics page.

And - coincidentally - on the comics page, the same day, I found a Dilbert strip that delightfully puts the editorial in proper perspective.

Below is Scott Adams’ second panel of three.


["Corporations actually transfer their tax burden?": dilbert.com]

So, what’s the punch line?

Stay tuned.

***

Scott’s first panel and Deforest City Blues PT 1 can be found here.

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The Workshop: Big plans ahead, for sure

2011 will be a busy year.

Now that the Christmas tree is put away, the porch is swept and my recent New Year’s weekend travellin’ days are behind me, I can return to my much-loved routine, i.e., morning coffee with refill, writing posts or columns almost daily, drawing birdhouse designs on scraps of paper, and building things that occasionally resemble what I have in mind.

(Hey, it can happen!)

A few days ago, after I polished off the last dregs of eggnog and wiped my sticky moustache on my sleeve, I came across a photo that friend Terry sent to inspire me - birdhouse-wise.


[“Looks more like a squirrel house to me,” I said.]

Knowing that Terry might buy the first one out of the shop, I set to work producing a few drawings, to get the ‘feel of it’ into my head.

I’m thinking the first model should be about 16 by 16 inches square and about 20 inches high.


["I'll be breathing a lot of paint fumes in January": photos GH]

I think it should be open at the back so that the entire ground floor would act as a bird feeder (not a squirrel feeder) and have 4 apartments on the top floor.


I think I will produce 3 or 4 models (each slightly different) and paint them, e.g., white with red trim for the first.

Yes, 2011 will be a busy year - at least in the shop.

***

More workshop projects can be seen here.

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