Top : General Blogs

PEIBlogs.com: the definitive Prince Edward Island blogroll since 2004.: General Blogs

Home | Add Site | Change Site | New | Cool | Top Rated | Random | Email Updates | Search

DotServing dotServing, the number 1 choice for Islanders looking for web hosting. Setup your presence today with web design and development plans available. Rates starting at $5 a month. Or take advantage of our affilate program available with payouts as high as $100!! Visit us at www.dotserving.pe.ca.

Links:

Contract All | Expand All

A Sparrow's Home - islandsparrow's journal
(Added: 17-Dec-2006 Hits: 229 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • Thankful . . .

    Joining Suzanne for  Friday’s Fav 5 

    and Ann V. for Endless Gifts  - they seem to go well together :)

    “The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things.”
    Henry Ward Beecher
    My thankful list  - so many to choose from this week.

    1. Living on an Island surrounded by tidy farmhouses

    rolling hills

    and the sea

    2. A woodshed almost full and a hard-working husband who feels happy when he provides

    3. The never-ending tomato plants … October and still producing!

    4. Golden light of early morning

    radiant light and deep shadow

    5. Thanksgiving this weekend - time to worship and celebrate with family and friends

     Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!

    Warmest wishes for a blessed weekend.

  • of men and affections

    Thoreau got this right: ?Every man looks at his wood pile with a kind of affection.?

    (Walden, Or, Life In The Woods)

  • fun . . .

    A perfect day to wander across an Island with a camera and a friend

    click to enlargeNo plans but following country roads,

    wide open fields,

    stopping whenever something makes you smile ~  like this pumpkin parade

    Finding little treasures ~ who knew that lupines bloom in the fall?

    and of course, on a small Island, you are never far from the beach.

    Click to enlarge

     And if you know me

    and my friend

    then you know we’re never far from the beach :)

    There is always something interesting happening there.

    A spotted sandpiper

    click to enlarge

     Wild geese in flight

    awesome cloud formations

    click to enlarge

     And of course you always have to test the water temperature for swimming.

    Too cold today? Shoot! 

    Oh well …

    Playing beach shadows is entertaining too.

    Plan a fun day - everyone needs time to play :)

  • capturing beauty . . .

    “Winter is an etching,
     spring a watercolor,
     summer an oil painting 
     and autumn, a mosaic of them all.”
    -   Stanley Horowitz

    My friend Rinda and I are heading out today to capture some autumn beauty on film. 

    As I head out, I’ll be thinking of you, my blogging friends.

    I like that about blogging.

    It’s as if I take you with me - looking at the beauty around me with a new perspective, wanting to share it with you, and hoping that it blesses you.

    It makes me happy.

    May your day be rich and full of blessings.

    Lovingly,
    Kathie

  • Friday's Fav 5

    1. My burning bush and learning how to do drop shadow in PSP - fun!

    2. Watching the “Get Used To Sophie” project progress

     Note Sophie’s resigned look - those kitties are eating out of her bowl!

    Proof of success - eating together. Even Little Jack has been won over. 

    3. Just playing…


    A basket of goodies.

    click to view

    click to view

    click to view

    click to view

    A record of days

    Tutorial on Visual Homemaking Journal

    Thanks Ann!

    4. little Fall beauties

    5. Harp workshop tomorrow!

    Making music with friends.

    These are just a few of my favourites of the week

    adding to my endless gift list.
     

    Thanks to Suzanne and Ann!

    Have a blessed weekend my friends!

Acts of Volition - General (mostly technical, but sometimes political) blog from SilverOrange's technical director
(Added: 9-Jul-2004 Hits: 514 Rating: 5 Votes: 0) Rate It

All Shanadian - 100% All Shanadian..er..I mean Canadian. Join me in adventures that promise to be absolutely shandalous! - Shannon Courtney
(Added: 21-May-2005 Hits: 427 Rating: 5.50 Votes: 2) Rate It

  • I'm Cheating..Kind Of
    Well, I promised to write more often now that I'm settled in Kingston and apparently have loads of time to watch TLC's What Not to Wear, and discover the delights of indpendent shops in Kingston such as Cooke's Fine Foods, which provides a much appreciated venue for alleviating ALL withdrawal symptoms experienced since leaving Scotland. So, yes, I should have time to write a blog post, but as
  • TIME TO TURN THE PAGE
    This summer I neglected the person who needs me the most: me. Somehow, amidst the endless summer engagements, my manic workload, and the whole 'wrap up one life, begin another one' saga, I forgot to look after myself. And, as I found out the hard way, there are all sorts of repurcussions to getting caught up in everything that's going on 'outside' and ignoring what's going on 'inside'. So here I
  • ACK!!
    I can't believe it's been almost two months since I posted. I need only look at the last date of my posting to determine the approximate time when life went from being busy to being ridiculous. Seriously, I feel like I've not had a spare moment to breathe in the last 6 weeks. Both my body and my mind are in disrepair due to the lack of care I have been showing them. Well, what can I say?
  • Tip to Tip - More Than Half Way to Somewhere
    Saturday night I have the luxury of sleeping in my own bed. I took my bike on the bus back to Charlottetown as a precaution. Just in case I get no sleep, I want the option of taking the short trip on Sunday. It strikes me that my propensity to commit to something is entirely dependent on the circumstances and, perhaps, amount of alcohol I?ve consumed. It took me about two seconds to commit
  • Tip to Tip - A Spirited Adventure of Spandex and Generosity
    DAY TWO OF FOUR I cannot sleep. For the love of me, I cannot sleep. I spend the majority of the night tossing and turning, sneaking peeks at the bedside clock. At one point I even pull my sheets off the bed and try out the floor. Sleeping is normally not a problem for me ? I?m good to go once I?ve put my earplugs in and turned the light out. Fred?s company also helps, but there wasn?t room for

Anyone for Golf - Comments about just about anything I find interesting - binderpilot
(Added: 31-Jan-2006 Hits: 301 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • Saw Something Stupid Today
    Miles is away for a few days so I have been coming into the office. Parking is always a problem downtown so I decided to bite the bullet and use the Pownal Street parkade, pay my six dollars a day and avoid trying to figure out when the meter guy is coming around to spread his special brand of cheer.

    This isn't a huge parkade with its 4 levels, probably room for about 300 cars. I think its pretty typical in design with the ends being open so the air can blow through, concrete construction throughtout, no decoration or paint. But it does have something that is pretty impressive, a full blown sprinkler system. And I mean a sprinkler system, pipes like you wouldn't believe, they go everywhere and the size of them makes your arse muscles tighten up. Through the centre there are these big 4" to 5" round pipes that go vertically the whole height of the building and then there are two extensions of 4" pipe that run horizontally the length of each floor.. From these, pipes of about 2 " branch out between the concrete beams with sprinkler heads about every 20 feet. There must be miles of the stuff in there.

    Makes you feel so safe knowing that in the event that someones car catches fire the concrete won't get burned up. If the system ever goes off, hope you're not at houseparty in Charlottetown taking an emergency dump in their bathroom because there will be no water left to wash away the pile you have left behind.

    I have never seen a car on fire, I must have driven a million miles and lots of it in traffic but have never come across smouldering heaps of twisted steel and glass with the tires burnt off them. When I look at this building I somehow think I must be missing something, because I can't envision anyone making a builder install a sprinkler system that would have the capacity to extinguish the Great Chicago fire unless there was a pretty high probability it was going to happen. And if it did happen the fire department is just around the corner, wouldn't they just haul a hose over and put it out.

    Last time I checked CONCRETE DOESN"T BURN. I wish I hadn't seen the damn thing now because suddenly I resent paying the six dollars a day when 50% of the cost is in a sprinkler system that will never be used and if it wasn't there they would only charge me three dollars.

    I hate bureaucrats and inspectors and regulators they are screwing up the world with their rules and regulations. In the paper the last few days there has been a story about a couple from Illinois who bought a summer home in North Rustico for themselves and there 11 children and grandchildren to use. They leased it over the winter to a family with an expiration date of the lease in April. The people refused to move out, they say the owners shouldn't have the right to use the property for their summer holidays. Apparently issues like this go to IRAC who are the rental enforcers. Guess what, the people are still there, but horror of horrors for them IRAC is going to send them a letter.

    Same thing happened in Murray River a few years ago, people stopped paying but decided to keep living in the house.the owners couldn't get them out. It went on for a year or more and when the owners showed up with a truck to move the renters stuff out were told by the RCMP they would be arrested if they tried. The worlds a crazy place!!
  • Svend Robinson
    I came across this and realized I had never posted it after writing it, I'm not really a redneck but this guy has always gotten under my skin. This was when he was caught stealing the ring for his boyfriend. The next day I heard the former long distance runner Bruce Kidd on the radio going on about Todd Bertuzzi and Dany Heatly, there ws something about the whole thing that made me see red.

    I see in the newpaper that Svend Robinson is going to challenge Hedy Fry in the riding of Vancouver Centre. Please, Please Hedy kick the daylights out of this guy at the polls so I never have to be revolted by either seeing him on TV again or listening to him spout his self serving and ridiculous crap again.

    I was listening to Bruce Kidd the other morning on CBC radio as he was making the case for not allowing Todd Bertuzzi or Dany Heatley represent Canada at the Olympic games because they didn?t represent what he thought was the stereotype of a typical Canadian and their values. I get sick of these guys with their righteous indignations, but then I guess its our right as Canadians to have opinions, that is, its OK if your opinion happens to support the belief system of the touchy feely boys.

    Ok Bruce you have the right to say you don?t think they are fit to be hockey players and represent Canada because of the rough tough life they live, well I don?t think that Svend is fit to be a Member of Parliament.

    Todd Bertuzzi was one of the participants in an unfortunate accident where Steve Moore from Colorado who blindsided one of Bertuzzi?s teammates wouldn?t take the honourable route and settle things the way they have always been settled in Canadian hockey with a good old 30 second fight. And Dany Heatley as a young man with a Ferrarri was involved in a car accident in which his friend was killed, terrible thing and he has repeatedly said his irresponsibility is going to haunt him forever. So those two incidents make them unfit to play hockey for Canada. I watched the many press conferences these guys had to endure, and you know what, I was a heck of a lot more convinced that the tears these MEN shed were a lot more real than anything that Svend squeezed out. And you know the difference they weren?t crying over themselves, they were torn apart by what happened to someone else as a result of actions they took which they freely admitted they were responsible for, thats what real men do, not whine about themselves. Did I hear you say they should be in the same category as those using drugs?
    Lets hear about Robinson and what his special personality traits are that make him a prime candidate for helping run our country from information I have seen the follwoing is pretty representative of this guy.

    * Married his high school sweetheart but she divorced him when he cheated on her with a man.Way to go Svend thats what being a Canadian is all about. Don?t you think the RIGHT thing to do was to speak to her and tell her about your feelings for men instead of her having to catch you.
    *Became an alcoholic as his way to cope with his mothers death.My mother died to but I don?t recall needing to have a drink 20 times a day to make me right. We all have major times of tragedy in our lives but the rest of us pick up the pieces and move on, its called strength of character Svend.
    *Became a lawyer, but left the profession after a year.Way to stick it out Svend
    * Was removed by his party as Justice critic after he publicly came out in favour of establishing red light districts and making whorehouses legal.Just what we need to help prop up the families of the nation, a whorehouse on every corner. Tommy Douglas, Stanley Knowles and David Lewis the architects of the core human rights we enjoy would roll over in their graves if they knew the causes their beloved NDP party was now promoting. Svend even you are way to far to the left for the likes of Jack Layton.
    * Heckles President Ronald Reagan in the House of Commons after he has accepted an invitaion to address the MP?s.Most people learn on their mothers knee that you are polite to a guest. What a dork you are Svend to go headline hunting with such a cheap exhibition to a captive audience.
    *Sentenced to jail for criminal contemptHelps kill Sue Rodriguez and my guess was this was more about publicity than compassion
    * Gets hurt while hiking and credits his love for his boyfriend as the reason he survived by crawling 400 yards.What kind of a gooney bird is this guy, he sprained his ankle.
    * Tables a petition in the House of Commons to remove the word God from the preamble to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.Svend before I checked up on you I just dismissed you as being a bit misguided but now I am seeing a pattern emerging, I don?t think you are a nice person.
    * Travels to the Middle East to try an see Yassar Arafat, who refuses to meet with him.Even Yassar knows a fruit cake when he sees one and he won?t even let this one in the country let alone in his office.
    * After a few days in Israel and no one will give him the time of day he pronounces that Israel is guity of torture and murder. He then resigns as NDP Foreign policy critic.Wow Svend you sure showed them a thing or two.
    * Svend steals a $64,000.00 diamond ring and after he realizes he has been caught on tape (anyone who doesn?t think he got tipped off please step forward - no one thats what I thought) he fesses up.His track record to this point makes me question a lot of things about this bird, this clinches it this guy is a cheating, lying, publicity seeking, unbelieving, man with no sense of morality, nothing more than a petty thief who is not above trying to use every ounce of political correctness to his advantage to have to get off. What a weasel
    * Instead of standing up like a man and admitting his guilt he whines about how his love for his partner and the stress he was under made him do it, so he really wasn?t responsible.Come on Svend even an wanker like me knows from my limited exposure to Doctor Phil that there is some serious sick stuff going on in the head of anyone who can?t accept repsonsibility for their actions.

    And you know what, I bet the NDP leadership is cheering Hedy on, come on Hedy, put on those stompin boots, get his raisins into those vice grips! I think the NDP leadership all got the same sick feeling in their stomachs when he announced his return as Lucy had when she moaned her famous lament, ?Aaaaarrrrggggh? my lips touched dog lips?

    So Bruce baby I rest my case. This sick depraved, spineless piece of humanity isn?t suitable in my opinion to be elected to be a local dog catcher let alone be given a stage like the house of Commons.

    But wait there is a special kind of disgusting reality called political correctness that will protect this puppy. He can?t be held responsible for anything because, if he is ever criticized for anything, he plays the ?you are discriminating against me because I am gay card?. PS I have some gay friends and they?re darn nice people, No wonder this country is in such trouble.
  • The Big Apology
    The world is filled with stories of good intentions gone bad and bad people put in positions of trust. There is nothing right about what happened in the past with the aboriginal schools, but the Canadian conscience once it became aware of the realities of what took place has responded correctly. The issue I have is not with the present Government, but with the spineless milksops that came before them.

    But I can assure you I will not be dressing in sackcloth and pouring ashes on my head over mistakes made by others in past generations, but as a society my hope would be that we gravitate towards being a more understanding and thoughtful people because of those mistakes.

    Having lived close to 4 reserves out west, Sweetgrass, Poundmaker, Red Pheasant and Cochin and daily observing first nations peoples I can tell you I have absolutely no understanding of why the conditions on many reserves are as they are when I saw the resources that were available to the bands. Sweetgrass and Poundmaker both had excellent farmland on them and it was available to any Indian who wanted to farm along with all kinds of assistance to get them started.

    Housing was available to anyone who wanted it, the effort was minimal on their part. It used to burn me when I was working myself to exhaustion and barely keeping ahead of the game that many Indians I knew never seemed to do a days work but somehow had a better vehicle than I could afford. They started a plant on the one reserve to produce prebilt homes for the reserves in the area. This came along with training, good wages, the best of tools and working conditions but in no time at all, no one showed up for work, all the tools and lumber had been stolen and the place was left to rot.

    There is lots of talk about the value of the native culture and tradition as being the good old days and how it has been taken from them. I can't see why anyone would want to return to the poverty, living conditions, disease from a past that is nostalgically looked on as the good old days of life as a hunter gatherer. But its hard to grasp how defined group of people can expect to enjoy the benefits of a modern society, with cars, 4 wheelers, ski doos, canned food, electricity, televisions sets, etc without fully participating in an economy and contributing on the same terms as everyone else.

    But maybe there is a solution, the plains indian lived off the buffalo, well maybe we could start raising buffalo in captivity and provide the men in each reserve with horses, spears and bows and arrows. We could then turn one or two buffalo loose each day and they could hunt them down, hack themm to bits and lug them home. It might take a while to accumulate enough skins to make tents and clothes so we could provide them enough from a tannery to get them started. A couple of big stocked ponds should provide fish and we should make detours around the reserves so they could be isolated again. Make it easy to get back to living like prehistoric man again. maybe that would be the best solution, but somehow I don't think that is what they want.

    What I have seen is indians who want everything modern, want it paid for by someone else and to put as little effort as possible into getting it. Think have you ever seen an indian with a job? My experience with the indian kids I went to school with was this, while going to school there was no difference between them and anyone else but after leaving school it didn't take long to catch onto the fact that you could do better by doing nothing than by working. Of all the Indians I knew only one worked hard enough to achieve anything, the rest just went onto permanent pogey.

    Like I said I can't understand and am glad I'm not charged with the responsibility of addressing and finding solutions to the multitude of aboriginal issues that swirl around.
  • Residential Schools
    I see that Stephen Harper is doing the right thing, its about time Everyone knows how wrong it was and the Prime Minister is making an apology on behalf of the people of Canada. It is not any different from the unjustices done to the Japanese as a result of internment or the Chinese because of the head tax or the sterilization of individuals deemed to be slow by the Province of Alberta.

    What repulses me is that a series of Governments did not have the fortitude to acknowledge that all these practices were wrong and do it in a timely fashion. Liberal and Conservative alike ignore taking steps to do the right thing until eventually it happens and then everyone jumps on the bandwagon. I don't give much serious credibility to those who attach them selves to what is now tainted with political correctness. The problem as we look back in history is that it is difficult to view these and many others issues in the context of the time and prevailing attitudes that existed. Governments and courts will continue to make grievous errors today that when examined in 40 years I am sure will be judged to be insensitive and harmful but will be supported today. A good example is the Provincial Nominee programs, it is nothing more than the 2000 version of the old head tax except now its not $500.00 but about $140,000.00.

    The unaccountable will of Governments will continue to treat its citizens as only a cut above criminals if they feel anyone is infringing upon their agendas and will continue to do so. If anyone thinks that these apologies are driven by any thing more substantive than a tinge of guilt sprinkled on a plate full of political agenda you are much less skeptical than I am. But anyway, good for Stephen Harper he's more of a man than the busloads of pretenders that came before him.
  • The Queen of Mean
    Everyone leaves some kind of legacy behind them when they die. Its probably something that most of us don't think about until we are to old to effecively do something about it. But that legacy is usually going to fall into one of three categories, either positive, negative or neutral.

    I've known some people who fall into the neutral category which may be the greatest indicator of a wasted life. Mostly because it indicates someone who never had any time for anyone but themselves, remained isolated and went through life with no passion or involvement, the best that can be said is they didn't do any damage, but then they never contributed either. There is a parabble in the bible about that its the people that were given talents and one decided to bury theirs and do nothing with it.

    Unfortunately I know to many people whose legacy is negative. Lots of those people can be outgoing and pleasant to be around, but when it comes down to it they will have made the lives of others miserable. Adept at political correctness they are worse than those who make no bones about it and are plain unpleasant to people. One marchs down the street amd carries a banner and trumpet making the world aware to keep your distance or I will make you sorry. The other in sheeps clothing lulling everyone into a false sense of security but waiting for the opportunity to slyly spread their special kind of misery around.

    I love to surround myself with positive people, those who honestly have a true sense of obligation and compassion for those around them. These people will have slips from time to time but its easy to forgive them because you know they have a good heart.

    I hope people remember me for the good things I have done.

    Leona Helmsly who recently died at the age of 87 will be remembered as "The Queen of Mean". she was given the tag name during her trial for tax evasion for which she went to prison. Even though she was a legitimate billionaire her true nature was so strong she couldn't help but try and put one over on the IRS. It was revealed that her style was to terrorize the people who worked for her and who needed a job. In the last few years of her life she tried to rectify things by giving away about $30. To little to late though, the "Queen of Mean is what her legacy will be, she should have thought about it earlier.

CEOBlues - CEO of SilverOrange, and President of the Internet
(Added: 9-Jul-2004 Hits: 500 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • The Upside of a Down Economy

    Apparently it has something to do with being a resource based economy. Whatever the cause, our dollar is loosing its value against the US dollar. Being a company that has a lot of US based clients this is a very good thing for us. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it will offset the downside. We're not quite sure what the downside of the economic crash is for us yet but we'll keep you posted.

    1 USD = 1.16799 CAD

    Handy Google Finance chart

  • Immigrant Investment - Hard to be Unbiased

    I'm committing a bit of heresy. A fellow co-worker told me this morning that there was a piece in the Guardian this past weekend stating that many of those who have been reporting in the local news about the immigrant investment going ons have actually benefited (i.e. received money) from the program.

    While the auditor general is investigating the program and the RCMP are investigating claims of fraud (limited to one or two individuals is my understanding) I'm still suspicious that the larger infractions will be swept under the rug.

    Here on little ol' PEI almost everyone has been affected by this program. There have been thousands of investments in a province with only thousands of people in it. The people who have no doubt benefited the most from this program will be the business elite and the brokers themselves.

    The press is targeting the wrong group. I personally do not care if MLA's businesses received funding through the program. If they were legit businesses that qualify for the program then they have a right to it. This is NOT where the majority of the abuse has taken place. The majority of the abuse is surely to be found within the brokers and within the business that do not qualify for the program. I would also suggest that some law firms/accounting firms may have gotten their hands dirty as well. I have heard unconfirmed reports of lawyers setting up shell corporations to receive investments and businesses specifically excluded from the program (i.e Real Estate & Professional Services) receiving investment.

    This is not a political issue so please drop the "Liberal this" and "Conservative that" BS. This is a greed issue.

    The real abuses of this program will more-than-likely never see the light of day as almost everyone, the press, the business elite, the fund-raisers, the politicians (in all parties), all have been involved. I suspect that only an all out RCMP investigation would be able to get to the bottom of this.

    Start with the brokers and follow the trail from there.

  • Look Out Below

    During the high winds we had on Friday a blower contraption launched off the roof of an abandoned building down the street from us and crashed into the sidewalk. Thankfully no one was hurt. I've shown a sketch of its path down to earth and what could have been.

    What are the rules when it comes to buildings like this? It's been for sale for a few years but has been falling apart. The roof has been ransacked by teens. The shingles have been blown off by storms. The entire building is gradually falling apart. Short of someone buying it and fixing it up can the city do anything?

    The path the giant box fell The detail of the felled object
  • Immigrant Investment - Under The Microscope

    The auditor general announced he's going to do a complete audit of the program. Hopefully he'll dig deep enough to find out if money was actually given to worthy companies, not just make sure all of the debits and credits line up.

    I have a feeling that a lot of important and successful business people will not be too happy about this program being audited.

  • Immigrant Investment - Show Me The Money

    So where is this $400,000,000? It would be very interesting to see the list of businesses that have received investment and how much they received. We don't need to know who the investors were/are just where the money went. Is this information made public in any way? Can we extrapolate it? Maybe make our own list? Request for it to be released?

Charlottetown | Ward3 | Brighton - Blog from Charlottetown city councillor Rob Lantz. See also his personal blog Freelantz.ca
(Added: 21-Mar-2007 Hits: 249 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • Fri., July 25th, Get Out Your Picnic Blankets
    Canada Day is coming back to Victoria Park. All the complaints that traditional family-oriented celebrations have taken a back seat to other activities at the Festival of Lights have prompted City Council to revive this popular event. We are not intending to compete with the FoL, but the idea is to run a parallel, scaled-down [...]
  • Thu., July 17th, Post-Festival Analysis
    Members of the downtown business community recently asked for a meeting with City Council to discuss the future of the Festival of Lights. The meeting took place last Tuesday evening with about 60 to 70 business operators attending, as well as representatives from Tourism Charlottetown Inc., the agency that produces the festival. Council heard one [...]
  • Thu., July 17th, Commission Orders City to Rezone Property
    The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission has ordered the City to overturn a decision last February to deny a rezoning application. The CBC reports that current occupants now fear forced removal from the property. The crux of the IRAC’s decision is a ‘Future Land Use’ map in the City’s official plan showing this property under [...]
  • Thu., July 10th, Letter from an Editor
    The City has received many complaints about the recent Festival of Lights from residents of downtown Charlottetown. I’ve heard others call these people “whiners”. I can tell you, these people have very legitimate complaints. I’ve heard some horrible stories about the things residents had to endure over the course of this event. On the other hand, [...]
  • Sun., July 6th, Victoria Park Cycling Lane
    My boys and I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony last week for the new bicycle lane at Victoria Park. We cycled from one end to the other and back, and as Brodie said, “We won.” I’ve used the lane several times in the past week and I’m happy to see that bicycle traffic is picking [...]

Charlottetown, PE, Canada - This community is for residents (and former residents) of the city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The purpose is for users to share information about events, cool places to visit, fun things to do, cool people to meet, and any other pertinent information regarding the city.
(Added: 8-Aug-2005 Hits: 390 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • Possible Move to P.E.I.
    My husband and I are considering a move there when I finish college and I'm looking for opinions/advice from people that actually live there. Is the job market ok (doesn't need to be great) and what is housing like there also.


    TIA



    Fiona
  • Visiting Charlottetown this summer
    Hi! I'm visiting Charlottetown this summer. I'm staying with some fabulous person via the Couchsurfing Project- it's a gambe but I've read great reviews about her.

    I'm of course an Anne fan, yadda yadda, but I'm also interested in the natural beauty and environment of the Island. I'm interested in Canadian culture in general, after all, I'm American! We think everything you do is cooler.

    Here's the rub- I'm super, mega broke. I'm driving up there with a few friends who will be able to share expenses for some things, but for others I'm on my own. I want to have the opportunity to eat some good seafood, see some of the Anne schlock, etc...

    The host said she might be able to get me a comp for the musical, which ROCKS.

    I'm looking for different ideas on how to save money. Are you a seafood catcher person? Want to take me clamming in exchange for, uh, something New Yorky?

    I'm looking for various barters for things I can either bring to you or do. I can usher for comps to a show, for instance. I'm willing to bring you things you can't get in PEI, as long as they are LEGAL!!!!! perishables like NY bagels or pizza are probably out, since we're taking a week to get there.

    Feel free to email me or AIM me (Astoriaunt) and talk NY or PEI. I'd love money saving tips! Where can we wash dishes for a fantastic meal? etc....


    I'll be there from the 9th to the 14th of august, if that makes a difference...


    THANKS IN ADVANCE!
  • charlottetownpe @ 2007-04-30T11:40:00
    hi everyone,

    i'm kelly and i'm 22. i'm a newfoundlander but now live in charlottetown with my boyfriend and chihuahua. i don't know very many people here yet, but would like to! i'm looking to add new lj friends and if we're compatible, perhaps we could hang out down the road. check out my userinfo and if you're interested, add me or comment on my friends-only post and i'll add you back!

  • charlottetownpe @ 2007-02-01T07:02:00
    Hi everyone - I hope this is ok. I have set up a community for Islanders or folks that are interested in PEI. Please feel free to join if that strikes your fancy. :)

    [info]peisland
  • Anyone??? lol
    Wake up Charlottetown!!!!!

Cosmic Carousal - Collection of thoughts, stories, half-real stories, and fake stories. Pictures, videos, links, and words. News, non-news, current affairs, sports, and arts.
(Added: 24-May-2008 Hits: 12 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • (no subject)
    http://www.nytimes.com/images/blogs/freakonomics/posts/IndeyCows.jpg
  • Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
    The Spagnostics and the Pastafarians follow the Spaghedeity and believe in the sanctity of pirates. What's not to like?!






    More info: Homepage: http://www.venganza.org/

    Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster




    Sept 19th is coming fast.
  • It's been 46 years in the making...
    ... but Jesus has finally come out with a rebuttal to John Lennon.

    Lennon had made very controversial comments back in 1966 regarding the waning popularity of Jesus and the Catholic church.



    Jesus had been slow to reply, first allowing Republicans to have their say. But it turned out the Beatles were more popular than Republicans and the sarcasm of Lennon's comments was allowed to be understood. Lennon's comments soon drifted into popular culture...


    ... and then even into academic culture, as hippies soon became professors. (Yes, you need this for a quality education.)

    But with the death of George Carlin, who made a few suggestions for Jesus' reply as the priest in Dogma, Jesus has released this statement:


    "Who's bigger than Jesus now, John?! Who's bigger than Jesus now?"
  • A 441 Word Alliteration on the letter W
    The following story, entitled Winnie and Walter, was published sometime in the 19th century by an unknown author. It's a bit of a tongue twister. And it might not make sense on one read (so read it again, Scallywag)

    Winnie and Walter

    ?Warm weather, Walter! Welcome warm weather! We were wishing winter would wane, weren?t we?? ?We were well wearied with waiting,? whispered Waiter wearily. Wan, white, woe-begone was Walter; wayward, wilful, worn with weakness, wasted, waxing weaker whenever winter?s wild, withering winds were wailing. Wholly without waywardness was Winifred, Walter?s wise, womanly watcher, who, with winsome, wooing way, was well-beloved.

    ?We won?t wait, Walter; while weather?s warm we?ll wander where woodlands wave, won?t we??

    Walter?s wanton wretchedness wholly waned. ?Why, Winnie, we?ll walk where we went when we were with Willie; we?ll weave wildflower wreaths, watch woodmen working; woodlice, worms wriggling; windmills whirling; watermills wheeling; we will win wild whortleberries, witness wheat winnowed.?

    Wisbeach woods were wild with wildflowers; warm, westerly winds whispered where willows were waving; wood-pigeons, wrens, woodpeckers were warbling wild woodnotes. Where Wisbeach water-mill?s waters, which were wholly waveless, widened, were waterlilies, waxen white. Winifred wove wreaths with woodbine, whitehorn, wallflowers; whilst Walter whittled wooden wedges with willow wands.

    Wholly without warning, wild wet winds woke within Wisbeach woods, whistling where Winifred wandered with Walter; weeping willows were wailing weirdly; waging war with wind-tossed waters. Winifred?s wary watchfulness waked.

    ?Walter, we won?t wait.?
    ?Which way, Winnie??

    Winifred wavered. ?Why, where were we wandering? Wisbeach woods widen whichever way we walk. Where?s Wisbeach white wicket, where?s Winston?s water-mill??

    WistfuIly, Walter witnessed Winifred?s wonder. ?Winnie, Winnie, we were wrong, wholly wrong; wandering within wild ways. Wayfaring weather-beaten waifs, well-nigh worn-out.?

    Winifred waited where, within wattled woodwork walls, waggons, wheelbarrows, wains were waiting, weighty with withered wood. Walter, warmly wrapped with Winifred?s well-worn wadded waterproof, was wailing woefully, wholly wearied. Winnie, who, worn with watching, well-nigh weeping, was wistfully, wakefully waiting Willie?s well-known whistle, wholly wished Walter?s well-being warranted.

    With well-timed wisdom, Walter was wound with wide, worsted wrappers, which wonderfully well withstood winter?s withering, whistling winds. Wholly without warm wrappers was Winifred, who, with womanly wisdom, was watching Walter?s welfare, warding Walter?s weakness.

    ?When will Willie wend where we wait?? wearily wondered Walter.
    ?Whist, Walter,? whispered Winnie, ?who was whooping??
    ?Whereabouts??

    Welcome whistling was waking Wisbeach woods when winter?s windy warfare waxed weaker.

    ?Winnie! Walter!?

    Winifred?s wakefulness was well-grounded. ?We?re well, Willie; we?re where Winston?s waggons wait.?

    Without waiting, Willie was within Winston?s woodwork walls.

    ?Welcome, welcome, Willie.? Winnie was weeping with weariness with watching Walter, weak with wayfaring.

    ?Why Winnie! Wise, watchful, warm-hearted Winnie,? Willie whispered wheedlingly. ?We won?t weep; Walter?s well. What were Walter without Winnie??

    Wholly wonderful was Winifred?s well-timed womanly wisdom, which well warranted weakly Walter?s welfare. Whenever wandering within Wisbeach woods with Winnie, Walter would whisper, ?What were Walter without Winnie? Wise, watchful, warm-hearted Winnie!?

  • The Church of Vader

Cre8ive1 - A life on Prince Edward Island. Photos. A fine selection of music to listen to while you surf.
(Added: 3-Jul-2006 Hits: 250 Rating: 9.93 Votes: 17) Rate It

  • Indian Summer!
    What a wonderful "Indian Summer" day it's been! I did a whole lot of gardening and outdoor chores. Friends dropped by unexpectedly and we had a grand time. We had refreshments on the deck as it was wonderfully warm and sunny. We took a drive to the beach and encountered two hang gliders playing in the breeze. They steered themselves up and down the coast. A couple in leathers, on one
  • In These Walls
    I chose a random photo today. Closed my eyes, chose a file then chose a photo - eyes closed; A sunny beach at almost sunset time. I experienced a strange dream sequence last night. I had two dreams in a row about people with strong political ties and ties to each other politically and personally. There were two entirely separate dreams where I was actively participating in both. The
  • La Vie En Pomme
    Today feels like my first day off. Monday was filled with cleaning and awaiting visitors. Tuesday was filled with cooking, then potlucking. (Is potlucking a verb?) Today the only thing I truly had to do was wash my hair. I've also cleaned and cooked but nothing or no one was making me do it. I have an apple crisp in the oven and some prep for supper done but could stop right now if I
  • Seaside Sitting
    I am one stuffed woman. We had a potluck staff party this afternoon and let me tell you, the food was fantastic. I feel like I won't have to eat for a week. It's neat how it all works out at potlucks. No one discussed what they were bringing but everyone brought something different and all courses were covered. I brought appetizers. We had ribs, lasagna, a rice dish, cheesy scalloped
  • Halleluja
    I am so upset. My friends from Australia and Summerside, PEI were here for a visit this afternoon and I didn't get a photo. Two of the women were taking photos and I was being photographed but forgot to pick up my own camera. I'm thinking of calling the house where they are having dinner and arranging to meet for a late night photo. I can easily drop in and make it happen. There were five

Doug Hall's Brain Brew Café - American Inventor judge and Eureka! Ranch CEO Doug Hall summers in Springbrook PEI. This is his Brainbrew blog.
(Added: 23-Dec-2004 Hits: 376 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • Mon., November 5th, AUDIO: Using your Suppliers to build your Innovation Supply Chain

    This week Doug talks to Bill Small from MMTC West - The MEP center for western Michigan about how to use your supply chain - your vendors and suppliers to help you think smarter about innovation. Bill has pioneered bringing together Big Companies with their smaller suppliers. It's a powerful concept that all companies large and small can use to accelerate their growth.

  • Tue., October 23rd, AUDIO - BBQ Co Finds Overt Benefit - Category Credibility Gap, Pakistani Co. Steals Sales

    BRAIN BREW CAFE is a 10-minute weekly broadcast of ideas and insights to help you grow your business.

    This week you'll hear...

    1. A true story of how an Oklahoma company found their Overt Benefit Difference
    2. New data on the CATEGORY CREDIBILITY GAP
    3. How a Pakistani company stole half the sales of an Arkansas manufacturer in a surprising way

     

     

    read more

  • Wed., September 26th, Begin With P-A-S-S-I-O-N!

    Aretha wanted some R-E-S-P-E-C-T and I?d like to see some P-A-S-S-I-O-N! Where has it all gone? It?s missing from just about every part of our lives...

    read more

  • Mon., September 10th, Are You Afflicted by E.L.K. Syndrome??

     

    I once entered a client?s office and saw a picture very similar to this one?with one MAJOR exception?the herd of Elk was walking ? RIGHT OFF A CLIFF!


    read more

  • Thu., August 9th, Buying Inventions!

    Within the next week or so we will be announcing a new service where we purchase inventions on behalf of clients.

    The idea for this service has been a long time in coming.

    It grew out of my time as judge on American Inventor.

    IT IS NOT an invention promotion company - rather we will be INVENTION BUYERS

     

    What has happened is that Eureka! Ranch clients have in effect outsourced the cleaning, screening and licensing of inventions to us.

     

    Doug

E.T. Concentrators - Stories and pictures of events and places around Parkdale from the early 50's to the late 70's.
(Added: 1-Sep-2007 Hits: 99 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • Boarders
    Here is an Email from our Cousin Basil.


    Hi Carl
    This happens to be one of the 'boarders' that you mentioned in your blog. I know that they were many but perhaps not many stayed as long as I did. April 1949 to Nov. 1951. In fact I was either there or heard about it shortly after it happened, that is the biting incident that you wrote about. You were without a doubt a little 'geezer'.
    Thought the photo might interest your for two reasons. Firstly this is the working dress of the Mounties in the 50's. Quite different then the way they dress now. Secondly this is the Highway Patrol Car used at the Bridgewater Detachment. It was a 1953 Meteor 2 door, flathead V8 with standard transmission. I do not recall, in my time there, of anyone out running this vehicle. Lastly the photo was taken in Lunenburg County in either the fall of 53 or spring of 54.






    I remember Basil coming to live with us, I was only 2 at the time, but boy was he fun to have around.
    When Basil applied for the RCMP he had to write an exam and to prepare for it ,
    he and Mother would sit at the kitchen table going over and over the work, as a kid I din't think he would ever finish and play with me.
    The day Basil left for the RCMP Mother and I walked down to the train crossing to wave good bye.
    Below is a video clip from Mom and Dad's 60th wedding anniversary, Basil is paying tribute to Mother "for being the first woman to pass the RCMP exam".
    Every time Basil came back to visit and later with Nancy and their 9 children Mother and Dad would be so excited and proud of him.
    One rainy day Basil showed up at our school to drive me home in a car he had just bought, I recall it being a coupe probably mid 30's.
    Basil you never showed me which house Mr. Mount Stewart lived in, I don't think it was the one with the old man sitting on the front step that you yelled
    "Hello Mr. Stewart".


  • Pex On CBC with Karen Mair "LIVE FROM THE 36"
  • That Was No Picnic For This Teddy Bear
    Last night we went to the Confederation Centre to see a Charlottetown Rural High School play. It was very good with great acting, singing, music and of course costumes.
    With a lot of things it triggered a memory of mine and a play we did at the WI Hall many years ago.
    Our old school on Linden Avenue has been torn down, Bull Dog Demolition completed the job. Dick McGuigan?s company. A good Parkdale boy too!! Lucky for him "Chief" wasn't around.



    In back of the school was the WI Hall which is long gone after catching fire some years ago.

    As I related in previous stories, this old hall was the scene of many concerts and events for many years and was the centre of entertainment for Parkdale.
    I?m thinking back now to a particular school concert we held there probably in late spring,
    I recall it was quite warm in the hall.




    Our class was putting on a play and I was to dress up as a Bear.
    There was no Value Village or Froggies in this era, in fact there was no such thing as giving away old clothing. Even our underwear was handed down from oldest to youngest, thank goodness I had older brothers as well as sisters.

    I remember telling Mother I needed a costume for the play and I was to be a Bear.
    Mother had many things to get accomplished before worrying about a costume.
    We practised the play and my Teacher would enquire how my costume was coming along and I?d Say
    ?OK, I guess?
    The day arrived and I still didn?t have a costume and I continued to ask Mom to make me one. Finally she sent me down to the store to but a 10cent package of RITT DYE, dark brown. At last I would get my costume.
    Remember we were a family of 8 kids , me being the last, so their was neither extra time nor money for wasteful things like costumes
    .
    Much to my horror Mother came down stairs with an old pair of Long Johns, you know the kind, the ones with the trap door on the rear end. She dyed the underwear brown and hung them on the clothes line to dry.


    Next she sent me upstairs to fetch my old Teddy Bear, the one I was supposed to have grown too old to play with, does anyone ever get too old to love their Teddy Bear?

    She took the Teddy and cut his head off and pulled out the stuffing.
    I ?m still shaking at the sight of my Teddy being killed in front of my eyes.
    Off we walked to the Hall and mom and I went in the kitchen to get me dressed.
    It was full of other kids putting on their costumes over their clothes, boys and girls. Mom told me to strip down to my shorts!

    ?No way not in front of these girls?!

    ?Don?t be so foolish, they can?t see you?!
    Yea right.
    I obeyed Mother and stripped down to my underwear, actually they were probably Niall?s or Gord?s old pair.

    I pulled on my ?costume? knowing full well it was really an old pair of Long John?s dyed brown with a faulty trap door just waiting to open and expose me to the world .

    This was not going to fool anyone!

    I then placed the eviscerated head of my recently departed Teddy over my head and stumbled on to the stage for my bit part.

    All I recall is realizing there I am , standing in front of all those people in my underwear wearing my Teddy?s head over mine.



    It is an eerie feeling looking out from in side the body of your recently departed best friend feeling your warm breath filling the cavity and imagining your Teddy is coming to life and has eaten me in revenge.
    I didn?t think I could make it through that afternoon with out dying of humiliation , but I guess I did, with a minium of mental scars.

    I must Google Freud on this one and see if it explains any part of me.


    That day was no picnic for this Teddy Bear.
  • Boy Bites Dog

    BOY BITES DOG



    I?m sitting here watching Clara play with our dog Kallie and smiling as I think of my childhood and all the puppies I had .That triggers a memory of play times I had with my Father.
    Dad was born and raised in Bangor PEI in a large family of little means.
    The first part of the story is quite close to how my Dad told me.





    One day when he was just a teen he was splitting wood using the axe that had been in his family for many years. It was his grandfathers axe, the same one he used to clear the land, the original family heirloom, even though the handle had been replaced 5 times and the head twice, such are poor peoples heirlooms.



    Dad was one of seven brothers and one sister on a poor potato farm with one horse.
    As he was splitting the wood, the trusty old axe bounced of the wood and stuck his toes, partially severing a couple. Dad yelled and his father came over to see what happened, took a look and said,
    ?That?ll teach you to pay attention boy?
    He walked away leaving Dad in agony. As he was walking by the barn the horse coughed.




    Grandad yelled ? Quick get the vet, the horse is sick?and one of the older boys ran into Morell to fetch the vet.

    When the vet had announced
    ?The horse is fine Colin?

    Grandad said to the vet
    ?You might as well sew the young fellows toes back on while you are here.



    The story probably contains a little hyperbole but brings home the point of how valuable to the farm was the one horse in comparison to 9 boys.
    I?m the last of eight kids which indicates that my parents were not young when I arrived, Mother was 41 and Dad was 38. The fun was pretty well used up in Dad after playing with 7 other kids and working as a linesman.
    Like any other kid I wanted to play with my Dad as soon as he got home and my favourite game was for the two of us to get down on our hands and knees and pretend we were dogs, ( long before Cheech & Chong) and have a dog fight. We would growl and try to put the other down crawling around the kitchen floor.
    I always played as hard as I could and thought Dad did also and that it was a real fight.



    Dad tired quickly and said he wanted to lay down for a bit.
    Our kitchen on St Peters Road was very large, suitable for 8 kids, 2 parents 2 grandparents and always a boarder. In addition to the big table and chairs we had a day bed underneath the driveway window. On the opposite side by the sink stood a floor model Singer Sewing machine. The machine was made of cast steel and iron housed in an Ash cabinet.
    The cabinet was rectangular with four sharp corners.
    Dad lay on the day bed and fell asleep in minutes, his feet were bare and were resting on the metal frame pointing skyward.
    I was still in my playing mood, crawling around the kitchen floor looking for another dog fight, when I spied these two bare feet belonging to my dog nemesis, just waiting to be attacked.
    The old axiom ?let sleeping dogs lie? at this moment was most apt, but sadly I had not head it yet.
    Sneaking up to the foot of the bed , I heard the ?Dog? in deep slumber and knew it was time to finally win the fight. I slowly raised myself on my haunches and examined my prey. Here is were odds come into play , was it a 50/50/ chance or 0/100 that I?d pick the wrong foot?
    I opened my mouth over Dads foot(The Bad Dog I had been fighting with) and chomped down with all my 5 year old might.

    Worlds Collide

    My world of make believe ended when my teeth struck flesh and didn?t stop.
    Now in my own defence that foot was probably easy to bite through because of the blow from the axe years ago.
    The next thing I knew Dad was rising up off that bed faster than Dracula could from an open casket. I?ve never seen such a look of anguish before on any mans face.
    I let go and started to run backwards wondering what in the name of Heaven had I awoken?
    Dad was yelling in agony and I was crying in fear as I ran backwards, fearing for my safety.
    Here is where my luck changes for the better.
    I tripped , while in full steam reverse, fell backwards and struck the edge of the Singer sewing machine with the corner of my head.



    My head cracked open and blood began to squirt over the floor and I began to loose consciousness saving me from the perceived wrath of my father, which by the way never existed.
    Dad immediately forgot about his pain , picked me up in his arms and hugged me while stopping the flow of blood from my head.
    Being in Parkdale we didn?t have a horse , only chickens, so no reason to call the vet to ?sew Dads toes back on, and stitch the young fellow?s head.
    A bit ironic that we both are there bleeding in front of a "Singer sewing Machine"?

    Clara, who turns two tomorrow , is tugging at my arm to go and ?wrestle?with her up on our bed.
    Do I dare teach her how to play ?Dog Fight??
  • Attack on America
    Here is a short video I did on my feelings after 9/11. I did this a few years ago and am finally posting it. I found it very emotional to look at then and I still do now. That day we witnessed over 3000 people murdered.
    The original is in DVD format and uses 5.1 surround sound.
    It is eleven minutes long and is a history lesson as well.
    It covers the initial attack on The Twin Towers as well as The Pentagon and the heroes of Flight 93. It concludes with a tribute to the Rescue Dogs who worked at the disaster sites.

    Pex



Ed's Place - This is a page which is where I publish some of my opinions. - Ed Gaudet is a frequent contributer to PEIInfo.com.
(Added: 28-Sep-2005 Hits: 429 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • My postings have slowed some.
    It would seem that I have posted less often then in past. I am now working full time again and finding the time to post has been a challange.

    Hopefully, I'll have more to say soon as I adjust to my new schedule.
  • When is privatized medicine, Public?
    I want to take this time to clarify my position on Private medicine delivery.

    All hospitals must be public and must provide all necessary services to Canadians under the Canada Health act qith the cost covered by the CHA (Canada Health Act). Canada must return to a system where the federal government provides a full 50% of all medical costs.

    Private clinics providing special services are not new and have a valuable place in Canadian medicine. Virtually all Medical centers, where one sees their family doctor, are private clinics. This allows doctors to share admin and equipment costs, resulting in greater efficiency and lower cost.

    By the same token, as medicine advances, certain operations are highly specialized. These can be best offered at private clinics as hospitals have a limited number of Operating Rooms. This is fine if their services are available to all patients, using medicare for payment. An example is hip replacements. I have heard of a specialty clinic in Quebec that does most of these procedures in Quebec. They bost a higher success rate then a hospital and have dedicated surgeons that are far more qualified for this procedure then surgeons in a regular hospital.

    Such clinics will allow operating rooms in your local hospital to be available for trauma work general surgery. Currently, long waits occur because there simply are insufficient OR's (operating rooms) available to handle the great many new procedures available to us. They will allow Canadians to get more services...services paid for by our medicare card. Such clinics can vastly reduce waiting times for services.

    In some countries, most diagnostic imaging is done by private clinics specializing in this. There is NOTHING wrong with allowing a private corporation who wants to make money by offering additional MRI, or other similar services, as long as these services are universally available under medicare. Once again, such a system offeres enhanced diagnostics with shorter wait times, saving lives.

    The key is to assure we have suitable services available to all Canadians...when they are needed.
  • Handgun ban
    Todays shooting in Toronto, along with the boxing day shooting has made me consider a few details regarding gun control:

    Statements from the Official Opposition?s critic for firearms and property rights:
    Quote:
    Here are a few of the more revealing facts from the Statistics Canada report, Homicide in Canada, 2001:

    Of the 554 homicides in Canada in 2001, 31% were stabbed to death, 31% were shot to death and 22% were beaten to death (See Chart on Page 9). ?Trying to register all the firearms in Canada doesn?t make any more sense than trying to register all the knives and baseball bats,? said Breitkreuz.

    Of the 171 firearms homicides in 2001, 64% were committed with handguns that the RCMP have been registering for the last 68 years, 6% were committed with firearms that are completely prohibited, and 27% were committed with a rifle or shotgun (Page 9).

    Since 1991, handgun use in homicides has steadily increased from 49.8% to 64.3% in 2001. Over the same period homicides committed with rifles and shotguns has steadily decreased from 38% to 26.9% (Table 7 on Page 9). ?The Criminal Code has required the mandatory registration of handguns since 1934 and registration of rifles and shotguns doesn?t become mandatory until January 1, 2003. Why can?t Liberal MPs see what?s wrong with this picture?? asked Breitkreuz.

    Between 1997 and 2001, 74% of the handguns recovered from the scenes of 143 homicides were not registered (Page 10) ? ?Liberal MPs must ask themselves two questions (1) Why were so many handguns not registered after 68 years of trying to register them, and (2) Why didn?t laying a piece of paper (a registration certificate) beside these handguns prevent 37 (26%) of these murders? Based on this statistic alone it defies all logic why the Liberals continue to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayers? dollars trying to register 16 million rifles and shotguns,? stated Breitkreuz.


    Questions for Conservatives...since by their own figures, 25% of the murders were with registered weapons that were stolen, why do they not support banning handguns. Since 26.9% of these deaths were using shotguns or rifles, why are they against registration of them. The Conservative statement that since we do not register knives, we should not register guns...if this is the kind of logic we can expect from the harper people, can you justify voting for them?

    Given the above, between 1997 and 2001, there were 143 Homicides involving handguns and of these, 37 homicides were by the use of registered handguns. Trends clearly show handgun crime is on the increase.

    Of all crime, including homicides, the stats vary dramatically from those of the conservatives:
    Quote:
    Studies show that half of all the handguns and other restricted firearms recovered at crime scenes are registered and can be traced back to their original owner.
    Source - Canadian Firearms center.

    Additional relevant information:
    Quote:
    # Of all gun sales, approx. 9 % (3 162) have resulted in cases where the new background checks required further investigation. Of these, approx. 7% (216 cases) resulted in refusals. Primary reasons for refusals include:

    * Individuals attempting to purchase prohibited firearms for which they have no privilege.
    * Failure to comply with handgun regulations such as demonstrating a valid purpose to collect firearms or membership in a gun club.
    * Buyer does not have an acquisition license.
    * Public safety reasons and Firearms Interest to Police (FIP) ?hits? similar to examples described below. Police forces daily record violent incidents on FIP, which is a new database on the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC). Such database links are used as ?screens? for background checks. As soon as a new violent incident is logged in FIP, the system searches licence holders in the database for a match and alerts authorities of this new development.


    Additionally, 469 licenses were revoked for public safety reasons while 579 were denied for Public safety reasons.

    It would stand to reason that some of these weapons would have ended up in violent hands.

    With the numerous deaths we are seeing with handguns involved, no logical reason exists to allow people to own handguns in collections, when 26% of homicides are a result of these weapons stolen from registered owners and 50% of all handgun crimes are using weapons stolen from registered users.

    It just DOES NOT make sense to allow handgun ownership!

    One of course must mention that about 1/2 of all crime involving handguns is a result of weapons smuggled into the country, the bulk of which come from the US. Increased border scrutiny is also necessary and this is part of the liberal plan, even though it may not go far enough.
  • MMPR - Binns has spoken.
    If there was any doubt as to where Pat Binns stands on electoral reform, they have been put to rest. Not only has he clearly indicated his desire to keep things as they are, he has likely dealt a fatal blow to reform.

    Binns has stated that he is considering what margin will be necessary for reform and speculates that 60% of the popular vote will be needed. He has also indicated that if voter turnout isn't high enough, the results will not be considered binding. At the same time he has also announced that he plans to run the plebiscite on the cheap by reducing the number of polling stations to 15% of that used for a normal election.

    The Plebiscite act states that a vote should be run as similar as possible to a regular election. By reducing the number of polling stations, it would seem that Binns is stating the matter of reform is not as important as a regular election. This guarantees a lower voter turnout and will provide Binns an opportunity to ignore the voters wishes.

    When all is said and done, Binns is going to possibly wish he had those list seats to fall back on. The electorate is currently unhappy about many issues. These are bound to get worse before they get better. People are justifiably upset at the deplorable condition of the PEI medical system. Education is suffering with our students getting an education which is considered substandard when compared to other provinces, The $31 million Polar fiasco is goint to blow up in his face when the forensic audit is released. Mismanagement of IWMC is an ongoing issue. Provincial employees are pissed off at their shoddy treatment in the recent reduction of positions. Even IRAC which Islanders used to point to with pride has taken a beating in popularity. If Ghiz was considered a potential replacement, Binns would be lucky to get elected as a dog catcher.

    I can only hope that there is a high voter turnout. Unfortunately, most of those turning out will not understand what they are voting for since so few turned out to the meetings. If there is a high turnout, perhaps it may be a signal that people are unhappy with the status quo.
  • Seeding the ocean.
    For years, I have given thought to something that would be something that would be viewed as the salvation of the east coast. It is an objective that is attainable and would have positive economic benefits in the Billions of Dollars.

    I know this sounds like a pretty big claim and most big claims come with a big price tag?this one does not. I am talking about investing an initial $10 million and about the same amount for each of the following 10 years. This investment can restore the cod fishery to its past glory.

    The science involved is proven. Some fine tuning is necessary and will require a couple of personnel from DFO.

    The demise of the Cod fishery was the result of one thing and only one thing?over-fishing. This was allowed to occur because DFO did not understand the reproductive model of cod, or if they did, they caved in to political pressure in setting quota for the fishery. Some blame the seal for its demise but this too is a fabrication.

    Cod is a powerful fish well suited to the north Atlantic environment. It evolved in this environment because evolutionary pressure gave it the ability to lay an incredible number of eggs. At its earliest stages of reproduction, a cod lays 200,000 eggs. At full sexual maturity a cod lays 1 to 2 million eggs. At full size, a cod lays 11- 12 million eggs. The reason such a prolific reproduction does not translate into a healthy fishery is the many predators at various stages in the life cycle of this fish. Only 1 egg in 1 million will survive to become a full grown cod fish.

    The greatest majority of the eggs will be consumed before hatching or early in the larva stage. Many will be consumed as juvenile fish.

    My idea isn?t terribly original. It marries an old idea with new ones and takes advantage of research that has been done around the world. In the very early 1900?s, long before Confederation, a fish hatchery operated in the Exploits Bay of Newfoundland. Each year this hatchery released a few hundred thousand small cod in hopes that this would help bolster cod stocks. Anecdotal evidence seems to support the success of this project but it only operated for about 8 years before closing due to lack of funding. Many of the cod caught by Newfoundland inshore fishermen today are decedents from the fish released during this program.

    Today we have much more knowledge of what is needed to plan for success and monitor the outcome. It is obvious that since the vast majority of potential cod are consumed before they reach the stage where they return to the bottom as young fish, releasing a few million such small fish a year will guarantee a higher incidence of survival to full maturity. Hatchery rearing of cod until they grow into small fish of about 4 cm will avoid the natural risks faced when the eggs and larva are found in shallow water.

    We know a lot about hatchery fish. For decades, we have been using the technique to see our lakes and rivers. One of the main reasons this is not often done in the ocean, is that the political will hasn?t existed. Releasing fish in lakes and rivers has a fast payback in ecotourism and attracts sports-fishermen. Releasing them in the ocean will result in mature fish after 8 to 15 years where they will be caught by individuals who did not necessarily pay to sow the seed.

    The program is ambitious. It will require a carefully designed hatchery. Fish have to be screened carefully before release in the wild. Careful mixing of eggs from a large sample of wild donors, is required to assure a genetic diversity, that will not result in weakening the survival potential of the stock. Finally, modern techniques of microscopic tagging of the fish will be necessary to monitor the success of the program.

    This is not something new. Projects have been operated with lobster and yielded good results with disease fish. Too many examples to count have been ongoing in fresh water species. Organizations all over the world are looking at this technique as a possible way to replenish declining stocks.

    The reason most nations have not carried out extensive programs such as this are that most are exploring aquaculture as a means of fish production. In the short term, aquaculture has potential but has a much higher risk then what I propose.

    Aquaculture attempts to rear fish to marketable size. This is done in pens in which fish are held in great density. It is well known, not only in marine biology, but in all life sciences, that such an environment is full of problems. Parasitic lice and disease, such as infectious salmon anaemia thrive in unnaturally dense populations. Such a disease can wipe out most of the industry in a very short time as has already been seen in Atlantic salmon farms.

    New disease will develop at an unpredictable frequency because of aquaculture. The ocean is the world?s largest reservoir of virus and aquaculture is an invitation to spontaneous mutation of previously unknown disease.

    Beyond the risk of disease from Aquaculture, there are ecological concerns associated with fish farms. For every ton of fish mass produced, more then 72 kg of fish waste is released into the bays housing their pens. Additionally, food and chemicals used in resisting disease are also released into the environment as pollutants.

    I know many from DFO will tell you that there are risks associated with my proposal. These risks can be minimized and are shadowed by the risks of aquaculture.

    Some state that plankton levels are too low to support a large cod stock, however the beauty of the ocean is that increasing pelagic stocks provide excrement which serves as the nutrient for plankton

freelantz.ca - Rob Lantz's blog.
(Added: 2-Aug-2005 Hits: 260 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

  • Sat., August 16th, More GPS Fun
    I managed to record an entire race on my iPhone aboard Baboon last Wednesday night. It appears to be very accurate. I recognize a few minor lifts and knocks where small changes in wind direction forced us to change our course slightly. You can also clearly see (if you zoom in or view the larger [...]
  • Sat., August 16th, Potato Fest
    I previously asked how PEI might be able to capitalize on 2008 being International Year of the Potato. Looks like Tourism Charlottetown is using it as part of their new Fall Flavours festival. Farm Day in the City A Day Long Celebration of Farming For Urbanites! … Our theme this year is 2008 International Year of the Potato. [...]
  • Thu., August 7th, Sailing with iTrail on iPhone
    The GPS data displayed here was recorded in Charlottetown harbour aboard Baboon, a J35 sailboat, using the iTrail GPS application for the iPhone. You can see the boat jockeying around the starting line before heading east to round the Railway buoy, and then heading out the harbour. The recording stopped unexpectedly at 18:21:56. iTrail prevents [...]
  • Mon., August 4th, A Reminder of Something I Regret
    Today I wandered into the Confederation Centre Art Gallery and the first thing I saw inside the lower level foyer was this collograph by Hilda Woolnough. It reminded me of a Woolnough piece that hangs in my parent’s house. It was given to my grandfather when he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of [...]
  • Wed., June 11th, Get Connected Fairly
    My great anticipation of the iPhone 3G launch in Canada on July 11 is tempered by my anticipation of a lot of money flying out of my pocket to pay for ridiculously high data rates. If you think we pay too much for cell phone plans in Canada, consider signing this petition organized by Ottawa-area [...]

Glass Eye Rod - Web designer Rodney MacLeod's blog
(Added: 9-Jul-2004 Hits: 491 Rating: 7.00 Votes: 1) Rate It

  • Sat., May 12th, 5th Annual MacLeod Invitational
    "Hi everyone the 5th Annual MacLeod Invitational is coming up (May 26th). There are a couple of teams registered already. Jim and Kevin are talking about putting in a team again this year to defend their trophy, but word is that Brad Pineau might be on their team. Good luck guys. Guy Robichaud is itching to reclaim the trophy he won last year. And I have put together a great team of female golfers. We are excited about this years tournament, we are expecting it to be the biggest yet. There will be a first place trophy, and a tail end award, Skill prizes: long drive(men and women), long put, short drive, and closest to the pin(men and women), and door prizes(if anyone would like to donate to the door prizes contact me at rodney@glasseyerod.com). Look forward to seeing lots out this year.."...
  • Thu., February 8th, Trivial Things
    "I love trivia! I am the guy that spouts off useless information all the time. If you mentioned Vancouver Canucks, I might mention they play at the only arena in the NHL that does not use a Zamboni. Some times I just spout off trivia out of the blue with no discernable association to what the conversation is. I was a member of a quite successful trivia team at The Wave of UPEI (Which I have been told holds the distinction of being the first internet domain with the extension .ca)."...
  • Wed., February 7th, Play on Words
    "Dwayne and I started up a competition last year we played Jumble almost every day keeping track of our times in a spread sheet and had all sorts of statistics generated like average times winning streaks, best time and solved percentages. Dwayne started off strong, but I ended up beating him by quite a margin. We kept all of our stats in an Excel spreadsheet part way through the year we discovered Google spreadsheets and moved it all over there, which worked great until around October when we exceeded Google's limit for formulas and we went back to using excel."...
  • Wed., November 8th, The Movie Blog Audio Edition c/o Glasseyerod
    "You may have noticed the link to The Movie Blog on the right. It is a great blog about movies. I get caught up on all of the latest movie news here. They have a weekly podcast that I listen to. The guys of the Audio Edition are hilarious. Warning: Doug is often very offensive. There is some adult language and adult themes, but no scenes of people smoking. powered by ODEO"...
  • Sat., September 30th, Wii Play Sports With Mario
    "My favorite Nintendo games were the multiplayer Mario sports games: Mario Golf, Mario Kart, and Mario Tennis. I think there is supposed to be a Mario Baseball, but I am not a fan of baseball video games. Two games that I think would be awesome to have added to the mario sports games would be Mario Paintball: A first player shooter Mario and Mario Wrestling."...

Global POV - at the intersection of technology and culture - Former Network Solutions CTO David Holtzman lives part of the year on PEI. "Technology and society meet in many fascinating ways. Specific topics include Privacy, Intellectual Property, Security, Pop Culture, Politics and anything else that looks interesting. How is technology driving change? Why do fads come and go? Join the discussion!"
(Added: 10-Jan-2006 Hits: 288 Rating: 0 Votes: 0) Rate It

Next 15