Broadcast TV in GBOS

A few weeks ago I wrote about the possible demise of all our broadcast TV reception in this area. The Broadcasters are crying that the cost to go digital as required by the CRTC by 2011 is too expensive and around 10% of their market will not be covered. It seems we here in Grey Bruce are part of that 10% because at this point they are still, so far as I know, talking about shutting down the existing analog transmitters in the area shortly leaving us with no choice (at least where I live) but satellite TV. Nothing wrong with that option except that compared with the cost of broadcast ($0) it is expensive, used to be that the lack of local stations was a bit of a problem but it seems that any local coverage has gone by the wayside anyway, so it just cost. I find it hard to justify an ongoing cost of $500 or more each year for the little we watch, but still like to see the news and some of the other programming sometimes.

So anyway I went looking to see what broadcast TV was currently licensed and what had been PROPOSED for digital, mostly to see if it was even going to be worth while to get a digital converter come next fall. Who know what will be still “on the books” by then but if you want to see what the current and future broadcast spectrum in this area looks like as it stand right now go to TV Fool and enter your coordinates to see all the stations within range and where they are in relation to your residence. You can get either a map or a detailed list. Could be that with a good uhf antenna we could bring in one of those new digital stations from Barrie or Kitchener if no local transmitters survive?

To find your coordinates either use google maps or go to the Grey or Bruce county GIS mapping site, locate your place and click on details to see the coordinates. Note that the coordinates expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds is not the same as when it is expressed in decimal which is what the TV site requires.

I considered the other alternative which was getting high speed internet with sufficient bandwith to watch programming and movies from on line but given that once again we out here are limited to wireless for high speed the cost is WAY to rich for me, even given how much I would like high speed for greater ease in research and downloads from the internet. At in excess of $500 up front for a tower to get above the tree line and equipment plus around a $1000 a year on an ongoing basis for any kind of package that does not have “limitations” on the volume of traffic its WAY out of my price range!

So its dial up internet and an ever reducing availability of TV news, thank goodness we have local radio to keep us up to date with a little of our local goings on, but their snippets are hardly in depth news. Seem the communications age is passing us rural folks by …… unless you can toss $$$ at it, not probable given the “job market” locally and province wide!

High grade horse manure

We here at RR Backroads just received a visit from the Postal Delivery Police to tell us that our mail box which has been firmly in place and unmoving for some 10 or 12 years is now in an “unsafe” location. It seems that our mail delivery folk now consider it unsafe to stop at a mail box unless they can pull fully off the traveled portion of the road, not unreasonable on a busy, paved highway or county road but on a gravel back road where no shoulders exist along much of the road and one must expect to come across slow moving farm equipment, neighbors stopping for a chat or even horse and buggies on the side of the road this would seem to be a bit of overkill.

The fact that our mail has, along with hundreds of other rural residents been safely delivered without incidence to the existing location for, in some cases upwards of 20 years it would seem means nothing. That in recent years mail delivery vehicles have been provided with a warning beacon similar to that of an emergency vehicle or tow truck it would seem has no impact upon this “safety” initiative. We, along with no doubt hundreds of others have been given just 15 days to move our mailbox to an “approved” location. In our case this is back from the existing shoulder by some 6 or 8 feet, others who have had the Mailbox Police call have, according to some news stories I have seen had to create special pull off areas, or be relegated to a “community” mail box some distance away. There is a strong possibility that this is just the thin end of the wedge, rural mail delivery will become a thing of the past, instead of one vehicle traveling a daily route with your mail we will have hundreds of folks driving down the road to get their mail from those “community” mailboxes, or even worse in to town to the post office to get our mail.

I fully expect with the mail boxes set back this far that the next demand from Canada Post will be to keep our mailboxes (including the now parking lot sized pull off) clear of snow so the mail delivery person is not “inconvenienced” by having to get out of their vehicle. Of course the fact that the snow plow schedule is such that it comes through and fills in the nice open spot in front of the mail box just ½ hour before the mail is due will not affect that demand one iota!

In short its all exactly what the title of this post says, but then we out in the country should be used to getting shit on by now!

Thanks Ma!

Ma Nature that is. Each year we look for new woodland flowers along our woodland trails and usually find one or two that we had not previously seen here. This year we were blown away when we spotted a Yellow Lady Slipper which emerged for the first time. Not only that but is showed up in our “Woodland Garden” area near the house and not way back on the trails. Our multitude of Showy Orchids are particularly thick this year, in fact all the woodland flowers seem to be recovering from that particularly dry spell last year.

Where are the pictures you ask! Not to worry, although I don’t want to “slow my blog down” with pics you can find them on my web site which also pictures our trails and other woodland flowers.

Enjoy!

Out to Grass?

I said in a previous post that I would not be as active on my blog during the summer months, that does not however mean that we out here in the boonies have been missing all the news. Simply that I am more inclined to try and ignore it all and enjoy the outdoors whilst we may.

So here is a compendium of some of the stuff that has caught my attention in the past few weeks….
Off the top, whats with the City of Toronto workers who are not satisfied with actually having a job but are now threatening a strike if the don’t get their own way. Are these folk living in the same world as the rest of us, we now have 129,000 MORE folks unemployed in Ontario than this time last year. That's 129 THOUSAND families wondering how to pay the rent, or how long their savings will hold out and these Garbage Collectors and other city employees who are hardly highly skilled OR hard done by are dissatisfied with their lot!! I got news for you guys (and all the other unionized arseholes who want MORE or are inflexible in their work habits) there are over 300,000 workers out there looking for jobs (in Ontario alone) and the only thing between you and joining them is union protectionism and I suspect that most taxpayers are getting very tired of such BS.

Meanwhile up in Ottawaaaa, our government has sold off some silverware belonging to the Queen and on loan for state occasions. They sold of a whole bunch more stuff also at around 10% of the value, apparently they “didn’t know what it was” or some such BS despite being told that if you MUST sell it should be appraised but a couple of thousand to do that was too much so instead they practically gave it away and now have had to “retrieve” it (read pay more than it sold for to get it back)

The Chalk River Nuclear reactor finally went tilt, exactly as the former Safety Commissioner said it would, but now it seems that our government does not consider the supply of medical isotopes to be a major problem. Perhaps some of these folk have been visiting Chalk River too often and had their brain cells fried, oh sorry, guess that their normal “It wasn’t us, its not our fault, there is nothing we can do, all will be ok, the sun is shining” etc etc spin machine at work!

As that ever vigilant blogger Impolitical points out “One after another, judges on the Federal Court and the Supreme Court have chastened, rather than trusted, the federal government. Perhaps judicial activism on these benches is rampant; more likely, Ottawa is consistently wrong.”
Yep, but that wont stop them from challenging such court decisions after all ideology is king and to hell with the rule of law, all the speeches Harper makes praising the openness of the Canadian system, the sacrifice our veterans made to keep it and the rule of law as the Canadian way will not make it so when each and every action by government goes in the OPPOSITE direction.

Oh, you say, but they are going to be tough on crime! Yeah right! By seeking, arresting, charging, trying and convicting and finally jailing someone who grow just 6 (SIX) “grass” plants for personal use. Hmmm, wonder if they have figured that out in their “economic recovery plan”, should only cost a few million to pass that lot through the court system. Then of course there is all the temporary employment from build all those new prisons, no wonder the infrastructure money is slow to flow they already have it tagged for a new prison in evey Tory riding across the country!! Meanwhile our Cities are becoming a good place to check out those hand guns from our southern neighbors, which weapons are, for those still in la la land, illegal to own with out a special permit. Anyone who thinks that asking these criminals to register their handguns is going to make one iota of difference to the crime stats is ready to join the bunch in Ottawa at the funny farm.

And you wonder why I try and make like a hermit and let the world go by, thankfully we can ignore much of it (not that we SHOULD) but the unemployment bit sure takes a bite. No Jobs up here unless you are a “professional” looking to join the 3.5 million or so other Public Service Employees who are already paid from one level of taxpayers money or another. Good luck with that, you will probably have to cross a picket line to apply!

Me, cynical, you have to be joking…….

The Federal Role in Rural Sustainability

Recently I was made aware of a presentation by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities made to the Federal government about The Federal Role in Rural Sustainability. Its conclusions are very similar to those arrived at by the National Symposium on How to Build a Sustainable Rural Canada which was held in Edmonton, Alberta last July. Not really a surprise as they quote extensively from that report and from the Senate Report on Rural Poverty previous to that, which I have referred to in several posts here and elsewhere.

Here are a few extracts from this report most of which seems very familiar, I am pleased that the FCM, the Rural Secretariat and others are continuing to bring these issues to the governments attention, I doubt however if there will be great change in the attitude of those in power towards the Rural Minority but this must not stop us from making both the public and politicians aware of the need for change. (Please note that these extracts contain major snips in order to keep the article to a reasonable length)

The Executive summary sums it up thus….

1. Rural Canada needs a champion at the federal cabinet table to drive and sustain change and to integrate and co-ordinate the actions of various federal departments. (Read “A strong, knowledgeable and independent voice at the cabinet table” Can such an animal be found?)

2. Rural communities need enduring commitments— a long-term plan—from the Government of Canada to ensure that rural priorities receive the sustained resources and attention required to tackle problems with deep roots and to implement strategies with longtime horizons. (As do ALL municipalities)

3. A one-size-fits-all approach to rural policy-making will not work; solutions must be tailored for and responsive to the diversity of rural Canada. (I have said before this is probably the single most important statement, one size does indeed “not fit all”.)

4. The Government of Canada must ensure it provides the appropriate departmental structures, mandates and resources to support an enduring, horizontal, collaborative and well-resourced commitment to building and sustaining rural Canada, now and in the future. (Is that horizontal as in sleeping?)

5. The vision and strategy for rural sustainability must be developed across departmental silos and in partnership with all three orders of government, industry and community groups. (What the H is a departmental silo? Wish these folks would speak english!)

It goes on to say…..
The 2006 Census showed that rural Canada’s share of the national population fell below 20 per cent for the first time in our history, furthering a long decline. With shrinking tax bases, limited revenue sources and rapidly aging infrastructure, rural municipalities are struggling to provide the basic services and community facilities their communities need to attract and retain residents and businesses.

As with the previous reports it highlights the difficulty in defining exactly what “rural” really means ……..


Between 1921 and 1931, Canada’s urban population surpassed its rural population, and today some 25 million people—over 80 per cent of Canadians—live in urban areas. Ontario saw its urban population surpass its rural population nearly 100 years ago. Ontario today is only 13 per cent rural. Statistics Canada has sought to update its definition of urban and rural areas. It defines rural Canada as “areas located outside urban centres with a population of at least 10,000.”

I have tried to tackle that issue before and have now concluded that it is better defined by the level of services available than by the population level of the area alone, further that a regional area that includes urban centers can still be called rural when referring to economic development! A very difficult distinction and one that I will try and define better in future posts.

Why should rural Canada matter to Canadians?

In “Rural and Urban: Differences and Common Ground,” Bill Reimer provides an answer. He writes: “Rural and urban Canada are inextricably linked. Rural places provide timber , food, minerals, and energy that serve as bases of urban growth. Rural places also process urban pollution, refresh and restore urban populations, and maintain the heritage upon which much of our Canadian identity rests.”

The maintenance, care and stewardship of natural resources will continue to require a local presence, such as game and forest wardens. Local infrastructure, such as roads, harbours, airports, and power lines and stations, must be maintained. There will always be a tourist demand for the great outdoors and spectacular scenery, including everything from whale watching, hiking, hunting and fishing to cross- country skiing and snowmobile expeditions. Again, infrastructure must be maintained and services provided. Public services, such as public administration, policing, education and health care, must be provided for local populations. As populations age, health care will become increasingly important.

(Much of the rural area seems to be increasingly a “retirement” choice by former urban residents some of whom may expect a much higher level of services than we currently enjoy.)

The rural voice in Parliament has been fragmented by the strong sectoral organization of political agendas. Most of the rural challenges—such as those related to population decline, reorganization of property rights, poverty , services and local governance—are multi-sectoral in nature, especially as they are manifested in specific places. Building a strong local economy , for example, requires at least regional diversification. That potentially places the interests of agriculture and forestry, fishing and tourism, energy and environment, or mining and health in conflict, as they struggle to fulfill their mandates or even survive in difficult conditions.

(Many rural residents do not expect or even want the kind of income that the typical unionized worker receives, we choose to give a higher value to things other than the almighty dollar. However we still need basic services within our communities and do still have to have sufficient income for food and shelter AND transportation, working in distant urban areas is often a necessity, not a choice.)

The Rural Infrastructure Challenge
Canada’s thousands of rural municipalities face an array of formidable challenges, including the provision of adequate public infrastructure—roads, bridges, drinking water and public amenities. They do not have the financial capacity to meet these challenges, because of the revenue bases available to them and the level of services expected of them.
Rural areas play a critical role in building national wealth, but some of these communities are losing their capacity to foster economic activity and maintain quality of life.
Programs and strategies to reverse this trend must avoid a one-size-fits-all approach by recognizing rural communities’ unique challenges and opportunities. The absence of broadband Internet significantly impedes rural economic development. Communities without broadband access are denied competitive advantages, such as electronic delivery of health and education services, and the ability to gain access to markets. Without adequate communications infrastructure, the service delivery capacity of these communities is much weaker than that of fully serviced urban areas.

Although roads and bridges will do much to get people to rural communities, quality of life will ultimately influence their decision to stay. Inadequate infrastructure to support health service delivery is a serious impediment to economic development in rural Canada. People in rural communities face major barriers to receiving health care because of their remote locations and the shortage of health professionals.

Apart from the Goods and Services Tax Rebate and the permanent Gas Tax Fund, most federal funding programs have been short term and ad hoc. For rural communities to plan and build for sustained prosperity and growth, long-term funding must be protected and expanded.

(Put quite simply most rural folks do not want a hand out but a recognition that we contribute to the well being of all Canadians , not the least of which is by providing a relief from the pressures of the city to many families who chose to visit us and we cannot continue to pay for ever increasing service requirements [some mandated by upper levels of government] with an ever decreasing population.)

The Rural Secretariat
Against this backdrop, the Rural Secretariat at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada tries to promote a rural perspective. The secretariat’s stated purpose is to act as a “focal point for the Government of Canada to work in partnership with Canadians in rural and remote areas to build strong, dynamic communities.” With limited resources, the secretariat seeks to influence a wide array of policy issues and a multitude of government organizations large and small, as well as submissions that go to cabinet. It must compete with other departments, agencies and secretariats, all of which are trying to influence federal policy and decision-making processes.
The secretariat also has another important limitation— it has limited staff to influence the federal government’s policy and decision-making processes, and the numerous policy proposals coming before cabinet every month. In addition, the secretariat resides within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and must, at times, compete with its parent department for time to brief the minister before cabinet meetings, since it does not have direct access.

Having only recently become aware of the Secretariat I cannot say how effective they are in bringing rural matters to the attention of government but I can thank them for bringing this report to my attention. Thanks again Steve!

Just Blowing Steam

As my few regular readers (all 2 or 3 of you) know I am busy outside this time of year cleaning up our trails and repairing folks lawnmowers, thus the blogging thing kinda goes by the wayside! But feeling guilty for not posting anything for a week or so I WAS going to tell you of our gardening efforts and the like, but I started thinking about our MPs and MPPs workload and what they will be doing shortly. My best guess is “taking a break” after all summer is upon us, the federal government has had parliament sitting for now what, 4 months, thats way more than last year, and if in recession there could be no vote of confidence called. On our blog Democracy under Fire I try and be reasonable, non partisan and factional, but make no mistake I am just as pissed off at various political parties and individuals as the next guy and once in a while need to have a good rant. This personal blog allows me to do that whilst still retaining a modicum of self respect on the other one!

So that said here are my thoughts upon the parliamentarians workload and what they do for us, its not all bad, but I suspect that the guys we elect will like it less than their (generally) hard working staff who are the ones that deal with the electorate on a day to day basis (except when the electee is on “summer break” perhaps) Those who run the office for our “representatives” do deserve a thank you, for the most part they handle a wide variety of problems and enquiries in a professional and friendly manner, it is not I suspect an easy task. Their bosses however are a widely varied lot, some such as our own Bill Murdoch is an easy guy to talk to and will take the time to do so and even (gasp) give you his personal opinion on a particular issue. Others are less forthcoming, less open to public discussion and less available. Guess they need a rest from bad mouthing the “other guys” and being highly partisan when discussing legislation in committee, so expect them home for the summer. If you would all stop fighting and start cooperating and seeking consensus then perhaps, just perhaps, we might get somewhere.

Having watched with dismay the referendum on electoral reform go down the tubes in BC and being very concerned with the increasing arrogance of elected governments who seem to feel that once in power they have the RIGHT to do any thing they like without restrictions, I do hope that those guys will take some time to REALLY connect with the folks at home who are struggling whilst our leaders diddle! I do not mean spout the party line when asked a question and promptly start saying how bad the other guys are, but actually have a conversation with your constituents and listen to what they have to say about the way parliament and our government is reacting to the current “downturn”!

Regular readers will also know that in the last year or so I have been promoting and heavily leaning towards the greens, unfortunately our provincial representative has had a web site melt down of his local blog for some time now. It is starting to come back up, but it not there yet!

It seems to me that the Greens are the ONLY party with a real platform pushing electoral reform and increased democracy in the HoC. However even this up and coming party is not without its problems, some cannot decide if they want to be a political party or a environmental group, they, like all the rest are having internal squabbles as to how to run the organization, how to get more members, how to get more MONEY. It seems that the closer one gets to power the less open and accountable and the more “closed” becomes the party structure. I continue to seek some real solutions to our democratic dilemma but at times I wish I was just the typical uniformed, media spun, unconcerned, non voting “citizen”

The only thing I can say to our representatives, both those elected and those striving to be so, is this, if you cannot be open and accountable to those whom you represent (whether that be due to party pressure, media spin, opposition lies, or political expediency) then I have no time for you whatsoever! As for the rest of you, WAKE UP, its all going down the tubes (as evidenced, in part, by the less than 50% voter turn out in BC) and you haven’t even noticed.

Words!

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. (received via email and repeated here for your enjoyment and edivacation)

The winners are:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.
3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.
6. Negligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.
7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavored mouthwash
9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by Proctologists.
13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms
15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.


The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.
Here are this year's winners:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.
4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.
5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.
8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease.
9. Karmageddon (n): It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
10 Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.
12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.

And the pick of the literature:
16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole