RandOM THoUGhts FRom a RAndOm MiND
I say are you freaking kidding me? What a waste of time and money, but that really is so typical of our Senate.
Time to replace beaver national emblem with polar bear, senator says. Do you agree?:
A Canadian senator is calling for the industrious beaver to step aside for a new, more intimidating official national emblem: the polar bear.
(Via Calgary Herald - News)
Jim
Read this article at ARS Technica yesterday and all it managed to do was get me pissed off again!!
I have seen first hand that Windows dominant departments or IT eggheads I call them seem to only see through the world of Microsoft, and don't give Macs a second thought because they have been brought up to think that Macs are expensive, difficult to integrate and support and most importantly, that Macs are toys!!!
If they only knew that Macs are Unix Systems, that may interest them, but Windoze IT people don't want to learn another DOS prompt system because DOS is primitive to begin with and so the thinking continues. Also that legacy mentality is from the 1990's, and most IT managers simply don't have a clue as to how far Macs have come to simplicity and ease of use when it comes to supporting them and integrating into Windows environments.
As Steve Jobs would say, “ And one more thing,” ….Macs are pretty much self supporting as they don't require constant hand holding that Windows machines need and that would jeopardize their jobs! So this is probably the primary reason that IT professionals don't look at Macs...they like machines that break, not ones that work.
Those of you familiar with Invermere know the Toby Theatre.
The Invermere attraction is at risk of closing permanently after serving the community for almost 60 years, but changes to the way films are distributed throughout Canada and the increasing pressure to move to a digital format are threatening to force the business to close its doors for good.
Ron and Elizabeth Peters have been running, and living above, the Toby Theatre for over 40 years in November, and were shocked when they received a letter in July telling them that the company that distributes their films was shutting all of its offices in Canada except one in Toronto, almost trippling the shipping costs, further eating into the bottom line of their business. In the same letter, the owners were also warned that soon films will only be available in a digital format, which would mitigate shipping costs, but would force the theatre to undergo almost $200,000 in upgrades, which both Ron and Elizabeth feel is just not feasible.
“The switch to digital will basically force us to toss out everything that we have and buy everything brand new,” said Elizabeth. “The downfall is that we have been told that within five years it may all change again, so why would we spend that money and then have it become obsolete within five years?”
What we must remember is that when we go to the Toby is the feeling of going back in time and viewing a movie as we would have in days gone by. It is enjoyable to take the break in the middle of the movie for a dash to the washroom and a visit to the snack bar to reload your treats. It is a chance to go back in time, albeit only for a few hours.
Lately, the theatre has been run as more of a community service then a business, said Ron, who has been satisfied to simply break even at the end of the year, which has been a struggle sometimes. The owners are hoping to limp along until July of 2012, as that would mark the 60th anniversary of when the Toby Theatre first opened its doors to the public.
So, do yourself and your family a favor if you are in Invermere. Go to the Toby and take in a movie..it is not so much about WHAT movie, but an experience that will stay with your kids. They will remember it for many years.
just they way i think
Jim ~ Digital Nomad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
This article is from David Suziki Foundation, a good read…..
Government of the people, by the corporations, for the corporations: "
In 2008, economics student Tim DeChristopher went to an auction set up by the Bush administration for the oil and gas industry. He bid $1.8 million for the right to drill on 14 parcels of Utah wilderness, much of it near national parks, and drove up prices for other pieces of land that he bid on but didn't win. Although DeChristopher later tried to raise money online and offered to pay for the land leases, the government claimed he had no intention of paying and convicted him in March on two felony counts.
On July 27, he was sentenced to two years in jail and three years' probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. He was escorted from the Utah courtroom in handcuffs. Now he's a criminal.
During the trial, the judge refused to allow DeChristopher to discuss his motivation. Because of that, and other reasons, his lawyers are launching an appeal. In his statement to the court before sentencing, DeChristopher said he had wanted "to stand in the way of an illegitimate auction that threatened my future." The leases were later cancelled because the Obama administration found that sufficient environmental reviews had not been conducted.
In his inspiring speech, DeChristopher also spoke eloquently about the contradictions in the law around resource extraction. He pointed out that in West Virginia, where he was raised, a state investigation found that coal-mining company Massey Energy, which often blasts away the tops of mountains to get at the coal, broke the law 62,923 times in the 10 years leading up to a disaster that killed 29 people in 2010. The company, which contributed millions of dollars to elect many appeals court judges in the state, was rarely penalized for those violations.
DeChristopher argued that his mother had tried every legal method to get coal companies to comply with the law. "She commented at hearings, wrote petitions and filed lawsuits, and many have continued to do ever since, to no avail," he said, adding, "I actually have great respect for the rule of law, because I see what happens when it doesn't exist, as is the case with the fossil fuel industry."
The trial, and the relatively tough sentence, hinged on the supposed damage DeChristopher caused. According to the government, oil companies were financially hurt because his actions drove the price up to an average of $125 an acre from the $12 an acre offered for land he did not bid on. That's despite the fact that companies willingly paid the higher prices and were allowed to withdraw their bids after DeChristopher was charged. And the leases were later cancelled anyway.
For his part, DeChristopher argued that "the only loss that I intended to cause was the loss of secrecy by which the government gave away public property for private profit. As I actually stated in the trial, my intent was to shine a light on a corrupt process and get the government to take a second look at how this auction was conducted."
DeChristopher's ordeal exposes the massive power of the fossil fuel industry. Governments, including the U.S. and Canada's, often do far more to promote the interests of this industry than to protect people's rights and health. Those who violate the law and put the lives of citizens and their children and grandchildren at great risk through pollution and destructive industrial practices often get let off scot-free or receive a slap on the wrist, while those who use civil disobedience to challenge this imbalance are hit with the full force of the law.
Tim DeChristopher said he does not want to be a martyr; he just wants people to join him. "If the government is going to refuse to step up to that responsibility to defend a livable future, I believe that creates a moral imperative for me and other citizens. My future, and the future of everyone I care about, is being traded for short term profits. I take that very personally."
We should all take it personally. We aren't out to shut down the fossil fuel industry immediately. That would be impossible as well as impractical. But surely a sustainable, healthy future ought to come before a corporation's right to profit.
Hey! Want more DSF? Join David Suzuki on Facebook "
Location:Newell County No. 4,Canada
