Butting heads over municipal fees
Posted by ianadmin, Yesterday, 03:06 PM in Collingwood's Municipal Madness
I butted heads with fellow councillors over budget issues again, last night. This time over the annual schedule of fees for services. I objected to several parts within it and asked for changes to the proposed fee structure.Every year council votes on the user fees charged for the gamut of services and products the town provides, from photocopies to planning applications, from marriages to museum mural-sized reproductions, from table rentals at an event to. Most of these are a simple cost-recovery basis - the municipality can't actually profit from them, although we are allowed to set them at a cost designed to reduce or even entirely offset the cost to perform them.
This is, of course, generally a reasonable schedule, and it increases annually only enough to cover the real cost of the service, but there are always some contentious areas.
First is the $125 the town charges to investigate a citizen's complaint about the appropriateness of an in camera meeting. Yes, the amount is refundable if the lawyer deems the meeting was held behind closed doors improperly, but the high initial fee will discourage the average citizen from asking for an investigation (I think that's proven true by the lack of...
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Discovery could lead to new viral therapies
Posted by ianadmin, Jan 1 2009, 01:40 PM in Science, technology, computers
One of the top science stories of 2008 broke in August, when scientists announced they had discovered a virus that infects other viruses - a virophage. Fascinating stuff with significant implications for biology, virology and genetic engineering.The story in The Scientist newsblog called it "one parasite living on another parasite."
The story unfolds as French scientists were examining a new, giant virus, called Mimivirus, discovered in a water cooling tower in 2003. Mimivirus is huge for a virus - about 400 nanometers (nm), double the size of HIV - and primarily infects amoebae.
Then a second, even larger strain was found, later named Mamavirus. Using an electron microscope, researchers found a tiny (50nm) parasite virus attached to Mamavirus. Named Sputnik, this smaller virus has only 21 genes compared to more than 900 protein-coding genes in its host (three times more genes than in the largest previously known viruses, and even more than found in some bacteria).
This reminds of of the lines On Poetry: A Rhapsody by Jonathan Swift (1733):QUOTESo, naturalists observe, a flea
Has smaller fleas that on him prey;
And these have smaller still to bite ’em;
And so proceed ad infinitum.
The...
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Related geophysical events?
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 31 2008, 03:55 PM in Science, technology, computers
Two events caught my eye in the news today, and I wonder if they are related - and presage a larger geophysical event about to happen - or are they merely synchronistic*?
The first is in Yellowstone National Park, in the USA - where there have been more than 250 tremors - small earthquakes - over the last few days, called an 'earthquake swarm.' A story on Yahoo had this to say:QUOTEYellowstone National Park was jostled by a host of small earthquakes for a third straight day Monday, and scientists watched closely to see whether the more than 250 tremors were a sign of something bigger to come. Swarms of small earthquakes happen frequently in Yellowstone, but it's very unusual for so many earthquakes to happen over several days, said Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics at the University of Utah.
"They're certainly not normal," Smith said. "We haven't had earthquakes in this energy or extent in many years."
Smith directs the Yellowstone Seismic Network, which operates seismic stations around the park. He said the quakes have ranged in strength from barely detectable to one of magnitude 3.8 that happened Saturday. A magnitude 4 quake is capable of producing moderate...
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Order of Collingwood, 2008
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 30 2008, 06:49 PM in Collingwood's Municipal Madness
Three new names will be added to the list of Order of Collingwood recipients, January 4: Ken Templeman, Bill Allan and Frank McNulty. I have the honour of presenting Frank his award. I've known Frank for many years and am delighted to be able to give it to him. We share similar passions for blues and jazz, although Frank has been able to indulge his passion somewhat more, by taking trips to New Orleans and other American cities where jazz and blues festivals abound.
Of course, he has also been at the heart of the local jazz scene, promoting events and bringing performers to town for our collective enjoyment. Frank recently started a "jazz and blues society" to organize and promote events in town.
Four people will receive the "Companion to the Order of Collingwood" this year: David Chandler, George Christie, Harry Wells and Myrna Westcott.
The presentations will be held at Georgian Manor*, starting at 1 p.m.
This is a great event, a chance to meet many volunteers and dignitaries, and of course an opportunity to honour our volunteers, especially those who have contributed so much to the town. Please take the opportunity to join council and many residents at the levee next Sunday.
~~~~~
* The...
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Reopening the abortion debate
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 30 2008, 08:26 AM in Cultural, social & political grumblings
I really hope that, sometime in the very near future, a massive lighting bolt of common sense strikes the Conservative Party and they gain a sudden flash of insight into both politics and the role of a politician. I don't know what else, aside from divine intervention, is going to wake them up.It seems some members of the Tory caucus want to re-open the debate on abortion in Canada. I realize that some obsessive, self-righteous politicians feel it is their right, even their God-given duty to reopen every issue they didn't agree with, long after it's been democratically and legally resolved*. But the public wants none of it.
As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:1-15, there's a time for everything: a time to tear apart, and a time to sew together; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. And this is the time to shut up. The debate is over. The time to speak was 20 years ago. This is the time to move on and - especially for the Tories whose fragile hold on power could be torn from their grasp at any time - sew things together. Not rend them apart.
Yet despite this, CBC reports that a bonehead MP from Manitoba wants to reopen the abortion debate. But worse, according to the story, Conservative MP Rod...
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Men like games. Was there ever any doubt?
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 29 2008, 08:41 AM in Cultural, social & political grumblings
Men's passion for computer games stems from a deep-rooted urge to conquer, says an article in The Telegraph.
Sheesh. And that's news? It takes a PhD and a bunch of doctorate students to figure that out? Anyone who has studied military history could have told you that. Men like to bash and smash things. It's Rambo, not Rambette, the Terminator, not the Terminatrix. But despite the headline, and despite what is often popular opinion about male and female competitiveness, I don't think what the study showed was what the headline suggests.QUOTEPlaying on computer consoles activates parts of the male brain which are linked to rewarding feelings and addiction, scans have shown. The more opponents they vanquish and points they score, the more stimulated this region becomes.
In contrast, these parts of women's brains are much less likely to be triggered by sessions on the Sony PlayStation, Nintendo Wii or Xbox.
In my experience, very few women's brains are unlikely to be triggered by anything that seems pointless, trivial or immature. That's why men buy most of the SUVs sold. You don't need a game console to figure that out.QUOTEProfessor Allan Reiss of the Centre for...
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Democracy isn't pretty
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 27 2008, 07:15 PM in Collingwood's Municipal Madness
Democracy isn't pretty. That's what they mayor told the Enterprise Bulletin this week for a wrap-up story on his second year in office. The story is in this weekend's paper, the comment in relation to a question about the "bickering" of council.A few years back, John Mueller wrote a book called Capitalism, Democracy, and Ralph's Pretty Good Grocery in which he contrasted various notions of democracy and capitalism. The publisher's website notes say, "We are too often led by theorists, reformers, and romantics ... democracy will always be chaotic, unequal, and marked by apathy. It offers reasonable freedom and security, but not political paradise. To idealize democracy, Mueller writes, is to undermine it, since the inevitable contrast with reality creates public cynicism..."
But that's not the case here: there are no theorists and romantics spouting platitudes about local democracy. We have the mayor saying it's not pretty. Not romantic at all, that.
Democracy can sometimes be noisy, chaotic, contentious, silly and even boring, but I think it's beautiful. It's sure a lot prettier than the alternatives. It's sure prettier than what we often get at the...
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The Girl Who Played Go
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 27 2008, 01:27 PM in Book reviews
I don't read as much fiction as I likely should read. I read more nonfiction - history and science in particular. But now and then a novel comes along that moves me to read it, and then moves me by its writing. The Girl Who Played Go is one of those rare titles.I bought this book about a year ago at Chapters, for two reasons. First, it was about the game of Go, and there are precious few other works of fiction in English that even mention the game, let alone make it a central theme. Although Go is played by more people than any other game in the world, far too few westerners even know it exists, let alone the rules or the strategies. We can be such an insular, parochial culture at times. I only got around to reading it this past month.
And, second, because it was in Chapters' bargain section, a hardcover novel for only $5.99, and it's hard for me to pass up a bargain. Imagine a book - dozens of hours of entertainment and enjoyment, a book that could last centuries with proper care, a book that can be shared among friends and family - selling for about the same price as a coffee and a doughnut. Selling for less the price of a package of cigarettes. Who in their right mind would buy cigarettes...
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Those we lost in 2008
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 26 2008, 04:34 PM in Cultural, social & political grumblings
Time Magazine this week had a sobering piece called Farewell. It was a look some of those memorable people who died in 2008. Time called it a "tribute to the people who left us this year and whose legacies won't be forgotten." Admittedly, Time writes on a very American slant, so their choice of who may be memorable is often rather parochial. But not entirely.
I did some surfing and found there are many more memorable and influential people who passed away in 2008, people who left a lasting mark on our collective psyche, on our societies, our cultures and our history. Some of these names will be familiar, others unknown. I'm sure there are many others whose regional or local importance was great but whose passing was ignored or missed by the larger media.
Among the many who passed away in 2008 (many of them overlooked by Time):
- Bobby Fischer. Tormented genius of the chessboard who descended from the pinnacle of world mastery into a strange, paranoid, xenophobic and bitter underworld. He died in Reykjavik, the city where he scored his greatest victory, against Boris Spassky in 1972. He was one of my chess idols in the 70s and I remember playing out his games against Spassky eagerly, as soon as the...
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Unravelling the mysteries of the GPS
Posted by ianadmin, Dec 25 2008, 07:35 AM in Science, technology, computers
As a newcomer to the mysteries of the GPS, I find myself bemused by a world of jargon and technicalities outside my ken. As the new owner of a Garmin eTrex Vista HCx, I am thrown into this, trying to understand the complexities and subtleties of this new world of GPS - including those of the hardware itself.
I am also a bit surprised that what first appears as complex technology bordering on magic* at some times is actually rather inaccurate. Some of the points along the recorded paths appear considerably outside their actual path as walked or driven.
We can drop a spaceship into orbit around Saturn and skim a few hundred kilometers above the surface of its moons with a frightful accuracy. We can land a spaceship on Mars within a meter of its expected destination, launched from several hundred million kilometers away. But my GPS sometimes can't find my location within a block or two. Or more, at times! Take a look at the first screen shot - it's a record of my intitial walks and drives this past week within the town of Collingwood, mostly within my own neighbourhood.Very curious, and frustrating. The perceived accuracy seems to depend a lot on the map used as the underlay, however. Here's an image of...
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Yesterday, 02:20 PM
on Unravelling the mysteries of the GPS