The Worst of CBC During 2011

Most of the time, my reason for tuning out of CBC Radio or TV is:

1. The person being interviewed uses the words “YOU KNOW” far too often. It is not unusual for this to occur 30 to 50 times during a short interview. I tune out after 4 or 5 uses of “you know”. The interviewer is often also  guilty of this, however not as frequently.
2. Repetition of the words “I MEAN” is next on the list.
3. Being lazy and unthinking hosts often say “Thank you for this”. How about a response of “you’re welcome for this”? Please, no more “thank you for this”!

Smart Meter for Power Coming to BC

There is only one reason for implementing smart power meters in BC, or anywhere else for that matter, and that is to allow power companies to make more money. It allows them to meet the 24 hour, 7 day week, power demands without having to build in greater power generation stations  as the demand for overall power needs increases.

Unless normal households decrease their power use during peak periods they will have to  pay a premium for power use during this time. Household budgets may then force many people to use most higher power consumption devices during late evening or very early morning hours. They will no longer use power at their  convenience but at the power companies convenience. I can easily imagine how happy my condo living neighbours will be when I  do my laundry and run my dishwasher at 3 am.

If Smart Meters are installed then it is probably time to  begin looking for alternate supplies of power like household generators to be run during peak power use periods.

We Don’t Care

You do not stop us!
We kill; we cause pain and suffering.
We kill blindly, to make a point.
We kill women and children for revenge.
We inflict untold pain on strangers.
We show greed in the name of success.
We withhold tolerance and compassion
thinking it is noble to inflict misery on the innocent.
We gain false rewards by these evil acts.

Israel blocks the entrances to and from Gaza,
and Hamas, vowing the destruction of Israel,
launches hundreds of rockets upon her;
blindly killing 13 Israelis.

Evil for evil; Israel retaliates.
More than a thousand Palestinians are killed,
of which more than 300 are children.

We are them!
They are us!
The needless destruction of life is ubiquitous
and endless.

Where is compassion?
Where is love?

We are purposely and conveniently blind.
It is okay!
We are not affected.
We don’t have to look.
We are not guilty,
when we ignore the pain of others.

You give us respite from imminent judgement.
You have been patient.
You watch as we continue to ignore your commands;
as we choose to die without having lived;
without bearing fruit of your love.
We choose this now, without thought about later.
You allow it!

You know our world will soon pass.
We don’t care.
Not yet.

Your embrace continues to be rejected.
Oh come Holy Spirit and guide us
so we can bloom with beauty, compassion and love,

now and forever.

Oliver Art Gallery Gaining Popularity

The Oliver Art Gallery is continuing  to receive excellent response from its visitors. This month I am honored to be the featured artist. Some in situ photos of my display can be seen at http://oliverartgallery.ca/events_photo_album.html. Better yet, visit the gallery in person if you can.

I’m Back

The time of this blog entry is an eye opening time for me . . . I didn’t realize so much time had past since my last entry. It isn’t that my life is too dull by any means. It’s more because I have been busier than usual without realizing that some of my “to-do’s” have been pushed into the background by other more immediate tasks. The new Oliver Art Gallery has taken up much of my time as did a couple of other new projects that I have taken on. At this point I really feel that my dance card is full. Perhaps too full. 

And then the last couple of days I attended my friend’s wedding in Penticton. Craig Kaulbach and new bride Heather were married on July 21st. Their extremely well organized wedding at St. Ann’s Church in Penticton was followed by a reception at Penticton’s Lakeside Resort, until some time after midnight . . . and then a fantastic wedding breakfast the next morning in the “Merlot” room! Congratulations Heather and Craig. May you have a long and happy life together. 

The Oliver Art Gallery now has 14 artists from the Okanagan Valley. To complete our stable of artists , we are looking for another 3 artists to join us. 

Oliver Art Gallery

It took 6 weeks from conception to completion and opening of the new Oliver Art Gallery. We have 12 artists currently showing. All comments have been excellent. View the website at http://oliverartgallery.ca . If you can, be sure to visit us in Oliver BC.

Entrance view to Oliver Art Gallery

Oliver Bug 24feb2011

I found this bug on the floor this morning. It’s about one inch long. If you can identify it, could you please let me know what it is? It probably deserves a better name than “Oliver Bug”.

Oliver Bug 24feb2011

More On Apple TV and Windows 7

Apple TV Sync with Windows 7 is working *again*! What did I do to fix it? I isolated my Linux Computers from the Windows 7 computer making the internet on the Linux network unavailable from the Windows 7 PC.  Will it stay working? Time will tell.

It’s too bad if Apple stops making their Apple TV without storage. When it works it’s great. I am happy with it again!

Apple TV and Windows 7

Last month I purchased an AppleTV box from Apple. With great difficulty I managed to make it work with my Windows 7 computer . . . for awhile.  Then with great difficulty I managed to get it working again but lost some of the media files that were on it. Now it doesn’t work again. And I can’t get it to sync with Windows 7 at all. And now I see that Apple has replaced this version of Apple TV with another one that has no data storage on it. It’s only a media streaming device. The model I bought is not available anymore. So much for Apple TV.

My advice . . . don’t buy Apple TV.

More On Telco Greed

The more a person uses a particular airline, the more points a flyer gets, and the cheaper the cost of flying. The more a person patronizes a particular hotel, the greater the discount for future stays at that hotel. With the major telephone companies, the more their customers use the internet, the more they want to charge their customers. What’s wrong with that picture?

However, if Telcos invest in upgrading to current technology, the lower their cost would be per internet Gigabits. Cost for their customers could also be reduced. The cost of upgrading? Well that’s the cost of doing business. If you can’t keep up with your customer’s needs, get out of the way and let someone else take over!