Freshwater Bay

Meryl Streep in "Mrs. Thatcher"

2011-12-18T23:48:00.003-05:00

The Story of John James Brentnall

2011-10-01T18:02:00.016-04:00

John James Brentnall was born in
Springfield New Brunswick in the
county of Kings in possibly 1845
to John M.L. and Sarah Wilson Brentnall.
In the census of 1871 he is listed
as a farmer/ shoemaker in the same town as his parents.
His wife is listed as Elizabeth even though
she is Almira Elizabeth Hamm.
This is the life of John James Brentnall,
,my great grandfather's brother,
and told through pedigree diagram
and story.

"The Brentnall Family listed in New Brunswick Census of 1900"

Brentnall John J. Head M May 1861 50
Brentnall Gertrude Wife M Jul 1880 30
Brentnall Annie Dau S Apr 1902 8
Brentnall Gladis Dau S Jul 1904 6
Brentnall William Son S Nov 1905 5
Brentnall Robert Son S Nov 1908 2

"John James Brentnall and Almira Elizabeth Hamm"

John James Brentnall and Alvira Elizabeth Hamm were married in Springfield New Brunswick in the Year of our Lord Eighteen hundred and seventy one. Listed in the same town is John's father John M.L. Brentnall who emmigrated here in 1841 from Nottinghamshire with his brother Samuel E Brentnall. Living in the same abode with John M.L. is a daughter Sarah now 15 and a step daughter Maria Jane Wilson. Maria Jane is the daughter of John's wife Sarah who was a widow in 1841 before their marriage. To date it is not known if Wilson is Sarah's maiden name widowed name or other. Was Maria Jane born out of Wedlock?

…and now back to John James Brentnall
Their first child of John James Brentnall and Alvira is Ruth born in 1871 in New Brunswick and possibly Springfield. In 1881 they are listed on US census in the town of Chelsea Suffolk County in the state of Massachusetts. They live in Chelsea til at least 1890 when Lester, the fourth child, dies..maybe even later.

In 1900 John James marries Helena Gertrude Perry in Saint John New Brunswick so we know now that Alvira has died and he is a widower and she a spinster. He is listed as 49 years of age and she 19. Shame on you Great Uncle John!

John James died sometime between 1911-1918 because he is listed on the 1911 Census report as a resident of Saint John County N.B. and Helena marries Warren Herbert Sears in 1918.

And now for the clicker………………………!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Warren Herbert Sears was married to Helena's younger sister Alva Agatha Perry born 1885. By the time Alva died of consumption in 1915 she had bore 3 children with Herbert Warren Sears:
Robert 1907, Maude 1908, and Arthur 1909.

…and then!

Helena G. Perry Brentnall marries Warren Herbert Sears in Saint John New Brunswick on March 18 1918 in Saint John. I had an email many moons ago from another genealogist about the strange circumstances surrounding Helena and Herbert Sears. Wonder now if this is what they meant! Tis a mystery. You have to realize this is 1918 New Brunswick where people did not tolerate these kinds of actions. Silly really when you think of it but these were god-fearing people who put God above all else. Man and beasts!

Helena Gertrude Perry died in Calais Maine in 1946 but for some strange reason is burried in New Brunswick not terribly far from Warren Herbert Sears who died at and is burried in Milltown New Brunswick. He died in the same year but on April 6. Did they separate? Divorce? Tis a mystery but if there's a way da man will find it."The History of our very own John James Brentnall

…….And his most tumupulous life.

.....Many Years later in the town of Gambo Newfoundland!

As a boy I never got to chat with my Dad about his people. It was taboo. Mother often said, "Don't ask you father about his roots. It's very painful for him." It would be. He was born in a time when Catholicism and protestantism was a no no. Marriage I mean. My grandfather was Ronald Kelly the famed riverlord of Burnt Island Gambo Glenwood Botwood Badger and Grand Falls often mentioned in song. In 1905 when my Dad was born his parents were unwed due to religious beliefs. Gran always spoke highly of Pop Kelly and I guess he was the one she truly and deeply loved and who knows/ maybe he felt the same. Recently after seeing her picture through a family member she was probably a knockout. Nice smile and those high cheekbones much like sister Melinda (Our Bess).

I can only imagine the looks glares and behind the back conversation about my poor Dad. How he must have felt about the ignorance of society in a time when children were seen and not heard. How alone he must have felt in a world that condemmed his kind. My Dad had problems yes but look a little closer at the circumstances he lived under.Hence a life!

In 1928 he saw Mother for the first time and remarked to a friend, 'She's the one.' Wow! Wouldn't we all wanna know such legacy. He waited for 2 years until she was 17. They married in the Livingroom of a grand uncle and aunt in 1930 and well the rest is history.

It is I suppose quite amazing that they made it so far when you take the following into consideration. Mother's mother died when she was 3 and was raised by very strict Church of England grandparents - the Browns of Wesleyville. The antics of "Anne of Green Gables" comes to mind. She had her own room her own clothes and her own books of which she read with great discipline I'm sure. She had a change of clothes for each and every day. She was to socialize with chosen friends in the then society of the time. My father on the other hand knew nothing of this world. His world was based on survival poverty ignorance and the "scratch a living" kinda life. I think he really wanted his whole life to put her back in that house on the Hill with Lace curtains fine china and niceaties of life. Sister Bess speaks often of that great love affair that she experienced with her parents when she was but a young girl growing up in the town of Gambo. How he rocked her in a rocking chair and sang to her. How they danced in the livingroom. Those wonderful stories she has exchanged through the years can make a cat cry. Sad and beautiful I call it. He tried he really did but then the children started to come one by one. In the course of 30 years there were 10 of us 12 if you count the ones that didn't survive. The great depression of the 30's and WW1 was no help to this new couple by a long stretch.

As I have already stated I got nothing from my Dad about the Brentnalls.Anything I have gotten has been through distant Aunts Uncles and siblingsespecially Our Bess. Her name's Melinda but she's our Bess. I don't want to ever see my little nephews and nieces have children one day and be at a loss to tell those little darlings who they are where they came from and how they arrived to where they are now. Without a knowledge of our past we cannot possibly have and enjoy a bright future. Little Connolly one day will be married and have children as will Trillium and Noah and Sarah Jane Elizabeth and Sydney and oh my goodness there are too many to name. Maybe one day one a those little ones will look up to their own Mom and Dad and ask " Mommy who told you all this stuff about me?" Hope they can say, "Well Sydney.That was your Great Uncle Roderick who for the most part of his life found out all this wonderful stuff so that you will never have to ask where I come from and who I am.

"Writing by the way is the greatest form of therapy that ails you. You don't always need to publish it…just to write it . Through so many sources I have found out exactly who I am who my people were and why kindness forgiveness and compassion is the most important qualities a man can have.

The best thing a man may leave is his word"

- Roderick Brentnall
Toronto

Ronald Kelly was the log driver

2011-09-11T16:20:00.003-04:00

This lighthearted, animated short is based on the song "The Log Driver's Waltz" by Wade Hemsworth. Easily one of the most often-requested films in the NFB collection, Kate and Anna McGarrigle sing along to the tale of a young girl who loves to dance and chooses to
marry a log driver over his more well-to-do competitor. Driving logs down the river has made the young man the best dancing partner to be found. Although the video says the young man it is actually an older man and thanks to friends and people who remembered him it is actually Ronald Kelly my paternal grandfather of Burnt Island Gambo and Grand Falls/Winsor. You'll see Pop Kelly at 00:32 minutes.

And now for the video

About the author/maker of "The log drivers waltz"

Wade Hemsworth grew up in Brantford, Ontario, and learned to play guitar and banjo as a youth. He graduated in 1939 from the Ontario College of Art, and then spent the Second World War in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He was briefly stationed in Newfoundland, where he discovered traditional music. After the war, he worked as a surveyor in wilderness areas of Northern Ontario, Quebec and Labrador, a job which provided him with subject matter for many of his 20 original songs. He moved to Montreal in 1952, where he worked as a draftsman for the Canadian National Railway and performed in the city's folk music clubs at night.

More on this story
http://freshwaterbay.blogspot.com/2007/05/heres-picture-of-my-grandfather-ronald.html

R Brentnall
Toronto Ont.

Facebook Annoyances

2011-08-31T10:47:00.000-04:00

Do you constantly have 99 new notifications, marked with the little red button at the bottom right in your Facebook account? Would you like to only receive important notifications, such as comments from friends, and skip the stuff various applications send you? Read on.
This isn’t a new feature, but I’m always amazed at how many people simply endure thousands of notifications and updates from applications and pages, without ever bothering to simply turn them off. Here are a couple of ways to do it.
Click on the “Notifications” button at the bottom right corner in Facebook. Click on “See All.” On the right, you’ll see a long list of every application that sends you notifications, and you can turn them off by unchecking them. Be careful, Facebook’s own applications which are probably useful to you, such as feed comments, are also on the list, so you’ll probably want to leave them checked.

Alternatively, in the small notifications roll-up window on the bottom right, an “x” will appear as you hover the mouse pointer over individual notifications. Clicking on it will remove any further notifications from that application.
Finally, for additional fine tuning, you can click on Settings in the main menu, then on “Application Settings”. Choose “Authorized” from the drop down menu. Many applications actually have quite a lot of privileges. For example, some are able to “Access my data even when I’m not using the application,” “Send me emails” and “Publish recent activity to my wall.” From here, you can turn all of those off without actually removing the application. If you want to really make sure the application will never bother you again, you can completely remove it by clicking the “x” next to its name.

Now, you can do the same for Updates. Click on “Updates” in the menu on the same page (you can reach the page by clicking on “Inbox” from the main menu), and then click on “Updates Settings” on the right. From there, you can control which updates you receive. Save changes, and you’re done. That’s all! Enjoy your new, nag-free Facebook.Don't thank me "Tell ya Mudder"............................................

Celine Dion on Larry King 1998

2011-08-29T04:32:00.000-04:00

This is such a great video and interview. Someone was graciasly nice enough to post this.
Celine at her best.

Firefox Profiles

2011-08-18T16:40:00.000-04:00

I occasionally like to clean my Firefox profile. I test quite a few extensions, and play around a bit, so every once in a while, I just want to clean up. This method has worked rather well for me over the years. Essentially I imported my Netscape 4 profile into Netscape 7, then Mozilla App Suite, then split into Firefox and Thunderbird, so essentially I have data in there that’s several years old. I thought I’d share what I do, and why I do it, in hopes that perhaps someone else would benefit.These directions were drafted with Firefox 1.5 as a reference point, for older or newer releases the directions may not work (for example if you use a Firefox build with “Places”).

A word of advice:
For the record, this is at your own risk, back up before you touch anything. Backup by copying The Firefox directory as mentioned in respective location below (a directory above Profiles). You’ve been warned.
Directions
You may want to start out by going to the Bookmarks menu and selecting “Manage Bookmarks”. Then cleaning out and organizing your bookmarks, if you want to keep them in your new profile. It’s a good habit to get into.
The first real step I do is visit my profiles directory:
C:\\Documents and Settings\\[Windows Username]\\Application Data\\Mozilla\\Firefox\\Profiles\\
Your profile will be a directory with a salted name. Something like xxxxxxxx.default. Those x’s are random characters.
Because I only have 1 real profile (and one for dev purposes of which I choose to preserve nothing), I like to rename mine to something else. As far as I’m concerned this one is dead to me. I’m going to also get rid of the profiles.cfg and pluginreg.dat files in the Firefox Folder (up above profiles), then run Firefox and create a new profile on prompt. If you have multiple profiles you wish to leave untouched you would be better off using firefox.exe -profilemanager in the command prompt and simply creating a new profile.
Ok, so now we have this really clean new profile, and that old crusty one with lots of junk. Well, I want some of my stuff in my new clean profile, but only certain things. So here’s a breakdown of what I do, pick and choose as you want. Obviously the less you bring over, the better.
Only perform the following when Firefox is not running.
Bookmarks
Simply copy the bookmarks.html file from the old profile into the new profile.
Cookies (stay logged in with all your sites)
I like to carry these over, since I like being logged into certain sites (forums and such). Just copy the cookies.txt file from the old profile into the new profile. If you open the file up in a text editor you can delete a line or two (get rid of those old cookies, or just to satisfy that tin-foil-hat feeling). Just be careful if you do.
Password
I also like to keep my stored passwords (nothing important, just those news sites, and other silliness that I don’t feel like entering each and every time). Password Manager is great for that. The files you want to copy over are: cert8.db, secmod.db, key3.db, signons.txt.
Extensions
My recommendation on Extensions is to visit addons.mozilla.org (Google for the ones you can’t find) and re-download. The reason I prefer to do that rather than move them over, is because some just seem to stubborn to use the update service, and that leaves me with some old extensions. Also, in this process I typically realize there are one or two that sounded like great ideas, but I just never really used them. Less extensions means less chances for a memory leak. That’s always a good thing.
Search
Just copy the search.rdf file and searchplugins directory over.
Final Notes
This process typically takes me about 5-10 minutes (mainly depending on if I cleanup my bookmarks and cookies). Overall not bad. Gets rid of the crud that tends to accumulate over time, and keeps things pretty lean. This is also pretty useful if you encounter some profile corruption or other ugliness, especially if your one of us trusting soles who occasionally run nightlies from the trunk.
If you do it all correctly, you get a nice clean profile, but still keep your important data. Cache and autocomplete list will rebuild pretty quickly as you use the profile. I’ve found this technique is great for reviving that profile that’s just littered with garbage from various things I’ve done, and extensions I’ve tried.
Hopefully this helps someone.

The Carpenters Nightmare

2011-07-29T00:28:00.001-04:00

Particle board, or particleboard (or chipboard in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and some other countries), is an engineered wood product manufactured from wood particles, such as wood chips, sawmill shavings, or even saw dust, and a synthetic resin or other suitable binder, which is pressed and extruded. Particleboard is a composite material.

Particleboard is cheaper, denser and more uniform than conventional wood and plywood and is substituted for them when appearance and strength are less important than cost. However, particleboard can be made more attractive by painting or the use of wood veneers that are glued onto surfaces that will be visible. Though it is denser than conventional wood, it is the lightest and weakest type of fiberboard, except for insulation board. Medium-density fibreboard and hardboard, also called high-density fiberboard, are stronger and denser than particleboard. Different grades of particleboard have different densities, with higher density connoting greater strength and greater resistance to failure of screw fasteners.

A major disadvantage of particleboard is that it is very prone to expansion and discoloration due to moisture, particularly when it is not covered with paint or another sealer. Therefore, it is rarely used outdoors or places that have high levels of moisture, with the exception of some bathrooms, kitchens and laundries, where it is commonly used as an underlayment beneath a continuous sheet of vinyl floor coverings.

Modern plywood, as an alternative to natural wood, was invented in the 19th century, but by the end of the 1940s there was not enough lumber around to manufacture plywood affordably. Particleboard was intended to be a replacement. Its inventor was Max Himmelheber of Germany. The first commercial piece was produced during World War II at a factory in Bremen, Germany. It used waste material such as planer shavings, offcuts or sawdust, hammer-milled into chips, and bound together with a phenolic resin. Hammer-milling involves smashing material into smaller and smaller pieces until they pass out through a screen. Most other early particleboard manufacturers used similar processes, though often with slightly different resins.

It was found that better strength, appearance and resin economy could be achieved by using more uniform, manufactured chips. Manufacturers began processing solid birch, beech, alder, pine and spruce into consistent chips and flakes. These finer layers were then placed on the outsides of the board, with the central section composed of coarser, cheaper chips. This type of board is known as three-layer particleboard.

More recently, graded-density particleboard has also evolved. It contains particles that gradually become smaller as they get closer to the surface.

Particleboard is manufactured by mixing wood particles or flakes together with a resin and forming the mix into a sheet. The raw material to be used for the particles is fed into a disc chipper with between four and sixteen radially arranged blades. The particles are first dried, after which any oversized or undersized particles are screened out.

Resin, in liquid form, is then sprayed through nozzles onto the particles. There are several types of resins that are commonly used. Amino, formaldehyde based resins ( OMG! The people of the world are in deep shit) are the best performing when considering cost and ease of use. Urea Melamine resins are used to offer water resistance with increased melamine offering enhanced resistance. Phenol formaldehyde is typically used where the panel is used in external applications due to the increased water resistance offered by phenolic resins and also the colour of the resin resulting in a darker panel. Melamine Urea phenolic formaldehyde resins exist as a compromise. To enhance the panel properties even further the use of resorcinol resins typically mixed with phenolic resins are used, but this is usually used with plywood for marine applications and a rare occasion in panel production.

Panel production involves various other chemicals — including wax, dyes, wetting agents, release agents — to make the final product water resistant, fireproof, insect proof, or to give it some other quality.

Once the resin has been mixed with the particles, the liquid mixture is made into a sheet. A weighing device notes the weight of flakes, and they are distributed into position by rotating rakes. In graded-density particleboard, the flakes are spread by an air jet that throws finer particles further than coarse ones. Two such jets, reversed, allow the particles to build up from fine to coarse and back to fine.

The sheets formed are then cold-compressed to reduce their thickness and make them easier to transport. Later, they are compressed again, under pressures between two and three megapascals and temperatures between 140 °C and 220 °C. This process sets and hardens the glue. All aspects of this entire process must be carefully controlled to ensure the correct size, density and consistency of the board.

The boards are then cooled, trimmed and sanded. They can then be sold as raw board or surface improved through the addition of a wood veneer or laminate surface.

Particle board has had an enormous influence on furniture design. In the early 1950s, particle board kitchens started to come into use in furniture construction but, in many cases, it remained more expensive than solid wood. A particle board kitchen was only available to the very wealthy. Once the technology was more developed, particle board became cheaper.

Large companies such as IKEA (Particleboard Central) and Fantastic Furniture base their strategies around providing well-designed furniture at a low price. In almost all cases, this means particle board or MDF or similar. IKEA’s stated mission is to “create well-designed home furniture at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford it”. They do this by using the cheapest materials possible, as do most other major furniture providers. However, manufacturers, in order to maintain a reputation for quality at low cost, may use higher grades of particle board, e.g., higher density particle board, thicker particle board, or particle board using higher-quality resins. One may note the amount of sag in a shelf of a given width.

In general, the much lower cost of sheet goods (particle board, medium density fiberboard, and other engineered wood products), has helped to displace solid wood from many cabinetry applications. As a result, solid wood furniture has become an expensive luxury and particle board or MDF or similar is the norm.

Safety concerns are two part, one being fine dust released when particleboard is machined (e.g., sawing or routing. Get ready to change your blade cheap or expensive for every 35 feet you cut.Personal experience!), and occupational exposure limits exist in many countries recognizing the hazard of wood dusts. The other concern is with the release of formaldehyde. Help! In 1984 concerns about the initial indoor level of formaldehyde led the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to set standards for construction of manufactured homes. This however was not solely because of the large amounts of pressed wood products that manufactured homes contain but also because of other building materials such as Urea-formaldehyde foam insulation. Formaldehyde is classified by the WHO as a known human carcinogen.

Particleboard’s selling points compared to solid timber are its low cost, its availability in large flat sheets, and its ability to be decorated with melamine based overlays.

Solid wood has structural advantages over particleboard. It is stronger, particularly in extension (as required for horizontal spans), allowing it to support greater weights as shelves or other furniture; unless braced or built with thick material, particleboard shelves may visibly sag over time or snap near the fasteners.

Screw fasteners should be installed with caution, taking into account the specific mechanical properties of particleboard. Otherwise, a fastener may not provide the correct holding power in particleboard over time. There is a tendency for improperly installed screw threads to strip. For example, over-torquing a screw installed in particleboard would lead to premature failure of the fastener. The tolerance to over-torque during installation is less-forgiving for particleboard as compared to plywood or to solid wood. Portions of the particleboard may "blow out" when subjected to extension stress. In part, this arises from the lack of elasticity in particleboard resins as compared to the long strands and compressible voids contained in solid wood, a feature that, while preserved in the manufacture of plywood, is compromised in particleboard. Ikea had a good idea back in the 80's when they came out with the cam screw and lock.

The strength of particleboard, in the context of the application and cost, can offer advantages over solid wood on a cost basis. In cabinet carcase construction, relatively thick particleboard is used (typically ¾"), particularly in the sidewalls to support compressive loads of countertops and appliances, where its lower cost and adequate strength make it a frequent choice. ¾ inch plywood laid along the top of your cabinets are recommended for heavier counter tops such as granite and marble.

Solid wood is more durable than particleboard. Damage to solid wood can be repaired by removing and replacing damaged material then refinishing using known wood treatments that can be matched. Since particleboard is typically faced with by a non-wood veneer, it may be impossible to match the original finish. In addition, damage to particleboard is typified by structural failure and exposure of sizable jagged faults. Damage to particleboard is therefore normally very difficult to repair, usually requiring replacement of the damaged particleboard elements.

The reduced durability of particleboard furniture is a consequence of reduced strength in extension. This drawback contributes to damage when furniture is moved; if possible, the furniture should be disassembled to eliminate the possibility of damage in transit.

Most people consider solid wood furniture to be more attractive than particleboard. Recognizing this, furniture makers often cover particleboard with real or imitation veneers, in an effort to simulate the look of solid wood.

Some particleboard today is manufactured of rubber wood, mainly from Thailand and some regions of Malaysia. Tropical-mix wood accounts for a smaller percentage of the total production of particleboard from the Asian Region.

Tropical-mix wood's main differences with rubber-wood particleboard is its color, strength, moisture resistance and density.

Tropical-mix wood particleboard, made from timber residues and wood waste, gives it a competitive edge over rubber-wood particleboard with its high bending strength. Tropical-mix wood furniture reduces wear and tear of a furniture, including common issues such as dented edges after minor collision, chipping of the sides, which rubber wood particleboard are prone to. Tropical-mix wood particleboard has strengths comparable to MDF, however at a fraction of the cost, therefore it is widely used in the market today, gaining higher popularity. Tropical-mix wood has a higher moisture resistance as compared to rubber-wood, however glue type also plays an important role in it. High moisture/humidity resistance will greatly reduce the chance of mold growing on the particleboard, and applicable in conditions where humidity level is slightly higher than usual (without direct exposure to any form of liquid.)

Tropical-mix wood is usually heavier in weight due to its difference in raw material and density (more compact in density).

Rubber wood has a bright look (yellowish) due to the color of rubber wood with black dots, tropical-mix wood has a consistent light brown finish.

Both products are great for lamination purposes, furniture making, speaker boxes, and other industries but for the right price and furniture that lasts a life time invest in the real deal. Wood.

R Brentnall
Toronto

10 Reasons to switch to Gmail...The best in Email

2011-07-13T04:09:00.000-04:00

12 Reasons To Switch To Gmail

1. Gmail spam filters block 99% of the spam that usually makes it to your inbox. Although Outlook 2007 had a good spam filter, I still usually got around 2 or 3 emails a week sneaking into my inbox… not with Gmail.
2. With Gmail you get to keep your old email account, and all incoming emails will be forwarded to your new Gmail account . Also, emails that you send from your new account will have your old email account in the from area.
3. You can create Word docs, PDF’s and spread sheets with Gmail via the use of GoogleDocs.
4. Gmail allows you to schedule events with the Google Calendar that will notify you by email to remind you of an appointment or meeting. It can also send a reminder to the person or persons that you will be meeting with.
5. Gmail has something called ‘Stars’ and which allows you to tag emails you find important. You can actually do a search for ‘Starred‘ emails and they all pop up, and as quick as a normal google search!
6. Your emails are tabbed into a thread, which means you no longer have to look for old emails… it is more like a conversation window.
7. You can set up filters and labels to keep your Inbox organised and clutter free.
8. It has a fast, easy search function which means you will never lose an email again. The search is as fast a normal google search which is ace.

9. Update: Forgot to mention how much space there is with Gmail… you will never have to delete an email again.
10. Update: The ‘Canned Responses’ aka drafts feature is great. When you need to email something over and over, this function will save you a lot of time.

Facebook is crap! ................with a capital C

2011-07-12T21:37:00.000-04:00

Over the years we’ve all seen technological trends come and go (I’m older so I’ve seen more come and go than some others). I regard Facebook as one of these fads that will fade soon.

As a reader/writer I have been interested in the study of random graphs that arise from social phenomena. Examples include the link graph of the web, the email graph connecting email addresses together, the sexual contact graph, the co-authorship graph, the coworker’s graph, etc. In trying to understand how these graphs evolve, I’ve noticed a lot of buzz surrounding websites that try to build explicitly upon this phenomonen, namely social network sites like LinkedIn and Orkut. In the past I even joined a couple of these to see what the hype was about. In each case, after screwing around with them for about ten minutes I’ve been thorougly underwhelmed with the technology and the privacy compromises that they involve. I predict that these will go the way of geocities (or at least they should).

First of all, they offer a walled garden model, where only people who surrender their privacy are allowed to participate. In order for any of these sites to have any value to you, you have to put some energy into surrendering your information to the control of the closed network. If your friends choose to put their effort into the same network, then you can benefit from it. On the other hand, if your friends put their effort into another network (e.g., myspace or orkut or 360 or linkedin), then you end up having your friends walled off from each other. I have friends all over the world, and I don’t see any value in having them walled off from each other. If the web taught us anything, it is that walled gardens are inferior to gardens without walls.

The privacy issue is a confusing one to many people. Some people are attracted to Facebook because they perceive that it offers some control for them over the information that they share with friends. What they overlook is that in order to gain this control, they have to surrender other forms of their privacy. In particular, in order to join the Google group at Facebook, I have to give my work email address to Facebook. In exchange for surrendering this information to a faceless corporation, I would get to exercise some control over the sharing of information that I put into facebook. Specifically you can limit your data to those who you declare to be in your list of friends. It even offers some fine-grain control over which of your friends can see certain pieces of information. Whoopdy doo.

By contrast, when you create a web site like this one, you have no control over who can read it or what use can be made of it. That drives some control freaks and fearful people crazy. The advantage of giving away control is that you don’t limit your ability to communicate. As a social animal, I like to share information with my friends, but I’m not particularly interested in using a crude web tool to exercise limited control over who gets to see what. I adopt the notion that if you don’t want to say it in public, then you probably shouldn’t type it at all.

In my opinion there is far too much paranoia in this world about privacy, and sites like facebook prey upon this paranoia in a cynical way to exploit the data of others. There is a lot of data about us as individuals that circulates in this world, and sometimes that data gets used against you in ways you may not like. I see sites like Facebook as a placebo against this trend.

I can take or leave Facebook. Just don’t expect me to put any time into building my network – I like my gardens without walls.

Rogers: Friendly Neighbourhood Cable Company or Diabolical Crooks?

2011-05-05T22:55:00.000-04:00

My first experience with Rogers should have sent me running for the hills…or at least to the cancellation desk in an attempt to void the deal I just made with the devil. Unfortunately for us mere mortals, the gods sitting atop Mount Rogers know exactly how crooked they really are and gleefully revel in it. Their army of shady lawyers carefully hide clauses in the microscopic print on the bottom of all their contracts to figuratively hog tie and gag their customers so you are powerless to stop them from gouging every red cent they can out of you by means of hidden fees, extortionate pricing and so-called “bundled savings”. They also ensure as many people as possible sign up for the more expensive services by making the cheaper options so absurdly inadequate that customers are left with little choice.
They buy up blocks of time from television stations who, in exchange, air flashy commercials that highlight how Rogers is the master of the universe while blatantly demeaning the competition. After all, Rogers has the fastest, most reliable wireless network, cheapest home phone packages and unbeatable digital cable options in the country, right? Why not sign your life away and enjoy the benefits?
So you spend hours reviewing your options on their snazzy, highly efficient website and carefully build a Better Choice Bundle consisting of home phone, internet and cable. This saves me 10%, you think happily as you click away. Better than nothing!
You do some quick math. If a basic home phone costs $27.95 per month, basic cable is $29.99 and internet is $27.99, add tax and the 10% bundle discount and your bill should hover somewhere around the $88.93 ballpark, give or take a few bucks for system fees, etc. Not bad for three amazing Rogers services. You’re now anxious to speak to a helpful customer service representative to get the ball rolling so you can take full advantage of this great deal. And said customer service representative is only too happy to oblige you.
What they don’t tell you is getting your hands on one of these “great deals” is damn near impossible because they don’t exist. Your $28 telephone is great – if everyone you know and are likely to ever talk to for the rest of your life lives within a thirty-block radius of your house. If not, you have to add a long-distance package which will cost you another $19.95 each month or upgrade to a more expensive option.
That awesome $30 cable is great too – if you only watch CBC News and the fireplace channel in four different time zones. More than a quarter of the thirty or so channels you pay for are time shifted stations broadcasting the same programs you watched an hour before. It also does not include many of the more popular television stations. If you want more visual stimulation, you have to choose a more expensive package – Digital Plus at $47 or VIP at $57.49 are your only sensible options. If you want the Godfather of all cable packages, VIP Ultimate is available. It includes VIP channels plus movie packages, specialty channels and theme packs but at an extortionate price of $99.46 a month, who the hell can afford it? You also have the option to add specific channels to your package but that option is unavailable with your basic $30 cable so you’re shit out of luck.
The $28 internet is an amazing deal as well if the only thing you ever do is open and close Internet Explorer all day. At the absurdly slow download speed of 500 Kbps, you could deliver that letter to your pen-pal in Germany quicker by walking there than trying to e-mail it using this dinosaur. In fact, you could probably walk there and back before the hotmail page even loads. If you don’t like the idea of decaying at your desk with dead lice falling off you while you wait for a web page to appear, you are forced to upgrade again to a more expensive package. These range anywhere from $35.99 for something slightly quicker than cold molasses to $99.99 for internet so fast, that your e-mail to your pen pal in Germany is rocketed to her Inbox three days before you even thought about writing it.
So after you’ve tweaked your Better Choice Bundle to include services that are a little more acceptable to your busy lifestyle, you now have Express internet at $46.99, VIP cable at $57.49, basic home phone with no calling features for $27.95 and the long-distance package for $19.95. Add tax and 10% bundle discount and your bill should now be hovering around in the $157.71 ballpark….more than $60 more than you originally thought. Suddenly these “great deals” you see advertised on television don’t seem go great after all.
But your bank account doesn’t stop hemorrhaging there. You must also take into account the one-time installation charges, pro-rated billing, modem rental, terminal fees and one-month advance billing. Once these have been tacked on, the initial hundred-dollar bundle that you were so excited about is now costing you three times more than you were willing to pay in the first place and you suddenly feel like you’ve been raped with a machete. Not to mention that you are now stuck in an iron-clad 12-month contract that had been forged in the fires of Mount Doom and feels like a lead ball and chain around your ankle.
I was one of those customers but little did I know that the trouble hadn’t even begun yet.

The Joys of Burglary

2011-03-09T08:56:00.000-05:00

The cops arrived about two hours after I phoned. In the meantime, I really had to use the bathroom because I'd been on the plane and subway all day, but the burglars had urinated in my toilet, and I wondered if I'd be destroying evidence. Could they get DNA from pee? I didn't know.
Sound irrational? Maybe. But I was sitting in an empty house and I had to pee really bad; that can make you crazy. I decided to hold out, and sat down with my legs crossed to piece together the holiday mail. The burglars had ripped all the cards in half searching for cash.
The cops showed up long after I'd given up and relieved myself. They were both rookies. One was a round, short woman so overweight she could hardly walk (which irritated me, I mean how can you respect any cop you can out walk?), and the other was a guy who spelled "also" as "all so" on the report. When the fingerprint detective arrived, the first thing he asked was, "Are you sure your roommate didn't do this?" He was suspicious because the burglars had taken everything, including the coffee table and rugs. Crackheads don't bother with home furnishings. So we got hit by pros. The cops said that pros wait for you to replace everything with your insurance money and then they come back after a few months. That didn't happen, but I watched for them for months.
Besides our stereos, computers, leather, compact discs, telephones, cash, televisions, VCRs and porch furniture, the burglars stole my nail file set, a nice one that I received as a present. I hope they like it. They loaded their bounty into my a 1986 Chevrolet Astro minivan according to neighbours and stole that too probably.
The fingerprint guy was the most interesting of the cops (Laurel and Hardy) who showed up: a detective who questioned neighbors and the fingerprint guy. He poked around, covering everything with a metallic dust that stripped paint off metal. He also was the last one to leave.
"How long you been a fingerprint guy?"
"Twelve years."
"Any common elements among all the burglaries?"
"Crack addicts. Kids. Not very smart. Don't wear gloves, so we catch 'em. Always eat something."
I noticed a carton of orange juice and a cup of blueberry yogurt on the kitchen floor. I pointed them out. The fingerprint guy picked up the yogurt.
"Plastic doesn't work that well," he told me. He tried anyway. He dusted my yogurt.
"If burglars always eat something," I asked, "could we leave behind some poisoned beer?"
He didn't answer, and I thought he was concentrating on the yogurt. Then he turned in the chair and fixed me with a cold stare. "Ever hear of manslaughter?" he said.
I didn't ask about the legality of a shotgun booby trap.
After the fingerprint guy had gone, I fixed the door as best I could and tried to sleep. I had the heeby-jeebies for months, even after my housemate installed an alarm system. Every sound became the echo of steps, every creak was a crowbar. The radiators popped without warning, that breaking-of-glass sound when you're not expecting it. You only needed to believe it for a moment and your heart jumped and you have to talk yourself out of it and try to sleep.
As the weeks passed, I became angrier that I suffered this anguish, tiptoeing around the house, not playing the radio because of my (irrational, certainly) fear that I wouldn't hear the crooks returning to tie me to a chair and say, "What should we do with him?" It's a strange leap, it was just a burglary and happens all the time and I was insured and it's certainly not as traumatic as being shot or raped or beaten. But when you've been violated in whatever way and you read about some guy on death row who killed two teenagers in cold blood and now wants a stay of his execution and has Mother Teresa asking people to pray for him, you think why not a fucking prayer for me?

7 Methods to Traffic

2011-03-06T22:01:00.000-05:00

Getting repeated traffic is very crucial when it comes to an online business, whether it’s a monetized blog, an e-commerce site or anything that generates income for you. At some point, generating initial traffic can become an easier task compared to maintaining the tempo of the traffic and keeping them going back to your site the next time.

To help you, here are 7 methods to help bring repeat traffic:

be constant on your post and try to follow a schedule. This usually alarms visitors that liked your recent articles about the time for the post. Not only does this help your blog grow, it also shows how diligent you are in updating the blog.

Make things simple for your visitors by adding a link to your primary page with a “Book Mark” or “Add this site to your Favorites” script.

To attract customers and make them repeated ones, use the “Recommend this post or blog to a Friend” function to make that easier. Remember, this link does not only function to send mail to the new users but most of the times have option to send a copy to the send himself. But in doing so make sure to have your blog updated as well, a list would be very useful for organization purposes.

By properly branding your site or blog, you can easily make people remember your site with less effort. Each time a reader thinks about your blog, all they simply need to do is to remember a photo, a figure, logo or simply a color. This will create a presence and feel for your customers and visitors that they are at your site.

The sending of unsolicited emails to your mail subscribers if the list is maintained separately. This should be the least expected thing for your readers to think of. It’s advisable that you give them options to opt out from mailing list for every mail you send to each of them. Always make an assurance that you honor their request/s and take them off your mailing list/s. constan

flooding of your reader’s mails will only result to the damage of your site and reputation, avoid this as much as possible.

Try to optimize your blog post pages to the fullest, so that search engines in such a way that the subject or topic of your blog post/s, if searched on your blog should be appearing in the first two pages of search engine/s. always remember the contents quality and the keywords that match right into it, since these play a huge role in contributing to your site’s success.

Always observe proper logic, spelling and grammar when it comes to your content. The more your content is clear and understandable, the more it your readers would enjoy your content, as much as possible make it brief and straight to the point but also useful to the readers. Try to use spell check tools just make sure that your post is completely spelling mistake free.

Being an actor does not merit the ability to direct

2011-01-06T04:06:00.009-05:00

After watching "Young Triffie" for the first time on CBC's latenight yesterday I can safely say that I did not miss a hellova lot when the film debuted in Halifax back in 2005.From her crusading stint on CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutes as Marg, Princess Warrior, to the way she put a certain highly-placed Nova Scotia MP in his place for mistaking Halifax for Hogtown, it seems there's nothing that Mary Walsh can't do -- and do brilliantly. Then again, having endured Young Triffie, the movie that marks Walsh's feature-film directorial debut, maybe we should make that "almost nothing she can't do." Turns out, when it comes to directing movies, Martin Scorsese and John Ford need not lose much sleep over competition from Walsh. As a movie, Young Triffie no doubt made a damn fine play, which is precisely how it started out.
Written by Ray Guy under the title "Young Triffie's Been Made Away With," it seems to have enjoyed quite a success among discerning theatre goers on The Rock during its stage incarnation. As a film though it could have read "Young Triffie has been made away with by Mary Walsh." and nobody with a sense of the theatre would have even noticed. Mr. Guy may never sleep the same after seeing one of his great masterpieces being thrown to the dogs.
But then that's where Young Triffie, both play and subsequent movie, is set, specifically in Swyers Harbour -- a small, fictional Newfoundland outport, circa 1947.
It is to Swyers Harbour that an inept Newfoundland Ranger (Corner Gas' Fred Ewanuick) is sent packing to investigate what appears to be the ritual sacrifice of a sheep.
This being 1947 Newfoundland, and the Ranger being particularly inept, he arrives in town blissfully unaware that circumstances have outstripped him. He will now be investigating the murder of young Triffie herself, she being the unfortunate and simple young daughter of a local crackpot evangelist (wonderfully played by Andy Jones).
Adapted from the stage play by Christian Murray, Young Tiffie boasts a plot that embraces not only murder but pedophilia, incest, drug addiction, religious zealotry and a host of other societal ills. All serve as comic fodder for a cast that also includes Remy Girard (as the local doctor) and Andrea Martin (forever miscast; as his meddling wife), Colin Mochrie (as Ewaniuck's commanding officer), Cathy Jones (as a local busy-body) and Walsh herself, cast as post mistress and purveyor of red herring, which in this case is a darn sight more prevalent than cod.
In short, it's the kind of comedy that a more experienced director might mind from a cast of dramatic actors, as opposed to a clutch of comedians.
With the comics in control there is no bit of comic business too picayune, no characterization too over-the-top, to allow it to go to waste, even at the expense of paltry considerations such as dramatic arc and storyline.
So instead of a cracking good yarn with comedic overtones, viewers are subjected to Ewaniuk's best impersonation of Mr. Bean does Buena Vista (the portugese name for Bonavista Bay aka "Oh Happy Site") , while Martin does her best to keep up with the tightly wound Joneses. Of all the roles I have seen Andy Jones perform in this is by far I think his gem. He did not just play the part he was the part. Then again that being said Ronald Reagan played the lead in "King Rat" and we all know that cutting a man's leg off well it does give one a wonderful prop. In the end, almost everybody -- except perhaps Newfoundland itself -- comes off looking totally daft.
And to think that it previewed with the words…"See some of Newfoundlands finest actors strut their stuff." Scarey! Bloody Scarey!
God forbid that Mr. Guy would allow anyone from this friendly circus to touch "That Far Greater Bay."

"Paws off! Paws off! The lot a ye"

As a film director, Walsh still needs to learn what she apparently already knows as an actor: Concentrate on telling the story, and trust your audience to find the humour. Talk about Filme Horribilis.

"She's not the same since the Doctor put her on the new pills............nor will she ever be"
R. Brentnall
Toronto

A Christmas in Brampton

2011-01-03T18:05:00.013-05:00

Gloria is Gloria Paul duke of Gambo who now resides in Brampton Ontario. A couple of weeks ago we talked about the possibility of me going for a visit for a couple of days during the Christmas season. This was my first Christmas in many years that I decided not to go to Fort McMurray or Newfoundland Boston New York or Montreal. The fact that I have therapy 3 days a week for a dislocated shoulder made it impossible to travel outside my native Toronto for a long period of time. Taking the Go Bus would be a lot more wise than having to travel the #401 this time of year not to mention the bad driving habits of this multicultural society.

Got there around 2pm on Christmas Eve and after trying to track Gloria down for half an hour we ran into each other via cell phone.Not hard to spot her though as all the Paul sisters are similar in Look. Of them all I probably knew Pamela best as we had been students at the old United School Junior High as well as the well known Smallwood Academy. I've known that family since I was a wee lad growing up in Gambo in the 60's and 70's. Henry and Marie Paul had from who I remember Ella(Granter)

Mary (Collins) Rhoda(Lane) Idella(Lane) Nina(?) Gloria(Duke) and a brother Henry(Jr.) who was tragically killed by a drunk driver back in 1978. I remember being in Montreal at the time and having been told by brother Norman about the incident.The feeling well you can imagine it was like someone from our own circle having his life shortened by what I would define as a bleeding idiot. I will not mention the culprit but you know who you are and I don't wish to be sued for slander.

Brampton had so much snow! Wow! Now this is Christmas the way it should be celebrated. Samantha and Jarrett were in the back seat of the car and good as gold for about 5 minutes and then the questions started and here I was thinking they were Gloria's little angels. Actually they are. Good as gold. We popped into the Beer store that had very few people; unusual for Christmas Eve but then again this was Brampton and not Toronto. Pulling into Wall mart an hour later was another story. One felt like saying "Get out you've spent enough!" I remember suggesting to Gloria to just grab me a few gift certificates for the kids. At least with those they could still buy what they wanted and also think that Santa Claus brought them. As long as we had to line up to pay I may as well grab a couple toberone chocolate bars for their stockings too. Gotta love kids! After all they are what Christmas is all about."Alright", I said "Lets head home my dear and off we went.

There are many things that one might see when a door to a garage is opened but this one might give anybody the woolies. Have a guess? A prop left over from Hallowe'en in the rear of the garage. Give up? It was a coffin made from tin that you can place on your lawn along with other things for crazy halloweeners. It's just that it looked so darned real! Wicked...

That night we spent most of the time talking of old times in Gambo and how different it was then as opposed to now.When Gloria put the kids to bed for the night we started on our wine and grub and spent a fine evening shooting the poop about nothing that can be changed anyway. Wonder why it is that the Newfoundlanders favourite pastime is spent conversing of things that happened 25-30 years ago. Probably because the culture that we come from has done it for 500 years.Its what we do.

When Jarrett went to bed he went to sleep but not our Little Miss Muffett...oh no...If she came down once she cane down 10 times. Why? because she had to make sure that Santa had enough to eat when he arrived down the chimney on Christmas Morning.There it was on her last visit……..a huge 1 foot carrot on the plate. I laughed til I cried. That was it! Gloria's patience was being tried.
"Now my Lady...." well say no more she was gone and Santa would just have to settle for a five course dinner.HA Ha HA!
Went to bed I think it must have been around 2 but for anyone who has slept on a couch and was not comfortable this one was no exception. It probably was comfortable but when you are so used to your own bed The Queens parlour would not have replaced it. I went to bed blinked and got up so it seemed. Woke up to the sound of little children scrunching wrapping paper ribbons and christmas tape to all the gifts that Santa can muster. You can say what you want but there is nothing in this world so beautiful and exciting as watching the little ones open their Christmas gifts. I remember saying to Gloria "Poor little things...they're so deprived. We got a chuckle out of that one. Jarett got a guitar that was similar to the amplifier in days of old and Samantha got new pink skates among the more than 20 other gifts from Mommy and Daddy and all the others in their family.

Christmas always brings me back to a day in 1963 when all I talked about was a plastic Dump truck in Uncle Peter Paul’s window to anyone who would listen. I even wrote a letter to Santa Claus himself because before I was 10 he really did exist. The story or the myth always seemed so real. My Santa Claus that one particular year came in the form of an Aunt who was also as I later learned much later my Godmother as my own mother on the day of my christening had been ill. Aunt Joan who is also an Aunt to Gloria came over to visit and under her arm was a brown paper bag with what I knew was something for somebody because she sat to the kitchen table with Mother sipping Tea and eating raisin buns and the bag just sat there unopened. Now if it was something for Mother or Dad it would have been opened by now. What was in that bag? I had to know. It couldn’t have been baked bread because there were too many wrinkles. Not cookies it was too high. Okay that’s it…I’m asking and so now here is the surprise.

“Aunt Joan…..what’s in the bag?”Nothing like being inquisitive when you’re 7 and not even blinking.“Well.I don’t know my baby.That all depends on whether you’ve been a good little boy or whether or not you’ve been a bad little boy.”Well whatever it was I may have been only 7 but smart enough to know that whatever it was it must be have been meant for me because Aunt Joan would not have asked that question if she had not gotten that for me. Could it be? I wonder? Is it? Is it possible that Santa and Aunt Joan were one and the same. On that she picked me up on her knee and said

“Don’t touch Roddy let Aunt Joan unwrap it. ” Out came the toy truck and the most awestruck child of 7 that if you were in attendance in that small Irish kitchen you never saw or maybe never have seen the likes since. There was a god; there was a Santa; and there are miracles. It was a Green truck with a white dumpster as well as a small green shovel to complete the set. You can imagine the smile and joy on a childs face and in his heart at that moment. Yippee! It was by far in my memory the very best of Christmas ever. To this day I cannot even fathom visiting a friend with children and not bringing them something for their big day.

10 years later on a sunny June morning in 1973 I watched my Mother cry her eyes out glaring through a picture window as the body of my beloved Aunt was driven down the old road of Gambo. Santa Claus was dead but as great notions go I became Santa myself to any child within my reach at this most emotional and giving time of year. Aunt Joan is still with me as is Uncle Watson whenever I call or have the need for guidance joy and contentment.

Sharing Christmas with friends and family is the very best to those of us who experience it. They are not now what they were when I was a boy but then again nothing is. Thanx to all who made this Christmas a joyous one for me and oh so many others and may the New Year bring you hope understanding prosperity and a love of yourself and all those around you.

“Gloria….Turn off the kettle fore she burns”

Roderick Brentnall
Toronto

A 1952 Newfoundland Christmas

2010-12-11T06:37:00.004-05:00

by Goldie Luckey Simmonds

My name is Goldie Maxine, I’m nine years old and I just LOVE Christmas. My brother and I have a contest going to see who can cut the most Santa’s from the Evening Telegram. Yesterday I was extra fast and got them all cut out before Dad was even finished with the paper……I can’t remember exactly what he said but his face was some red! I won’t be doing that again.

I can’t wait for Santa to come and fill my stocking.I hear that on the mainland they use store bought red felt stockings.They sound nice, but we’ve always used Mom’s nylons. I’m afraid Santa will think I’m somebody else and I’ll get scotch mints by mistake………I hate scotch mints! I have been warned though, that if I don’t watch my mouth all I’ll be getting in my stocking is a lump of coal. I have been on my best behavior for two whole weeks now so I’m pretty sure I’ll get my usual big orange, big red apple and Purity Peanut Butter candy. If I’m real lucky I’ll also get some Christmas ribbon candy, mom says they rot your teeth but Santa knows that they’re my favorite.

Mom has already baked her Christmas cakes including my favorite, walnut cake, and won’t even let me have a peck of it until Christmas. Nan has made her blueberry wine, for medicinal purposes only she says (whatever that means). All I know is that mom gets weak in the knees after a few sips. Nan won’t let us have any though, only Purity syrup and cake for my brother and I. THEN I have to sit at the kitchen table, eat my cake like a good girl and not go wandering around.

Just before Christmas, Mr. Snow delivers our Christmas tree on his horse & sled. He lives way in past Mundy Pond and delivers coal for Morey’s on the Southside. My dad is the weigh-master at Morey’s. One time when we were really little, my brother and I walked all the way over to the Southside to visit him. After my Dad got over the surprise of seeing us so far from home, he weighed me on his big scale. Even though he knew I was a big girl and could find my way back home, we got a ride home in a coal truck.

Our Christmas tree is always the best one on Lime Street…..…..it’s decorated by Santa you know, we don’t see it until Christmas morning. Of course it will be smothered with all the toys from Eaton’s Catalogue. I made sure our Santa lists included both the page and catalogue numbers, just to make it easier for Santa. We don’t need to worry about our letters getting lost in the mail though, we gave them to Mom and she sent them up the chimney.

We been haunting Bowring’s Christmas window and I can’t stop thinking about the Barbara Ann Scott doll that’s right in the middle of it. She’s all dressed in red and white and has real blades on her skates. I’ve GOT to have her! My brother is dreaming about the big Lionel train set that goes in and out all the toys in the window. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, but unless Mom lets us use the kitchen too I don’t know how he’s going to have room for it.

I can’t wait for the turkey with savory dressing. I hear that on the mainland they make dressing out of sage, can you believe that? Dressing wouldn’t be the same without Mt. Scio Farm’s savory. My Mom always makes peas pudding in with the vegetables and of course there’s always salt beef for flavoring. It’s some good! This year we have red, green and gold Christmas crackers to snap at dinner, they came in the box from our aunt in Montreal. I wonder what will be inside of my cracker? Probably a crepe paper hat as usual.

On Christmas Eve Mom lets my little brother & I sleep in my bed, not that we plan on doing much sleeping. This year I am going to stay awake and catch Santa eating the syrup and cake we’ve left for him. Some of my friends don’t believe in Santa they say their Dad buys the gifts. I know MY Dad isn’t Santa…. he’s always too busy painting the kitchen on Christmas Eve to deliver presents to the children all over the world. My sister says it’s a wonder we don’t all choke in our beds from the paint fumes

On Christmas night we go for a walk around town with Dad to see all the Christmas lights. We don’t have a car, but that’s ok, I love walking with my Dad. I like the sound of the snow crunching under my feet and listening to the Christmas carols played by the bells of Wesley Church.

On Boxing Day, we exchange gifts with our friends and relatives. Our favorite part is when Uncle Doug comes for a visit, he’s not married and lives by himself up on the Brow. He always makes everybody laugh and even though my mom says it’s because he’s always three sheets to the wind, we love him. He has plenty of candy in his pocket for the kids and always manages to slip some money into our hands when nobody is looking.

Adults go ‘mummering’ at Christmas, which means they dress up in costumes, knock on doors and if they’re lucky get asked in for drinks and a bit of a celebration. We don’t go ‘mummering’, but my friends and I knock on neighbor’s doors and say “Can I see your Christmas tree?” After oohing and aaahing over the tree, no matter what state it’s in, we’ll probably get offered some syrup and cake or maybe some candy. I’ve had some bad stomach aches after a day of looking at Christmas trees.

The saddest part of Christmas is Old Christmas Day when the tree MUST come down; it’s bad luck to leave it up after that date you know. Mom takes the decorations off the tree and puts them away in a special place… a place known only to her and Santa.

-Goldie Luckey 2010

A Message by George Carlin

2010-10-17T00:57:00.005-04:00

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways , but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things. We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills th at do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete... Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever. Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side. Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent. Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you. Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again. Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."
George Carlin

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

2010-09-04T03:42:00.000-04:00

The Four Sisters

2010-09-02T07:07:00.002-04:00

Just before Duckworth Street turns into Signal Hill Road, four red-trimmed stone houses follow Temperance Street down towards the Harbour. The lonely dwellings have long been surrounded by rumours of strange passageways and haunted tunnels.Commonly referred to as the Four Sisters, the houses were built in the late 1800’s by Samuel Garrett, the stonemason and designer responsible for constructing nearby Cabot Tower. Built from the Tower’s surplus sandstone and slate, they were intended as wedding gifts for Garrett’s four daughters. But only two of the sisters married, leaving the other two houses to be rented until grandchildren could take up residence. In 1982, the last residing relative passed away, and the last of the Four Sisters left the Garrett family.As it turns out, the rumours aren’t so far off the mark. The houses were built with connecting interior doorways, so that the daughters could visit each other whatever the weather. (Sadly, these were later walled over.)

According to a 2005 article in The Independent, the houses indeed sit on top of a tunnel—thought to have carried fresh water all the way from Quidi Vidi Lake. And while not exactly haunted, reports of mysterious sewer gases emanating from the tunnel have played a part in keeping three of four houses vacant for over 20 years.

R.F. Brentnall

Between The Rock and a Hard Place

2010-08-23T01:26:00.006-04:00

I's the b'y that built the boat, and I's the b'y that sailed her,
Thanks to the fed the outport's dead,
Is I the b'y that failed her?

The Destruction of Newfoundland's Outport Communities

On July 1, 1916, at Beaumont-Hamel, on the opening day of the Battle of the Somme, no unit suffered greater losses than that of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. Afterwards, the Divisional Commander said an odd thing: "It was a magnificent display of trained and disciplined valour, and its assault failed of success because dead men can advance no further." Of the eight hundred and one men to face that hell on earth, just 68 answered roll-call next morning. If anything, the remainder of the century would treat Newfoundlanders with less courtesy.

Proudly calling itself "Britain's Oldest Colony," Newfoundland's semi-autonomous status was ordained by King Henry VII's letters patent to John Cabot. The Cod-fishing grounds of the Grand Banks were a known and jealously-guarded secret among a few close-mouthed Basque, Irish, and Viking fishermen -- but the immediate effect of Cabot's 1497 voyage was to spread the word: In the New World there were fish to be had in such unimaginable profusion a man might almost walk upon them! In his 1620 "Brief Discourse of the Newfoundland," Englishman John Mason remarked, "Cods so thicke by the shoare that we heardlie haue beene able to row a Boate through them." It is impossible to overemphasize the historical significance of the Codfish. Called the "Faithful Friend" by the Portuguese, this boneless, skinless staple would not only sustain Catholic Europe over centuries of Lenten seasons and meatless Fridays, it alone kept far-flung colonies (including slave colonies) nourished and productive. Something never before seen in such abundance would reliably feed the world over the next 500 years.

For three hundred of those years, English, French, Basque, Spanish and Portuguese fishermen arrived on the Newfoundland shore for a share of seasonal plenty before heading back to winter in European ports. Since most of these sojourners were themselves, employees or indentured servants, Newfoundland's permanent population growth remained sluggish until the Napoleonic Wars at the close of the eighteenth century. The sudden inrush of southeastern English and southwestern Irish settlers introduced to Newfoundland cultural traditions that would endure as if preserved in a bell jar. Between 1804 and 1884, the island population increased ten-fold, to 200,000 souls, with immigration slowing to a mere trickle after 1840. A hundred years after that, with the highest birth rate in the country, the native-born comprised over 98 per cent of Newfoundland's 1940 population. Fishing had by then evolved into a family affair and a way of life wholly dependent on the annual shoreward migration of the Northern Cod. As James Yonge, Plymouth Surgeon, remarked in 1670: "The middle or end of June came the capling, a small sweet fish and the best bait, and when they come we have the best fishing, the cods pursuing them so eager that both have run ashore." By 1934, 1,292 small fishing settlements straggled along Newfoundland's rocky coast. Only 100 of these had populations over 500. So scattered and strung-out were the small outport settlements that the only outfitters prepared to set up shop in such commercially rugged climes were those who relied upon the autocratic "truck" system of credit. When, at some crucial juncture, a demand for payment was made, the usual solution was to "pay" with precious finished fish -- allowing unscrupulous merchants to "buy low and sell high" at every turn. Each year the merchants raced to dump fish in the market as early as possible, each hoping to get the kind of prices that prevailed before the dumping began. Such ruinous competition inevitably led to gluts of poorly cured fish. These gluts drove down prices, but the merchants continued to profit; controlling as they did the prices of supplies they bartered for the fish. It was a system that kept the market depressed and fishing families and real money-in-hand relative strangers for centuries. According to a 1760 English description, the Newfoundland merchants were "infamously intent on Trade, proud of their quick raised fortune, unsociable amongst themselves and envious of any success that strangers who settle among them meet with. Remember, we are not in Newfoundland to buy fish but to sell goods." - Newman and Company, 1850

Under such conditions, the Depression of the 1930s would hit Newfoundland folk especially hard, and for the first time, one-in-six were "away" looking for work. Among those back home, there was a growing sense that the whole world was beginning to pass them by -- with some justification. Given the eccentric outport settlement patterns, electric, telephone, water and sewage services were virtually unattainable. A 1934 health survey found that there was just one hospital bed for every 644 Newfoundlanders -- a poor showing against the then-American rate of one bed per 130 persons. With the establishment of WWII bases and the arrival of tens of thousands of American and Canadian servicemen, the long years of privation came to an end, but as always, the price was unjustifiably high: Newfoundland contributed more than its fair share of War Brides. By 1949, there were 1,187 (mostly mission) schoolhouses in Newfoundland -- of which, 778 were single-room affairs. While much of this poverty could be laid at the feet of an archaic and inefficient economy, there's little doubt that Newfoundland was ready for big changes. What it got was Joey Smallwood. Socialist, journalist, union organizer, publisher, and pig farmer, Smallwood was the best-known personality in Newfoundland, broadcasting nightly on radio as "The Barrelman". He would single-handedly dominate provincial politics over the critical years 1949 to 1972. In 1950, a visiting British wag observed how he towered above his colleagues: "Mr. Smallwood obviously enjoys his position as the head of a one-man government." Desperate to bring Newfoundland into the Canadian fold, he played shamelessly on the yearnings and ambitions of the outport fishermen. Smallwood's confederation movement was generously, if anonymously, underwritten by the federal Liberal Party and, having once achieved the barest victory in the confederation referendum, his hastily-organised provincial Liberal Party urged voters to "let Joe finish the job!" There were, in fact, two votes: in the first referendum, a return to responsible government won, but as there had been three options (independence, Canada, or Britain) a run-off referendum was arranged to decide between independence and confederation with Canada. Hasty infusions of money meant that before the campaign was out, Smallwood and his confederate forces had spent almost five times as much as the combined opposition. Smallwood found his strongest support among the fishing folk of the outport communities, and -- by a stroke of incredible good fortune or something else -- electoral boundaries, redrawn after 1949, gave a preponderance of seats to those very communities! In the time-honoured way of Canadian politicians, this "man of the people" would repay voter loyalty with betrayal and the utter destruction of their way of life.Note fish drying in foreground

Don't vote confederation,
Now that's my prayer to you,
We own the house we live in,
Likewise our schooner too;
But if you vote Joe Smallwood,
And his line of French patois
You'll always be paying taxes
To the man up in Ottawa.
- a fisher boy's plea to his mother
"The Hero of '48"

While he did, indeed, deliver a massive programme of public works, infrastructure upgrading, unemployment insurance for fishermen and a host of other social welfare state goodies, in true Newfoundland fashion, these came at incalculable cost. There were other, scandalous endeavours, like the Stephenville linerboard mill, the Come By Chance oil refinery, and the Rothschild-backed Brinco scheme that, even in Canada, might well have toppled a less messianic politician. Worse, for the first time, the fishery was being professionally "managed," by far-distant Ottawa bean-counters, more attuned to flow-charts than the joyous, primordial ebb and flow of the Cod themselves. The length of the Cod fishing season was determined, not by anything so prosaic as the life-cycle of the Cod, but by requisite employable earnings weeks to qualify for pogey. In due course, politically correct mainland sentiments would condemn both the logging and sealing industries, and, shamed out of their more traditional sources of income supplementation, hard-pressed fishermen only grew ever more dependent on a ruinous cycle of sole reliance on the already hard-pressed Cod. Unsurprisingly, the Hibernia Oil Fields were likewise deemed a federal, not provincial, resource. The island's loss of autonomy would by no means deliver those elusive economic securities: on the contrary, as poverty and unemployment mounted, out-migration became a permanent feature of post-confederation Newfoundland.

Meanwhile, the fact that Atlantic Cod stocks were in trouble was, by unanimous consent, simply ignored. In the 1870s, the fishery accounted for over 95 per cent of Newfoundland's annual exports; by 1920, seventy-one per cent; by 1930, thirty-seven per cent. Nor had Newfoundland developed any alternate economic base over those years -- the fish stocks were simply being systematically depleted by increasingly sophisticated foreign fishing fleets and increasingly desperate domestic fishermen. It was a problem with a long pedigree. Over the furious protestations of Sir John A. Macdonald, Britain and the US concluded the convivial Treaty of Washington in 1871. Under this instrument, Americans were free to fish Canadian waters for twelves years, and Britain walked away with a cool $5,500,000 weighing down its pockets. Since Newfoundland was technically a British -- not Canadian -- possession there was little Macdonald could do, other than mourn: "Here go the fisheries ... we gave them away." Britain would assuage Macdonald by extending a loan to help get his CPR up and running. That didn't help the Cod. As usual, the costs to Newfoundland were incalculable. There was an enforced moratorium on the fishery during WWII, and the tremendous recovery of stocks indicated that the resource badly needed a break it was just not going to get. In 1949, Joey Smallwood declared: "The fisheries are NOT finished. Anyone who says they are, is wrong." Thus, the typical Northern Cod catch, 150,000 tonnes in the 1940s, peaked out in 1968 at 810,000 tonnes. From this killing spike it was all downhill until July 1992, when the Cod Fishery closed.

But Cod don't vote. On April 17, a scant 10 days before the 1997 federal election call, Liberal Fisheries Minister Fred Mifflin announced that 6,000 tonnes of Cod might now be taken from the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the west coast of Newfoundland, and 10,000 tonnes from the southern Newfoundland coast! And Atlantic voters fell in line. Such games -- with Cod and fishermen serving as pawns -- have prompted scientists to call for "a complete separation of science and government" (an odd spin on science as secular religion). One scientist said: "Irrespective of whether or not cod should be fished, this process stinks." The September, 1999 Marshall decision by the Supreme Court has only exacerbated fishy politics, putting large numbers of native fishermen on the water, in season and out. In PEI, the Department of Fisheries is actually buying back non-native licences to present to native band councils. The current Fisheries Minister, Herb Dhaliwal, a Sikh, brings to the embattled fisheries department a wealth of experience -- in the taxi industry. But worse, after fifty years of stupendously poor management, the Canadian fishery is not even about fish anymore -- it's about native land claims. It might have all been so different had Canada chased off foreign interlopers in timely fashion and resisted the urge to underwrite our own giant masticating factory trawlers, but managing the world's biggest Cod fishery was a complex and subtle affair. As always in Canada, it is meddling and social engineering that puts a spring in the bureaucratic step. In the end it would not be the foreign fishing fleets that were "dealt with," but local fishermen.

Joey Smallwood swore he would "drag Newfoundlanders kicking and screaming into the twentieth century." And, in a bitterly ironic way, that's just what he did. The last Father of Confederation's solution? In a word -- resettlement.

In 1949, a bare half of all Newfoundlanders enjoyed electrical services. As far back as 1933, the Amulree Commission noted that Newfoundland, "has always been, first, and foremost, a fishing country; the settlements are, therefore, situated in places from which fishing could most easily be conducted. The original settlers, in making their homes, paid little attention to what they considered relatively unimportant factors; such as, ... the lack of amenities." Well, if it was inconvenient to bring utilities to the outport residents, why not bring outport residents to the utilities? Better yet, why not put modernized filleting, freezing and cold-storage fish-processing industries at the hub and heart of these progressive centralized "growth centres"? After all, despite the many warning signs, the fish would always be there, wouldn't they? Under federal and provincial auspices, three major resettlement programmes took place between 1953 and 1975.

Sorting scallops, 1965

The first most outport people heard about the scheme was when Smallwood made a public announcement that hundreds of small communities and thousands of people could expect to be affected by "centralization". Stalinist implications aside, it's almost impossible to imagine the havoc such an announcement would wreak on small, insular communities: all the old enmities would be revived as rumours flew that this one or that had made application for relocation. New enmities would percolate as the most ambitious prevailed upon his neighbours to sign up. Adult children and their parents might well find themselves on different sides of the dispute, thanks to differing compensation schemes. Additional pressures were brought to bear once it was known that a certain proportion of the community had to agree to move or all would "lose out". After all, the province had said it could not guarantee medical, educational, or utility services to hold-outs. Hadn't Smallwood said he was discontinuing coastal ferry, postal, and freight services? There were rumours too, that government agents would be sent out to see to it that there was nothing left to return to. No one knew whether or not his particular community was on the block, but underlying it all was the heartbreaking prospect of leaving your centuries-old home place -- the font of your earliest memories, -- and abandoning the graves of your forefathers to the whistling winds.

It is a mark of just how impoverished the outport communities were to think that between 1953 and 1965 alone, 110 outport settlements vanished utterly, the residents given the pitiful sum of just $150 from welfare services to pull up stakes. Clearances in all but name, sudden demand drove up housing prices in the new "growth centres" and one study estimated it would take the displaced a minimum of 20 years to replace all that had been left behind. The sight of a house being towed across the bay was commonplace throughout the resettlement years. No one seemed unduly concerned that poorly educated fishermen might not be able to compete in urban areas where unemployment rates already averaged 20 per cent -- or that fishing grounds around settled areas were reserved for long-time residents, not penurious newcomers. Even the much-loathed merchants lost out: not only did their customers vanish overnight, there was no compensation plan for shops, stores, wharves or sheds. Under a final scheme, the householder's pay-off reached a magnanimous $1,000 (plus $200 per household member), but under this disposition, government officials would dictate where the newly-homeless would be permitted to settle. In other words, the household would only receive assistance if and when they agreed to move to a region approved by a committee of federal and provincial bureaucrats. Between 1965 and 1972, 3,876 households and 19,197 persons were "evacuated". More and more, federal health dollars were dedicated to addressing "lifestyle problems" associated with the relocations.

Towing a house, Bonavista Bay, 1961

"They cheat us and rob us and continue to say, that our only salvation is leaving the Bay." - Joe Byrne

Predictably, no good came of the massive uprooting of the outport people. The centralized fish processing industry would die with the Cod. Subsequent polling found that in some cases, no single member of a dispersed community was willing to admit that he or she had ever wanted to move. Those who went willingly felt they had been seduced with false promises, while the remainder continued to feel they had been pressured and driven out. Some Canadians now regard Newfoundland as a fiscal sinkhole of doomed regional development schemes -- but honestly -- is that attributable to some previously unseen innate Newfie sloth and profligacy, or the congenital genius of the federal-provincial decision-making mob? For too many, resettlement was just a first step on the way to leaving Newfoundland for good. Faithful to some few traditions at least, the latest (2000) election had the Liberal Party talking about a limited Cod fishery in the near future, despite the fact that Cod stocks are showing absolutely no sign of recovery. And Atlantic voters fell in line. Through it all, Newfoundlanders endure with characteristic good grace, good humour, and, as always, ever more out-migrations. From the highest in the land, Newfoundland's birthrate today is even lower than that of its old rival, Quebec (the other lowest birth rate in the country).

Newfoundland Child with Cod

For some peculiar reason known best to themselves, federal politicians prefer to reserve their gushing sympathy and generous funding for the ubiquitous Third World refugee. As we're told, "shattered lives" and "displaced people" are defined as -- and ONLY as -- UN Convention refugees. Too many well-meaning Canadians would seem to agree, viewing the Third World refugee as an inherently noble, suffering protagonist. In contrast, the ill-used Newfie, after generations of battling the vicissitudes of the Atlantic, is relegated to the butt of jokes as the eternal simpleton and clod. Outside Newfoundland, the deportation of the Acadians and the internment of the Japanese excites much disapproval, but in terms of forced population movements, these pale beside the destruction of the outport communities. The same thing was done to traditional Eskimo settlements, and with the same result: traditional life-styles do not survive population centralization.

O hear us when we cry to

Thee For those in peril on the sea

Just why the Liberal Party wants all Canadians to feel ashamed about the treatment of all minority groups -- past and present -- is mysterious enough. Why we must at the same time, remain indifferent to the shabby treatment of one of our oldest distinct resident groups is a certifiable imponderable. For some perverse reason, we just don't care that these programmes eliminated 300 traditional Newfoundland communities, (about a quarter of the whole). So what if resettlement finally affected 30,00 to 40,000 Canadians? So what if more than 40,000 Atlantic Canadians lost their livelihood when the Cod moratorium was imposed? Perhaps Atlantic and B.C. fishermen are too busy trying to find work elsewhere to ask Ottawa for their very own "family reunification" plan. What matter if Newfoundlanders were displaced and remain uniquely disadvantaged by the bargain they made with "The Canadian Wolf"? And if Ottawa mismanaged the Cod out of existence in fewer than 50 years, who really cares? Certainly not the UN: did they censure Canada, as when illegal Chinese boatpeople were "forced" to wear prison garb of supposedly ill-omened colour? It's easier to import votes than to restock desertified oceans. The shameful lesson of the demolition of the outports is not much taught outside of Newfoundland -- for once the resettlement programme had come under a cloud, it was allowed to die in peaceable disgrace and no official statistics have ever been published.

Watch in particular the attractive bait which

will be held out to lure our country into the Canadian mousetrap

Her face turns to Britain, her back to the Gulf.

Come near at peril Canadian wolf.

- Anti Confederate Toast

Shouldn't we all have felt some protective sense of kinship toward places like: Bareneed, Famish Gut, Here and Now, Empty Basket, Calves Nose, Cow Head, Topsail Head, Cape Onion, Horse Chops, Little Cat Arm, St. Jones Within, Nancy Oh, Come-by-Chance, Run-by-guess, Heart's Desire, Heart's Content, Heart's Delight, and Little Heart's Ease?

If you read the sundering of Newfoundland as a metaphor (or blueprint) for the ecological and cultural destruction of Canada as a whole, it only proves that -- when we really apply ourselves -- we can overcome almost any natural advantage.

Deemed to be one of the three best movies of all time, How Green was My Valley laments the passing of another traditional way of life -- that of a Welsh mining family. It was not the sea that provided for their wants -- but that passing was at least noted. Like the peal of church bells from the bottom of a lake -- listen: "I can close my eyes on my Valley as it is today -- and it is gone -- and I see it as it was when I was a boy. Green it was, and possessed of the plenty of the earth ..."

A wet sheet and a flowing sea,

A wind that follows fast

And fills the white and rustling sail

And bends the gallant mast.

- Allan Cunningham(1784-1842)

History of American Scams

2010-08-22T04:27:00.003-04:00

The lords of Enron cooked their books. They overstated their profits by hiding a billion dollars in losses, thus driving up the price of their stock. Their accountants winked at the subterfuge, then shredded the documents. Before it all came crashing down in the largest bankruptcy in history, the executives got rich while their employees and stockholders got screwed.

It's an outrage! It's a scandal! And it is, of course, a time-honored American tradition.

America has a grand and glorious history of stock chicanery. In the early days of our history, stock market skulduggery was a perfectly respectable way to achieve wealth, although not quite as respectable as slave trading or stealing land from the Indians.

Much of America's awesome industrial colossus was built on financial scams. The 19th-century railroad barons considered stock fraud an indispensable business tool, as much a part of their working lives as bribing legislators or hiring Pinkertons to beat the bejesus out of union organizers.

Stock scamming is the kind of crime that attracts people who are well-bred, well-dressed, well-mannered. Financial crooks tend to be respectable, patriotic folks who demonstrate their patriotism by giving large sums of money to America's hardworking politicians, asking nothing in return except perhaps the teensy tiniest little amendment to the tax code.

Some of the greatest names in American history made their fortunes through shameless chicanery—Vanderbilt, Morgan, Rockefeller, Stanford, Gould, Kennedy. But you don't have to be a blue blood to succeed at financial swindling. America is the land of opportunity, a place where a poor Italian immigrant named Charles Ponzi could rise from rags to riches by inventing a scam so beautiful that it still bears his name.

"Really, there is no limit to the cons and swindles that have been seen over the years," says former labor secretary Robert Reich, a connoisseur of big-money scams. "The human mind is capable of inventing very innovative products and services—and also extraordinarily innovative swindles."

The Enron scandal brings back fond memories of the great American scams of yore. Here is a rogue's gallery of America's financial crooks, a small sampling of the scalawags, schemers and scoundrels who have bilked and swindled Americans over the centuries:

Wall Street's First Scandal

In the 1790s, when stocks were sold outdoors on Wall Street, speculator William Duer nearly destroyed the fledgling market.

British-born, Eton-educated, a former member of the Continental Congress and a New York judge, Duer had made his fortune selling supplies to George Washington's army. After the Revolution, Alexander Hamilton appointed him assistant secretary of the treasury, but Duer quit the job when he learned that federal law prohibited Treasury officials from speculating in federal securities.

Free of this inconvenient rule, Duer promptly began using his inside knowledge of the Treasury Department to speculate in bank stocks, using large sums of money borrowed from banks and his rich friends. Meanwhile, an audit of Duer's books at the Treasury Department found $238,000 missing. Hamilton ordered the Treasury to sue Duer for the money.

That caused Duer's financial empire to collapse, which bankrupted many of his creditors, bankers and brokers, which in turn caused a financial panic on Wall Street. While Duer went to debtors' prison, 24 Wall Street brokers met under a buttonwood tree in 1792 to draw up the first rules to regulate trading.

" 'Tis time," Hamilton wrote, "there should be a separation between honest Men & knaves, between respectable Stockbrokers . . . and mere unprincipled gamblers."

"Finding that line of separation," wrote John Steele Gordon in "The Great Game," a history of Wall Street, "has occupied the finest minds of Wall Street and the government ever since, with mixed results at best."

Robber Barons

The Civil War was quite unpleasant for many Americans but it was great for Wall Street.

Many of the era's foremost robber barons—J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Jay Gould—dodged the draft by paying $300 to hire a substitute. This modest investment left them free to spend the war years getting rich instead of getting shot. Many on Wall Street, including Morgan, made a fortune speculating in gold, the price of which rose against the dollar with each defeat of the Union Army. Appalled, President Lincoln announced that he hoped every gold speculator "had his devilish head shot off."

Meanwhile, Morgan was financing a deal to buy 5,000 rifles from an Union Army arsenal in New York for $3.50 apiece, then sell them to the Union Army in Virginia for $22 each. The rifles were defective—causing soldiers to shoot their thumbs off—but a judge ruled the deal legal. Morgan earned a 25 percent commission, plus interest.

But those profits were peanuts compared with the money made in the railroad business after the war.

In the 1860s, the federal government subsidized the building of a transcontinental railroad by granting millions of acres of free land to two railroad companies, the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific. Eager to line their pockets at the expense of their stockholders, Union Pacific management formed a dummy construction company with an impressive-sounding French name, Credit Mobilier, and hired Rep. Oakes Ames as president. Credit Mobilier charged Union Pacific about $100 million to build the railroad—nearly twice what the job actually cost. The rest of the money went to Credit Mobilier's stockholders, a group that included many of Ames's congressional cronies and Vice President Schuyler Colfax, who had been bribed with cheap stock to look the other way.

There were congressional hearings and angry editorials and a federal lawsuit, but ultimately the scammers of Credit Mobilier went free, considerably richer for their very modest labors.

Fleecing the Commodore

The most colorful stock swindle in American history came in 1868, when Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, proprietor of the New York Central Railroad, attempted to take over the rival Erie Railroad, which was controlled by three of the most crooked rascals ever to sell stock—Daniel Drew, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk.

Vanderbilt, one of America's richest men, instructed his brokers to buy every Erie share they could find. Drew, who was Erie's treasurer, responded by printing up more Erie shares—tens of thousands more. Peeved, Vanderbilt prevailed upon a judge he had on his payroll to issue an injunction forbidding Erie to issue any more stock. Drew responded by getting a judge who was on his payroll to order Erie to keep printing stock.

"If this printing press don't break down," said the flamboyant Fisk, "I'll be damned if I don't give the old hog all he wants of Erie."

When Vanderbilt's judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Drew, Fisk and Gould, the trio fled across the Hudson River to New Jersey with $7 million of Vanderbilt's money. They took up residence in a Jersey City hotel and hired cops armed with cannons to protect them from arrest.

Next, the battle shifted to the legislatures of New York and New Jersey, where agents for each side generously spread around bribe money, hoping for favorable legislation. Gould himself appeared in Albany, carrying a trunk that was, the New York Herald reported, "stuffed with thousand-dollar bills which are to be used for some mysterious purpose in connection with legislation."

Ultimately, Vanderbilt failed to take over the Erie. But he wasn't hurt too badly: He managed to unload his 100,000 Erie shares in London. The real losers in the affair were Erie's other stockholders, who saw the value of their shares diluted by nearly half.

Ponzi's Scheme

Charles Ponzi came to America around the turn of the 20th century, a poor Italian lad armed with nothing but a dream and a devious mind.

He started out with small swindles that didn't always pay off—he was jailed in Atlanta and Montreal—but he refused to give up his dream.

In Boston in 1919, Ponzi founded the presciently named Securities and Exchange Co. and guaranteed investors a 50 percent profit in 45 days. And he kept that promise—for a while. The first investors were paid with money obtained from later investors. Thrilled, they touted Ponzi's magic to their friends. By the summer of 1920, Ponzi was taking in $250,000 a day—so much cash that he was stashing it in desk drawers, file cabinets, even wastepaper baskets.

He bought hundreds of suits, a dozen gold-handled canes, a limousine and a 20-room mansion in the tony Boston suburb of Lexington. He should have taken the money and run. He couldn't keep paying early investors with the money from later investors, particularly since he wasn't actually investing the money. The Boston Post unmasked his scam and he spent a decade in jail.

On his way to prison, a reporter asked him to explain his actions, saying that the public deserved an explanation.

"The public deserves exactly what it gets," Ponzi replied. "No more, no less."

Master of Hounds

After the stock market crashed in 1929, Congress investigated Wall Street, exposing countless instances of chicanery, skulduggery and plain old fraud. Liberals called for the creation of a federal agency—the Securities and Exchange Commission—to regulate and police the market.

Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange, disagreed. Whitney told Congress that the stock exchange could police itself without any interference from meddlesome bureaucrats.

Alas, Whitney proved to be an imperfect spokesman for his message. Despite his impressive Establishment credentials—Groton, Harvard, master of hounds at the prestigious Essex fox hunt—Whitney was as crooked as a pretzel. He formed a company to produce an apple liquor called Jersey Lightning but the hooch didn't sell and the company's stock tanked. So Whitney started stealing. First he stole $150,200 worth of bonds belonging to the New York Yacht Club. Then he stole $667,000 from the Stock Exchange Gratuity Fund, which had been set up to aid the widows and orphans of brokers.

Caught by stock exchange officials in 1937, Whitney demanded that they cover up his crimes. "After all, I'm Richard Whitney," he said. "I mean the stock market to millions of people."

When he was sentenced to five to 10 years in Sing Sing, cynics chortled as they recalled the title of his much-quoted speech to the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce: "Business Honesty."

Slippery as Oil

At first, Anthony "Tino" De Angelis was known as "the salad oil king." Later, he became known as "the great salad oil swindler."

A former Bronx butcher, De Angelis was the president of Allied Crude Vegetable Oil, a major player in the commodities markets of the 1950s and '60s. Allied borrowed millions of dollars to speculate in vegetable oil futures. The loans were secured by warehouse receipts for millions of pounds of salad oil that Allied stored in huge petroleum tanks in Bayonne, N.J.

But the tanks were not full of salad oil. They were full of water, with just enough oil floating on top to fool the inspectors. De Angelis had conned some of America's biggest banks and investment firms out of $175 million. When the scandal broke in 1963, it nearly bankrupted two large brokerage houses.

De Angelis spent seven years in federal prison—years he later described as among the best of his life. "There you had peace. It was tranquil," he said. "You come outside and try to make a living and all the big guys try to shoot you down."

Phony, Phony, Phony

"It was like fixing a horse race," recalled one of the masterminds of the Equity Funding swindle of the 1960s and '70s. "We were always rigged to win."

Equity Funding sold an investment package that was a combination of mutual funds and life insurance. Customers bought a mutual fund whose dividends paid the premiums on the insurance policy. Equity then sold the insurance policies to reinsurance companies. This was profitable but not profitable enough for Equity's officials. They decided they could make more money by creating fake insurance policies, selling them to the reinsurance companies and pocketing the money.

This fraud worked well for nearly a decade. Equity officials made millions and Equity's stock rose from $6 to $90. But in 1973, says Charles R. Geisst, author of "Wall Street: A History," the scam collapsed when an Equity employee, dissatisfied with the size of his Christmas bonus, blew the whistle. After that, Equity went bankrupt, investors lost $300 million and a dozen Equity honchos went to prison.

The Wall Street Journal explained the scam to its readers in one of the most delightfully surreal paragraphs ever to grace its august pages:

"The customers didn't exist. Their mutual fund shares didn't exist. The funded loans didn't exist. The phony customers' phony pledges of their phony fund shares to buy phony insurance ultimately became numbers on a computer tape, which then printed out phony assets for Equity Funding Corp.'s phony books."

Greed Is Good

"Greed is all right, by the way—I want you to know that," Ivan Boesky told an audience of business students in 1985. "I think greed is healthy. You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself."

Boesky lived those words. He made hundreds of millions of dollars trading in stocks and bonds but he always wanted more. In an interview, he admitted that he fantasized about climbing atop a huge pile of silver dollars: "Imagine—wouldn't that be an aphrodisiac experience?"

Seeking ever more wealth, Boesky paid Dennis Levine, an investment banker with Drexel Burnham Lambert, millions of dollars for inside information on corporate takeover bids. Boesky then used the information to speculate in the companies' stocks, making tens of millions more. It was insider trading at its most lucrative.

When Levine was caught by the SEC, he ratted on Boesky. When Boesky was caught, he ratted on several other Wall Street wheeler-dealers—including Michael Milken, Drexel's legendary "junk bond king." Boesky even lured Milken to a hotel room, where they discussed their illicit deals in a conversation recorded using a microphone hidden in Boesky's clothes.

When the smoke cleared, Boesky served about 18 months in prison and paid a $100 million fine. Milken did three years and paid $200 million. Drexel went bankrupt.

Boesky's story inspired the 1987 movie "Wall Street," with Michael Douglas playing a reptilian character named Gordon Gekko—who recited, nearly word for word, Boesky's now-legendary "greed is good" speech.

Wall Street's Next Scandal

The list of financial scandals goes on and on: Ivar "The Match King" Kreuger, Bernie Cornfeld, Robert "Fugitive Financier" Vesco, the savings and loan crooks of the '80s. Now, as congressional committees, investigative reporters and the SEC struggle to unravel the Enron scandal, concerned Americans might be forgiven for wondering:

Given the history of wheeling, dealing, scheming and scamming in the world of high finance, can we expect to see more of these scandals in the future?

"It's never going to change," says Gordon, the Wall Street historian. "As long as there's a great deal of money to be made on Wall Street, there will always be people of dubious morals coming up with new ways to fleece the sheep. Welcome to capitalism."

War Veteran Honoured

2010-08-15T13:46:00.008-04:00
Lieutenant-governor unveils plaque for Gambo PoW

Lt.-Gov. John Crosbie was in Gambo last Sunday to help unveil a plaque honouring the life of a Second World War veteran who spent three years overseas as a prisoner of war.Matthew Brown, 87, died at his home in Gambo on Jan. 4. Know as Uncle Matt within the community, he was predeceased by his wife Mabel Brown, who passed away three years ago.
“It is an honour to be asked to honour such a man as Matthew Brown, with such a distinguished record he had serving in World War II,” said the lieutenant-governor following the unveiling of the plaque during a ceremony held at the Village Green. In addition to the plaque, a tree has also been planted in Mr. Brown’s honour.
The event was held as a part of the annual Smallwood Days celebration.“Anybody who has been to Beaumont Hamel knows what all our veterans of World War I and II suffered,” said Lt.-Gov. Crosbie.
At the age of 17, Mr. Brown left Gambo and his forestry work for the United Kingdom to train with the British Royal Navy in England and Scotland as part of the Second World War effort. He was deployed to serve on the HMS Bedouin, a Tribal-class destroyer. It served in the 1940 Battle of Narvik off the Norwegian coastline.
The ship, on its way to Malta, was sunk by a pair of Italian torpedo bombers on June 15, 1942, leaving 28 dead.
After nine hours in the water, Mr. Brown was one of 213 men taken as a prisoner of war by the Italian Navy, the beginning of what became a three-year ordeal for the young man.
He was brought to Italy, and once British forces gained control of the country, he was transported to Poland, where he took on forced labour duties in a coal mine for 19 months.
On Dec. 26, 1944, Mr. Brown began what was called a ‘death march’ through Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. The forced winter march went on for 1,600 miles. He obtained his freedom on May 1, 1945.
Nelson Granter, a member of Branch #41 Royal Canadian Legion in Eastport, said it was hard not to know Mr. Brown through his continued presence in the community, particularly at events recognizing past and present war efforts.
“He has been a tribute to the Royal Canadian Legion, and he has constantly encouraged and pushed for remembrance.”

Hardships at home

Mr. Granter put into perspective how Mr. Brown’s experience in Europe affected himself and those at home. Initial letters sent home said he was missing, with no information concluding whether Mr. Brown was dead or alive.
“We seldom think of the home front. When Matthew Brown and his good buddy, Sylvester Hiscock, sailed away to war, they left people at home – people who were concerned and worried.”
Mr. Granter read a letter sent from the Royal Naval Barracks in Chatham, England shortly after the events on the HMS Bedouin.
“Dear Madame. I deeply regret having to inform you that your son, Matthew Thomas Brown, ordinary seaman, has been reported as missing while on war service. There is insufficient evidence at the present time to show whether your son may be alive or not.”
A letter dated July 12, 1942 offered a more encouraging story, as read by Mr. Granter.
“Dear Madame. With reference to my letter of the first of July, official information has now been received that your son is a prisoner of war in Italy.”
Communications were eventually received from Mr. Brown, but were heavily censored to paint a more pleasant picture of what took place during his stint as a prisoner of war.
“In the postcards, everything sounded so rosy. They said, ‘I am doing great. Everything is good. I’m well cared for.’ But that was a false-front, because from prisoner of war camp, postcards would be censored.”
In fact, Mr. Granter said Mr. Brown spent 13-hour work days cold and hungry. The hunger reduced him to eating lice, and Mr. Granter said Mr. Brown used to jokingly refer to the lice as his best friend, as it was the only item a prisoner had plenty of.
In the years since the war, Mr. Brown was known for appearing at Remembrance Day ceremonies, and at the most recent one prior to his death, he spoke to students at Smallwood Academy in Gambo.
“He presented his original navy (beret) to the school. Uncle Matt didn’t normally say much, but that day ... it was just awesome,” said Mr. Granter. “There was absolute silence, and I think even the youngest children knew they were listening to someone significant. “Unfortunately, two months later we lost Uncle Matt, but Uncle Matt’s memory will live forever in Gambo.”

Published on August 5th, 2010 by Andrew Robinson for "The Gander Beacon"
Reformatted by Roderick Brentnall

David French: A Newfoundland Gem

2010-07-31T12:50:00.009-04:00

David French is the best known of a group of playwrights associated with the Tarragon Theatre, one of four "alternative" theaters which revitalized Toronto drama in the early 1970s. While not a technical innovator, French successfully combines convincing Canadian situations with well-made, realistic conventions accessible to a broad audience. The enormous success of his first stage play, Leaving Home, did much to convince a popular audience that Canadian drama could be worthwhile. The working relationship between French and Bill Glassco, artistic director of the Tarragon, has had profound effects on Canadian theater and script development. While playwright/director teams and symbiotic relationships between writers and theater companies are common in countries where theater is well established, such collaborations were quite rare in Canada until French and Glassco demonstrated their worth.
Born in Coley's Point, Newfoundland, to Edgar Garfield and Edith Benson French, the playwright moved to Toronto with his family at the age of seven, experiencing himself the tension between regional and urban values that later became central in two of his plays. In his mid teens, French developed an ambition to write; several of his early short stories appeared in youth magazines, and one was included in an anthology of work by young writers. He began his theatrical career as an actor, training with Al Saxe and Roy Lawler in Toronto and, briefly, at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. French performed in several radio plays produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1960 to 1965. In 1962 he wrote his first television play, and during the following ten years he completed many short plays for radio and television; most have been broadcast by the CBC.

What started as a television play became French's first full-length play for the stage. Set in Toronto in the 1950s, Leaving Home explores father-son conflict in a working-class family, intensifying the conflict by contrasting Jacob Mercer's Newfoundland speech and values with those of his two sons, who have been raised in the city. All the characters "leave home," one son, Billy, to marry a girl pregnant by him, and his brother, Ben, to escape their father's oppressive hand. Jacob also "leaves home" as the conflict with Ben forces him to abandon the spiritual values of the Newfoundland fishing village he left behind physically several years previously. While Jacob is proud of Ben's academic achievements, he cannot refrain from mocking Ben's inability to meet the fishing village's measure of a man; when Ben moves on, he leaves Jacob no one to whom he can pass his values.

Leaving Home's premiere (Tarragon Theatre, 16 May 1972) was the beginning of the working relationship between French and Glassco's company: French found the theatrical support he needed, and the Tarragon achieved a commercial success to bolster its shaky first season. The play immediately struck a responsive chord with the popular audience; in the season following its premiere, Leaving Home was produced by thirty-five theaters across Canada, consolidating the reputations of both French and the Tarragon.

French's next play, Of the Fields, Lately (first produced at the Tarragon Theatre, 29 September 1973 and later by The Avion Players of Gander Newfoundland as their 18th entry into The Newfoundland Drama Festival) , is a sequel. Several years after the events depicted in Leaving Home, Ben Mercer (Roderick Brentnall) returns for the funeral of one of his aunts and again attempts to communicate with his father, a few weeks, as it transpires, before Jacob's (Ross Goldsworthy) own death. Father-son conflict is sharpened by the imminence of death. Also in the stage production were veteran James Lewis playing Wiff Roach.Although only her second appearance on a Canadian stage Ruth Simms Ferguson playing the role of Mary Mercer won a much deserved Best Actress award.Many theater goers of the 70's would also agree that the award was a consolation prize for having played Trese Delaney the previous year in Tom Cahills "As loved our fathers" to an exquisite and captivating degree.Of The Fields, Lately was also a runaway success. It won a Chalmers Award, was adapted as a CBC television special, was produced across Canada and abroad -- including a critically-acclaimed run in Argentina in Spanish translation and a production on Broadway.

French redresses the imbalance of Leaving Home, in which the father is responsible for the failure to communicate. Ben has left home but to no great purpose, and on his return, his values are revealed as superficial. He is ashamed of his father's rough manners and working man's appearance. The old is dying, and French questions the validity of that which is replacing it. When Jacob dies, father and son have managed no more than fleeting human contact.

In Of the Fields, Lately, French departs from the conventions of realism through a framing narrative device. In the cinematic structure of his third play, One Crack Out (Tarragon Theatre, 29 May 1975), French goes still further. The play depicts the Toronto demimonde of pool hustlers, conmen, marks, pimps, and prostitutes. In a series of short vignettes, Charlie Evans engineers several scams in a progressively desperate attempt to evade the dire consequences of a bad gambling debt. Unfortunately, the realism of dialogue and situation are incompatible with the short, choppy scenes, and One Crack Out fared badly with critics and audiences alike.

Despondent over the failure of One Crack Out, French attempted to start new plays, without success. Then, at Glassco's urging, and with the assistance of Russian scholar Donna Orwin, he translated Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, joining a growing number of playwrights adapting plays from the international repertoire for Canadian audiences. His confidence restored by the success of The Seagull, produced by Tarragon in 1977, French fulfilled a long-held ambition to write comedy.

Jitters (Tarragon Theatre, 16 February 1979) is set in a small, Toronto alternative theater and employs a play-within-a-play structure to reveal the world of rehearsals and opening nights. In comic scenes ranging from slapstick to witty infighting, French shows the company struggling against everything from jammed doors to personal and artistic insecurity. The play's central conflict concern's Jessica Logan's attempt to make a comeback in a new play, "The Care and Treatment of Roses," while her leading man tries to sabotage the production for fear it might be transferred to New York, exposing him to a more demanding audience.

His next play, The Riddle of the World (first produced at the Tarragon in 1981), was a disappointment. Described by some as a philosophical postsex comedy, the piece concerns a young man whose lover joins a cult that requires celibacy. Most critics thought that the protagonist's attempts to cope with his dilemma and his attempts to persuade a friend not to convert to homosexuality were overly burdened with quotations from psychologists and philosophers and too far removed from the comic confrontations that the script seemed to call for.
French returned to his Coley's Point source with Salt-Water Moon (My personal favourite and first produced at the Tarragon in October 1984). This, his latest play, concludes the so-called Mercer trilogy by returning to the Newfoundland of 1926. Jacob returns to his hometown after a year in Toronto to confront the ghosts and resentments he left behind and to try to win back Mary, who has become engaged to another man. Both previous Mercer plays included anecdotes about the courtship. In the course of this long one-act play, Jacob does win Mary but never quite comes to terms with his past, thus laying the ground, in retrospect, for Leaving Home and Of the Fields, Lately . Salt-Water Moon makes full use of regional dialect and imagery to achieve its lyrical charm.
French has won several awards and prizes, including the 1973 Chalmers Award for Of the Fields, Lately; the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Of the Fields, Lately in 1974; Canada Council grants in 1974 and 1975; and, for Salt-Water Moon, the Dora Award in 1985, the Hollywood Drama-Logue Critics Award for best play in 1985, and the Canadian Authors Association Literary Award for best drama in 1986. He is currently working on a new translation of Alexander Ostrovsky's The Forest.

While most of French's plays have proven popular with general audiences, critical response has been divided. Supporters admire his craft; Urjo Kareda, for example, describes him as the most significant Canadian playwright of his time. Detractors, such as Michael Cook, find French's work derivative and dependent on sentiment for its effects.
Michael Cook has never received acclaim outside of Newfoundland.

R Brentnall
Toronto

Microsoft Word Sucks

2010-07-22T05:14:00.006-04:00

Microsoft Word Sucks

For reasons which are completely beyond my control, I've spent half a week writing a document in Word 2003.

I have never in my life seen, heard of, or even imagined a more malodorous piece of steaming shit than this little slice of Microsoft. Words fail me, and all that follows is the faintest Platonist shadow-on- a-wall of what is, in my heart, the Ideal Peeve, perfect in its sincerity, bottomless in its depth, and unassailable in its accuracy.

This bloated, pestilent gigabyte-swamping piece of ordure takes up enough computational resources to accurately model the world's weather for the next billion years, and what do you get for it? Something that will format and display text? Don't make me fucking laugh. What you do get is a profusion of bells and whistles thrown in a careless heap, each bauble lovingly designed to make the straight path crooked, the intuitive arcane, the simple impossible.

Take the ``Help'' for example. It's not just help, it's a new friend!

I don't want a new friend, you shit-slurping choad-munching bunch of retards; I've all too many as it is. What I want is something simple where I can find a technical detail with a minimum of fuss and interruption. I don't want animation. I don't want natural-language interpretation. I don't want to be led by the fucking nose. Give me a fucking index and get the hell out of my damn face. If I dismiss a window, I want it gone. I don't want it to wave goodbye, or hesitate, or sneeze. I want it gone.

The document I was working on was very simple. No images, no tables, no nothing. One font, one style, that's it. It would be perfectly simple in other system, even earlier versions of Word, but, oh no, not in this latest magnum opus of the word processing world.

This helpless, hapless, hopeless, buggy piece of offal insisted on changing my fonts every couple of minutes for no reason. Random chunks of text, at random times. And bullet points, don't talk to me about fucking bullet points. It's a little known fact that in the bullet-point mode of Word 2003 every single button on every single toolbar is the ``Fuck Me Over Now'' button. I've got bullet points going left, I've got 'em going right, and down and up, I've got 'em changing indentation, and style, you name it.

You'd think in 20 or so megabytes of RAM there'd be room for one scenario in which it doesn't actively do anything wrong, but for that you'll have to wait for Word 2023, which will have a user interface like a retarded version of ``I have no mouth, and I must scream.''

And don't try telling me that one need only configure the options to avoid these problems; I'm not a fucking moron. I quickly configured the preferences so as to minimize all this bullshit, at which point Word promptly changed them back. Lather, rinse, repeat. If you don't want fast saves, then fuck off, you're gunna have 'em. Don't want your grammar constantly corrected by some shitty little subprogram that doesn't know the first goddamn thing about grammar? Tough shit. Empty your wallet and move off to the side.

How did this come about? It can't be incompetence, at least not the usual mundane sort one is constantly immersed in simply by having to share a planet with a bunch of fucking primates. This is either some transcendent type of incompetence, or active malevolence.

My money's on malevolence. This software was obviously created by a company who's motto is ``We're Microsoft, and you, the customer, aren't worth fuck to us.'' It matters not one iota what their official motto is, watch the hands, not the mouth. Well, Microsoft, your time will come. It may not be Linux that does you in, it may not be the DoJ, it may not be this decade, but you're going to go the way of the dodo, and I for one will cavort naked on your grave, pissing effusively on your memory, and screaming, ``Animate this, you bastards!'' to the sky.

But in the here-and-now, I shall finish this document with the quiet dignity with which I have always comported myself, and then I shall un-install Word, and swear a terrible oath that I would rather daub dung on paper with a stick than write a document using a Microsoft product.

I have been using word processing programs for 11 years, mostly with WordPerfect. Recently at work, they are trying to convert us to Word. Why does this program have to be so complicated and hard to figure out? I've NEVER used a program of ANY type that is so difficult to use!

Half the time I can't find what I'm looking for, and even the Help feature is no help. Why do I have to change the margins under the Print command? Why are Tab and Indent the same key? Why can't I get the page numbering to start on a certain page even though that's what I told it? Why can't I make more than one label at a time with different names on them? Why can't I just print an envelope without having to print a page along with it? Why can't I just Center one line without having to change the Justification on the whole document? Why can't I see the codes such as Line Spacing and Font? Why is it so hard to edit Headers? Why can't I Center and Right Justify on the same line? How do you put in a Hard Page Break?

In my opinion, this program needs a LOT of help before it can be rated up there with WordPerfect, which is so easy to use and find what you're looking for. A person who has been using word processors and other software shouldn't have to struggle with this program.

UPDATE: As of 2011, I still hate this program, and it is still difficult to use!

Well wasn't that interesting!

For Pop Kelly...The Badger Drive.

2010-07-18T04:37:00.005-04:00

There is one class of men in this country,
That never is mentioned in song;
And now, since their trade is advancing,
They'll come out on top before long.
They say that our sailors have danger,
And likewise our warriors bold;
But there's none know the life of a driver,
What he suffers with hardship and cold.

With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all,
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time;
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.

Bill Dorothey he is the manager,
And he's a good man at the trade;
And when he's around seeking drivers,
He's like a train going down grade.
But still he is a man that's kindhearted,
On his word you can always depend;
And there's never a man that works with him,
But likes to go with him again.

I tell you today home in London,
The Times it is read by each man;
But little they think of the fellows,
That drove the wood on Mary Ann.
For paper is made out of pulpwood,
And many things more you may know;
And long may our men live to drive it,
Upon Paymeoch and Tomjoe.

The drive it is just below Badger,
And everything is working grand;
With a jolly good crew of picked drivers,
And Ronald Kelly in command.
For Ronald is boss on the river,
And I tell you he's a man that's alive;
He drove the wood off Victoria,
Now he's out on the main river drive.

With their pike poles and peavies and bateaus and all,
They're sure to drive out in the spring, that's the time;
With the caulks on their boots as they get on the logs,
And it's hard to get over their time.

So now to conclude and to finish,
I hope that ye all will agree;
In wishing success to all Badger,
And the A.N.D. Company.
And long may they live for to flourish,
And continue to chop, drive and roll;
And long may the business be managed,
By Mr. Dorothey and Mr. Cole.

Danny Williams is right…The people are wrong!

2010-07-14T16:48:00.002-04:00

His going to the U.S. has stirred a great volume of controversy and comment -- almost as much, by informal measurement, as the propogation of Parliament. Both here and in the U.S. Heavens, it's even been brought up in that Shangri-La of Socratic disinterest,FOX News' Bill O'Reilly show,now there's a Judas. Not surprising, many might say. Danny Williams is a lightening rod of his own construction. He's aggressive, combative, partisan -- and back home, largely without any real opposition. My own personal take on him, for what its worth, is that I admire the ferocity of his feelings for Newfoundland while I sometimes deplore the bullying and bluster it occasionally leads to.

But I see it as more than awkward that his surgery, and his choice -- perhaps on the advice of his Newfoundland doctors -- of where to have it, has become the great political football that it has. I've never been a fan of that wretched slogan "the personal is political" for the very obvious reason it demolishes the barrier that should -- must -- exist between our genuine private lives and the wide-open, reckless and supercharged arena of politics.

It's his heart, it's his surgery, and it's his choice. Danny Williams, Premier or no Premier, and his family are the only ones at this point who have any real say about where he chooses to have life-threatening surgery. Further, as most commentary admits, the actual facts upon which he made his choice, and the counsel he has received from his Newfoundland doctors is not known to us -- nor, by the way, should it. So the river of commentary, both here and in the states, is taking place in a vacuum of fact.

A larger reason for refusing to politicize ;the moment however is a simple one: It parallels Trudeau's dictum that the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation. Likewise, politics should stop at the edge of the operating table. It's his life and it's his business.

He hasn't, using his standing as Premier, jumped some queue, lined up an MRI by cutting off someone less connected, hasn't displaced some other Newfoundlander waiting for surgery. Something like that would make a genuine case for debate of condemnation.

So -- the decent civil course would be to wait till the operation's done, wish him the best, wait for his recuperation -and if then, he wants to unfold his personal circumstances, and offer some thoughts on the "politics" of his choice, we can all hear him out.

Here is a man who obtained the portfolio of Premier of Newfoundland,
Took no salary and fights tooth and nail for the cause.The operation as I have read it was paid out of the pocket of the premier himself and not by the Canadian taxpayer.If all policians were to repeat this gesture the media would have no political news.I am beginning to think that you can never please the public.If you are crooked its bad,If you are honest it's bad.It's a no win situation.

Danny Williams is by far The greatest premier Newfoundland has ever had.Joey's dead and Danny's in. Politics, as I've said, should stop when the man in the white coat is reaching for the scalpel.

All things bright and beautiful

2010-05-24T03:18:00.004-04:00

"Firefox just got better"

2010-05-04T22:25:00.013-04:00
May 4, 2010 -Roderick Brentnall
________________________________________
A while back, a major feature was added to the pre-release versions of Firefox 3.1, called Private Browsing. I've been working for quite some time on this, so I thought it may be a good time to write about what this feature is and how to use it.
As you may know, while you browse the web, your browser usually records a lot of data which will later be used to improve your browsing experience. For example, it records a history of all the web pages you have visited, so that later if you need help remembering a site you visited a while back, it can assist you in finding that site. Now, that is great, but there is a downside: those data can be used to trace your online activities. For example, if your coworker sits at your computer, she can view all of your browsing history, which may not be what you want. This feature comes in real handy for online banking too.
Now,don't you feel just a little better already?
Suppose you're doing something online, and you don't want your coworkers to know about it. An example scenario would be looking for a new employer while at work! One option would be to do your work, and then clear the data that Firefox has stored for you, such as history, cookies, cache, .... But the problem is that this action will also remove the parts of your online activities data which you don't want to hide, so the history that Firefox records can no longer be used to find a web site you had visited a month before. Private Browsing will help you here.
Private Browsing aims to help you make sure that your web browsing activities don't leave any trace on your own computer. It is very important to note that Private Browsing is not a tool to keep you anonymous from websites or your ISP, or for example protect you from all kinds of spyware applications which use sophisticated techniques to intercept your online traffic. Private Browsing is only about making sure that Firefox doesn't store any data which can be used to trace your online activities, no more, no less.
So how does one actually use this feature? It couldn't be simpler! To start, just select Private Browsing from the Tools menu.

You will see a dialog box which asks you whether you want to save and close all of your current windows and tabs, and start the Private Browsing mode. Click Start Private Browsing to start your private session.

After you do this, your non-private browsing session is closed and a new private session is opened,
showing you the screen below. (Before you mention, the ugly icon you see there is something
I created as a placeholder! This icon will be replaced in the final release of Firefox 3.1.)

As you see, not much is different in the Firefox window inside the Private Browsing mode, except for the (Private Browsing) text added to the title bar at the top of the window. That is intentional: after all, if you're doing something online that you don't want your coworkers to know about, you don't want to raise their attention with a big sign saying PRIVATE as they pass by and glance over your shoulder.
At this stage, you can start browsing web sites, without ever having to worry that Firefox might store something on your computer which can be used to tell which pages you have visited. Once you're done, just uncheck the same menu item in the Tools menu to close your private session.This action discards all of the data from your private session, and will restore your non-private browsing session, just like it was before entering the Private Browsing mode.

Now, as I mentioned at the top of this post, this feature is available in pre-release versions of Firefox 3.1 (what we geeks call nightly builds). This feature will be included in Firefox 3.1 Beta 2 which will be released soon, so if you want to try it, you can give it a shot then. And of course, it will appear in the final release of Firefox 3.1, so if you're not the type who test beta software, you can wait until Firefox 3.1 is released.

Update: As many people seem interested in knowing this, there is a way to make Firefox always start in Private Browsing mode. Go to the about:config page, click I'll be careful, I promise, type browser.privatebrowsing.autostart in the Filter text box, double click the entry to make its value true. After doing this, the next time you start Firefox, it will start in private browsing mode automatically. To turn this off, use the same steps to change the value of this preference to false. There is a plan to provide an easier method to set this option in the final release of Firefox 3.1.You gotta Love Firefox! See ya Now!

Put your hand in the hand............................

2010-03-15T02:49:00.001-04:00

The do's and don't of Contractors

2010-03-10T02:03:00.008-05:00

Many, many moons ago I posted a list of five basic rules contractors should follow. I just stumbled across it, added a sixth rule and decided I should probably re-post it on my new weblog. Now, before anyone thinks me a bitter contractor ranting about clients, how I approached this needs to be explained.
First off, I view every miscommunication, dissatisfied client, and broken relationship as my fault. At a very basic level I believe that there’s always something I can do to avoid or mitigate problems in a working environment. Even if the client turns out to be Attila the Hun, I go back and look at how I could have performed better. Sometimes that means I should have never taken the job. Other times I may conclude that despite doing everything a reasonable person would, there were still things that could have been done and I should have at least given them a try. That doesn’t mean that I’m a martyr. I’m just one of those people who believe that for every problem there’s a solution. Now, I may decide that the solution isn’t feasible but I want to at least figure out the course of action that would have brought about a better result.
Second, I think a lot of projects/contracts go wrong because the consultant doesn’t manage the relationship well. As you can see in Rule #2, the contractor often sets the stage for conflict by trying to be a nice guy/gal. If they simply did what they were contracted to do they could avoid this kind of potential relationship killer. The purpose of this list of rules is not to provoke confrontation but to avoid it.
Lastly, if you’re a customer of contract services, you should understand that while you may be the most ethical and honest client in the world, the fact of the matter is that a significant number of customers/clients aren’t. As much as you fear an unethical contractor, contractors fear clients who stiff them or take advantage of their desire to just do a good job. I don’t believe that any of my rules advocate anything more than protecting the interests of both parties. Several of the rules are specifically designed to help contractors avoid putting themselves into situations where they may expose themselves to undue legal and other risk. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

1. Never take on a client who has fired more than one previous contractor to do the same job.
There’s only one constant in this equation; the client. I had a client who during the negotiation process began showing me some of the work done by a graphic artist that he had hired so I could get an idea about the look and feel he was going for. When I asked if I could contact the artist about obtaining the images he said that it probably wasn’t a good idea and went on to explain how he offered to pay the artist to do some mock-ups but he really wasn’t 100% happy with the work and wanted the artist to make some more changes before he paid him. He also briefly mentioned another artist who he had hired to do the same work and had similar results with who he also didn’t pay. Needless to say, when we delivered the final product to specifications, the client wasn’t 100% happy (he had come up with new requirements after the contract was signed) and refused to pay for the work.

2. Never agree to do any work that is outside the scope of your agreement.
First off, this doesn’t mean be a jerk about it. It simply means that if you’ve been contracted to do one thing and the client needs additional services, you should work out a separate agreement for the new services. Many clients (and some might argue all clients) have a tendency to view you as one of their employees. They don’t really understand where the contract ends and the freebies begin. Of course, you do and every time you do something above and beyond the terms of your contract you think you’re throwing in a freebie with the goal of either earning more business down the road or keeping the client happy (or both). This mostly pertains to contractors doing work on a fixed bid but could apply to hourly contractors who decide not to charge the client 15 minutes here or an hour there for things outside of the scope of what the client has agreed to pay for. The problem comes up when the account becomes too far out of balance. Since you’ve never said no to the client’s request many clients will take advantage of that and keep asking for more and more. Eventually, any smart businessman is going to see that they’re losing money on the client and become frustrated. That frustration will grow, especially if you have employees or sub-contractors who become increasingly frustrated with the extra work and begin taking their frustrations out on you. So, you eventually have to say “no” and not just to the current request but to all future requests. Now you’ve materially changed the relationship. You’ve made the client feel like you’re angry with them (otherwise, why such a drastic change in policy?) and since this is more likely to come near the end of the project than the beginning this may significantly impact the prospects for future work with the client.
Another danger is that this may expose you to confusion about what constitutes a deliverable for contract purposes or leave you open to legal responsibilities that you were unaware of. Whether it was actually your fault or not, you’re now facing a whole laundry list of possible problems for something you were not under contract to do. The client could claim that your entire work product is defective and refuse to pay for it. They could also demand that you fix any problems with not included which could prove to be a time consuming task to diagnose and remedy, for which you’re not being paid. But had you said to the client “We have no problem doing that but it does fall outside of the scope of this agreement. Perhaps we should work out a separate agreement at an hourly rate for one-off type of tasks like this so there’s no confusion later.”
The bottom line is that the saying that “no good deed goes unpunished” is applicable for most contractors. You need not nickel and dime a client but do make a distinction between what the contract requires you to do and what the client is asking you to do. Any client who balks at that will usually prove to be more trouble than they are worth.

3. Bill in 1/4 payments.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been burned more often than I care to share on this one. I used to do 50% up front and 50% on delivery but the risk you take is if they refuse to pay for the last 50%. You have 50% of the job costs floating out there, which puts the client in a very powerful position. Most clients are honest but there is a large enough percentage of dishonest people out there to make it imperative that you never put yourself in a position where the client has that much power over you. Some would argue that you can just withhold delivery or stipulate in the contract that they cannot use your work until it’s paid for and I would argue that neither of those two will protect you sufficiently from a dishonest client. For one, if you withhold delivery, you’ve still invested the time in creating it. You can’t get that time back (and that’s what you sell) and you usually can’t turn around and find another buyer for it. You may run into dishonest clients who figure out at some point during development that they completely screwed up the requirements and the final product is of no concern to them. They’ve just found a way to eliminate 50% of their cost. You’re stuck with it. The other major danger is that they take your work and have someone duplicate it at a fraction of the cost. Your code or configuration files or other work are now a very solid blueprint for a less experienced contractor to come in and knock-off as easy as a Gucci bag in Hong Kong. You have very little legal protection there.
Instead of exposing yourself like that, develop project milestones and break them out into 4 parts. Bill ¼ upon signing of the contract, ¼ at milestone 1, another ¼ at milestone 2, and the last ¼ on delivery. If they balk at paying any of the milestones, you can either remedy the problem or walk away with minimal loss. Your honest clients will appreciate not having to come up with ½ or 1/3 up front and your dishonest clients will be kept in check.

4. Never discount your rates for a new client in the hopes of getting future business down the road at full rate.
There’s really no bigger sucker’s bet. Once you establish precedent for discounts the client will always expect them. Once you do a job for the client at a particular price they know that you can do the work for that price. If something costs X then charge X for it and be willing to walk away unless the client is able to give you a reason for discounting the price. You can explain to the client that having a steady workflow for the next 12 months is worth something to you and if they give you the business now instead of making you bid out 6 two month contracts you can bring your rates down but don’t offer to do it on the promise there will be more work down the road because you’ll probably still be jumping through hoops and competing against other vendors who are just as willing to undercut you in order to get their foot in the door and make the same mistake. If this is your first project with the client and they don’t want to enter into a long-term agreement until you’ve proven yourself, at least get a letter of intent or better yet, word the contract in such a way that they commit to the entire work package but can end the agreement after any time if they do not feel the work meets their standards.

5. Never let the client take critical processes out of the contract in order to save money.
We all know the drill. The client looks at your budget and asks why QA is three weeks or why you feel you need so many days to complete something that, to them, looks so simple. Sometimes the client will even offer to take on certain responsibilities themselves in order to get the cost to fit into their budget. Be very, very wary of this. The only thing this leads to is you doing more work for the same amount of money. If QA takes three weeks showing it on the schedule as two weeks only means that you’ll have to do three weeks of work in two weeks. Worse yet is the fact most people underestimate contracts to begin with so it will probably end up being closer to three and a half weeks and now you’ve promised close to four weeks of work in two weeks. If the client needs to cut the budget cut features not process. And never allow the client to take on roles just for the sake of cutting the budget. Not only do you have the issues previously mentioned but you also now have to manage your client as if they were an employee. If they fail to deliver and hold up other parts of your schedule there’s only so much pressure you can apply since they’re the client.

6. Be very careful in lending a helping hand.
This caution might be a sub-warning from several of the previous rules but I think it needs to be separated out for clarity. I once had a client who insisted that they would take on the task of setting up the servers on a software development project. Over a two-week period, I received, literally, over 100 emails asking me configuration questions. How do you do this? How do you do that? The worst part was that when I pointed the client to the documentation that would answer their questions they got a little huffy with me mentioning in their reply that I had told them that I was an expert on the job they were having problems with and that they expected me to give them the answer instead of pointing them to documentation. I am an expert on that building, but I wasn’t being paid to offer that service. In fact, I was specifically not tasked with that portion of the job because the client wanted to save money. In the end, I spent more time educating the client on things that I was not responsible for than I did on the actual paying portion of the assignment.
Final thought: Obviously I can’t offer advice on every situation one may encounter but I do plan on expanding this list as I think of things that may be useful..

What Has Happened To Us?

2010-03-01T08:10:00.000-05:00
What Has Happened To Us?
The mess in family law, in divorce, custody and access can't be just the fault of one or the other of the genders. Yes, lots of men and lots of women are inhumane, selfish, greedy and all round nasty people. But not everyone and certainly not the majority. Are you perfect? Am I?

Family law turns people into blood enemies, The divorce industry thrives on the misery of couples and children. The bigger the mess they can create, the more money they can make. Yes, that is part of the problem, but not all.

We have completely lost a moral centre. I am not talking about religion, though religion is a big a part of the problem.

No, we no longer keep our word.

We ignore the golden rule. It is too corny. We no longer tolerate the weakness and foibles of others but expect them to tolerate ours. Hard work is out. Self indulgence is in. Yes this is also part of the problem, but not all.

When we meet someone, we have sex as a prelude to getting to know their name. We move into together with a total stranger and play house, because anything is better then spending Saturday night alone.

Marriage is now nothing more then the new, preferred method of dating. That way no one has go get up in the middle of the night and go home.... And if something better comes along, dump the current paramour and move on. Hell marriage is only a piece of paper that gives us a tax deduction.

When we discover that we really don't like this stranger we married, we have kids as a distraction. If the kids cramp our style, we toss them in daycare and dope them with Ritalin so we are not inconvenienced.

Blaming each other is pointless in most cases. So often both parties are spoiled, selfish, narcissistic slobs who are not capable of mature self sacrifice, hard work and the honesty needed to make a marriage work. If one party forgets to pick up the Hagen Daz, the other party screams abuse.

All these are part of the problem.

As a society we have lost our way. We avoid all commitment, to spouses, to work, to education and most of all to ourselves. We seem to believe the world owes us a living.

How can we change these things? Simple. Start with ourselves. Practice keeping our word. Look out for number two.for once. Instead of expecting the world to change to meet our needs, maybe if we just set our own standards and lived by them we would find our corner of the world gets better.

Maybe. Maybe we improve the world, one person at a time. Starting with ourselves.

Canada's Shame

2009-12-19T12:04:00.011-05:00

"Guilty plea in Newfoundland
murder case
that sent an innocent man to jail."

The Man that beat the justice system!
________________________________________

An 11-year-old murder case that sent an innocent Newfoundland man to prison has been solved. Brian Doyle, 32, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to second-degree murder in a court room in St. John's. In 1991, Catherine Carroll was stabbed to death. Police arrested her son Gregory Parsons. He spent the next decade trying to prove his innocence.
The undercover officers told Doyle that first they needed to know everything about him, including how Catherine Carroll died. That's when Doyle told them everything. On New Year's Eve 1990, he went to Carroll's home, broke in through a basement window and stabbed and slashed her 53 times.

Gregory Parsons Her son was tried for murder and found guilty. But in 1998 DNA evidence cleared his name. Parsons is refusing to talk to reporters, but his older brother Todd is angry that the charge of first-degree murder against Doyle was reduced to second-degree. "If you look at how brutal this murder was, he walked into the bedroom, my mother's bedroom, totally naked with other intentions on his mind, and a brutal crime like that. And now he's falling back on the fact he was intoxicated."
On Wednesday, the court will finish watching a five-hour video of Doyle's police interrogation. He faces a minimum of 10 years in prison.

From Newfoundland to Freedom!

2009-12-08T03:51:00.002-05:00

Cleaning up in 'The Business World'Ever since she was a little girl in Newfoundland selling lemon crystals for extra pocket change, Janet Davis has embraced her entrepreneurial spirit as a natural part of her being. Her mother owned a general store and her father ran a saw mill, so it seems that it was destined from the beginning that Janet would live the life of an entrepreneur; it's in her blood. When I asked her why she would rather work for herself, she replied, "you see the way someone else does it and you don't like it, you don't like the rigidity of eight to five, so you try to change it for yourself." Janet Davis is the owner of Davis Enterprises, a janitorial company in Fort McMurray, Alberta, and thanks to Alberta's oil trade, it has grown very quickly from a small venture to a million dollar company.

Born and raised in Newfoundland, after finishing high school, Janet attended business school and attained a job at Canadian National as a long distance toll operator. She worked there for five years until she got married and decided to work with her husband for a small business owned by her father-in-law. She found that as a team, she and her husband worked well together and saw the business grow to be a multi million dollar company. By 1992, they owned both an IGA and Petro Canada franchise. However, when IGA decided to change from being franchise run to being run as a corporate store, this left them with only a Petro Canada franchise. By most people's standards this would be enough to keep busy, however finding it "slow" they finally said "to hell with it" and decided to move to Alberta in 1995 to discover new business opportunities.

With her children to keep her busy, Janet went from job to job waiting for the right opportunity to come along. She turned down a couple of offers, including an offer to open another IGA franchise (which she refused for fear that the same fate awaited the IGA franchisees in Alberta as it had for those in Newfoundland). Her patience paid off. The timing was right and Janet's opportunity arose three years ago when her daughter, now twenty three, started her own cleaning company. Although clearly endowed with the entrepreneurial spirit of her mother, Janet's daughter soon found this new business to be growing to be a little more than she could handle on her own and that's when mom stepped in. Although her daughter still works for the business doing administration, Janet's experience and hunger for a new challenge attracted an offer from a company in Long Lake requiring the services of an industrial cleaning company.

Davis Enterprises grew quickly from two to twenty employees. It also grew financially from a business that was previously operational on Janet's own money, to a million dollar company. Janet tells me that when she was younger, like many people, she had big dreams about gaining financial freedom by doing the thing she loved most. Now her biggest hurdle is figuring out how to handle this rapid financial growth in the best way possible.

Janet is now looking for someone who can help her to deal with the rapid growth (financial and other) of her business and make sure it is handled properly. Her professional goals are to maintain the two major contracts she currently holds and hold true to her ability to be a flexible, open minded person in the world of business.

How to use Remote Assistance

2009-12-01T07:35:00.001-05:00

Windows XP allows to send a request for assistance to another Windows XP system .
The system asking for help/ support ("Assistance") is called the "Novice", the system
giving help / support is called the "Expert" :

Such a connection to give assistance is possible via any connection, which supports TCP/IP :
- local area network (LAN )
- Wide area network (WAN)
- dial-in via Modem
- via the Internet
Notes:
- to be able to use "Remote Assistance", both the system of the Novice and Expert must have
Windows XP installed (if one of these systems is not running Windowsx XP, use NetMeeting ) !
- when connecting via a firewall , it is required to have an open TCP/IP port 3389.
Once the "Expert" has accepted the invitation and connects to the "Novice" system, he can see
on his screen the desktop of the "Novice", he is also (if allowed by the "Novice") take control
and use the mouse and keyboard on his "Expert" system to control the "Novice" system :

This is similar to the "Remote Desktop", only available in Windows XP Professional, but
while "Remote Desktop" allows to connect to a host-computer without any user action on the
host system, Remote Assistance requires a user to be present to accept an incoming connection.

Check the setup of Remote Assistance :

In the Control-Panel, select the
System icon:

(or right-click "My Computer" on the desktop
and select Properties)
Select the tab : Remote
By default, Remote Assistance is
activated. Please check the
"Advanced ..." settings
Note :
The other option on on this tab ,
Remote Desktop , is NOT available
for Windows XP Home Edition, it is
only available for Windows XP
Professional.

Define, whether you allow the "Expert" only
to view your activities or whether the "Expert"
can also take control, i.e. use his mouse and
keyboard to operate your system.
Define the maximum amount of time, an
invitation can remain open

Send an invitation for Remote Assistance

To send out a request for help / support,
to send an "Invitation for Remote Assistance",
select from the Windows Start-menu :
"Programs" / "Remote Assistance",
This starts up the Windows XP
"Help and Support Center" /
Remote Assistance page.
You can review the status of current
invitations , to send out a new invitation,
select "Invite someone to help you"

Remote Assistance : Pick how you want to contact your assistant :

There are 3 methods to send out an invitation :
- via Microsoft Windows Messenger ( but it is NOT a MUST to use it ! )
- via e-mail using Microsoft Outlook Express
- via "Save invitation as a file" (allowing other e-mail programs or even floppy disk transfer)
In this example, I "Save the invitation as a File" (using Messenger or Outlook Express is similar) :

Enter your name
define how long this invitation stays open
then "Continue"

For security, it is highly recommended
to define a password, which must be
used by the "Expert" recipient to
connect to your "Novice" system.
It is your job to advise the "Expert"
of the password, either by e-mail or
a phone call.
When selecting "Save Invitation", you will
be asked to define the location to save
the file (for example: to "My Documents" )

Remote Assistance give you some last
instruction.

You need now to get the invitation file
(default name : RAInvitation ) to
your "Expert", also advising hum/her
about the password !

Important note :
While waiting for the"expert" to connect, make sure that your TCP/IP address does NOT change !
That is especially important for Internet connections : do NOT terminate your modem , DSL or
ADSL connection (to connect later at a time agreed with your export again), because when
reconnecting you will get most probably a new / different IP-address and then your "invitation" is
invalid, because the IP-address does not match anymore !

Connecting from the Expert System to give Assistance :
Once the "expert" has received the Invitation on his/her Windows XP system, double-click on the
Invitation file , which opens the "Remote Assistance" Window :

If a password was defined, then enter it now. Continue with YES.
Your system is then connecting to the "Novice" system :

Once an "Expert" connects to a "Novice" system, a confirmation message will be displayed :

You must click on "Yes" to allow the "expert" to continue and to view your system.
You will then the "Novice" windows of "Remote Assistance" :

You can chat via keyboard (type under "Message Entry" ) or via "Start Talking",
of both the system of the "Novice" and the "Expert" are equipped with a sound-card
with speakers and microphone.

The "Expert" has a different Window for "Remote Assistance" :

On the left, the section for chat messages, send / received via keyboard.
On the right, the desktop of the "Novice" system.
On top, the tools for the "Expert" .
At this time, the "Novice" is operating the system, the "Expert" is just watching, while
they exchange information via :
- keyboard chat, displayed as messages
- voice communication via the network using microphone and speakers
- phone call using a separate line

if allowed in the settings of the invitation, the "expert" can take control
of the system of the "Novice" by selecting in the toolbar "Take Control".

When the "expert" like to take
control, a message will pop-up
on the screen of the "Novice"
informing about this request .
If you agree to this request,
accept it by clicking on "Yes".

Once the "Novice" accepted the
request,a message will pop-up on
the "Expert" system to advise
about having control and to press
"ESC" or any key sequence or
combination including the ESC-key
to return control to the "Novice".

The section "Chat History" of the
"Remote Assistance" will show,
that control has been taken by the
Expert.
The Expert uses now the mouse
and/or keyboard of the "Expert"
system to operate the "Novice"
system to identify the problem,
checking for example:
- Control-Panel
- Device-Manager
- Event Log

To terminate a "Remote Assistance" connection, both the "Expert" and the "Novice" can select
in their control-section to "Disconnect".
The "Expert" will be informed about a "Disconnection" from the system of the "Novice":

Indian Feathers

2009-11-16T14:14:00.001-05:00

Classmates.com is Sued

2009-10-21T03:37:00.002-04:00

Classmates.com Sued After Guy Realizes His Classmates Weren't Really Looking For Him
from the that-would-be-called-false-advertising dept

You may recall that Classmates.com was a website that first showed up in the 90s, and tried to do what Friendster and Facebook were later able to do. The problem was that Classmates.com's business model was to charge users for many of its features, including actually connecting with and contacting your classmates -- things that more recent social networks have always allowed for free. However, if you ever used Classmates.com for anything, you've probably been spammed with emails for years, each one claiming that your classmates are looking for you, or had recently viewed your profile. Nearly every email sent by the company (and they seem to come about once a week) has some enticing subject line that tries to suggest that something is happening with your profile and you're missing out if you don't upgrade to a premium account.

I've always ignored these emails, figuring that if any of my former high school classmates really wants to contact me, there are plenty of ways to do so that don't require me to pay up -- and naturally assumed that Classmates.com was exaggerating what was happening on the site. Some folks, however, believed the emails and upgraded. And, now, one of those who upgraded his account to see which classmates were trying to contact him, discovered (surprise, surprise) that Classmates.com was lying to him. His classmates weren't trying to contact him via the site, and so he's now suing the company for deceptive advertising, and demanding that the company refund subscription fees for everyone who was similarly duped.

Vista Sucks………….End of Story!

2009-10-19T19:20:00.004-04:00

A week ago, I’ve upgraded from Windows XP SP3 to Vista x64 SP1. I already had been using Vista in early 2007 on a friens computer, but downgraded again due to its poor performance, bad driver support and many small annoyances. One thing that drove me nuts in 2007 already, is the new desktop search. While performance, driver support and so on have become much better since then, I still don’t like the new desktop search. Let me show you why.

Yesterday I wanted to search all files within
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio 9.0\VC\atlmfc\src\mfc for the string IOleInPlaceActiveObject. This folder and its sub-directories contain a total of 476 files. I browsed to this folder and the first problem arose: How do I search for file contents? There’s just this search box in the top-right corner. What do I enter there? The filename patterns I want to search for? The content I want to search for? Both? If both: in which syntax do I enter it? I decided to just enter IOleInPlaceActiveObject into this box and hit Enter.

The search was finished immediately, but didn’t find anything which I knew was wrong. But now Explorer displayed a link Search File Contents which I clicked. The search started again. I waited one minute. Still no file was found and the search was still running. I waited two minutes – no found file, search still running. Finally, after four minutes, the search was complete and now six hits were displayed. I couldn’t believe that searching 476 files for a specific string would take 4 minutes, so I started xplorer² and told it to search the directory again for the same string. It took less than 1 second and 19 files were found. This started to become interesting…

The first question that came to my mind was why Explorer finds 6 files and xplorer² 19 files. The answer is that xplorer² really searches all files while Explorer skips binary files. Okay, so Explorer tries to be smart and for most users skipping binary files indeed is a good idea. But not for me. Sometimes I want to search binaries for a specific content. How do I tell Explorer to not skip them then?

The second question was why does Explorer need about 240x the time that xplorer² needs although it doesn’t even search within binary files?? Yes, the directory is not part of my search index. But xplorer² doesn’t use any index either! What the hell is Explorer doing that it is so much slower???

So if you don’t want to miss any file no matter which directory on your hard disk you search, you’ll have to tweak the indexing service to include all directories and any file type or you’ll have died before the end of the search. But can the indexing service be tweaked to include binary files? I’m not sure and I won’t try it because indexing my whole hard disk would probably take a day or two and keeping this index current would probably put some nice extra load to my hard disk.

I also don’t understand why found files are not displayed before the end of the search. Imagine a search that will result in hundreds of hits, but take half an hour to complete. You have to wait 30 minutes, in which you already could work with the first hits, and then you get hundreds of hits at once. Yeah! Great!

For me the Vista desktop search is just crap. Its usability is poor, it is extremely slow as soon as the index can’t be used and it swallows hits. The search of Windows XP wasn’t that much better, but on XP you could activate the legacy search that was the default up to Windows 2000 and I always used this one.

So whenever I have to search something on my hard disk, I’ll start xplorer² and search it there. Let’s see what annoying things Windows 7 will introduce…

Messenger Fix

2009-09-17T17:19:00.000-04:00

Windows Live Messenger is one of the most popular (monopoly) instant messenger programs today. Ever since the latest Windows Live Messenger 2009 is out, there has always been problems such as the webcam not working, unable to sign in and even small annoying problems such as the Remember me and Remember my password option not working. If you have personal laptop that is only used by you, surely you would like to have the convenience of just clicking a button to automatically sign in to Messenger instead of manually typing the password every time you want to sign in.

When you enter your Windows Live ID and password, then checked both Remember Me and Remember My Password option, it will continue working but once you restart your computer and launch Windows Live Messenger, you will see that your ID and password is not saved! Thanks to Jonathan Kay, he found out that Windows Live Messenger not able to remember a user’s Live ID is caused of Yahoo! Toolbar installer which messes up your Windows user profile registry. Unfortunately uninstalling the Yahoo! Toolbar will not fix the problem.

Fortunately there ia a simple tool called Make Messenger Remember to solve Messenger forgetting your username and password problem. All you need to do is download, run it and click the Fix button. Make Messenger Remember will automatically restart Windows after completing its work, so be sure to close and save any data prior to beginning the process. After restart, run Windows Live Messenger and see if your Live ID and hotmail is saved. If not, simply enter again and save it. The next time you restart your computer the login information should be there.

If you get the error “The application failed to initialize properly (0xc0000135). Click OK to terminate the application.” when running Make Messenger Remember, that means you don’t have .NET Framework 2.0 installed on your computer. Go here to download and install .NET Framework.

The Snipping Tool in Windows Vista

2009-08-18T22:12:00.004-04:00

Before you start, you have to change some of your settings. Luckily, it's very easy to do, so let's get right to it! To begin, go to Start, Control Panel and click on the Programs link. Then under the Programs and Features section, click on the option that says "Turn Windows features on or off." Once you do that, a new window will appear with a list of all the features Vista has to offer. You'll see all kinds of things and some of them will be checked, while others are left alone.
Go ahead and scroll down until you find the Tablet PC Optional Components feature. Make sure that box is checked and then click OK. In order to be able to use the Snipping Tool, you must have that feature enabled. Otherwise, you won't be able to find it on your computer.
As you all probably know, the older versions of Windows mainly made use of the Printscreen button (PrtScr) on the keyboard to make screenshots. So, whenever you wanted to make a screenshot for yourself, you had to hit that button and then go into a photo editing program and crop it, sharpen it, etc. until it finally looked the way you wanted it to. Well, in Windows Vista, you can actually bypass a lot of that work.
Today, I'm introducing the Windows Vista Snipping Tool to you. This tool is so cool, I just know all of you are going to fall in love with it by the time you're done reading this tip. And I promise that if you have Vista on your computer right now, you're going to want to try it out ASAP! First of all, to open the Snipping Tool, go to Start, Accessories, Snipping Tool. (You can also access it by typing the word "snip" into the search box under the Start menu).

When it opens, you'll see a box with three commands in it. Those are: New, Cancel and Options. The New button is what you can use to decide what part of the screen you want to capture, the Cancel button can be used to cancel any action after you've already started a screen capture and the Options button is there to help you choose which way you want your Snipping Tool to work. The box with all of these choices will come up every time you want to do a screenshot.

When you're ready to take your screenshot, get the Snipping Tool open and click on the New button. From there, you can choose which type of shot you'd like to do. The choices are: Free-form snip, rectangular snip, window snip or full-screen snip. When you've decided which one you want to do, focus in on what you want to capture. You may have a photo you want to make a screenshot for or you might have part of a Web site that you'd like to send to a friend. Either way, make sure it's up on your screen so you can start to "snip" it.
To snip what you want, just drag your mouse until you've captured what you want. Once you've got it snipped, you can choose from different customizing options to add certain things to your image. For example, you can use a highlighter to highlight certain things in whatever color you'd like to use. You can use the pen tool to write in some colorful text and if you make a mistake, the eraser tool is always there to bring you back so you can start over. Now, if none of those tickle your fancy, you can click the Options choice to change your image around even more. This is what the Options window looks like:

Now, when you're done with your screenshot, you can either save it or you can even send it to someone in an e-mail. To save it, go to File, Save and just save it to a folder on your computer. I always like to save mine to My Desktop and after saving decide where I want to move it, but it's up to you. If you'd like to send your screenshot in an e-mail, go to File, Send To and you can choose to send it in the body of an e-mail providing you have Windows Mail set up for this task or you can send it as an attachment. Then just type in your recipient's e-mail address and they'll be able to see all the snipping work you did!
I know this new tool might still be a little confusing to you, but you can't really get a good feel for it until you've tried it yourself. So, my recommendation is to go and experiment with it as much as possible. Once you do that, I think you'll find that there's so much you can do with the Snipping Tool and you'll be using it all the time. It really is a cool addition to Windows Vista and it's much easier than using the Printscreen button. With it, you're able to go past all the steps of editing and do it all in one quick swoop. Give it a try today!

Virgin Mobile is the worst cell phone ever!

2009-08-14T23:57:00.005-04:00

Virgin Mobile which uses the OPTUS network turns 8 this year. Congratulations, due to your ability to rip of customers for 8 long years, you have maintained yourself in business.
Even thought you may have some of the most competitive rates between the four major carriers, you have the worst customer service and loyalty system available. Let me explain.
I signed up in June 07, on a 24month plan @ $44 + phone $5 i.e $49. My cap was $320 at the time, which was adequate. In July 1st 07, i went to Newfoundland for 3 months until October, during that time i made automatic payments via Credit Card, i could have suspended the service but i chose not too, hence i donated 3x49 = $147 to Virgin’s cause.
When i came back i began using their service, their reception was average when compared to Koodo and Telus (Rogers I hate and Bell should burn). In January 2008 i made a deposit of $211 into my Virgin account, around February Virgin not only stopped sending paper bills, but also introduced a surcharge on credit card payments. I did not mind the surcharge but the paper billing was their first mistake, this was discrimination against their own customers who aren’t computer-friendly. I didn’t argue my case at the time, but instead like a sheep just accepted it. Having not received a bill via mail for over 5 months, i had completely forgotten electronic billing, so when my $211 credit ran out my service was disconnected and i got stung with a $10 late fee. How unfair is THAT!!!!, i could have deposited my $211 into a bank and made interest on it, instead i deposited in Virgin and paid interest. STRIKE 1 VIRGIN.
The following month, due to excessively usage of the phone for work, i managed to exceed my $320 cap. Now we all know the reason we are on a Cap is so we know how much we spend, but guess what? Virgin allocates you a $500 Credit limit on each account, meaning if you exceed your $320 cap they allow you another $180, of which you have to pay dollar for dollar. This was absurd at the time and i was not going to stand for it, so i jumped on the phone and i argued my case, having won my argument and having them wave $90, i also demanded that my Credit limit for the future be reduced to $320, to match my cap, at the time the service representative agreed. However STRIKE 2.
Continuing to forget electronic billing i ended paying several late fee’s for the upcoming months, eventually my service got disconnected again, even thought i was making payments of $49-59 per month, when i called up again i found out that i had exceeded my cap by $50, the frustration i went through to explain to the representative that i had been re-assured, by a previous representative it won’t happen again, eventually i spoke both to the Team leader and debit department and investigation was launched into the recorder phone call, of which still i have heard nothing about from them, and YES!! I DID PAY THE EXTRA $50. STRIKE 3.
So now here is STRIKE 4, last month an unexpected charge of $60 appeared on my bill from data usage, personally i hardly use the phone for internet, if i do its always runs of W-lan. I explained that to the service representative, she could not assist me at ALL!!!, so i told here “i aint paying it, as i was not responsible for it”, you know what her resposnse was “Can i assist you with anything else Sir”, omg how can you assist me with something else when clearly enough your not there to assist. So on Tuesday they disconnected the service, so i made a payment of $49, and followed it by a phone call at 4.30pm, i spoke to customer service, gave her the receipt no. for the payment and she was going to transfer me to the credit department to reactivate my service, but guess what.... the freaking department was closed, like WTF!!! If your closed don’t pick up the phone, why torment your customers, the lady apologized to me but was unable to email, nor leave a message for them to call me back, apparently the credit department does not have an email address, like WTF its the 20th century, even my 7 year old nephew has an email address. So being unable to contact them on Wednesday via phone i send an email requesting i be contacted ASAP, nothing as of yet. My phone doesn’t make outgoing calls except ‘000’, nor can i call Virgin either. Seriously what a bad experience, i cant wait to go back to Koodo, they even offered to pay off my remaining 3 months. But thats not the issue, the issue is why should they always get away with it?

Damian McGinty- Bird Without Wings

2009-08-04T16:12:00.003-04:00

Preston File Cabinet

2009-04-29T02:57:00.002-04:00

Preston Lateral File Cabinet
$899.00
Crate and Barrel Exclusive
Furniture Collection
Average Customer Rating

The graceful scale, elegant lines and rich cherry color of our Preston desk are joined by this matching lateral file to provide office-sized storage and high style within a modest footprint.

Dynasty Entryway Cabinet

2009-04-29T02:51:00.000-04:00

Dynasty Entryway Cabinet
$549.00
Crate and Barrel Exclusive
Furniture Collection

Taking its note from the Far East, this exquisitely detailed cabinet dignifies entryway, office or bedroom with rich color and intimate scale. A beautiful hand-distressed burgundy finish, channel detailing and custom-made vintage-inspired metal pulls create an heirloom appearance. Four dovetailed drawers and two side doors, with two adjustable shelves each, provide roomy storage.

How to tile a Bathroom Wall

2009-04-29T02:14:00.006-04:00

How to replace a faucet

2009-04-29T01:54:00.002-04:00

Home Improvement Links

2009-04-29T01:37:00.002-04:00

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-19-assembly-table-stand/

http://www.buysell.com/
http://www.doityourself.com/power/enlargingaholeinone.htm
http://www.prowellwoodworks.com/index.htm
http://www.askthebuilder.com/215_Building_Stairs.shtml
http://www.handymanwire.com/articles/3wayswitch.html
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/
http://www.hometips.com/
http://www.hometime.com/Howto/projects/framing/frame_4.htm#wall
http://www.jackofalltradescanada.ca/
http://www.newcanadianslumber.com/
http://www.benjaminmoore.com/wrapper_pcv.asp?L=owner&K=intproj&N=intproj
http://doityourself.com/patch/repairhomeplaster.htm
http://www.bestdecksite.com/introStairsPg1.html

http://www.plansnow.com/tenon.html
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/pages/hvt034.asp

http://www.woodworkersuk.co.uk/
http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbthreads/start_page.php

http://www.rockler.com/index.cfm
http://www.redtoronto.com/Toronto_Search.aspx?&adid=1256662&ain=1
http://www.newyankee.com/index.shtml
http://www.cabinetmaking.com/pages/hardware.htm
http://www.google.ca/search?q=removing+cigarette+burn+from+wood&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

http://www.constructioncanada.com/
http://www.apexfilms.ca/solyx.htm
http://www.newyankee.com/index.shtml
http://www.sears.ca/gp/product/B0012RXYXK?searsBrand=core

Http://www.philipadavis.deviantart.com/gallery/

http://books.google.ca/books?id=1VgUpQfPEuYC&pg=PA100&lpg=PA100&dq=hinge+jig&source=web&ots=Ozh_tXiuIs&sig=o8v6uRWBqX2Pvtp_aNvlewiu0VU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=7&ct=result#PPP1,M1

For the Brentnall Brothers

2009-04-09T13:30:00.013-04:00

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my nephews and nieces , I'd like better.I'd really like for them to know about hand me down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover meat loaf sandwiches. I really would. I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated. I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.It will be good if at least one time you can see puppies born and your old dog put to sleep.I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother/sister. And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room,but when he wants to crawl under the covers with you because he's scared, I hope you let him. When you want to see a movie and your little brother/sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let him/her.I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.On rainy days when you have to catch a ride, I hope you don't ask your driver to drop you two blocks away so you won't be seen riding with someone as uncool as your Mom.If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.I hope you get teased by your friends when you have your first crush on a boy\girl, and when you talk back to your mother that you learn what ivory soap tastes like. May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole. I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it. I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your
Grandma/Grandpa and go fishing with your Uncle. May you feel sorrow at a
funeral and joy during the holidays I hope your mother punishes you when you
throw a baseball through your neighbor's window and that she hugs you and kisses you at Christmas time when you give her a plaster mold of your hand.
These things I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. appreciate life. Written with a pen. Sealed with a hug
And if I die before you do, I'll go to heaven and wait for you.
Remember your prayers and say goodnight.
Love unlimited Uncle Roderick
September 2006

The Bows and Wows of Newfoundland

2009-03-10T07:07:00.005-04:00

Before 1832 Newfoundland was governed by non-elected officials, usually naval governors, appointed by the British Parliament. Agitation had been growing during the early decades of the 19th century for the granting of representative government to Newfoundland as it had been to other North American colonies. The fight for representative government was led by Dr. William Carson, a Scottish-born medical doctor, and Patrick Morris, an Irish-born merchant, both of whom had been living in St. John's for many years. Through public speeches, pamphlets, letters to the newspapers and petitions to the British Parliament, they encouraged the people of Newfoundland to support the cause. In January 1832 a committee of local residents went to London to lobby for the establishment of an elected assembly. They were finally successful: a bill approving a representative assembly for Newfoundland was passed by the British Parliament in the summer of 1832.
The lobbying efforts of the Newfoundland representatives and their supporters in Britain did not go unnoticed in London. Articles appeared in the press both in favor and opposed to the idea. One person who took a particular interest in the subject was the noted caricaturist who signed his work HB.
HB was the pen name for John Doyle (1797-1868), who had been born in Dublin and trained as a miniaturist and portrait painter. Unable to make a living in his chosen profession, even after moving to London, he soon took an interest in lithography. This led to the series of caricatures for which he became famous. During the years between 1829 and 1851 he produced over 900 drawings, usually of the prominent British politicians of the day, including Wellington, Disraeli, O'Connell and Melbourne. His work was highly acclaimed for both his "excellent likenesses and gently satiric pencil." His drawings were produced as broadsheets and over 600 are preserved in the print room of the British Museum.

Newfoundland's new legislative assembly became the subject of one of Doyle's caricatures. It was entitled New Legislative Assembly. Newfoundland. (The Speaker Putting the Question.) It pictured a meeting of the House of Assembly with the Speaker in powdered wig and black robe presiding in the chair, and members on both sides. They are not represented as people, however, but as Newfoundland dogs. The Speaker puts the question: "As many as are of that opinion say ...Bow! Of the contrary ...Wow! The Bows have it." For many years it was thought that this cartoon was published in Punch but that magazine was not established until 1841 and there is no record of the cartoon appearing in its pages. The drawing was actually printed in broadsheet by Meifred Lemercier and Co., Leicester Square, and published by Thomas McLean, 26 Haymarket, London, on March 30, 1832. It is identified as "HB Sketches No. 187."
It was assumed for many years that the drawing caricatured the Newfoundland House of Assembly after it had opened, as in its early years debate was rowdy, often acrimonious, and the members might be taken for a pack of unruly dogs. However, it would seem that no one took note of the date of publication and compared it to the dates surrounding the establishment of that first House of Assembly in Newfoundland. The bill granting the assembly did not pass the British Parliament until the summer of 1832, the first election of members did not take place until November 1832 and the first House of Assembly did not open until Jan. 1, 1833. Therefore, Doyle's cartoon, published March 30, 1832, was not descriptive, but prescriptive, a prediction of what he thought would happen, before the fact; an interesting commentary on Newfoundland in Britain.

Lynching- The great American Cover up

2009-02-20T04:34:00.011-05:00

A crowd of nearly 2,000 people gathered in Georgia in 1899 to witness the lynching of Sam Holt, an African American farm laborer charged with killing his white employer. A newspaper described the scene:

Sam Holt...was burned at the stake in a public road.... Before the torch was applied to the pyre, the Negro was deprived of his ears, fingers, and other portions of his body.... Before the body was cool, it was cut to pieces, the bones were crushed into small bits, and even the tree upon which the wretch met his fate were torn up and disposed of as souvenirs. The Negro's heart was cut in small pieces, as was also his liver. Those unable to obtain the ghastly relics directly paid more fortunate possessors extravagant sums for them. Small pieces of bone went for 25 cents and a bit of liver, crisply cooked, for 10 cents.

From 1889 to 1918, more than 2,400 African Americans were hanged or burned at the stake. Many lynching victims were accused of little more than making "boastful remarks," "insulting a white man," or seeking employment "out of place."

Before he was hanged in Fayette, Mo., in 1899, Frank Embree was severely whipped across his legs and back and chest. Lee Hall was shot, then hanged, and his ears were cut off. Bennie Simmon was hanged, then burned alive, and shot to pieces. Laura Nelson was raped, then hanged from a bridge.

They were hanged from trees, bridges, and telephone poles. Victims were often tortured and mutilated before death: burned alive, castrated, and dismembered. Their teeth, fingers, ashes, clothes, and sexual organs were sold as keepsakes.

Lynching continues to be used as a stinging metaphor for injustice. At his confirmation hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas silenced Senate critics when he accused them of leading a "high-tech lynching."

Lynching was community sanctioned. Lynchings were frequently publicized well in advance, and people dressed up and traveled long distances for the occasion. The January 26, 1921, issue of the Memphis Press contained the headline: "May Lynch 3 to 6 Negroes This Evening." Clergymen and business leaders often participated in lynchings. Few of the people who committed lynchings were ever punished. What makes the lynchings all the more chilling is the carnival atmosphere and aura of self-righteousness that surrounded the grizzly events.

Railroads sometimes ran special excursion trains to allow spectators to watch lynchings. Lynch mobs could swell to 15,000 people. Tickets were sold to lynchings. The mood of the white mobs was exuberant--men cheering, women preening, and children frolicking around the corpse.

Photographers recorded the scenes and sold photographic postcards of lynchings, until the Postmaster General prohibited such mail in 1908. People sent the cards with inscriptions like: "You missed a good time" or "This is the barbeque we had last night."

Lynching received its name from Judge Charles Lynch, a Virginia farmer who punished outlaws and Tories with "rough" justice during the American Revolution. Before the 1880s, most lynchings took place in the West. But during that decade the South's share of lynchings rose from 20 percent to nearly 90 percent. A total of 744 blacks were lynched during the 1890s. The last officially recorded lynching in the United States occurred in 1968. However, many consider the 1998 death of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas, at the hands of three whites who hauled him behind their pick-up truck with a chain, a later instance.

It seems likely that the soaring number of lynchings was related to the collapse of the South's cotton economy. Lynchings were most common in regions with highly transient populations, scattered farms, few towns, and weak law enforcement--settings that fueled insecurity and suspicion.

The Census Bureau estimates that 4,742 lynchings took place between 1882 and 1968. Between 1882 and 1930, some 2,828 people were lynched in the South; 585 in the West; and 260 in the Midwest. That means that between 1880 and 1930, a black Southerner died at the hands of a white mob more than twice a week. Most of the victims of lynching were African American males. However, some were female, and a small number were Italian, Chinese, or Jewish. Mobs lynched 447 non-blacks in the West, 181 non-African Americas in the Midwest, and 291 in the South. The hangings of white victims rarely included mutilation.

Apologists for lynching claimed that they were punishment for such crimes as murder and especially rape. But careful analysis has shown that a third of the victims were not even accused of rape or murder; in fact, many of the charges of rape were fabrications. Many victims had done nothing more than not step aside on a sidewalk or accidentally brush against a young girl. In many cases, a disagreement with a white storeowner or landowner triggered a lynching. In 1899, Sam Hose, a black farmer, killed a white man in an argument over a debt. He was summarily hanged and then burned. His charred knuckles were displayed in an Atlanta store window.

The journalist G.L. Godkin wrote in 1893:

Man is the one animal that is capable of getting enjoyment out of the torture and death of members of its own species. We venture to assert that seven-eighths of every lynching part is composed of pure, sporting mob, which goes...just as it goes to a cock-fight or prize-fight, for the gratification of the lowest and most degraded instincts of humanity.

Opponents of lynching, like the African American journalist Ida B. Wells, sent detectives to investigate lynchings and published their reports.Had Miss Wells been born in Newfoundland she would have exposed the hated Townie for what he really was
but I don't think The Newfoundlander could ever have done to his neighbour what the American Whites have done to The Black man.

Jamie Nelson was Innocent Cathy Fordham is Guilty.......The Law is an ass

2009-02-12T11:35:00.002-05:00

TORONTO -- In the end, justice came quickly for Jamie Nelson.Five-and-a-half years after being found guilty of a rape he did not commit and spending 3 1/2 years in prison, three Ontario Court of Appeal Justices took less than five minutes to overturn his conviction yesterday.After reading documents submitted by his appeal lawyer and a lawyer for the Crown -- both of whom asked for an acquittal -- Justices John Laskin, Stephen Goudge and Janet Simmons said they didn't even need to hear submissions. It was clear Mr. Nelson deserved an acquittal.
"We've read the material, and discussed this," Judge Laskin said. "We're in agreement. We propose to set aside the convictions and register acquittals."

Jamie Nelson emerges
from the Ontario Court
of Appeal in Toronto yesterday after his conviction for a sexual assault was overturned.
Mr. Nelson spent 3 1/2
years in prison and said his day of justice 'feels good, but it doesn't give me back one of those days I spent in prison.'

He then endorsed the appeal file. As the judge did so, Mr. Nelson sighed and silently shed tears while sitting perfectly straight in the front row of courtroom 10 of Osgoode Hall.With the stroke of a pen, Mr. Nelson, 34, who is from Ottawa but now lives in Stratford, Ont., was given his life back.He now joins the list of the justice system's embarrassments -- falling in company with David Milgaard, who was wrongfully convicted of a Saskatchewan murder and served 23 years before a DNA test cleared him, as well as Donald Marshall and Guy Paul Morin. Mr. Nelson is an innocent man wrongfully convicted, and he wants people to learn from his plight.
"What happened today is what I've been waiting for since the day I was arrested," he said. "I can't put into words what I feel right now. What do you say when nobody believes you, you go to prison, you get treated like a rapist, then all of a sudden, people believe you.
"I told the truth all along. Sometimes I thought I was going crazy. I am innocent of this, and I can't believe this happened, but I have to. I lived it. Justice went right off the rails in my case, and it didn't have to. Wrongful convictions happen for a reason. Maybe by looking at my case, people in the justice system will learn, and it won't happen to somebody else.
"This feels good, but it doesn't give me back one of those days I spent in prison."
A civil action he is planning against the Ottawa police, the attorney general's office, and Corrections Canada may ease the pain, he said, but this is not about money, this is about respect and clearing his name.Mr. Nelson's case is a shining example of how things can go wrong when people are prepared to manipulate the justice system.In the mid-1990s, Mr. Nelson was involved in a bitter child-custody battle with his former girlfriend, Christine Thompson.

Cathy Fordham, 30, told police Mr. Nelson
had viciously raped and beat her.Ms. Thompson was friends with Cathy Fordham who took an active role in the battle.Twice, when Mr. Nelson won more access rights to his son in family court, Ms. Fordham accused him of crimes against her. First she said he assaulted her.

Ms. Thompson was friends with Cathy Fordham, 30, who took an active role in the battle.Twice, when Mr. Nelson won more access rights to his son in family court, Ms. Fordham accused him of crimes against her. First she said he assaulted her. After a trial, he was convicted and sentenced to 120 days in jail.After he was released in 1995, he won access to his son on weekends and one night a week. But every time over five weeks that he showed up to collect his son, Ms. Thompson said the child wasn't there.
The last time, Mr. Nelson told Ms. Thompson they were going back to court. When he did this, she produced the child.That Sunday when he pulled into his driveway with his son in tow, he was arrested at gunpoint by police. It was April 30, 1996. The day before, Ms. Fordham told police Mr. Nelson had viciously raped and beat her two months previously in her Vanier apartment.She said she waited so long because she was afraid of Mr. Nelson.
The truth is, Mr. Nelson did no such thing. He was at home on the night in question. But the allegations were so brutal he was deemed a threat to society and denied bail.His trial took place over seven days. Assistant Crown attorney Mark Moors prosecuted. Ken Hall defended Mr. Nelson. Ontario Court Justice Hugh Fraser presided without a jury.Ms. Fordham was the Crown's main witness. She took the stand and gave details of the rape. She cried often. Mr. Nelson took the stand and denied the allegations.
Several others were called to establish an alibi for him.In the end, Judge Fraser found Ms. Fordham was telling the truth, Mr. Nelson and the other defence witnesses were lying and convicted him of sexual assault, forcible confinement and uttering death threats.
On Nov. 14, 1996, after six months in jail awaiting his fate, the judge sentenced Mr. Nelson to 3 1/2 years in prison. He served every day until his statutory release date. His refusal to participate in sexual deviancy counselling landed him in solitary confinement for a total of 15 months.While he was trying to stay alive in prison, Ms. Fordham set her self up as a leader of a group home for men caught in the court system.
A later police investigation, the results of which were part of Mr. Nelson's appeal, showed the home was a snake-pit of drugs, alcohol, and sex.Here, she refined her skill at using the justice system as her weapon of choice. She reported breaches of court orders when there were no breaches. This landed several men in jail.
In January 1998, Andre Emile Masson, 26, got the same treatment as Mr. Nelson -- a rape allegation with almost the same details. This led to his arrest.In August 1998, Ms. Fordham accused Allan Kamen and Phillippe Francois of brutally assaulting her while she was praying at a grotto in Vanier. Ottawa police Sgt. Paul Turner investigated, but after the men produced solid alibis, and Ms. Fordham refused a polygraph, she was charged with public mischief for making a false complaint.This touched off the police investigation that exposed Ms. Fordham as a calculating liar willing to abuse the courts.
She was found guilty of public mischief last summer after a trial in which she also accused Mr. Kamen of sexually assaulting her while Mr. Francois watched.Cathy Fordham's credibility was shot. The charges against Mr. Masson were dropped. Others proceedings were discontinued. However, Mr. Nelson was still in prison.
He was paroled in March 1999 and successfully completed this in early 2000.During this time, Ms. Fordham was charged with making a false police complaint again and threatening to kill a former boyfriend. These charges are still before the courts.In his appeal, lawyer Todd Ducharme relied heavily on new evidence of Ms. Fordham's character, and how Judge Fraser, who noted Ms. Fordham's testimony at trial wasn't "prefect," misjudged her credibility.
Mr. Hall at trial, the appeal said, raised many issues that should have raised a reasonable doubt Mr. Nelson was guilty.So compelling was yesterday's appeal, Scott Hutchison, a seasoned Crown attorney, did something he'd never done before -- asked for an acquittal. Afterwards, he shook Mr. Nelson's hand.
"The right thing happened today," he said.
Mr. Ducharme called yesterday one of the most rewarding days of his career.
"It is a cautionary tale," he said. "People make false allegations, and they make false allegations about serious crimes like sexual assault. I hope it makes people remember why people accused of crimes are presumed innocent."
Yesterday, after being informed Mr. Nelson was acquitted, Ms. Fordham held to her story. "I had no idea this was even going on," she said. "If I had known about this, I would have done something to try and fight it. I would never accuse anybody of anything they didn't do."

Firefox or Internet Explorer:Safe and not so safe

2008-12-08T14:29:00.000-05:00

Since information security is my hobby/job/obsession, this particular topic is near and dear to my heart. Just about everyone reading this has seen computers that have been beaten down with spyware - the evil junk that hijacks IE and renders a system virtually useless. How many times have you been called to a family member’s house to clean up their system? Or had to call your techie friend to come clean yours? It’s often quite awkward - the system slows to a crawl and every other mouse click conjures up some species of perverse, obscene image. What most people don’t realize, however, is that there is a very simple and powerful way to defend your system (and/or the systems of your loved ones) in one fell swoop.Don’t use Internet Explorer.What makes other browsers better than IE at protecting vs. spyware and other attacks? Well, it’s simple really - most other browsers don’t make it so easy to install malicious software on your system without you knowing about it. IE makes it relatively trivial through two features called ActiveX and Active Scripting. These technologies were designed specifically for the purpose of giving Web sites more control over a user’s computer. Unfortunately, as we have seen with exploit after exploit - that’s not always a good thing.

In addition to the spyware issues, IE in general has had a terrible track record when it comes to all types of serious security issues. For years now, it’s seemed like every time you turn around there is a new way to have your computer taken over via Internet Explorer. Put “internet explorer” and “allow an attacker to execute commands” (with the quotes) into Google and you’ll see what I mean.

In IE’s defense, many anti-Microsoft types will claim that it’s not possible to lock down IE at all. This is not true. It is possible - but if and only if you have a fair amount of technical know-how on the subject, and the time to do it. My personal view, however, is that tools such as Internet browsers should not require expertise and configuration time to be able to use them safely.

Standards

This is likely to get me in some hot water with my fellow security enthusiasts, but I find this issue to be of even more concern than that of IE’s security. The Internet works for one simple reason - everything at its core has been built on agreements that bind it together. Whether a computer is connected from California or Newfoundland, it’s going to speak the same language and obey the same rules - the rules defined by standards. If this weren’t the case there would be no Internet at all. These agreements are forged by a body of people whose goal is nothing short of designing a better and more efficient Internet for everyone. Microsoft, for some odd reason, seems bent on breaking stride with these agreed-upon standards. Case in point: the next time you’re in a bookstore, head over to the technology section and pick up a book on XHTML or CSS. These are two major Web standards that deal with how Web pages are displayed to users, and within any book on the subjects you will find one common theme:

The absolute worst browser when it comes to supporting the standards is Internet Explorer.

Page after page in these books will reveal features supported in other browsers, but not in IE. Ask yourself why a company would choose not to support standards that benefit everyone? The way I see it, it’s for precisely one of two reasons - either they are unable to, or they don’t want to. Given the fact that they are a multi-billion dollar company (one of the richest on the planet), I can’t help but lean toward the second option. Without going into too much detail, they have their own plans, and those plans involve implementing their own standard and forcing it upon the world. Call me a geek/hippie, but the idea of a multi-billion dollar corporation snubbing its nose at agreed-upon standards is nothing short of infuriating.

Options

Lucky for us, we have alternatives. The good news is that the alternative browsers are actually as good or better than IE. There are many out there, but in my opinion the Mozilla products are the best. I personally prefer and recommend Mozilla Firefox. Not only does it keep your browsing sessions a lot more secure and spyware-free, but it also supports the standards religiously and has a wide range of powerful features. Arguably the biggest benefit to using a Mozilla-based product is something called tabbed browsing. What this allows you to do is have multiple pages open within a single browser window. Rather than going from window to window in the taskbar, you can simply switch between clearly visible tabs, all within the same view. You can even do this and many other commands via the keyboard if you are into that sort of thing.

Using Firefox will not require any major shift in your daily browsing habits. It’ll import your favorites automatically, and you can benefit from the improved security starting the first time you open it. With the popup blocking enabled, you can breath quite a bit easier when browsing to unknown sites. Attempts to install garbage on your system that could have easily succeeded if you were using IE will simply be ignored by Firefox. Plus, the whole time you’re browsing you’ll know that you are doing your part to keep the soul of the Internet alive by choosing to use a browser whose developers actually care about standards.

Of course, I still use IE. (pause for effect) …it’s how I get my Windows security updates. : Seriously though - Windows Update is a must, and it only works in IE, so that in itself is a good reason to fire up IE once in a while. Aside from Windows Update though, there is still the occasional site that I go to that doesn’t look right in any other browser. Those sites, by the way, are all the more reason to not use IE. They weren’t written according to the standards, and they look bad in any browser other than IE as a result of that fact. Using IE all the time just because the occasional site is designed so poorly as to look like crap in other browsers is utterly bad form. I implore you not to give into this temptation.

Wrapping It Up

So, in closing, I leave you with two thoughts:

Due to the combination of ActiveX, scripting, and its integration with the Windows operating system, Internet Explorer is more vulnerable to attack than many other browsers.
The designers of Internet Explorer have purposely turned their back on the standards designed to benefit the Internet as a whole. They have done this for years, continue to do it today, and appear to have nothing but their own interests at heart.

I ask that you consider these points and pull down a copy of Firefox, Opera, or another alternative browser. Run it for a week and see how it feels. As mentioned above, I personally recommend Firefox due to its excellent development team and large user base. Once you have had some time to get to know your new onramp to the Web, I think you’ll find that you’ll wish you had switched sooner. No longer will you have to worry about garbage clogging up your system because of your browser, or having to make a mad rush for a patch every time an IE vulnerability is released.

Finally, and most importantly - spread the word. It’s time now for us to put alternative browsers on the map and let it be known that we are aware of our choices. We need not settle for what we are being fed when there are better, more secure alternatives out there.

Windows Key - WorldStart Computer Tips and Computer Help

2008-12-02T18:20:00.003-05:00

Q:
I just noticed a key on my keyboard that I've never really used before because I have no idea what it's for. It's in between the left Ctrl and Alt and has a "flying window" on it. Can you help?

A:
Ahh, the Windows key. I remember the first time I noticed her... She sat lifeless until someone explained to me the power she possessed. And now I will pass the knowledge on to you so that together we can rule the univ..., well, our computers...

The Windows key can be used in conjunction with other keys to act as a keyboard shortcut for faster access to menu commands. Now, while the Alt key tends to open program menus (ex: Alt+F opens the File menu and Alt+E opens the Edit menu) and the Ctrl key performs actual operations (ex: Ctrl+C will copy and Ctrl+V will paste), the Windows key will open various Windows tools...

Windows key + R will open the Start menu's Run box
Windows key + F will open the Start menu's Find window
Windows key + E will quickly launch Explorer
Windows key + Pause/Break will open the System Properties window
Windows key + M will Minimize all windows
Windows key + Shift + M will undo Minimize all windows
Windows key + D will switch between minimizing all open programs and showing them all
Windows key + Tab will cycle through items on the taskbar
Windows key by itself will open the Start menu

You can also open programs or folders on your desktop by pressing the Windows key + the first letter of the program/folder/shortcut + Enter . Sounds kinda tedious, but if you're in a bind with your mouse, it can come in quite handy.

Ode to Newfoundland

2008-11-30T06:26:00.001-05:00

About Confederation

2008-10-28T20:36:00.000-04:00

Newfoundland and Canada: 1864-1949

Whether Newfoundland and Labrador should remain as an independent political entity, or join the federation of the other British North American colonies, was an issue from 1864 to 1949. In 1864, Newfoundland delegates attended the Quebec Conference and signed the resolutions which became of foundation of the 1867 British North America Act. But it was not until over 80 years later, in 1949, that Newfoundland became a Canadian province.Active debate in the colony during the 1860s culminated in the hard-fought "confederation election" of 1869, won by the anti-confederates in a landslide victory.

William V. Whiteway, ca. early 1900s.
Whiteway was an avowed confederate in 1869.
Photo by Lafayette Ltd. Courtesy of the Centre for Newfoundland Studies Archives (Coll-026), Memorial University of Newfoundland Library, St. John's, Newfoundland.

Not yet ready to give up independence, Newfoundlanders had decided that they could survive, prosper even, on their own. The election was so decisive that the idea of confederation was set aside - indeed, it became a dirty word in many circles. Thus Newfoundland became the only British North American colony to try the experiment of independence (within the British Empire).

As neighbours, Newfoundland and Canada had to negotiate and settle a wide range of issues of mutual concern over the years. Fisheries, trade, relations with the USA, the Labrador boundary and defence were among the most important. Sometimes, between 1869 and the second World War, confederation was raised as a possibility, but only once, in 1895, were there serious negotiations. These failed because neither Newfoundland nor Canada were much interested at that time.

Alfred B. Morine (1857-1944), n.d.
In the late 1890s Morine, Newfoundland's Finance Minister, supported confederation.
Artist unknown. From D.W. Prowse, A History of Newfoundland, from the English, Colonial and Foreign Records (London: Macmillan, 1895) 550.

With the collapse of responsible government in 1934, followed by War II, Newfoundland entered a new phase in its history, and in its relationship with Canada. By 1945, the Canadians were coming to the conclusion that incorporating Newfoundland into confederation made sense. The British government thought the same. And the referendums held in 1948 showed that a majority of Newfoundlanders now agreed as well. But the vote had been preceded by a long, tense and divisive debate, and was followed by a difficult period of transition. Finally, on 31 March 1949, Newfoundlanders became Canadian citizens. How that happened has been debated ever since.In this year of 2008 I ask myself what have we really gained fron the whole darn thing.The fishery is gone,the railway has collasped,the forestry is looking pekid so what has England's oldest colony really gained.

Benny gets his man

2008-10-25T16:08:00.000-04:00

antivirus downloads

2008-09-04T23:30:00.004-04:00

by R.F.Brentnall

A new virus strain pretends to remove malware but actually does just the opposite: it infects your system.
Fortunately, you can use a few simple steps to tell the difference between these rogue antivirus programs and legitimate security software.

Antivirus apps may be malware in disguise

A dangerous new virus is making the rounds in the guise of a legitimate antivirus program. Going by such names as "Antivirus XP 2008" and "XP Antivirus 2009," this malware, as described in a recent Computer Associates advisory, succeeds by looking like a legitimate Windows program.
The Internet security blog Donna's SecurityFlash reports that rogue antivirus programs such as these are being promoted through spam messages that link to an automatic download of a virus installer.
With such aggressive methods afoot to fool security-minded users, how do you know when an antivirus product is legitimate? Use the following guidelines to ensure that the security products you download are legitimate.

Choose your security vendor deliberately

Be careful how you select a security vendor. Just because you see an ad for a vendor or product on a highly reputable site doesn't mean the advertiser is reliable.
Conversely, an ad for a reputable product or service on an unfamiliar site doesn't mean that you can trust the site. Advertisements are often distributed by third parties beyond the editorial control of the hosting site. That's why you may find ads for untrustworthy products on legitimate sites, and ads for legit products on bogus sites.
Services such as the free McAfee Site Advisor and the Web of Trust add-on for the Firefox browser evaluate beforehand the safety of the site you're about to visit. (Windows Secrets contributing editor Becky Waring reviewed Web of Trust in her July 17 column.)
Because the ratings generated by these tools may be based on out-of-date reports, they aren't perfect. But they serve as a useful line of defense.
Another way to evaluate sites before you visit them is with the free LinkScanner Lite application. Rather than rely on second-hand reports, LinkScanner analyzes the code of a given site to check for stealth downloads and other malicious behavior.
The free version of the program requires that you right-click a link manually to get a risk analysis before you surf to the site. If you want your Google and Yahoo search results to be scanned automatically (in addition to other added features), buy LinkScanner Pro for $20.
Published reviews praise LinkScanner for detecting hacked sites, although the program fares less well when rated for detecting phishing sites. CNET's review gave LinkScanner an overall rating of 7.5 out of 10. PC Magazine's evaluation was similar, awarding the program 3.5 out of 5 stars.
Finally, never visit a shopping site by clicking a link in a spam message. Even if the message claims to be pitching a reputable product, such as one from Symantec or ZoneAlarm, the link may actually take you to a counterfeit site.

Color-coding the good guys and bad guys

One site that has been tracking rogue anti-malware products since 2004 is Spyware Warrior. If you're considering a product whose validity is not certain, your first screening step should be to search Spyware Warrior's blacklist. Although Spyware Warrior focuses on identifying fake antispyware apps, the service's blacklist of suspicious sites and products also includes a lot of rogue antivirus applications.
Additionally, consult a whitelist of products that have been certified by a reliable independent organization. One such organization is ICSA Labs (formerly the International Computer Security Association), an independent research and certification division of Verizon Business. On its site, ICSA maintains a list of antivirus products it has certified according to its criteria.
Once you've validated a product to your satisfaction via these resources, you're probably safe downloading it directly from the vendor. But to be extra cautious, consider going to a reputable download source that scans every item before placing it in its library. Such sites include CNET's Download.com, the Downloads page of PCWorld.com, ZDNet's Downloads page, and Tucows.com's security section.
These days, every PC user needs security software to protect against online threats. But when the security software itself becomes a threat, the solution becomes a problem.
Fortunately, with a little care, you can dramatically reduce your risk when shopping for safe and effective security products.

R.F. Brentnall is columnist of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He has been contributing since 1999 and currently writes for the Here's How section of that magazine.

Come Join Teksavvy Internet/Telephone/Cable

2008-08-12T06:59:00.002-04:00

Hello TekSavvy - Goodbye Rogers,Adios Bell

It’s official.

I am now accessing the net through my new TekSavvy DSL connection and it is superbly fast, delightfully cheap and comes with no limits on my bandwidth usage. I highly recommend them.

I’ve been with Rogers for years and was constantly bitching and complaining about their inconsistent speeds, arbitrary capping of bandwidth, throttling of P2P traffic and just generally being a useless bunch of arrogant twats. The straw that broke my back and got me jazzed up enough to follow through on my threats to get another provider was when Rogers started hijacking my browser and inserting their own messages to me within the web sites I was trying to access.

.
That’s like blocking my way on a sidewalk so you can talk to me.

That’s like interrupting my phone call and insisting I speak with you.

That’s like grabbing my wrist and keeping my fork full of food from reaching my mouth so that I have to listen to you.

TekSavvy was fast in getting me set up and their support was terrific to ensure I got online without any problems. I work with some rather large media files and I pretty much do all my work online now so uninterrupted, reliable net access and unfettered bandwidth usage is important to me.

I tried to get a business account with Rogers to get around the limits they were imposing on their home accounts - but they wouldn’t let me. Can’t have a business account at your home location. WTF? Nope - you could only get a Rogers business account at a business location. They told me I had to get an office somewhere and then they would let me have a business account. That’s really forward thinking of these f**ktards. The concept of working from home is completely foreign to them.

I shall stop complaining now.

TekSavvy has their own difficulties but not because they are f**ktards. Their problems stem from the f**ktards at Bell who are seeking to throttle all the traffic in the intertubes - even the traffic of their wholesale customers. TekSavvy, and many others, are taking them to court. I’ll be sure to report more on that here as new information becomes available.

But right now — I’m goin’ surfing!!!!

Cheers.

Gambo Storm

2008-08-03T17:49:00.000-04:00

Repair Outlook Express

2008-07-30T03:36:00.011-04:00

I received an e-mail the other day from my friend Katie asking for help with an Outlook Express problem. In her own field Katie is known as an intelligent and articulate, one might even say verbose, woman. But when it comes to anything computer-related, she shows a very different face. Her description of the problem consisted of just two lines: “My Outlook Express is acting funny. What should I do?” I resisted the temptation to reply with a witty remark about booking Outlook Express into the local Comedy Club.There's a thought! Maybe we could get Bill Gates to introduce it. I also resisted the temptation to ask her for more details. That could easily have evolved into an e-mail exchange the length of a Newfoundland Soup Supper. Instead I sent her what I present to you here: a basic repair kit for Outlook Express. These steps repair the most likely causes of “funny” behavior in Outlook Express with a minimum of time, sweat, and tears.

Restart the computer

This simple step can resolve any number of problems resulting from improperly closed files, memory corruption, and damage to system files.
Close other programs
You will need both Outlook Express and Internet Explorer open. Save your work in any other programs and close them. This allows your repair steps to do their job without other programs making demands on your computer at the same time.

Delete the Temporary Internet Files

1.In Internet Explorer, click Internet Options on the Tools menu.
2.In the Temporary Internet files panel, click Delete files.
3.In the pop-up alert window, select the Remove all offline files check box, and then click OK.
If you do not select the check box, the temporary files used by Outlook Express will not be removed.

Remove all offline files to delete Outlook Express temporary files.

This step often comes as a surprise. Each time you display a message, either in a message window or in the Preview pane, Outlook Express creates a temporary file to help it display the contents of the message. Each of those temporary files is stored in the Temporary Internet Files folder that is used by Internet Explorer. Sometimes one or more files in this folder are damaged, and that can cause Outlook Express to exhibit strange symptoms when displaying messages. All the files in Temporary Internet files truly are temporary, so there is no danger in deleting them. Doing so will not delete the actual messages in Outlook Express.

Compact all folders

•In Outlook Express, click Work Offline on the File menu so that no new messages will be arriving.
•In the Folder List, click on Outlook Express so that no e-mail or news folder is open.
•Close the Folder List by clicking the X in the upper right-hand corner of the list panel. Alternatively
   you can click Layout on the View menu, and then clear the Folder List check box.
•On the File menu, point to Folder, and then click Compact All Folders. Do not use your computer until the process is complete, which might take several minutes.If an error occurs, close Outlook Express, re-open it, and begin the process again from the top. If the same error occurs again, close Outlook Express, restart your computer (or log off and then log on again), open Outlook Express and then begin the whole process again.

Let the compaction process finish before you try to use your computer.

Many bizarre behaviors in Outlook Express are caused by small errors in the file “Folders.dbx.” This file is the master index of the message store folder and damaged entries there can create all sorts of fun, such as the wrong message or folder being displayed. When you compact all folders you are also updating this master index. If you don’t compact all folders from time to time, you are more likely to see distinctly unfunny behavior.

Reregister Outlook Express

Damaged or missing entries in the Windows registry can prevent Outlook Express from being recognized as the default e-mail client. That it turn can cause odd behavior when replying to a newsgroup message or clicking an e-mail link on a Web page. A simple procedure causes Outlook Express to rewrite its main registry keys and so corrects such issues.

1.Click Start, and then click Run.
2.In the Open box, type msimn /reg, and then click OK.
   (Note that you will not see anything happen.)
3.In Internet Explorer click Options on the Tools menu.
4.Click the Programs tab and select Outlook Express as the default e-mail client and as the default news client. You can change those later if you wish.

Reregister libraries

Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) are files that contain functions that may be shared by other programs, such as recognizing hyperlinks, displaying rich content, and so forth. These specific DLLs are used by Outlook Express, and can cause glitches in the visual display if they are damaged. Reregistering a DLL using regsvr32 is similar to reinstalling those functions and thus makes sure they are installed and working correctly.

1.Click Start, and then click Run.
2.In the Open box, type regsvr32 urlmon.dll, and then click OK.
3.Repeat step 1 for each of the following commands:
           regsvr32 mshtml.dll
           regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
           regsvr32 browseui.dll
           regsvr32 msjava.dll

Create a new identity

This will create a new message store folder as well as all new registry keys. This should not be necessary unless our previous efforts have failed to correct the problems.

1.Export your e-mail and news accounts in Outlook Express so that you can import them into a new Identity.

    1.Click Accounts on the Outlook Express Tools menu.
    2.Click the Mail tab and select the default account.
    3.Click the Export button and select a location for the exported file.
        Make sure the extension remains   “iaf” (for Internet account file).
    4.Repeat steps 1-2 and 1-3 for all accounts.
    5.After all mail and news accounts have been exported, click Close.

2.On the File menu, click Identities, and then click Add New Identity.
3.Type a name for the new Identity, and then click OK.A new Identity allows you to start Outlook Express with all default settings, a useful way to work around registry or file damage.

4.Click Yes to switch to the new Identity.
5.Click Cancel to close the New Account wizard. If you are prompted to import settings or messages, select “Do not import at this time” or Cancel.
6.Click Accounts on the Tools menu.
7.Click the Import button and select the first *.iaf file from step 1. Repeat until all accounts have been imported.
8.Import the mail messages from your old Identity.

•On the File menu, click Import, and then click Messages.
•Select Microsoft Outlook Express 6 from the list of programs, and then click Next.
•Select the name of the Identity to import, and then click OK.

"From an Island to an Island"

2008-07-11T12:07:00.001-04:00

Paddy's Lamentation

2008-06-24T00:05:00.003-04:00

Paddy's Lamentation
by Linda Thompson

Well it's by the hush, me boys, and sure that's to hold your noise
And listen to poor Paddy's sad narration
I was by hunger pressed, and in poverty distressed
So I took a thought I'd leave the Irish nation

Here's you boys, now take my advice
To America I'll have ye's not be coming
There is nothing here but war, where the murderin' cannons roar
And I wish I was at home in dear old Dublin

Well I sold me horse and cow, my little pigs and sow
My little plot of land I soon did part with
And me sweetheart Bid McGee, I'm afraid I'll never see
For I left her there that morning broken-hearted

Well meself and a hundred more, to America sailed o'er
Our fortunes to be made we were thinkin'
When we got to Yankee land, they shoved a gun into our hands
Saying "Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln"

General Meagher to us he said, if you get shot or lose your leg
Every mother's son of youse will get a pension
Well meself I lost me leg, they gave me a wooden peg,
And be God this is the truth to you I mention

"Cinderella of Empire"

2008-06-19T00:24:00.005-04:00

Joey Smallwood's

    "Cinderella of Empire"

The history of this island is an unbroken history of struggle.
The war has widened our horizons and deepened our knowledge of the great gulf which separates what we have and what we are, from what we feel we should have and should be. We have become uncomfortably aware of the low standards of our country, and we are driven irresistibly to wonder whether our attempt to persist in isolation is the root cause of our condition. Our very manhood, our very creation by God, entitles us to standards of life no lower than our brothers on the mainland. We are fifty, in some things one hundred, years behind the times. We live more poorly, more shabbily, more meanly. Our life is more a struggle. Our struggle is tougher, more naked, more hopeless.
We all love this land. It has a charm, it warms our hearts, go where we will,a charm, a magic, a mystical tug on our emotions that never dies. With all her faults we love her. But a metamorphosis steals over us the moment we cross the border which separates us from other lands. We are so used to our ways that we do not even see their inadequacy, their backwardness,their seaminess. We take for granted our lower standards, our poverty. We are not indignant about them, we save our indignation for those who publish such facts. Except for a few years of this war and a few of the last, our people’s earnings never supported them on a scale comparable with North American standards, and never maintained a government on even the prewar scale of service. We might manage, precariously, to maintain independent national status. We can resolutely decide to be poor but proud. But if such a decision is made it must be made by the sixty thousand poor families, and not by the five thousand families who are confident of getting along pretty well in any case. Our danger, so it seems to me, is that of nursing delusions of grandeur. We are not a nation. We are a medium-sized municipality. There was a time indeed when tiny states lived gloriously. That time is now ancient European history. We are trying to live in the mid-twentieth century, post-Hitler New World. We can, of course, persist in isolation, a dot on the shore of North America. Reminded continually by radio, visitors, and movies of the incredibly higher standards of living across the Gulf, we can shrug incredulously or dope ourselves into the hopeless belief that such things are not for us. By our isolation from the throbbing vitality and expansion of the continent, we have been left far behind in the march of time, “the sport of historic misfortune,” “the Cinderella of Empire.”

-excerpt from Richard Gywn's "The Unlikely revolutionary"

If we join......Canada

2008-06-16T02:00:00.005-04:00

Canadian Taxes
Sept 29 1948
Letter to the editor
Daily News

Dear Sir, The Confederate paper and the speakers over the radio are continually telling the people of this country that there is no tax on property in Canada except in towns. They say the Federal government does not tax such things as houses, fishing boats, land, and so on. It does not matter what authority does the taxing, it is done just the same. Ask anybody who has lived in Canada whether a person living out in country places pays taxes on property or not. In fact, property taxes are levied in every province, and Newfoundland would be no exception. Those living towns [sic] come under the municipal tax scheme, those in country places come under the district or county plan. The property tax rates as high as five per cent. It is all controlled by government authority, with the central power in Ottawa.

The writer of this letter has lived in Canada for some years. We were forced to come back to Newfoundland for the simple reason that it was easier to live in this country, and we had a home to come back to. There are many who would do likewise, if the old home still stood. Wages are no good to a man in Canada to-day, as the government takes practically all.

If Newfoundland enters Confederation, Canada has to take thirty million dollars out of this country. The province would have to raise another twenty million in order to carry on necessary public services. How in the name of common sense can that be got except by further taxation, and it would still be controlled by Ottawa. We are about as far from Ottawa as we are from England. Remote control is one of the most serious disadvantages of any government.

The so-called baby bonus is only a hindrance to a man under wages. It often puts his salary into the taxable class. The most serious thing in connection with this bonus is the fact that it encourages immorality and illegitimacy. This fact is causing alarm in Canada right at the present moment.

Newfoundlanders are descended from pure loyal British stock. They have proved their devotion to King and Empire. The French Canadian is anti-British. The refusal of many of them to fight overseas in the last war shows their attitude to the Empire. They hold views on social life altogether different from ours. Let us keep clear of the shadow of French influence.

Newfoundland fishermen, your ancestors built their homes on this tight little island, and guarded them. They wanted to be free from interference. The degenerate who would sell his native land is not fit to breathe the air of our Terra Nova. His fetid breath pollutes the atmosphere in which we live.

Yours truly,

NEWFOUNDLAND DOG.

Leanne Rhymes sings "Amazing Grace"

2008-06-01T00:05:00.002-04:00

Commission of Government in Newfoundland

2008-05-25T04:18:00.003-04:00

The Commission of Government in Newfoundland was established in response to an extraordinary set of circumstances. The collapse of world trade during the GREAT DEPRESSION of the 1930s was particularly damaging to Newfoundland's economy, which depended on exporting large quantities of fish and forest products. In 1933, following several turbulent years of severe budget deficits and heavy foreign borrowing, the government of Prime Minister Frederick Alderdice asked the British government to establish a royal commission to investigate Newfoundland's financial difficulties. The commission's report blamed both political corruption and international conditions for Newfoundland's predicament, and advocated replacing RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT with a "Commission of Government" that would rule until Newfoundland was self-supporting again.

Alderdice, Frederick Charles b. Nov. 10, 1872, Belfast, Ireland [now in Northern Ireland] - d. Feb. 28, 1936, St. John's, Newfoundland [now in Canada]), prime minister of Newfoundland (1928, 1932-34). In 1924 he was appointed to the Legislative Council. In the summer of 1928 he assumed the office of prime minister following the resignation of his cousin, Walter S. Monroe, from that post. After the defeat of his United Newfoundland Party in the general election of October 1928, Alderdice led the opposition in the House of Assembly until 1932 when he and his United Newfoundland Party were elected to office. Alderdice was to be the last prime minister of Newfoundland before Confederation. Following the election he also took on the portfolios of Minister of Education and Minister of Finance and Customs, holding the latter office only until August 1932. In 1934 responsible government was officially replaced by commission government (no national referendum was ever held on this constitutional change). Alderdice served as Commissioner for Home Affairs and Education in the new Commission of Government until his death.The commission government took office in February 1934 and remained in power until Newfoundland became a Canadian province in 1949. It was presided over by a governor who acted on the advice of 6 commissioners appointed by the British government. During its tenure the commission government introduced a number of reforms, including a land resettlement scheme, the reorganization of the civil service and the creation of the Newfoundland Fisheries Board. With the outbreak of WWII in 1939, however, large-scale reconstruction was postponed in favour of a total war effort.Gradually much of the original goodwill toward the commission government dissipated, and after the war there was increasing agitation for the return of self-government. Consequently, in the first of 2 referendums held in 1948 to decide the island's future, commission government placed a distant third (behind the restoration of responsible government and Confederation), and when Newfoundland entered Confederation on 31 March 1949, few Newfoundlanders mourned the passing of the commission government.Fred Alderdice on the other hand was rumoured to have been caught with his hand in the gouvernment purse more than a few times.Probably a good friend to Sir Richard Squires and Frank Moores no doubt.

George Carlin-Religion is Bullshit

2008-05-18T00:44:00.000-04:00

George Carlin-The Ten Commandments

2008-05-09T23:50:00.002-04:00

Disable AutoRun on Windows!

2008-05-04T06:03:00.003-04:00

Disable AutoRun on Windows!

posted May 3 2008 at 7:00AM

Last week we went off to buy a CD—something we, like a lot of people, do on a regular basis. We wanted to check out "Contraband" by Velvet Revolver, the group formed by ex-members of Guns N' Roses, and the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots. We figured with that much drugs in those boys, there's bound to be a good tune or two in there.

As with all our CDs, we unwrapped 8 layers of plastic on the way to the van and popped it in the CD player for the ride home, so far, so good—not a bad CD at all. After arriving home, we put the CD in our Xbox (as we always do with our CDs) to copy the songs over to the hard drive for use with games or as a jukebox.

Next up, inserted the disc in to our Mic (short for microsoft), started iTunes and then iTunes put the newly created MP3s on our iPod. Also, the Linux box in our kitchen (Xandros) was able to read and make MP3s just fine too.

Lastly, we popped the CD in our PC (Win XP) and also ran iTunes to add the songs to our library.

Was this all a dream? Did it really happen? It did. But it shouldn't have if it were up to the people who made that CD.

After looking around on the web it seems the folks from RCA Records actually don't want anyone to make MP3s of the songs on that disc, they don't want you to listen to the music you just purchased on your iPod or even your Xbox.

The disc has "Copy Protection" from SunnComm called MediaMax, which on some Windows systems will force the user to install software in order to listen to their music, and restrict what they do with the audio (for example you cannot make MP3s). If SunnComm sounds familiar, they should. These are the folks who were going to sue a Princeton student for 10 million dollars for writing a paper that showed by pressing the shift key while inserting the CD (and of course, pressing the shift key still worked on this CD, according to all reports you can bypass their copy protection.

Sadly, the way RCA and SunnComm want you to listen to music is pretty complicated. You'd need to insert the CD on your PC, wait up to one minute for it to load, click an end user agreement, then only "listen" to the music. Oh, wait there's more. It installs software which blocks making MP3s and it requires a web connection to exchange "data" and keys. On the disc there were music files in WMA format, but they don't seem to play on any device we have which plays WMAs—the site says they play only on "approved" devices. Yikes!

Well, for us, it wasn't an issue. Why? Well, we have always disabled "Auto-Run" on our Windows based system, since, like, Windows 95. The "feature" will, by default, automatically look for a file called Autorun.inf on any CD you pop in to your system—if it finds it, it will execute whatever programs it is instructed. This is a big security issue, as there are a lot of spywares and viruses distributed on CDs—so much so, in fact, Microsoft is disabling it in their next security-focused Windows XP Service Pack. SunnComn and everyone else who is trying to "copy protect" music CDs have really only one option, and this is it: using the autorun file on their music CDs to install their proprietary DRM software. But many people are becoming more vigilant about securing their systems.

Disabling Auto-Run is something we think everyone should do, not only for security from viruses and spyware, but so you'll never need to deal being unable able to listen to your music on your devices. Here's how to do it in Windows XP.

In Windows Click Start, then Click Run

Type regedit
Click OK

Click >
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>
SYSTEM>
CurrentControlSet>
Services>
Cdrom>

Double click "Autorun" the value is set to 1 by default, change it to zero.

Click OK
Now restart, that's it!

See ya now!

Genealogy Tidbits

2008-04-27T16:57:00.005-04:00

St. John's Wesley Methodist Marriages

What follows is a list of all Brentnall marriages in the St. John's Wesley Methodist Church records held at PANL as of August 2004. This list constitutes a typescript of my handwritten extraction from photocopies of the original records, which is to say that I may have inadvertantly introduced some errors while transcribing and typing... as always, you should double-check against the original records. That said, if you spot any mistakes that I have made, please let me know.

Some comments about this list:

* The entries below are in the same order as presented in the church records, which was not always in chronological order.

At PANL these records are in several volumes as follows:

* 1905 - 1914
* 1914 - 1919
* 1919 - 1923

The format of most of the entries that follow is as follows:

* Line 1: Marriage Number, and Groom's name, abode, occupation, etc
* Line 2: Bride's name, abode, etc
* Line 3: Marriage date and location
* Line 4: List of witnesses

Entries are separated by one or more blank lines.

James Simmons 25 bachelor Labourer St. John's Father: Joseph Simmonds
Annie Brentnall 23 spinster Gambo Father: Robert Brentnall
11 August 1909 at Wesley Methodist Parsonage
Wm Simmons, Beatrice Pike

Newfie Sheik

2008-04-18T12:00:00.003-04:00

Happy Computers

2008-04-14T04:44:00.004-04:00

TIPS FOR A SMOOTH RUNNING SYSTEM
================================

The more of these suggestions you follow, the fewer problems you should have. Follow them all, and you've probably eliminated at least 95% of all potential problem sources.

Things you should NOT do
--------------------------------
1: Use Internet Explorer
2: Use any browser based on Internet Explorer
3: Use Outlook or Outlook Express with the preview pane open

This screen shot shows the Outlook Express window as it's usually set up. The selected message is already visible in the preview pane before the message is "opened". If malicious code was integrated with the message, the damage would have already been done.Open Outlook express click on view and click on Layout.

Uncheck “Show preview Pane”

4: Open email attachments you haven't manually scanned with your virus scanner
5: Open email attachments you were not expecting, no matter who they appear to be from
6: Respond to spam messages, including using unsubscribe links
7: Visit questionable websites (e.g. porn, warez, hacking)
8: Poke unnecessary holes in your firewall by clicking "Allow" every time some program requests access to the Internet
9: Click directly on links in email messages
10: Use file sharing or P2P programs
11: Use pirated programs

Things you SHOULD do
-----------------------------
1: Use a non-IE or IE based browser
2: Always have an up to date virus scanner running
3: Always have a firewall running
4: Install all the latest security updates (the exception to the no-IE rule)
5: Delete all unsolicited emails containing attachments without reading
6: Manually scan all email attachments with your virus scanner, regardless of whether it's supposed to be done automatically
7: Copy and paste URLs from email messages into your web browser
8: Inspect links copied and pasted into your web browser to ensure they don't seem to contain a second/different address

will they lie there evermore

2008-03-25T05:47:00.000-04:00

Lukey's Boat

2008-03-14T20:49:00.001-04:00

The rare White Moose

2008-03-14T20:00:00.003-04:00

Rare white moose.

The Greens of Ship Island

2008-03-03T00:05:00.011-05:00

My father always spoke with pride of his connection to the Green family of Ship Island, Greenspond, through his grandmother, Mary Anne (Green) Carter, whom he called “Pollie” Carter. Before Dad died in 1981 he told me that his last living relative in the Green family was Fred Green in Greenspond, so when I visited there in 1986 I met three men on the Government Wharf and said to them that I was looking for Fred Green; two of them pointed to the other man and said, “That’s him there!” Well, I thought, what a stroke of luck, I had hit gold with the first attempt. I tried my best to explain the connection between the Carter and Green families but, unfortunately, because of not having done a vast amount of research into the Greens, I was unable to convince him that we were actually related. If I had known at the time that his father and my great-grandmother Mary Anne were sister and brother, it would have made things easier to figure out. Luckily, I had my camera with me and he agreed to let me take a photo of him, and also one of him and his two buddies. Fred died in 1993 at the age of 91 and is buried with his wife in the Anglican Cemetery in Greenspond; I suspect that he was the last member of the Green family living in the Greenspond area. In conversation with Dad’s half-brother, Uncle Walter Meadus, in St. John’s, following my visit to Greenspond I learned that Fred Green was the son of John, Mary Anne’s brother, who was born in 1855 and married Lucy Saunders of Greenspond on December 5, 1883. Fred had a brother and sister, Peter and Nellie. Peter was killed overseas in World War One, Uncle Walter said. I had been trying for years to contact descendants of the Ship Island Greens through the Newfoundland and Labrador Genealogical Society and other means without too much success; however, earlier this year I made friends with Peter Johnson of Frankfort, Ontario, through a letter which appeared in The Greenspond Letter and we have been corresponding since April. It was a wonderful streak of luck; we have exchanged much information, as well as photographs, which has been a welcome benefit to both of us. Peter is the great-grandson of Susan Green, Mary Anne’s eldest sister who married James Tiller of Wesleyville in 1862. Mary Anne married my great- grandfather, Charles Robert Carter, in 1869. Peter informed me that James and Susan Tiller, following the death of Mary Anne (Green) Carter during an epidemic of diphtheria in 1889 at age 40, had taken Mary Anne's youngest daughter Alice (Aunt Allie) to live with them in Wesleyville, until she was old enough to return to Ship Island and keep house for her brothers Sandy, Kenneth (my grandfather) and Frederick. This was a choice bit of information that I had not been aware of.
Aunt Allie in 1906 married Darius Blandford III of Greenspond; they were the parents of six sons and three daughters.

The Plantation Records [Registry of Fishing Rooms, 1805-1806]
In the Plantation Records of 1805-1806, which contained a registry of persons occupying and claiming property on Ship Island, Thomas Green, my great-great-great-great-grandfather, was listed as the owner and occupant of property on Ship Island known as "Green's Room", which he said he had purchased two years before in 1803.It is not known when Thomas Green arrived in Greenspond, but certainly not as early as the Carters, who were reported in the same Records as having built their fishing room on Ship Island in 1725.Thomas Green, in his will which he made December 29, 1818, declared he was from "Christchurch now residing in the Harbour of Greenspond". It is claimed by Professor J.J. Mannion in his book, The Peopling of Newfoundland, that 40 per cent of the people settling in Bonavista North area were from Christchurch in Hampshire, England. He said: "Christchurch, together with the inland market town of Ringwood, account for more than half of all Hampshire origins." In fact, the Carters also emigrated from Christchurch.

The Early Greens

Thomas Green was buried in Greenspond on May 14, 1828, with his age listed as 74 which would place his year of birth at 1753/54. He had two sons: Thomas died before him at the age of 46 and was buried May 29, 1823, meaning he was born in 1776/77; and his son, John, was baptized on November 4, 1833 and gave his age as 53, which places his year of birth at 1779/80, most likely 1780. John, my great-great-great-grandfather, would live for another 15 years after his baptism before he was to meet his death under very tragic circumstances, which was a common occurrence in many Newfoundland families, where they gave up their loved ones to the raging seas. I will give you a more fuller description of that horrific event later.

The Will of Thomas Green
In Thomas Green's will of 1818 there was no mention of his wife, so presumably she had already died; also, he lists only two children, his sons Thomas and John. There may have been daughters as well but, if so, they most likely were married by then; if, indeed, there were daughters, he left nothing to them in his will. This generally was accepted as the proper decision where the male heirs and their families came into possession of the property of the deceased.Although there are no records listing marriages in the Green family before 1823, it is possible they were mislaid or misplaced, as the records in Greenspond before Rev. N.A. Coster's arrival in 1830 were reportedly kept in a very haphazard manner and probably got lost or discarded. Reports say that Rev. Coster pieced together the records now available by gathering together the various notes made on slips of paper lying around the church building. Thank God for his efforts in this regard.Because of the frequency of churches burning down and the records of baptisms, marriages, and deaths going up in smoke, the government brought in a regulation, effective in 1890, ordering the churches to transfer their vital statistics to appropriate forms supplied by the government and have them sent to the Vital Statistics department in St. John's. The forms eventually ended up in the Provincial Archives and I can vouch for some glaring inaccuracies in these records, because they caused some extended labour and time on my part while doing research into my family. In addition to completing these forms, the churches were also directed to report these ongoing statistics on a regular basis.However, we do have to be thankful to some conscientious individual who had the foresight to realize the importance of these records and the number of precious documents that were being lost to their future descendants and researchers through church fires.According to Thomas Green's 1818 will, his sons, Thomas and John, each had five children at the time. By 1830, when most of the baptisms took place in Greenspond, Thomas's family had grown to nine children and John and Elizabeth's to 10; however, John's daughter, Rose, had died and was buried May 6, 1824 at age six. Their children were all baptized in Greenspond between 1823 and 1830 at various ages; for example, Mary, of Thomas and Mary, was 17 and Jane, of John and Elizabeth, was 13 when they were baptized 1830.Thomas Green, referred to as a "planter", or property-owner, from the excerpts of his will of 1818 must have been fairly well-to-do; in addition to leaving the residue of his property and goods to his sons John and Thomas, he also allocated £900 to be distributed to his two sons and their children, noting that the grandchildren would receive their money upon attaining the age of 21. The sum of 900 pounds sterling was considered a very substantial sum in those days. It is of interest to note that he left £100 to Mary Green, daughter of Thomas and Mary "if she doesn't marry contrary to her father's and mother's wishes". (Supreme Court Records, Volume 1, Folio 49). According to burial records, Thomas died in May 1823; Mary was listed as a widow when she was baptized in 1826. She remarried in 1833 to John Farwell of Greenspond.I spent a considerable amount of time searching for my great-greatgrandfather's and grandmother's marriage record (John Green and Sophia Starks) and it wasn't until the summer of 2002 when my son, Philip, and I went through the original pre-1840 Greenspond records, which are stored in the Anglican Rectory in Templeman, Bonavista Bay, that the puzzle was solved; and I have to give Philip, with his sharp eye, total credit for that. We discovered that John and Sophia, as well as John's brother James, and his bride Susanna Cross, were married in a double wedding ceremony on November 6, 1837. The officiating clergyman, instead of recording the ceremony on two certificates, entered them on one only, and, when the records were recorded for the government statistics branch as per legislation in the 1890s, the marriage of James and Susanna was listed and John and Sophia's names were entered as witnesses. The problem is now cleared up and I have passed the correct information on to Provincial Archives staff in St. John's who is going to make the necessary notation in the records. I might add that I picked up a great deal of information, not only from church records but also in old graveyards where we had to practically unearth some of the headstones, during our trips to Greenspond and area for research. I mentioned above that my great-great-great-grandfather, John Green had met a tragic end at the age of 67 or 68. The following is a description of that misfortune which I first came across in Robert Dyer's diary of his activities in the Greenspond and Bonavista North area in the 1840s and 1850s. Dyer came to Greenspond from England in 1840 to take up the position of school teacher in the Church of England school and to assist the clergyman as layreader. His diary has proved to be of invaluable benefit in the field of research, not only by me but by many others.In reading Dyer's diary I came across an amazing story of courage and also a story of extreme hardship and disaster which was often the agonizing experience of many Newfoundland families, who lost loved ones in the struggle for survival in the North Atlantic waters.On March 6, 1848 around 5:30P.M. a sudden gale of wind and snow came in from the northwest and caught a number of boats and crews out tending their seal nets. One of those boats had four men aboard: John Green (senior), 68, my great-great-greatgrandfather; his son, Thomas, who was 33; and two others named Lush and Wicks who were described as two "stought" boys. The other boats managed to make land at Puffin Island and Little Copper Island, which were situated within a mile of Greenspond, and the crews were picked up later that night around 1 o'clock in the morning by men from Greenspond; however, Dyer's diary noted, in referring to John Green:

"It is thought that they were driven off to sea and frozen to death. Oh, how awful. May all of us take warning and prepare for death!"

An entry in the diary some weeks later on March 27, 1848 stated a follows:"Thomas Green who was cast away on the night of 7 March with his father, Lush and Wicks returned home in John Carter's schooner relating that Wicks died the same night they were cast away and his father and Lush the next day about 10 o'clock"It is almost impossible to comprehend Thomas's feelings about being witness to the indescribable sufferings of his father and friends and eventually being left alone in the boat, and what endurance he had to keep on living. I presume he had to bury the bodies at sea, as there was no mention of bringing them home.
In the Book of Newfoundland, volume 3, page 462, there was also a story included in a section titled, "Stories out of our History", by Joseph R. Smallwood, which described this incident; the story was titled, "Thomas Green's Great Adventure", but the details appear to be somewhat exaggerated, as compared to Dyer's account, but basically correct. Smallwood wrote that the boat got caught in drift ice in the storm and got carried out the Bay and to open sea; he said that the three others in the boat had died by the third day of drifting from the cold, exposure and hunger. A half hour after the last man died, Thomas killed an old harp seal on a pan of ice and for 52 days lived off the fat and meat of the seal, Smallwood said. By this time, he said, Thomas was 100 miles off the coast and saw a schooner which, lucky for him, was jammed in the ice. He left his boat and began the long trek to the schooner walking as quickly as he could. He started late in the afternoon and reached the schooner by midnight where the crew were startled to see a human board their ship so far out to sea. Smallwood further stated:

"It was the fifteenth of April when he finally arrived home in Greenspond. Seventy-two days he had been missing, and he had been long given up for dead. The endurance which many of our Newfoundland fishermen, seamen and seal-hunters have displayed is astonishing. Nowhere in the world have men proved themselves possessed of greater power of endurance, or more stamina and determination. "

Actually, the time Thomas spent lost at sea, according to Robert Dyer, was from March 6 to March 27, but regardless of the inaccuracies in the story in the Book of Newfoundland, it does give some more of an indication of how he managed to survive.Another version of this remarkable event appeared in the St. John's newspaper, Times and General Commercial Gazette, of March 25, 1848:

^"Capt. N. Munden, of the Gem, which arrived here on Tuesday last, well fished, from the ice, informs us that on the I6^th instant he boarded the sealing brig Jane Elizabeth, of New Perlican,— the master of which vessel (Wills) reported, that on the night of the 14th he fell in with a boat which had been blown off from Greenspond while the hands, four in number (_____ Green, and his two sons and a lad), were in the act of setting seal nets. It is distressing to add, that poor Green and one of his sons had perished in the boat from the severity of the weather and the want of nourishment.The survivors were very much frost-bitten, having been six or seven days exposed to the elements. "

Despite the differences in the various reports, it was a remarkable tale of our ancestor's endurance, albeit considering that his father John and two others had perished.Thomas Green died in Greenspond and was buried July 3, 1865; his age was given as 48. However, when he was baptized in April 1830, his age was recorded as 15, which would make him 50 at the time of his death.John and Sophia (Starkes) Green were the parents of my great-grandmother, Mary Anne Green who married Charles Robert Carter on December 27, 1869 and, incidentally, her eldest brother Sylvester Green married Mary Elizabeth Meadus the same day.
In addition to Sylvester and Mary Anne, John and Sophia Green were the parents of: Susan, Jane, Darius, Peter, Rosanna, John, and Thomas. There is no record of Sylvester's birth, but when he died in 1915 his age was given as 75 indicating he was born in 1840. In the baptismal records Sylvester and Thomas are shown as being baptized in 1859, but there were no ages given. It is possible, for whatever reason, that Sylvester was baptized at age 19 according to Peter Johnson.Of interest is the fact that James and Susanna Green (John's brother and his wife who were married the same day as John and Sophia November 6, 1837) had three boys, James, Mark and John baptized February 16, 1859, the same day as Sylvester and Thomas; however, there again were no dates of birth recorded, so unable to determine if they were triplets or not.George Green, who was born in 1884 the son of Darius (Mary Anne's brother) and Jane (Harvey of Cape Freels) Green of Ship Island, often came to visit Grandmother Meadus and Dad on the South Side of St. John's when we were young. George was a seagoing captain of various schooners and was a most proficient master; ships coming from England going to Labrador, whose captains were not sure of navigating in those northern waters, would call into Greenspond on their way and pick up George who would take over the captain's job until he would be dropped off at Greenspond on the way back.Dad told me he was walking down the street one day in Athens, Greece, during the First World War and, lo and behold, who should he see approaching him but his cousin, George. It's a small world! Actually, George and his wife, Winnie Forsey from Fortune were married in 1920 and were the two witnesses who signed my father's and mother's marriage certificate on September 1, 1922. George had one sister, Sophia who was born a year after him in 1885.Uncle Walter Meadus mentioned that Sylvester Green owned three or four schooners, so he must have been heavily involved in the fisheries.I don't know much more about Green ancestors; they would be distant relatives now, like most of the Carters who Dad thought were not related to us.Although there are no Greens listed in the Greenspond telephone directory any longer, it appears that the Greens gradually moved to various places along the coast, as well as to the mainland of Canada and the U.S.A. For instance, back in 1829 and 1833 Robert and Edward Green, sons of Thomas and Mary Green of Ship Island, married two women named Mary and Sarah Gill from Pinchard's Island, possibly two sisters, and apparently moved to Pinchard's Island to live, so the re-location started many years ago.
If anyone would care to add to my history of the Green family of Ship Island, or correct any of my work, I would be delighted to hear from you.

Fred Green

Welcome to the world that Microsoft runs

2008-02-25T08:00:00.008-05:00

From Freshwater Bay
Viruses are bad enough. You'd think the experts who advise the rest of us on how to deal with them would at least get their facts straight.
Take the current Nimda virus, for example. (PLEASE take the Nimda virus, as Henny Youngman would say.) Most of the so-called "expert" warnings about Nimda missed the point completely. They failed to note that you don't need to open any attachments to fall victim to the Nimda Virus. It can infect your PC automatically. You don't have to do anything except get your mail. I'll bet this is news to you. You didn't know this, right?
That's what I'm talking about. Most of the stuff we learn about viruses is full of Newfie poop. We never seem to learn what's really going on until it's too late. Here's the ugly truth about Nimda. It's a script virus. Windows loves scripts. Windows loves scripts so much it practically invites scripts to run -- without so much as asking your permission. So when a script comes sailing into your Windows PC, Windows looks at all the instructions in the script and follows them to the letter. Follows them out the window, in fact. Follows them so blindly that if the instructions say, "Wipe out all the files in this sucker's C: drive," Windows obediently does exactly what it's told. You didn't know this, right? You thought Nimda was just another attachment-type virus that wasn't dangerous at all if you left attachments alone.
Welcome to the world that Microsoft runs. Script viruses take advantage of one of the dumbest of all dumb things. Microsoft, the Windows monopoly company, did the first dumb thing by leaving out any protection against bad scripts in Windows. Good scripts or bad, nice ones or mean ones, they are all treated the same way. Nobody else who makes a consumer product would make this kind of mistake. GM and Toyota and all the other car manufacturers know that air can be dusty, so all car engines come with air cleaners. Vacuum cleaners have dust bags. TVs have filters that block signals that come from your neighbor's shop vac. But Windows does not care if scripts are good or bad. It just runs whatever comes its way. Windows runs scripts without a moment's thought -- without asking you if it's OK that some brat in Bratislava wants to wipe out 17 files or read your private documents. That's the first dumb thing. It's a bad enough booboo to get all of Microsoft's software engineers a two-hour interview on the way to Pearly Gates...No dammed relation of Satanic Billy (I'd let them in, but I'm soft-hearted. That Gabriel fellow is one tough cookie, however.) But this flaw is just the beginning. The second dumb thing is almost impossible to believe. In fact, I've sometimes been asked whether I'm kidding when I describe this immense mistake to user groups. But what I am about to tell you is true. It probably could not occur in an open, competitive software environment. It almost surely is a product of Microsoft monopoly mentality -- the idea that anything goes, that any kind of sloppiness is OK, since everybody is going to continue to buy your products anyway. This is the monopoly that is inflicted on millions of consumers by a company run by two billionaires and staffed by hundreds of millionaires. (Bill Gates and his childhood friend Steve Ballmer run the company, and both are super-billionaires. And Microsoft, believe it or not, has 200 or more millionaires on its staff. It rewards loyalty. When you work for The Beast, as Microsoft is called in England, you get rich if you stay loyal.) All these rich folk seem to be looking the wrong way. The flaw in Windows is so bad that they could all be excused from jury duty forever if they told a judge how important it is to fix the security holes in Windows. It's so bad that every millionaire at Microsoft should be running from house to house in communities all over the nation warning citizens about the danger.
   But in fact Microsoft doesn't care.
Here's the flaw.

You tell me whether this sort of bungling is excusable in an era when every possible safeguard needs to be taken to preserve our physical and electronic security: The monopoly e-mail program, Outlook Express, has an open-door policy for viruses and all other rogue programs that slip into your e-mail. This total lapse in security occurs no matter how careful you are about opening attachments. In fact, Outlook Express does not even tell you that it's going to allow viruses to sneak in. It simply does it. Please stay with me. Just about every Windows user who reads this is a user of Outlook Express -- it's the e-mail software that's forced on millions of Internet users by Internet providers who lack the guts to challenge Microsoft's monopoly -- and that means just about everyone who uses Windows needs to pay very close attention.
   In Outlook Express, messages can be opened the standard way -- by double clicking on each message entry -- or they can be viewed or "previewed" in a separate area of the Outlook Express window. This is called the preview pane. This happens by default. If you simply use your e-mail program the way it was designed -- and why wouldn't you? -- your messages will be "previewed" automatically. You won't have to open them (double click on them) to read them or reply to them. When Outlook Express "previews" a message, it doesn't use any tricks. It opens the message. Read the last two sentences back to make sure you are still with me. There are no special tricks or techniques. You never have to open a message in Outlook Express to read it. Outlook Express does that for you. It does it automatically. It opens the message for you. Surely by now you are wondering about the words "open the message." Isn't that dangerous? If you receive a message that contains a script virus -- a virus that's part of the message, not part of any attachment -- isn't it foolish to open that message automatically? Of course it is. And that's just what the monopoly e-mail program does. It opens all messages automatically. If you use Outlook Express the way it comes from Microsoft (or the way it comes from your no-guts Internet provider), it previews -- it opens -- all messages for you. You don't need to open them. Outlook Express lets those viruses loose for you.
   With me so far?
   There's more. Hold onto your keyboard. You ain't heard nuthin' yet. Let's say you're a bright Windows user and you know how dangerous Outlook Express can be. Let's say you never use the preview pane. Let's pretend you've turned it off.
   Do I have a surprise for you! Listen up.
   Even with its automatic preview turned off, Outlook Express wants you to feel its pain. Outlook Express wants you to know what viruses are like. It wants you to know the difference between your five-year-old Chevy and the BMWs in the parking lots where 200 millionaires work. Even with the automatic preview turned off, even if you never view messages in the preview pane, Outlook Express automatically opens the first message that arrives in an empty Inbox.
Listen to this again: Outlook Express automatically opens the first message that arrives in an empty Inbox.
If that brat in Botwood creates a script virus that wipes out your files and your weak-brained sister-in-law passes it on to you right after you've cleaned out your Inbox, guess what? You can say goodbye to your files. It does not matter how carefully you've set up Outlook Express. Don't even think about how dutifully you've made sure that you don't open messages that seem suspicious. Outlook Express will handle that for you. Have the millions of Windows users who like the look and feel of Outlook Express lost their minds? Or are they simply complacent?
   What about the millions of others who have never realized that Outlook Express is just one of many possible e-mail programs? Are they like the hapless hunters and mountaineers who shouldered blunderbusses? I don't have answers. I have suggestions.

First, stop believing in faeries (Can't believe I said that! We're good people). The world is a tough place. As long as you accept the way Outlook Express works, you can be sure that someone is writing a virus with your name on it.
Second, protect yourself against scripts that are intended to do you harm. Get Script Sentry. It's free and easy to use. Find it by searching for it on Google. (If you don't know about Google, you also need to push that rock out of the way. You've been sleeping under it for too long.)
Third, get a good antivirus program and use it.
Fourth, update your antivirus program every two or three days. Usually, you can do this in a minute or less.
Fifth, don't use the preview pane in Outlook Express unless you have Script Sentry installed. (Note well: If you follow suggestion No. 2, you won't have to worry about using the preview pane. What are you waiting for?)
Sixth, consider switching to a safer e-mail program. There are many. An excellent modern e-mail program for Windows that emphasizes safety is a program with the unusual name of "The Bat!" from RIT Labs. (Google will help you find it.)
Seventh, stop treating e-mail as if it comes from God. Delete all mail that you have any doubts about. Delete all mail that's not from someone you know. Delete all mail that has attachments. (Try it. After a week or so, someone who was actually sending you something important will ask why you didn't respond. You can then write back and explain that your mail program deletes all attachments -- yes, blame it on the software -- and you can then tell the people who send you attachments that they need to send plain messages instead. After all, if they are trying to tell you something, what's wrong with typing a message?)
Eighth, stop treating Windows as if it came from the 12 disciples. Windows is a badly designed monopoly operating system. The way you free yourself from Windows is simple: You stop using it. You get a Mac. (Don't give me all that sobbing and wailing about not being able to run your favorite programs on a Mac. That's just ignorant babble. You can get Microsoft Word and the other parts of Microsoft Office for the Mac. You can get Outlook Express -- a SAFE version of Outlook Express. You have Internet Explorer for the Mac. You have Adobe Photoshop and other Adobe image editing programs. You even have ACDSee, the best image viewing program for Windows, for the Mac. The list goes on and on. You have a choice of hundreds of thousands of commercial programs and shareware-and-freeware programs for the Mac.)
Ninth, don't let Windows hide the true nature of files. By default, Windows refuses to show you the "extension" on the end of a filename. That lets viruses romp around your computer system by hiding their actual purpose. Call the store that sold you the PC and tell them to help you change Windows so it displays all filename extensions. Don't let them off the hook. If your Ford dealer sold you a car without headlights, you'd be banging down his door. The same goes for this inexcusable lapse in Windows. Tell the store (or call the manufacturer) and demand to be shown how to change this setting. Threaten to sue if you have to. (No, I'm not being cute. The first time a virus slips in under this cover and sends out salacious or threatening e-mail under your name, you will be ready to sue in earnest. Get this fix done NOW.)
Tenth, pay attention to the way your Windows PC is used, whether by you or by others in your family. Don't download every file that comes your way on the Web. Choose downloads carefully. Don't accept files sent your way by an instant message program. Don't trust your sister-in-law or your husband's best friend or your Aunt Suse when they send you mail. They don't know anything about safe e-mail. Don't let your friend Jennifer send you a zillion attached messages every three days. Tell her to stop, and block her mail if she doesn't. (All good mail programs let you block mail from specified senders.)
   Do these things now. Do them as if your safety depends on it............. Because it does.

Be Kind to yourself and Your computer.

Roderick B

NEWFOUNDLAND’S HEROISM REWARDED

2008-02-07T08:58:00.002-05:00

     January 6, 1918
As a reward for valor and for services in the world war, Newfoundland, England’s oldest colony recently received the title “Dominion of Newfoundland “ from the British Government. According to British officials and army officers In New York City, the change In name will not mean a change In Newfoundland’s already “very liberal government, it shows that Britain’s oldest colony, often referred to by British writers as the Cinderella of England’s provinces,” is by her own efforts and the bravery of her soldiers and sailors coming Into her own. A native of Newfoundland. who is one of the most recent arrivals In New York City from that colony, said that out of her 250,707 population Newfoundland had given to the British infantry alone a battalion of 1,100 men. It’s also said that Newfoundland’s Forestry Brigade had at present 500 men, and that there were 2,500 men In Newfoundland’s National Militia. This man spoke of the part the Newfoundlanders played in the Somme fighting. In which 900 of her men took part. Of these, he said, only 95 survived. Word had reached St. John’s of the more recent activities of the Newfoundland troops In the Cambrai drive, in which he said there were heavy casualties among the troops of his colony. When asked regarding the part Newfoundland had played—the part which has won for her a distinction awarded to no other colony by the British Government during the war—Geoffrey Butler, head of the British Official War Exhibits, with headquarters at 511 Fifth Avenue, said that the number of men Newfoundland had given to keep up her battalion of infantry at the front was close to 5,000. Besides this, he Quoted from an official report of the “Contributions of Dominions and Colonies to the Common Cause,’ an official bulletin of June. 1916, that as early as that date Newfoundland had contributed 1,500 naval reservists to the British Navy.” “Within a month after Britain’s declaration of war,” wrote A. M. de Beck In “The Imperial War,” a recently published war work, “a. thousand men, drawn from a class of the community of the ‘very best type and every One of them Newfoundland born, were drilling at St. Johns, and by November were completing their training in the historic castle at Edinburgh. This work has been going on from that day Until the present time. The foremost advance on the Suvia Bay front, Donnelly’s Post on Caribou Ridge, was made by Newfoundlanders. It Is called Donnelly’s Post because It was here that Lieutenant Donnelly (a Newfoundlander) won his military cross. The hitherto nameless ridge from which the Turkish machine guns poured their concentrated death into our trenches stands as a monument to the initiative of the Newfoundlanders. It is now called Cariboo Ridge, as an acknowledgment to the men who wear the deer’s head badge, (Newfoundlanders.) The part played by the Newfoundlanders In the ‘Great Push’ of July 1 is quite equal to anything performed by any of the troops that took part in that great forward movement. The Newfoundlanders were brigaded with the Eighth Army Corps, commanded by Lieut, Gen. Sir Aylmer Hunter-Weston, K. C. B., D. 0. S. In July a letter was addressed by the General to all the men who took part in the ‘Great Push,’ and it is one of the proudest possessions of the Newfoundland troops who survived.Colonel hunter-Weston also sent a letter to the Premier of Newfoundland, In which he recounted in detail the gallantry of the men of England’s oldest colony.” Except for almost incessant wrangles between the British settlers and the French fisherfolk, Newfoundland has had a peaceful history. The peace of Utrecht In 1713, which subsequently was ratified by the treaty of Paris gave sole sovereignty of Newfoundland to England, with certain rights granted to the French fishermen. France possesses two small Islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon. The fishers rights were definitely settled as late as 1904. This removed obstructions to local development. The Government of Newfoundland is similar to that of Canada, but the province Is in no way connected with the Government of the Dominion of Canada.

Published: January 6, 1918

Funny Guy!

2008-01-29T01:19:00.000-05:00