Reaching the Three Month Mark

I've been in Austin for just over 3 months now after leaving Canada on November 12th. After living parked on a driveway opposite the church I will be moving back to Pecan Grove Campground on Monday. It will be a relief to once more have a 30-AMP hookup and not have to think about turning off the heat before I run the microwave, start the coffeemaker, or make toast. With the thermometer about to hit 90 again by Tuesday it will be quite pleasant to be able to count on running my A/C. It will also be a relief to have neighbours who speak English as a first language. Being weird is an Austin Tradition; the neighbourhood that has been home these three months is a foreign country. Hispanic and Afro-American.


I have become relatively accustomed to Texan's relaxed sense of timeliness, fondness for hot foods, failure to serve vinegar with fries, smoked BBQ, Spanish as the second language on packaged goods, tortillas and salsa, black and refried beans--not, up and down weather, rapture at the arrival of rain,.... I am less excited about my neighbour's treatment of the great outdoors as their garbage dump, fire crackers on Christmas Eve and fireworks at New Years, outdoor parties with loud Mariachi. Not particularly a welcome neighbour is the trucking company next door with its fleet of trucks departing at 10:00 AM and 2 AM daily or the roar of traffic on the overhead expressway that begins at 4:00 AM. I'm not fond of the little ankle bitter from next door that gets loose at least twice every day nor of the neighbour further down who lets their German Shepherd roam the neighbourhood at will.


After four winters in Austin I seem to be developing a new set of allergies beginning with Red Cedar, (Juniper), which blooms in late December. Next up is Texas' State Flower, the bluebonnet:

A plant which, as you can see, occupies major sections of real estate when it is happy. We'll see, I wasn't around when it came out last year. Bleeding sinuses are not fatal but they certainly aren't comfortable, guess I'll have to go back on anti-histamines.


Singing at musical events is fun; choir rehearsals not so much. At this point it feels like I've visited every senior's home and hospital in Austin. The arrival of the Choir of the West, from PLU in Washington has to have been a highlight. Forty-four choristers singing from memory without accompaniment is impressive. A few weeks ago I finally got to see the Texas State Capitol and the nearby History Museum. After years of allowing concealed weapons in the building they now force those with metal buckles to remove their belts before passing the scanners. Did you know Texas is a major grower of Cotton, in early days supported by 500,000 slaves. The oil everyone has heard of.


Just learned that Samsung, who made my RV TV are subject of a class action lawsuit due to faulty capacitors. Alas, I have to wait until my Canadian TV is back in Canada to have it repaired.

Mitt Romney Opposes Social Safety Net

Being the vulture capitalist that he is Mitt Romney wants to end the social safety nets of Unemployment Insurance and Welfare. He believes that anything that serves to prevent people from taking low-paying jobs after they have been put out of work by the policies of he and his cronies is bad for business and his bottom line. His proposals are insulting to the working man on two fronts. First he implies that workers would rather sit home and collect pogey than go look for a job. Second he believes that people put out of work by he and his ilk should work for less so he can make more money. Robbing-Hood would steal from the poor to make the rich richer.

Attack on Privacy

January Rant 2012 Edition

Has it really been two months since i made a blog entry. Suppose that means i've been keeping busy. Farmville on facebook has been using up way too much of my time. Having reached level 120 i've decided to give the program a time-out. With four farm-sites the programmers just keep loading bugs on top of bugs, the load times are insufferable, and when it finally does open it either crashes or gives one a 'farmville has been refreshed' message. Enough is enough. Computers have a way of letting you know who's boss. First it tells you that you can't do something, then it forces you to click an ok button to continue using it. Even in death they find ways to thumb their noses at one as mine did two weeks ago.

An over-zealous german cop ticketed the pope, a former german cardinal, for riding in his pope-mobile without a seat belt. He was probably standing at the time. The ticket was thrown out of court because his was the only vehicle in motion at the time.

Toronto city council is offering taxpayers the option of making a donation toward the support of libraries, sports programs with their upcoming tax bill. Do you suppose they'd want to set an example by reducing their salaries, expense accounts, and pensions? Will margaret atwood buy into this?

A cat that got loose in the passenger compartment of an air canada flight from halifax to toronto caused a four hour delay when it had to be removed from the avionics panel of the cockpit where it hid forcing the removal of several panels and a thorough safety check after things were reassembled.

Rick Perry has finally given up his run for the white house after repeatedly proving that he's an idiot. Now the citizens of texas are stuck with him as governor, what does it say about them that they keep voting for him? But then someone in canada must have voted for Harper. Could it be that red cedar pollen, my allergies, and medication for same have made me snarkier and more sarcastic than usual? Is that possible?

Trekking South

Ready or not I departed Oakville at 3:30 AM Saturday, November 12^th. When on the road among overnight truckers I’ve discovered it is not wise to slow down for speed zones with a transport on your tail. At 5:30 AM customs agents lack any sense of humour. I crossed at the Bluewater Bridge west of Sarnia and headed west through Michigan, seeing snow West of Flint was a might unsettling.

 

Spent a night in Michigan City, Indiana before skirting Chicago and heading south into Illinois against a 40-mph headwind. After nearly 800 miles stayed over in an ancient campground in Mt Vernon, Illinois. The American Coots on the small pond seemed only appropriate. Set out for Memphis passing through Missouri and Arkansas in driving rain. Memphis was a welcome sight until the power failed just as I finished getting set up. As the rain continued I gave up on Elvis. Made the 250-mile hop to Texarkana with a stop for gas and lunch in Arkansas. Had not realized the state line splits Texarkana in two. When I arrived discovered a newly configured interchange which made my campground a place you can’t get to from here. After a grocery stop figured it out and spent a quiet night before setting off for the final jaunt to Austin. Stopped south-east of Dallas for fuel and made Austin by 2:15.

 

My camping arrangement here is not what I’d been led to expect. Ministers it seems are not big on details. Being parked opposite the church is a mixed blessing. On the one hand it’s convenient, on the other hand it can be too convenient. Already I’ve been co-opted deeply into the life of the church. I’ve yet to sort out bicycle maintenance, shopping, dumping my tanks, laundry….

 

So far I’ve been invited out for three meals though I lack an invite for American Thanksgiving so far. I’ve stood in at an Occupy Austin rally and been talked to death, visited the Food Bank, and the recycle centre. Visited three senior’s centres and various and sundry other errands. I’m thankful today for one free of commitments.

Sable Island named national park

CBC News

Posted: Oct 17, 2011 9:54 AM AT

Last Updated: Oct 17, 2011 12:46 PM AT

Read 56 comments56

Sable's wild horses were the subject of a documentary, Chasing Wild Horses, by a Halifax filmmaker. (Arcadia)

Related Links

Chasing Wild Horses documents photographer's obsession

External Links

About Sable Island

FAQ: Why protect Sable Island?

(Note:CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)

Nova Scotia's Sable Island, known for its shipwrecks and wild horses, is becoming a national park, which means no drilling on or around it.
The provincial and federal governments signed an agreement Monday that bans drilling for oil or natural gas from the surface out to one nautical mile.
"Sable Island never fails to inspire us. We pledge our commitment to Sable Island by providing it with the highest level of protection," said Peter Kent, the minister in charge of Parks Canada.
Sable Island, about 300 kilometres southeast of Halifax, is 42 kilometres long. It's known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic because it's ringed by 300 years of shipwrecks.
It's home to an estimated 400 wild horses, descendants of animals brought to the island during the late 1700s. It's also the breeding ground for seals and birds, including the rare Ipswich sparrow.
Fewer than 250 people visit the island every year, but that number is expected to jump. Parks Canada is working on a management plan.
Mark Butler, with the Ecology Action Centre, said that's necessary to ensure the island isn't "loved to death." But he's worried the drilling ban doesn't go far enough.
"What it essentially means now is that a company could put a drill rig 1.1 nautical miles from the island and drill horizontally under the island. I think that's still too close," he said.
Government officials said oil companies are voluntarily amending their significant discovery licences to respect the ban.
The process to designate Sable Island a national park began last year with public consultations.
Several groups, including the Ecology Action Centre, urged restrictions on the number of visitors to the island and the infrastructure to accommodate them.
The next steps are to amend the federal National Parks Act and add the drilling restrictions to the offshore accord, as well as amend provincial legislation.

U.S. mulls Canadian border fence

The Canadian Press

Posted: Sep 29, 2011 9:38 AM ET

Last Updated: Sep 29, 2011 8:48 PM ET

Read 1501 comments1501

Video Content

Canada border fence?10:32

Facebook 1K

Twitter 86

Share 1K

Email

Related Links

Akwesasne area an ecstasy smuggling hotbed

P.O.V.: Should the U.S. build fences along the Canada border?

Border stories: Stories of how life changed after 9/11

Border talks 'not about sovereignty:' Harper

A 12-metre swath cut through the forest defines the border between Canada and the U.S. north of Polebridge, Mont. Jennifer DeMonte/Daily Inter Lake/Associated Press The United States is looking at building fences along the border with Canada to help keep out terrorists and other criminals, according to a draft report by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency
The report proposes the use of "fencing and other barriers" on the 49th parallel to manage "trouble spots where passage of cross-border violators is difficult to control."
But a spokesperson for U.S Customs and Border Protection said the government is not considering the fence option "at this time" and instead is looking at the environmental effects of putting more manpower, technology and infrastructure along the border.

9/11 SECURITY New border measures affect Canadians' lives

The border service is also pondering options including a beefed-up technological presence through increased use of radar, sensors, cameras, drones and vehicle scanners. In addition, it might continue to improve or expand customs facilities at ports of entry.
The agency considered but ruled out the possibility of hiring "significantly more" U.S. Border Patrol agents to increase the rate of inspections, noting staffing has already risen in recent years.
Customs and Border Protection is inviting comment on the options and plans a series of public meetings in Washington and several U.S. border communities next month. It will then decide which ideas to pursue.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano noted last month the challenges of monitoring the vast, sparsely populated northern border region. She stressed manpower, but also a greater reliance on technology.

P.O.V.

Should the U.S. build fences along the border? Take our survey.

Ironically, the moves come as Canada and the U.S. try to finalize a perimeter security arrangement that would focus on continental defences while easing border congestion. It would be aimed at speeding passage of goods and people across the Canada-U.S. border, which has become something of a bottleneck since the 911 attacks.
Relatively speaking, Washington has focused more energy and resources on tightening security along the border with Mexico than at the sprawling one with Canada.
But that may be changing.

Only small portion secured

A U.S. Government Accountability Office report recently warned that only a small portion of the border with Canada is properly secure. It said U.S. border officers control just 50 kilometres of the 6,400-kilometre boundary.
The Customs and Border Protection report says while fences have been a big element in deterring unauthorized crossings of the U.S.-Mexican border, "it is unlikely that fencing will play as prominent a role" on the northern border, given its length and terrain that varies from prairie to forest.
However, the agency would use fencing and other barriers such as trenches to control movement and sometimes delay people trying to sneak across the border, increasing the likelihood they could be caught, says the report.
It doesn't provide details about what the fences might look like, but suggests they would be designed to blend into the environment and "complement the natural landscape."
The approach would also involve upgrading roadways and trails near the border.
"The lack of roads or presence of unmaintained roads impedes efficient surveillance operations," says the report. "Improving or expanding the roadway and trail networks could improve mobility, allowing agents to patrol more miles each day and shortening response times."
Over the last two years, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has already made what it calls "critical security improvements along the northern border," adding inspectors at the ports of entry and Border Patrol agents between ports, as well as modernizing land crossings.
Nearly 3,800 Customs and Border Protection officers scrutinize people and goods at crossings. The number of Border Patrol agents working between crossings along the northern parallel has increased 700 per cent since Sept. 11, 2001. And some three dozen land ports of entry are being modernized.
Unmanned U.S. aircraft patrol about 1,500 kilometres along the northern border from Washington to Minnesota as well as more than 300 kilometres of the Canadian border around New York state and Lake Ontario.

What a colossally stupid waste of money! 

Hurricane Igor blows St. John's buoy to Scotland

CBC News

Posted: Sep 12, 2011 2:30 PM NT

Last Updated: Sep 12, 2011 2:22 PM NT

The Shetland Islands are North of Scotland. (Google map)

Almost a year after Hurricane Igor lashed Newfoundland and Labrador, a remnant of the storm has been recovered on the other side of the Atlantic.

A one-tonne weather buoy was first spotted near the Shetland Islands, north of Scotland, on Friday.
It was hoisted from the ocean after it drifted into an exclusion zone around an oil rig.
“In this particular case it actually had the name of the manufacturer and various numbers on it and we were able to identify those as belonging to a company based in Canada,” said Alison Kentuck, who is the receiver of wrecks with the U.K’s Maritime and Coast Guard Agency, in Southampton, England.
“The hurricane connection was an interesting one for us, and the fact that it had kind of travelled such a long distance. If it has been collecting data all that while, as well it will be interesting to see what information it has.”
The buoy belongs to Oceans Limited of St. John's.
It was lost after Hurricane Igor hit Newfoundland and Labrador on Sept. 21.
The company puts them in the ocean to read weather and water conditions.
It's not clear yet if the company will bring their buoy home.

Getting Ready to Head South

Most of my energies are concentrated on getting ready to travel this week. The most important items must all be done at the last moment which makes planning paramount but leaves open the possibility of missing something I’ll regret later. Too often one discovers that those contacted earlier have left out important steps you knew nothing about. Good help and advice is hard to find.

I am discovering that most of the books I have read in the last month were purchased around the year 2000 before a computer entered my life and I ceased buying newspapers to read the Sunday Book Section in the Toronto Star, The Sun, Eye, Now. I’ve fallen behind on an entire decade of literary production in Canada. On the other hand, with a backlog of over a thousand books I intend reading I feel no pressure to acquire more. Electronic Books take up no space in my RV and add no weight.

Nor do I feel the need or have the financial means to buy more CD’s. As has oft been remarked CD’s do not wear out and I feel no need to possess multiple copies of the core Classical Repertoire. I already own more popular Canadian CD’s than I have time to audit. I listen to music while I read but cannot concentrate while lyrics are being sung. While I drive in my RV I listen to podcasts in iTunes on my laptop.

This summer I made my customary pilgrimage home to Nova Scotia spending some time along the Acadian Coastline of New Brunswick on the way. Spent a week in Sauble Beach the end of August taking in the Classical Guitar Festival there, an event I’d like to attend again next summer. Aside from those outings I’ve spent the remaining time this past seven months close to home in Oakville, gasoline at $5.00/American Gallon Equivalent making travel rather expensive expecially when you factor in the cost of camping here. The season is short and tourist facilities have a limited time to gouge the public.

I’ve spent a great deal of time rewatching DVD’s from my collection as well as my older VHS tapes. I’ve written reviews of some despite previously published tomes. I find it remarkable how much one can forget over time. Often movies I’ve seen on multiple previous occasions seem brand new and the ones I do remember look fresh again due to the life experience I’ve had since my last viewing. Having actually been to Savannah Georgia and Tybee Island adds an entirely new dimension to viewing Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil for example.

I still haven’t forgiven Moses for breaking the Fifth Commandment. That is if you count Thou Shalt Not Kill as being number Five. I’m still not clear on whether Thou Shalt Not Make Idols is a separate Commandment or whether one splits Coveting Thy Neighbour’s House from Coveting his wife, servants, and other possessions. If one does neither one is left with nine commandments. Further I’m at a loss to distinguish the difference between committing Adultery and coveting my neighbour’s wife, or these days his gay lover unless you find the later a sin as well. Just in case you’ve missed the allusion Heston who played Moses was latterly president of the NRA.

One advantage VHS tapes had over DVD’s is the fact that they allowed one to fast forward through the warnings, ads, and previews up front that can often extend to nearly 10 minutes. Most DVD’s make it impossible to advance directly to the main menu and many also prevent advancing past piracy warnings or even fast-forwarding through them. Some even force one to watch the preview section. The fact that some break the law should not condemn everyone who buys a legal copy to get so bored to death. Anything that can be displayed on a TV can be copied in any case and if you have no scruples many big budget movies are available for download even before their release date.

A recent CBC program was interested in the public’s reaction to porn and obscene language on prime time TV. Although I may be resistant to the concept of censorship I also believe that the public is not well served by discourse on TV that makes coarse language and swearing seem commonplace and everyday by putting it on display. When it comes to the portrayal of sexual intercourse on screen and ribald jokes about same I believe that those who feel the need for such titillation should satisfy their needs by renting from one of those video parlours usually consigned to industrial malls. I am no fan of situation comedy in general and find no use for the likes of Two and a Half Men with or without its drug-addled ex-actor. If one is to believe what one sees on TV divorce and disfunctional family life is the norm in America and ribald jokes about sexual perversion the common currency of everyday discourse. After years of watching my favourite series on DVD I find the 25 minutes per hour of commercials in America as abhorrent as the majority of the fare on offer. I quit going to movie theatres when they started forcing me to watch 25 minutes of commercials before the show, I don’t understand commercials on so-called pay-TV. Why should one pay to watch commercials?

I was recently reminded of how much I detest the actress Kathy Bates. Her addition detracts for me from Fanny Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes as much as her husband’s boorish behaviour. Another actress I despise is the simpering Rosie Perez. Among actors I haven’t much use for Woodie Allan and I feel someone should take Seinfeld and company into a back alley and slap them silly--or sillier than they already are. A show about nothing indeed.

Racism

Watching To Kill a Mockingbird has caused me to think once more about racism. I would like to think of myself as not harbouring racist tendencies. Indeed for the first 18 years of my life virtually everyone with whom I came into daily contact was of German-Lutheran heritage. The first persons of colour I met were equally homesick International Students at University from the African Continent. One might say I had a sheltered upbringing. I now recognize certain stereotypes that informed my cultural background.

 

Having travelled extensively in the American South now that I am in retirement I have come to a realization that slavery was abolished there yesterday and the wounds of the War between the States remain largely unhealed. Whatever the evils of the ‘Institution’ it is among poor whites and ‘crackers’ that the strongest racist enmities were held then and now. As I’ve written before it’s a said thing when people have such a low sense of their own self-worth that they have to define their self-esteem in terms of the people to whom they feel they are superior. While black slavery persisted the labours of ‘po white trash’ were of little value since slaves worked for nothing. People of colour remain a readily identifiable object of resentment for under-privileged whites and affirmative-action programs serve only to rub salt in the wounds.

 

The time I’ve spent in Texas leads me to believe that these racist attitudes have been in large part transferred to Spanish-speaking Mexican-Americans. Whether these people have lived in America for generations or are illegal migrants matters not. Why are these resentments so strong?

 

o      The birthrates among Mexican-Americans is higher than that of established ethnics. In Austin where I’ve lived they have exceeded half the population. Unless you can afford to live in exclusive enclaves and/or send your children to private schools Spanish will be the first language of most of your classmates.

 

o      The stores you shop in begin to cater to the ethnic tastes of the population they serve—it just makes good business sense. Across America Salsa has passed ketchup as the favoured condiment.

 

o      Your neighbours will speak Spanish and observe Mexican traditions. Gunfire and firecrackers on Christmas Eve anyone?

 

o      Whether a characterization of being lazy is justified there is definitely a different work-ethic. Lacking educational opportunities and skills low-paying menial jobs will predominate and the wages non-union workers accept threaten the standards of unionized workers.

 

o      Lack of education, poor living standards, and poverty breed disease and crime whatever the population.

 

Now let’s transfer the experience to my native Canada. We’re fabled for our civility and acceptance of refugees since our country was founded and settled by immigrants. We even accepted thousands of United Empire Loyalists after the American War of Independence. The process is not without its strains however.

 

o      A country whose acceptance was founded on Christian principles now finds itself embarrassed to make public celebration of Christmas in its schools and other public institutions lest a Christmas Tree might offend. A Holiday Tree has a strange ring to it. The saying of prayers in school and at public meetings is falling prey to similar objections.

 

o      We’ve just fought off the acceptance of Sharia Law in part because Muslim Woman objected more strongly than the public at large. Should woman be allowed to disguise themselves under veils in public when voting or engaging in other legal acts?

 

o      Schools experience similar problems when 90% of their students have English as a second language. Traditional neighbourhoods become overrun by ethnic minorities. How does a teacher of British extraction react when he discovers his Indian neighbour beats his wife on a regular basis? Buying a home that experienced cooking with curry means the necessity of ripping out all the ductwork, replacing all the carpets, and scrubbing the walls down to the plaster to get rid of the stench.  Your neighbour’s son is expected to turn over his part-time earnings to his father—his sister to accept an arranged marriage. Female circumcision, honour killings, female infanticide, are only a shadow of the ills that come with immigrants.

 

o      People who escape persecution abroad too often import their ethnic hatreds with them. Churches, homes, and vehicles get vandalized because the owners belonged to the wrong ethnic minority. One of my neighbours laboured hard for years to get our superintendent fired because he came from the wrong section of the former Yugoslavia. My last mail route included customers from various minorities from that same country. One false word or miss-delivery had the potential for disastrous results. Building a Mosque beside the site of the former World Trade Centre may be ill-advised but minarets shade the QEW one of Canada’s busiest highways. The influx of Jamaicans into the College Park section of Mississauga has turned it into one of Canada’s highest crime areas. I will not shop in the mall there as finding your car when you return to it is optional.

 

o      The Africville Community of Halifax was destroyed and its residents moved with dump trucks to make way for the building of the first bridge across the harbour. The residents and their descendents still mourn its loss. The Black Empire Loyalists of Halifax are subjected to racism to this day and one of the flash-points is the working class community of Cole Harbour; it’s High School one of the centres. Sidney Crosbie is a native son.

 

o      Call a cab in Oakville and its driver is likely to be wearing a turban. The driver is entitled to an interpreter when he gets his licence but who helps the passenger and one had better know where one is going, the driver may not. The fact that the man was a doctor or lawyer in his homeland is of little consolation to either.

 

o      I may not agree with the sentiments of my German friend who went to his grave believing Hitler’s ‘Final Solution’ was right-minded but my experience in residence at a Lutheran University that even served kosher dining hall meals has coloured my subsequent feelings about Jews.

 

o      Somehow the experience of prejudice serves to place chips on the shoulders of its victims and these attitudes spill over in their dealings with all others. The victims can be as guilty of stereotyping as the majority. Too often have I been subjected to smug, surly, moral-superiority when my only crime has been having been born White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. In Quebec my build, stance, and very walk identify me as Anglais even before I open my mouth. Unlike some I have never had the experience of not being served because I ordered in English—I do attempt my school-boy French.

 

Nor do I acknowledge easy solutions. The record of Viet Nam refugees in North America is a chequered one. The rigors of climate, cultural dislocation, and economic depression are common to most refugees. The Haitans who came to Montreal are synonymous with the Aids epidemic. Improving the lot of potential immigrants in their home countries would seem a logical step until one looks at the complications. In Italy the mafia made $200,000,000 in economic aid disappear without building a single home for earthquake victims. In Haiti the local administration is so corrupt and inept it is incapable of restoring lost children to their families or identifying orphans if they exist. Rebuilding homes is equally fraught with difficulties. How do you deal with starvation and disease when its cause is internal civil war? Is interfering with the internal affairs of a country justified to prevent genocide? Iraq, Jugoslavia, Afghanistan, Cyprus, anyone?