Thinking abou the South

Having spent the last few years travelling a good deal throughout the American South I come to think about the clichés and put-downs that have become so common in our main-stream urbanized life. Having grown up in a small community and having travelled as well through remote sections of Canada I come to find a commonality among all isolated small-town environments. Mind you I’ve come to find a uniquely parochial disinterest in any matter not germane to the local interest on the American side of the border.

 

Small towns tend to be isolated, insular, xenophobic, and self-serving. The limited gene pool leads to situations such as the father who scotches his son’s romance with a high school sweetheart because the father clandestinely sired her. Limited opportunities lead to economic and intellectual poverty.

 

The kinds of sensibilities that inform metropolitan life become meaningless on the small town scheme of things. Privacy is a myth in a place where everyone knows everyone else and is either related or grew up with them. Whether you like someone or not you are dependent on them in times of emergency or life crisis. Fire departments are volunteer, the undertaker runs the ambulance service, the doctor is the coroner. When you’re the only physician within 200 miles you’ve no choice but to treat family members. Conflict of interest goes out the window when the town mayor owns the local car dealership and the general store. When the town sheriff is the only law in town and is the town barber. When the barrister runs the local watering hole.

Technological Change

The home in which I grew up got electricity in 1949—a refrigerator was required to keep the baby formula cold. Before power kerosene lamps were the order of the day and it was said that my grandmother was so frugal the family didn’t get light in the livingroom from the single lamp that was allowed to be lit until she finished up washing dishes in the kitchen. If you left a room without turning off the lights you heard about it from my father. To this day nothing matches the natural glow emitted by the grail of an Aladdin Lamp. Kerosene was not scented or treated in those days and homes smelt of the fuel—rural homes still keep oil lamps handy for when the power goes out to this day.

Battery operated radios produced wonderful sound because they lacked the alternating current hum emitted on AM Stations by electrified radios. I treasured that old radio and discovered the best antenna I could find was the metal of my bedspring when I was confined due to illness.

Before indoor plumbing the back door was always left unlocked as it led to the outhouse. Having a safe pathway shovelled to that essential service was a priority in winter. Cleaning chamber pots and thundermugs with Javex was an ugly but necessary task. Hand pumps got water into the kitchen, woe betide the child who left the lever in the wrong position causing the pump to lose prime. If no water could be found inside someone had to lower a pail into the well to dip water for the purpose.

Before electricity homes had ice houses and ice coolers. Every home had a mini-well in the basement to keep the creamer cool in summer. If you wanted skim milk you tapped the creamer, if you wanted cream you opened the creamer and dipped it off the top—nothing was homogenized in those days. The mechanical separator was turned until the bell in the handle no longer clanged and then a centrifuge separated milk from cream. Cream was allowed to go sour and then churned to make butter. Guernsey cows made the most naturally orange butter. Nothing produced today matches natural buttermilk.

We kept sheep until the only Nova Scotia carding mill closed and the wool had to be sent to New Brunswick. I’m told they still mail their wool to NB from Newfoundland to this day.

Family clothes were sew and mended on a foot treadle Singer Sewing Machine. The trick was to make sure the next bag of flour or sugar bore the same pattern as the last so you’d have enough cotton for the dress or blouse you were making.

I was home sick with the Red Measles when our first telephone was installed. Being on a ten-party line it was assumed someone else was listening in on your calls, the annoying thing was when they answered the phone before you did. I don’t remember seeing my father answer the phone, if he needed to talk to someone he got into his Ford Pickup Truck and drove to talk to them in face to face.

Baddeck on Cape Breton Island, where the telephone was invented--unless you live in Brantford Ontario--was one of the last places in Canada to get rotary dial telephones. Telephone rings such as three ring 13 were not uncommon and someone manned the central exchange as operator. Today most children wouldn’t know what to do with a rotary phone. Bell Canada still flagrantly charges extra for digital dialing.

I still own my Smith Corolla Manual Typewriter though I’m not aware of where I’d obtain a typewriter ribbon. Correction tape was a necessity and copies were made by using onion skin and carbon paper. Computer word processors such as the one upon which I am composing this document make editing and correcting a snap. What was life like before spell check, automated thesaurus, and dictionary software. Whenever I eat corn on the cob I still think of the Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon in which they peck at corn cobs like a typewriter carriage with a bell sounding at the end before the carriage gets thrown. Jack Kerouac would have typed On The Road on a roll of paper towel, word processors do not run out of paper or run off the end of the page. Did you know the letters are arranged that way to ensure less likelihood of letters jamming if they struck the paper at the same time?

When was the last time you used a fountain pen? Have you ever used a quill and ink? The old one-room school I attended still had desks with holes for ink wells. Boys like my father dipped girl’s pig tails in the ink. I still have my father’s slate and slate pencil. Once your work was corrected the slate was cleaned with a damp cloth. Did you have an abacus as a child? Were you taught to use a slide rule? Were you aware that there is no Roman Numeral for zero? Do you know Morse Code?

Television arrived in my home only a short time before I left home for good. If I wanted to watch Tales from the Riverside or Thunderbirds in Supermarianation I had to visit my Grandfather or go to the neighbours. With one TV in a family one neighbour household watched Doctor Kildare one week and This Hour has Seven Days the next. There were two choices of channels—CBC or CTV.

The advent of video players—cassette or DVD has changed the nature of island life forever. In places such as Grand Manan the ferry schedule made it impossible to go to a movie on the main and get home the same day. When I visited the island every grocery store, barber shop, garage, coffee shop, and drug store on the island rented movies. Today kids sit in their rooms and play computer games. Before that families sat around the TV and no one was allowed to talk unless a commercial was playing. During important games the men at the sewage treatment plant didn’t need a TV to know when breaks in play occurred. Before all these modern technologies families played cards and parlour games. Every parlour had a foot operated treadle type harmonium. Rich families had player pianos and rolls. People made their own entertainment and they actually talked to one another.

Modern paved highways and reliable fast motor cars have made commuting long distances commonplace. The drive from my home to Halifax was once 103 miles and took 3 hours. Now I can make the 90 KM trip in under an hour. Before the advent of Consolidated Schools Lunenburg County, NS, possessed at least three distinct dialects or regional accents. I was bused over seven miles of dirt roads 25 miles to high school—mud in spring and fall, ice and snow drifts in winter, and dust in summer—three to a seat in a vehicle with dodgy brakes. School buses ran to take kids to dances. Glee Club was a major event. I got my picture in the Halifax Chronicle for singing in the Kiwanis Music Festival and bused to Lunenburg to sing in the stars of the festival concert. My first trip to Halifax to visit an allergy specialist was a major event. Today I and my RV have travelled 75,000 KM circling North America twice.

The letters I sent home to my parents from University took 3 days to arrive. This message will arrive in a CBC inbox seconds after I hit send. Via instant messaging we can ‘talk’ immediately. Chess games by mail once took months to complete, now we can play online games with immediacy. If someone took the time to sit down, write you a letter, buy postage, and walk to a post box to send it the recipient felt some obligation to post a response. I’d appreciate the same courtesy for the effort I put into writing this anthropological essay.

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My first ‘record’ was a shellac 78 rpm copy of Bimbo followed by an original 78 of Rudolph on vinyl. Both were worn to death on my Mother’s 1930ies Victrola. Long playing disks were capable of playing for approximately 5 minutes before the disk had to be turned over manually. The needle needed frequent cleanings and regular replacements and exerted several pounds of pressure on the disk. The singer on those early disks was rarely identified, only the orchestra, as voices did not reproduce particularly faithfully.

Contrast this with vinyl 33 rpm records that could record up to half an hour of music per side and could be stacked to play for hours with a cartridge and stylus exerting micro-grams of pressure on the disk. My Mother thought the voices were real.

Cassette tapes for the first time made players portable. Afficiandos had for decades listened to and recorded sound on giant reel to reel recorders at speeds of up to 15 inches per second. Cassette players suffered from the bane of tape hiss but finally anyone could afford to take music wherever they went.

Compact Disks truly entered the electronic age electronically sampling sound and converting it back though to the discerning ear with a certain sheen. Capable of holding 80 minutes of music for the first time an entire symphony could be recorded on one disk--unless we’re talking Mahler or Bruckner. My cataloguing CD Player can play over 24 hours of music non-stop and the laser that reads the disk never physically touches it. CD Players were made portable but suffered from skipping if jiggled too much.

Enter MP3 Players. Finally a runner can place a portable player the size of a large wrist watch on his/her wrist or upper arm and go jogging as the device has no moving parts. Larger players can hold ‘cards’ that contain days of music. The compressed files may not faithfully reproduce the 24 cycle per second tone of a 64 ft bombarde reed at Notre Dame de Paris but for pop music that feeds on distortion they’re ideal. A 5 terrabyte hard disk can hold years of music. A nine-speaker system can literally place you in a concert hall.

I’ve seen a cylinder recording of Caruso played on an acoustic horn player and I’ve sat in a subway car and heard youngsters doing their ears permanent damage with ear buds blasting ‘music’ I can hear across the aisle. Times have changed from the old crystal set that picked up radio signals and played music in an ear phone using the energy of the broadcast signal to create sound.

Home Security

For the first eighteen years of my life I was blissfully unaware of the need for security. Until I left home in 1967 I’d never felt the need to carry a key or think of finding a locked door. Since all my neighbours were relatives and grew up with my parents and my parent’s parents even the act of knocking on a door was foreign to me, one simply opened the door and walked in. A far cry from neighbours and friends in a modern city whom visiting involves calling first and making prior arrangements for a visit. My parents did not grow up with phones or even electricity. Homes were built on hills so that neighbours could see each others lamplight and know everything was okay. The front porch door was hooked to indicate the residents had retired for the night, the back door which led to the outhouse was never locked unless everyone went away for an extended period of time and with cows to milk every 12 hours that was rare indeed.

Contrast that with my life today. On a country farm the key to the family car is likely to be found either in the ignition or the trunk lock. Closing my car involves arming the security system. Going for the mail involves locking my front door after I leave the apartment, the door is never left open at any time, taking the elevator down to the main floor and walking down four flights of stairs, a quarter-mile walk usually outside after exiting the building, two more entrance doors one locked, unlocking the mailbox and relocking it, then throwing away the junk mail. Most of what I receive. The return journey involves two exit doors, another walk across the parking lot, another set of entrance doors, one locked, a wait for the elevator, and unlocking my house door. Visiting my storage locker involves my house door, 5 storeys by elevator, a locked corridor, my locker key, finding an overhead pull-string light, then the reverse journey. Getting to my underground parking involves the same elevator ride and two sets of doors with a cramped interlock room. Entering or exiting the garage involves activating a self retracting garage door weighing two tons, two steep ramps, and a series of tunnels designed by an architect who obviously rode a bike and never owned a car.

Remembering 9/11

Ten years ago on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 I was having breakfast with friends in Calgary when their daughter interrupted us to turn on the TV to display video of the towers falling in NYC. After a while repeated showings became just plain tedious. A few days later I was bemused to note that everyone at the security wall in Calgary Airport wore a turban and kirpan. Airlines still served meals back then and although I wasn’t allowed to take my jackknife and nail clippers aboard the plane metal knives and forks it seems were okay. 9/11 has become as iconic in American Mythology as December 7th, 1941. We did not round up everyone of Arabic decent, seize their property, and place them in concentration camps but the xenophobia, distrust, and suspicions remain much the same.

Anyone who has attempted to fly, cross a border, or enter a public building has felt the impact of the events of that day. Those that manage security concerns have felt themselves empowered and have become zealous in bolstering their empires in the name of public safety. Whether the hundreds of millions spent and the wars waged have made America one iota safer is open to question. It has made travel more onerous, added to public unease, and plunged America into a debt situation from which it will probably never recover. Somehow it’s ironic that the one remaining Communist Bloc Country now essentially owns America.

Those who fail to learn the lessons of History are fated to repeat them. If Russia, with half a million men could not subdue Afghanistan what does America think it can do. And why on earth did Canada allow itself to be dragged into this futile conflict? If the war has cost America 15 trillion dollars, dealing with the veterans for the next 60 years will cost 45. One wonders how much the people who sold out Osama Bin Laden were paid; I’d hate to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder as those people will.

Waging war on terror to win peace is a contradiction in terms. Since suicide bombers are so sure of the rightness of their cause they believe their deaths will transmit them immediately to heaven as they understand it. It is almost impossible to defend against someone who is willing to die in the attempt. If a small fraction of the money spent on the war on terror had been used to better the lives of these people we’d have allies rather than mortal enemies. When fear takes over imaginary Weapons of Mass Destruction become tangible and enemies are invented to give vent to that fear and anger. If 15 trillion dollars had been spent on research to find alternatives to fossil fuels we wouldn’t be dependent on Middle East Oil.

While North American Youth grow fat and unhealthy sitting in front of digital screens five generations of some Arab families have lived in refugee or resettlement camps emotionally and physically starved. They may not have much but they can see how others live on TV. Should we be surprised that such privation breeds discontent and resentment? Is there any lack of fodder for Islamic Zealots who would spread terror? Should we be surprised that a people with no hope embrace such philosophies so eagerly? Do we need to find a new target for our War on Terror?

August Rant

How soon a population gets urbanized! A generation or so ago most Nova Scotians would have been quite familiar with the little white-washed shack behind the barn. Properly managed outhouses do not have to be smelly, disgusting places. Mind you checking down the hole to make sure there’s nothing present you wouldn’t want to share intimate company with is not an unwise move. Keeping the seat closed not only helps to keep down odours but also cuts down on the insect population. The same dolts who fail to drop the seat at home it seems also don’t know enough to cover the hole. The ladies side I fear is no better.

What would you say if a stranger walked up to your door, came in and walked through your kitchen? During my three-day stay at Rissers Beach adults and children alike seemed to think nothing of walking inches from my windows between my picnic table and my RV. Were I to have stayed longer I’d have thought of putting up a strategically placed washline to discourage the behaviour. My awning and picnic table only moved the idiots to find a route around them. Some education about campground etiquette would seem to be in order.

As you drive in either direction past the roads to Lunenburg on the 103 in Nova Scotia you’ll see a sign that reads Bluenose in Port. What the sign fails to tell you is that the Bluenose is presently at the home of its original builder, Smith & Rhuland, in pieces barely enough of the original boat still usable in its rebuilding to call it a refit.

In my dream world I’m enacting a 5-figure fine to be exacted upon highway crews who leave up temporary construction signs when no workman are present overnight and on weekends. And they wonder why no one pays attention to those signs.

I like those automated construction traffic lights that tell you how many seconds until the light changes. Nothing worse than sitting there fifteen minutes looking at a habitant bored out of his tree wondering how much longer before he’ll let you go. Move so I can tell you’re not asleep on your feet.

Descending hills so steep your ABS engages is a frightening prospect. I was in low gear at the time.

Everyone granted a driver’s licence should have to prove they know how to merge in and out of traffic at a cloverleaf intersection. Should someone who slams on the breaks in the middle of an expressway be surprised if they get rear-ended? If you don’t accelerate into the break in traffic I’ve left in front of my vehicle it’s not my problem. I’m not going to break so you can enter and then step on the gas.

There are two kinds of campground owners. Those who enjoy welcoming new guests and those who think it’s a money-making venture and find campers an inconvenience.

The Province of Quebec operates ‘National’ Parks, it ignores the existance of Canadian National Parks.

Is it legal to call fries smothered in Cheese Whiz and gravy poutine outside Quebec? Must everyone get in on the craze?

There’s a special place in hell where I’ve consigned the blighter who walked off with my walking stick while I was up the observation tower on Mt St Albans in Forillon National Park. Imagine if looks could kill when I ran into him on my way back to my campsite.

No fair. Someone has planted a row of spruce trees that will block the view of Pierced Rock from the best and only public viewing park in Roché Percé.

Is it a beach if the water’s too cold for anyone to swim?

I really didn’t need fireworks at Caraquet New Brunswick nor the gusting gale-force winds that almost blew over my RV. The 8 hour series of thunderstorms that knocked out power, struck two people, and lit up the sky over Halifax while the rain drummed off the roof was not necessary either.

I had no idea shelling pecans was such a challenge. Took me an entire day to shell half a gallon and I can’t even eat them.

Eat clams and chips at John’s Lunch in Dartmouth near the ferry terminal. Just watch out, the owner isn’t above sampling the fries on your plate. Be warned cash or Interac only.

Did you know that new or rotated tires should be retorked after 50 miles of driving? How can it take 45 minutes to get 5 L of synthetic oil from the parts department to the service bay? Ask me if I’ll ever patronize GM in Dartmouth again?

Is an E-mail correspondence if no one ever answers? Don’t you detest people who send one sentence answers or junk E-mail which they’ve forwarded from someone else after it’s travelled half way round the world already?

LaHave Outfitters in LaHave, Lunenburg County Nova Scotia with wharf along its side was operated by the Gray Family for centuries. Today its three storey bulk houses the LaHave Bakery with ovens in its basement, various other businesses and several living spaces. In the former front office still sits the massive 6-ft safe locked because no one now knows the combination.

The cable ferry still plies back and forth across the LaHave River between LaHave and West LaHave.

An aging population on Tancook Island still grows cabbages and markets the eponimous sauerkraut.

Visited the Land Registry Office for the Regional Municipality of the County of Lunenburg. When I had my land in Midville surveyed not only did it cost a fortune and take six years; its registry also ellicited 4 new tax bills and fire protection fees from Northfield Fire Department for property that’s inaccessible. In adding those new bills they maintained an old one that in effect taxed me twice for the same land. They’re investigating it.

Why I make most of my own meals in my RV! The eleven dollar bowl of seafood chowder only looked big. Its wide shallow edges sloped to a tiny centre section. Hunks of fish obviously added at the last minute to the broth were still raw, it was accompanied by a single small dinner roll. Two lawn mowers started up next door just after the soup arrived after a long wait. The scoop of ice cream added to the dried out Dutch Apple Pie could best be described as niggardly. Why did I give that waitress a tip?

The sidewalks in Mahone Bay are rolled up at 5 o’clock on a Friday Night, even in summer at the height of tourist season. Driving home to my campsite after an evening concert at one of the Churches by the Sea in the fog was not a pleasant experience. We watched the fog bank eat the world and hide the full moon while enjoying cookies and punch on the lawn during the intermission. Earlier the electrical system at that campground was not up to the task of supporting my A/C unit.

It’s an ill wind that blows no one good. One positive side-effect of the present downturn in the economy, the bad weather, and the rising cost of gasoline is the opportunity to drive up to nearly any private campground and obtain a spot to camp without prior reservation. Popular provincial and national parks still require a reservation, particularly on long weekends but bad weather cancellations can open spots even there. Good for people such as myself, not necessarily good for campground operators.

Dog Bites

Dog attacks on Canada Post carriers on the rise

41 reports of bites so far in July

CBC News

In the dog days of summer, Canada Post workers across the country are reporting a higher-than-usual spike in attacks by canines, with 41 incidents recorded in the first three weeks of July.
Canada Post is reminding dog owners to keep their pets leashed and a safe distance away from mail slots. Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press
The problem, according to some Ontario letter carriers, is that owners tend to unleash their pets and let them roam their yards as the weather heats up outdoors.
To ensure the safety of its employees, the country's primary postal carrier is reminding dog owners to restrain their pets — regardless of the animals' size — and keep them a fair distance from mail slots, mail boxes, and areas where delivery people may be approaching from the street.
Even smaller dogs are capable of inflicting serious injuries to people they feel may be trespassing on their owners' property, said Anick Losier, a spokesperson for Canada Post.

'"It just charged me, without making a sound. Jumped on to my arm and grabbed my forearm. I was kicking at him, screaming at him, punching at the dog."—Canada Post letter carrier Mark Roper

"We never know what a dog can do, whether it's small or big, it doesn't matter, really, because it can be quite unnerving for our people," Losier said.

Average 500 attacks a year

Although dog bites are much more common during the summertime, the 41 reports so far in July is higher than usual. On average, about 500 attacks are recorded annually across the country.
"What happens, especially at this time of year as letter carriers take their vacation, we'll see new letter carriers and maybe the dog it not used to this person," Losier said. "And therefore, they will have a tendency to want to protect their owner's property."
Mark Roper, who has been delivering the mail in Ottawa for 21 years, still feels edgy about dogs on his route ever since he was viciously mauled by a pitbull in March 2010.
"It just charged me, without making a sound. Jumped on to my arm and grabbed my forearm. I was kicking at him, screaming at him, punching at the dog," Roper recounted. "When he finally released, he ran back towards his house, but then I saw him run, turn around again, and charge at me a second time."

Thumb bitten off

Roper was taken to the hospital to get wounds on his forearm treated with surgical glue, and still bears the scars.
In the Ottawa area alone last year, there were 21 dog attacks reported, most of which were serious enough to require medical attention.
There was another serious incident in Belleville, Ont., this year, with a postal worker losing a thumb after encountering a dog that didn't recognize her.
"The lady letter carrier was a relief worker, so therefore it's not part of her regular route," Losier said. "The dog didn't know her and he was a pitbull mastiff, and he bit off her thumb. So they can be very serious and even if it's just loud barking, it can be unnerving for somebody."
As for those pet owners who ignore safety precautions regarding pet restraints, they may just end up having to wait a little longer for their mail. Losier said delivery service can be suspended from certain addresses if a letter carrier deems the property unsafe. Residents would then have to pick up their mail from the nearest post office.

Be careful to whom you make your donations

Cancer Society spends more on fundraising than research

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2011/07/04/cancer-society-funding.html

By Erica Johnson, CBC News

Posted: Jul 6, 2011 5:00 AM ET

Last Updated: Jul 6, 2011 8:28 AM ET

CBC's Marketplace discovered that each year, as the Cancer Society raised more dollars, the proportion of money it spent on research dropped dramatically. (Canadian Cancer Society/Canadian Press)

An Ontario cancer researcher is concerned that the Canadian Cancer Society has proportionally shifted funding away from research and is spending more of its dollars on fundraising and administration costs.

"Most scientists don’t realize that the budget has been going up and up, and donations have been growing, but the budget for research has been shrinking," said Brian Lichty, a researcher at McMaster University who is looking into treating cancer with viruses that kill tumours. "So they are surprised and disappointed when they find out that this is the case, and the trend."

CBC's Marketplace analyzed the Canadian Cancer Society’s financial reports dating back a dozen years. It discovered that each year, as the society raised more dollars, the proportion of money it spent on research dropped dramatically — from 40.3 per cent in 2000 to under 22 per cent in 2011.

The amount of money spent on research has increased slightly over the years, but as a portion of the Cancer Society’s growing budget, it's almost been cut in half.

Lichty and some of his colleagues set up an information booth at this year's annual Relay for Life fundraiser in Ancaster, Ont., to raise awareness about the drop in funding for research at the Canadian Cancer Society. Over the years, his research team has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the society, but he’s not afraid to criticize it now.

"Cancer researchers are spending a lot of their time, or most of their time, trying to figure out how to get the money to fund their research, rather than actually doing research," Lichty said.

"And it has become a much bigger portion of what our day-to-day activities amount to."

Marketplace asked the Canadian Cancer Society for an on-camera interview, but it declined, instead responding by email:

"While funding cancer research is a crucial part of the society’s work, we also have profound responsibilities to do everything we can to reduce the risk of Canadians ever developing cancer and to provide meaningful support to people living with cancer."

But when Marketplace scrutinized the financial reports, it found that a greater percentage of funds was not being directed toward support, information and advocacy.

Instead, the reports reveal that the area that’s getting the greatest portion of donor dollars is fundraising, up from 26 per cent of all monies raised in 2000, to 42.7 per cent in 2011.

P.O.V.

Will Canadian Cancer Society spending make you stop donating?

Greg Thomson, a spokesman for the charity watchdog Charity Intelligence, said the Canadian Cancer Society appears to spend more on fundraising than a number of other charities.

"I would want to understand better what they’re spending their money on, why they’re spending that much," Thomson said. "Because we found a number of very effective organizations that don’t need to spend nearly the percentages on fundraising and admin that we’ve seen."

Competing interests

Mark Blumberg, a lawyer who advises non-profits and charities but doesn’t represent the Canadian Cancer Society, said the society may be spending less on research because that money may have more impact elsewhere.

"In the end, they need to listen to all the different interest groups and stakeholders that have an interest in the area, and not just prefer one and ignore others," Blumberg said. "I think what they are trying to do is spend money on different areas and balance stakeholders’ interests."

Lichty said he’s hoping his criticism of the society will encourage the largest funder of cancer research in Canada to shift its priorities back to finding new treatments and a cure.

"I suspect, if donors are not happy with the situation, if they want a greater proportion of their money to go to research — because that is why they donated their money — then maybe there will be a grassroots movement," Lichty said. "Some pressure from the donors and the volunteers to try and find a way to put more of the money they raise into research."

Helicopters loose parts, not unlike our Sea Kings

NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Office of Information and Public Affairs  Washington, DC 20207   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 10, 2011 Release #11-243    Firm's Recall Hotline: (866) 791-4754 CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772 CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908    Excite USA Recalls Toy Helicopters Due to Laceration Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Rite Aid Stores  WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.  Name of Product: Military Copters  Units: About 24,000  Manufacturer: Excite USA, of Carrollton, Texas  Hazard: The plastic blades of the helicopter can detach during operation, posing a laceration hazard.  Incidents/Injuries: Three incidents were reported, two to Excite and one to CPSC. Two of these included laceration injuries.  Description: The recalled toy Military Copters are operated by manual rotary starters and sold as a unit with two sizes, 7 and 11 inches in length, of tan and black helicopters. The product comes in a blister pack with "Military Copter with 2 Launchers" marked on the package and "Military Copter" marked on both sides of the manual starter. The model number, #9009935 and UPC 680108044474 number are printed on the back of the package near the bar code.  Sold at: Exclusively at Rite Aid Corporation stores nationwide from January 2011 through May 2011 for about $7.  Manufactured in: China  Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled helicopters away from children and return the product to any Rite Aid store for a full refund.  Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Excite USA toll free at (866) 791-4754 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's website at www.Excite-Limited.com  To see this recall on CPSC's web site, including a picture of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml11/11243.html      ********************************************************  ‘CPSC 2.0’ Launches Product Safety Agency into Social Media -- Learn more at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09346.html  Visit our new blog, OnSafety at www.cpsc.gov/onsafety See our videos on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/uscpsc Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/OnSafety See our photos on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/uscpsc  The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.  To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, visit www.saferproducts.gov, or contact CPSC's Hotline at info@cpsc.gov, (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.  -----------------------------  You are currently subscribed to the email list "all" as: garthmailman@gmail.com  To unsubscribe, please do one of the following: (1) go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx and use the on-line form (2) send a blank email to leave-2393424-85996.0257ef47ca24afa78ea6150826388f08@list.cpsc.gov  You can also go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx to change your  subscription, or unsubscribe an old address and subscribe a new one.  This message is from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal regulatory agency, located at 4330 East West  Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814  Toll-free hotline: (800) 638-2772  Thank you.   

Give the Fisherman a Break

After years of poor prices for Lobster and the hit a perceived luxury has taken due to the downturn in the economy the price paid the fisherman at the dock for the crustacean finally rose to about $4.25 from a low of $2.75 last year. Now if you’ve had a lobster served you at a restaurant you recognize that at these prices someone made a killing before that meal landed on your plate and it wasn’t the guy who pulled up the lobster pot. The price of fuel for transporting live lobster by air has certainly gone up but all the middlemen between you and the guy in the southwester and boots each took their cut. In general the price of food reflects not what the producer was paid to catch or raise it but the cut taken by the buyers, processors, warehouses, and wholesalers before it gets to you. Each step results in a mark-up and a delay in the time it takes a product to reach the consumer and reduces the freshness of live or unprocessed goods. Imagine then the irony when lobster processors now complain that the price of lobster is too high.

The price of fish has made fishing a way of life rather than a living. The price of fish at the dock does not cover the costs involved in landing it. One goes to sea in the hopes of getting enough weeks employment to draw UI the remainder of the year. It is difficult to feel sympathy for the fish processing conglomerates when they whine that a break even price for fish might cut into their profits.

Education Experts?

Education Experts brought us

• The new math and calculators in the classroom
• Open concept schools
• The idea that self expression is more important than grammar or spelling
• The belief that failing a kid and separating him from his peer group was more damaging than the fact he wasn’t learning.
• Cuts to phys-ed programs

What we got were

• Bank tellers who use a machine to subtract 3000 from 5000 and don’t realize they have a problem if the answer they get is 200
• Buildings no one has a use for
• University students who can’t spell or write a proper sentence
• Adults who are functionally illiterate.
• The first generation in 200 years that will live shorter lives than their parents because they’re obese.

Do we trust them when they tell us that libraries are replaceable in a digital age or that music programs are a luxury when budgets are tight.