There are all kinds of observations I must report this week, dear diary.
First observation: I am getting very tired of two overworked phrases that need to be dumped. The first being, “boots on the ground.” It started out as a reference to military buildup. It now refers to anything that has to do with personnel deployment. Enough.
The second is “shovel ready.” That phrase was started by some federal bureaucrat with too much time on his (her) hands, referring to projects that were being readied so that the federal treasury could return some of the money it had already taken out of various communities across the nation. No more readied shovels please. Just deliver the money when we need it, please.
Did you know the State of North Dakota is producing over one million barrels of light, sweet crude oil per day now? They reached that benchmark this past summer. That state now pumps more oil than Saskatchewan and more than most of the other states.
A recent national study completed just in time for late summer indicated that the one feature that immigrants appreciate the most about a new community is innovation. Newcomers have revealed they feel good about the towns and cities they’re prepared to settle down in, if that city or town is showing strong signs of awareness and foresight in planning. Innovation trumped the expected items such as health care, economy, education, housing, multicultural activities and environment. In other words, new arrivals were looking for an alert community ready to try new things. That’s what they valued the most. I find that most interesting. Of course communities willing to take on new things are probably already doing well on the health, education, economy and environment fronts.
Do you find the newest batch of cell phones amusing? The new iPhone 6 boasts a bigger screen. Two years ago, the race was on to see what phone manufacturer could produce the smallest screen. Now it seems, the race is on for screens that will come out millimetres larger than last month’s model. Oh those marketing ploys we fall for time and time again. I find it rather amusing. It’s now the battle of the larger tiny phones. So when will flip phones come back into vogue, for the third time?
The RCMP almost got rid of their winter muskrat fur caps. It seems the anti-fur lobbyists almost got through. They were about to don police toques with RCMP logos stamped on them before cooler heads prevailed along with the fur lobby. The fur hats have been restored to their rightful place and Leona Aglukkaq, our environment minister, can breath a sigh of relief. Apparently about 1,000 fur caps are sold to the Mounties each fall and they look great and are efficient ear warmers I expect.
Hell, I can remember as a kid when Mounties wore those big heavy buffalo coats. I don’t think they’d want them back. Now if Aglukkaq could only get those anti-seal hunt protestors to listen to a little logic, it would sure help. What are the chances of that happening?
Speaking of buffalo coats and good old days, who can remember when milk and fresh water were delivered to your homes? How about the honey wagon and the ash collectors? Ah yes, the good old days weren’t always that good. I’ll take the blue recycle bin any day.
