Sunday, August 23, 2009

What Bugs You?

"What pisses me off, is that more people aren't pissed off" Bill Maher.

Speaking of Bill Maher, If you haven't seen "religulous", I found it online. Check it out with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy.







We've had these bugs on the construction site for two years in a row. I can't say I've seen them anywhere else.... by my standards, this is a huge bug. It sounds somewhat like a helicopter when it fies by.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Honeymoon Sales Tax

I really think the HST could be a good thing. I'm on record saying that the GST was a bone-headed tax to begin with. Why have another separate bureaucratic money grabbing entity when we already had one? I call the HST, the Honeymoon Sales Tax cause once in place you'll never get screwed as often in your whole life. If Gordo had said... "times are tough and this tax will be used to prop up our social system until better times come around", I'd have a whole lot more respect for the man... and I'd shut up and pay up.

A two billion tax shift to give his corporate cronies a break?... I don't think so Gordo.
I signed Bill Tieleman's Facebook HST protest page.... but what I really want, is to rid our government of liars.... Here's my thought process. As a public employee, we're all Gordo's boss. As a boss I don't want my employees to be liars. What I don't get is, he'd proven himself a liar during his last two terms and yet some 46% of BC voters "hired him" in May. Now (some of) those voters are outraged at the current set of lies. They seem somehow surprised. They must be the same voters that canned electoral reform. I'll be asking my MLA, Don McRae if he has the balls to stand up for his constituents, or must he bow to the emperor Gordo... stay tuned.
(Cheesy Travolta video explains the hst)

Hello Mr. Mcrae,My wife and I moved to the Comox Valley three years ago. We are currently building a new home and intend to retire here. Like a lot of other BC'ers, who to vote for in the last Provincial election was a conundrum indeed. I think it's common knowledge that a large number of voters held their nose and voted for "the devil you know". It certainly appears now that some voters would vote otherwise if given the opportunity today. Much of the dissatisfaction (as I'm sure you're aware), stems from the blatant disingenuousness of Mr Campbell. Each BC resident, is in a way, an employer of public servants. Most employers would not put up with employees that habitually lied to them. I fear the writing is on the pink slip for Employee Gordon Campbell. As a constituent of yours, I would like to know your thoughts on the leadership of your party and the direction in which you leader is taking it. If you'll excuse my bluntness I shall ask, will you represent the wishes of your constituents by standing up in the legislature and demanding honesty from everyone there, including the leader of your party? Thanks for your public service.
Regards, Dave.
(I hope this email is not answered "auto responder")

See the following answer....I guess the answer is "No" he won't have the balls to hold Gordo to any kind of ethics.... should we expect any different? As his assistant says: he will "make decisions that he feels will be the best", not what his constituents feel is best, hmmmm. Regardless of your political beliefs, please email your MLA and demand honesty in government. It's the least we can expect.

On behalf of MLA Don McRae, thank you for taking the time to email our office. Don is aware of your email and has asked that I reply on his behalf, as he is in Victoria preparing for the opening of the legislature on August 25, 2009.
When Don made the decision to run for MLA for the Comox Valley he made a commitment to be the best MLA he could be. He is prepared to listen to all of the issues and make decisions that he feels will be the best, not only for the citizens of the Comox Valley, but also for the Province of BC. Don appreciates hearing from constituents such as yourself.
Thank you once again for emailing our office.
Dianne Lineker
Constituency Assistant to
Don McRae, MLA
Comox Valley Constituency
Phone: 250 703 2422
Fax: 250 703 2425

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Out on Bale


We've had a great stretch of weather... It brings out Island living at it's best. Sienna won't come to work with me while it's this hot, but she loves the beach outings. The ocean is the place to be, as the lakes are just too warm for swimming.


Saturday evening we went to see Los Rastrillos at the hall. An all ages show.... and as usual no Denman dance complete without Kids and a Border Collie. We were a slightly smaller crowd than the one in the video.





Straw Bale House Update: About half of the exterior walls are now "baled". We've started at the back of the house.... the idea being that we'll make all of the learning curve mistakes on the least visible side. We'll do one complete wall, then move on to the more visible areas. Once the bales are stacked and the cracks between them "stuffed", the walls are given a final plumb (fine tuning) using a sledge hammer. Then it comes time to shave the walls (to make them less hairy of course) and knock down any unsightly straw bulges. It was challenging to find a tool capable of shaving the flax straw. We tried weed-whackers, hedge shears and even the electric chainsaw with dismal results. The flax straw is just so fibrous that nothing seems to be able to shear it. During a visit to a hemp bale house a few years ago, that builder said that he'd had a difficult time with the same sort of problem. The problem has been solved by mounting an undercut saw carbide tooth blade onto my angle grinder. The result is a very dangerous, (but effective) tool.


Once the wall was sheared we attached 2" square stucco wire, (which I'm told is not "code") anchored to the plaster stops and window bucks. Cedar window trims are then screwed into the bucks. Pretty much the same procedure will be done to the inside of the same wall, then the wire mesh on either side of the wall can be "sewn" together. This is accomplished using a customized baling needle which is capable of either pushing or pulling baling twine through the 18" walls. See design detail from http://www.strawbale.com/ I used a 3/8" aluminum rod (cost- $6) and a cutting wheel on my angle grinder to make the 45 degree grooves into which the twine fits.