taxation frustration

What could I possibly have in common with Jaclyn Smith, Hilary Clinton, and Keith Urban? Two years ago on October 26th, I started this blog on their birthday, (and mine). What better way to spend a b-day morning, than to go for a walk on a deserted beach? The storms this time of year make for productive beach-combing. Moon snail shells are in particular abundance. The weather lately, although coolish in the mornings, has been extraordinary.

About a month ago (when oil began it's plunge) BC Ferries announced that they would not be reducing the "fuel charge" because they had based their budget on $78 dollar / barrel oil. Now that oil is in the mid 60's, they've announced that the fuel charge will be cut in half on November 4th.. Our Provincial Government, (the one that has nothing to do with our ferry system) has announced that they be cutting our ferry fares by 30% for the "holiday season", (December & January). Too bad they didn't think of this maneuver while Hornby vacation rentals were sitting empty during the summer. Most people are assuming this is an attempt to buy votes and make us forget about the Olympic Shortfall Tax, I mean Carbon Gas Tax.

Saturday, there was an "all candidates" meeting at the hall. Three potential Island Trustees vied for two positions. All three (it appeared) tried not to differentiate themselves from the others while they fielded questions from the audience. Some questions were more in the form of venting some historical, personal grievance, (which I personally consider the entertainment portion of the program)

Strawbale House Update: Whilst I wait for the heat loss calculation (before installing the heating tubes), I've been puttering on the garage. Some cedar shingle accents have been stained to enhance the cute factor.

Where's the straw?

So, a trip to the city has delayed the blog... I must say, I don't miss the city. I dislike the smells and the traffic and the bombardment of the senses. I did indulge in shopping at one of my fav stores: Princess Auto. A great store for tools, saw-blades etc... not too much to do with princesses or autos, so can't explain the name. We returned home to foggy weather and temperatures cooler than predicted. At times it was nice and sunny at the site, but much cooler and foggy just below.

The weekend before we left, we lucked into one sunny day and took advantage of it. I wanted to explore a trail I hadn't been on before. It was a beautiful mossy trail, (that I expected to lead to Grandma's house). No bad wolves were spotted, but we did keep an eye out for our resident cougar that was seen in the trail area recently.

StrawBale House Update: Hmm... where's the straw? I know readers wonder about a bale house with no bales.... There are two basic methods of building with straw. A weight bearing or "Nebraska" style house uses the straw bales as the house structure and roof support. The other method is to build a skeletal balloon frame or a post & beam frame and "infill" with straw bales. The second method is preferable in rainy climates where a sunny building period can't be depended upon. I'm building a modified post & beam home that will have a roof on it to protect the baling process from the elements. As soon as the roof is on, I can pour the finished slab. The dry interior then becomes storage for the bales.
The round dormer trusses were cut out last week, thanks to another generous islander with a warm shop and band-saw. The pieces were assembled and then raised into place.
The odd sunny day has allowed for some beam staining. I'm not sure what's in the stain that attracts the flies, but even near freezing, the little kamikazes can't resist dive bombing the wet stain.

Carbon Tax? Our provincial Government has announced a new carbon tax. This means it's time to pay the piper. The offset is a reduction in income tax in all categories. It'll be interesting to see what the reaction will be..... and even more interesting to see what will be done with the (I suspect increased) revenue flow. Each BC'er will also get $100 this summer to start our green initiatives. This seems a little hokey to me and smells like an election ploy. The biggest polluters like concrete manufacturing are off the hook for now. I do think this is a positive move, although shallowly thought out. A much more effective way to entice consumers to buy green products is to eliminate tax on them entirely... (as is what's currently done with bicycles)