Genius Grower of Cucumbers

That's all we can say of our friend "Wasy", as we ourselves look at our puny cucumbers withering on their vines in the heat despite lots of irrigation.

He has a secret, he says.
And he shared it with us.

"Late winter each year, I sprinkle ashes from my woodstove onto my garden beds...and my potatoes and cucumbers are fabulous," says Wasy.

Here's proof:

Our friend, "Wasy", the cucumber growing genius

And he happily shares his harvest with all his friends at Highlands Golf's men's night on Tuesdays!

Thanks, Wasy!

Telus Temerity

Temerity is definited in the dictionary as:

noun

noun: temerity

excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.

"no one had the temerity to question his conclusions"

synonyms:

audacity, boldness, audaciousness, nerve, effrontery, impudence, impertinence, cheek, barefaced cheek, gall, presumption, presumptuousness, brazenness, forwardness, front, rashness;

And it's abundantly clear that temerity is the correct word when describing any actions of the telecommunications giant.

For example, consider the recent telus email outage that lasted approximately two days for most users.  Some customers experienced a four day outage.

It wasn't until several days later that discussions among the public ensued.

Castanet's discussion forums had a number of comments from concerned users.

But problems persisted for many people.

In my case, I was instructed to change the password on my telus webmail by callling a 1-888-number.
On calling it, there was no numerical option (of the usual numerous 'press one if...'  the nice recorded voice offered).  So I never changed my password...I can't even recall how many years ago I first set a password!

Another email from telus:

A message from Tony Geheran TELUS Chief Customer Officer August 22, 2019

Dear ......,

Last week there was an outage that impacted access to your TELUS.net email. The issue occurred during an overnight update to our servers in the early hours of Thursday, August 15 when a flawed repair procedure, in partnership with our vendor, took the TELUS.net email system offline. On behalf of the entire TELUS team, we are incredibly sorry for any inconvenience this issue has caused. Although you should be able to send and receive email now, we know we let you down, and this disruption does not represent the level of service that you expect and deserve from us. We want to help make this right by offering you compensation. If you are still experiencing issues, please click here to receive additional information on how you may be able to mitigate these issues.

Our immediate action for compensation

To thank you for your patience and apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused, we are offering you a $7 bill credit. Depending on your bill date, the bill credit may appear on your upcoming bill or the bill thereafter. Please note, one bill credit valid per account.

What's next

TELUS will be reaching out to customers with additional updates as we continue to resolve the issue. We are committed to providing superior service to our customers. Part of our customers first commitment means doing everything we can to make this right. Thank you for your business. Please click here or on the image below for a video message from me to you.

 


Anyway, it all appears to be settled now, with emails arriving and being sent daily.

The opposite (antonym) of temerity?


"civility, courteousness, courtesy, gentility, graciousness, mannerliness, manners"


Yup...temerity was the correct word when describing how telus deals with its users.

A chance encounter with a telus employee two days ago at a drive-through restaurant--and our spontaneous conversation on the outage topic--led me to believe temerity is definitely the correct word, as he said: "I never read anything from the bosses...it's all propaganda".

And that's from a telus employee!

Deadly Nightshade Plant...yuck!

What a surprise today, finding a 6-foot long vine-type plant reaching up through the weeping birch branches at the putting green.

Especially when we found out what it was.
Deadly nightshade!
A relative of the tomato family.

And, on looking further, we ended up finding more, and pulled out an entire large garbage bag of the stuff!

Seeds are apparently brought in by birds.

We'll keep an eye on that area in future as it seems to catch whatever's airborne from the west...mostly Scottish Thistles, thanks to the Ministry of Transportation not following Vernon and Coldstream's bylaws on Noxious Weed eradication on the south side of Highway 6 from 15th to Aberdeen Roads.

"Not Right", Geoff Rempel?

Really?  Really?, Mr. Rempel?
Deport the bastard NOW.

We can take up a collection for the plane fare.

The newspaper headline today had me gasping in horror...that's two days in a row!  (after that disgusting individual featured in the story in Wednesday's newspaper).
And I blame two Canadian government agencies for promoting the horror and danger.

Immigration and Refugee Board member Geoff Rempel ruled on August 2 that it was not right to keep detaining Hamden and that he should be released.  "In my view, with appropriate conditions of release, he is not a danger to the public," he said in the review documents.

However, thankfully! the federal court later issued an interim stay of release and is currently reviewing the Immigration Division's decision.

Rempel's "appropriate conditions of release" is laughable.
Mr. Rempel--whose qualifications for the job are frankly unknown to us--likely pours over tomes of precedent-setting legalese, and then goes home to his comfy armchair in a lovely cloistered and secure dwelling.

He's a bureaucraft who lives in another world.
Too bad he lives in Canada and makes decisions that could easily affect the safety of other Canadians.


Doesn't he understand that terrorists (of all stripes) will happily lie to your face, and continue to dream of ways they can destroy what we Canadians hold dear?
Because that's the way they were raised, that's the way it is in their (former) country, and that's the way their minds will always work.

That's also because Canada offers the freedom to spout all manner of crap.
He received Canadian refugee status in 2002 because he said there were "threats" in his native Jordan.  Oh, how sad.  So he packed up and brought his hatred and promoted it here.  It could years later have landed him in Enderby had someone in government not gotten off their fat arse and realized there was a problem.


Laws need to change.
And fast.
And retroactively, so the individual in today's horrific story doesn't get the benefit of a law changing after he was charged.

Even Enderby Mayor Greg McCune is outraged, principally because neither the Immigration Board nor the RCMP hadn't contacted him when the likelihood of the individual being released into his community became available to government.
 
Before you mirror my thoughts and shout "Stupid Government(s)", thankfully the Canada Border Services Agency saw it was critical to detain the terrorist after he shared 75 Facebook messages of terrorist support online.

A calmer disposition has me looking up the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, on which its "members" are listed.  Geoff Rempel is listed fourth from the end under Western Canada.

So these are the people who make decisions on whether immigrants can/can't come in, on whether any detainees will/won't be deported, etc.

It is stated that "Members render decisions on refugee claims and appeals, admissibility hearings, detention reviews and immigration appeals."
And there are 16 in the Western Region alone.
In charge of the Western Region is Karin Michnick, Assistant Deputy Chairperson, Western Region.  

I will be writing Karin Michnick a very strongly worded letter, copy to Geoff Rempel, expressing my disgust and horror at the mere thought of the bastard Hamden coming to Enderby, let alone not being deported.

Other people should contact them too:  

Phone contact the Legacy Office at 1-833-534-2292 …

 Or simply use this email address:  Integrity-Integrite@irb-cisr.gc.ca

How to Make a Complaint

1. 4.1. A complaint about the conduct of a member must be made in writing to the Director of the Office of Integrity. It may be sent to this address:
   
   Director, Office of Integrity
   Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
   Minto Place, Canada Building
   344 Slater Street, 14^th Floor
   Ottawa, Ontario
   Canada
   K1A 0K1
2. 4.2. A complaint can also be made to the Director of the Office of Integrity by email at this address: Integrity-Integrite@irb-cisr.gc.ca
3. 4.3. A complaint should include the following information:
1. a) the name and contact information of the person making the complaint;
2. b) the name of the member who is the subject of the complaint;

Hamden, the terrorist supporter who named the Revelstoke Dam as a potential target.

In an interview with the CBC, former CSIS and RCMP operative Mubin Shaikh said Hamdan's potential release is a serious situation.  "He should definitely not be released."
Attaboy, Mubin!

Oh...and Hamdan has argued he was falsely accused of terrorism and has sued the B.C. and Canadian governments.

"Let's get rid of Trudeau fast," Kia would've said "before he gives Hamdan $10 million like he did Khadr".

This is on your conscience, Geoff Rempel.
Sleep well!

Throw Away the Key, Parole Board!

Abject disgust turned to outrage as I read the story by Dan Ferguson in the Morning Star on August 14th.

I can't even bring myself to re-type the salient points of the sicko's disgusting attacks on females, some of them mere children!!, so will only provide this link to what the bastard has done.

Bleeding hearts will say "yes, but he has suffered a brain injury, and was born with low intelligence."
So?

Bleeding hearts will say "yes, but the parole office is allowing his restrictions to be gradually lifted."
So?

Bleeding hearts will say "yes, but the justice system doesn't allow him to be kept any longer."
So?

Bleeding hearts will say "yes, he has an extensive criminal record that demonstrates a pattern of persistent violent behaviour" and a "poor community supervision history."
So?

Bleeding hearts will say "yes, he also threatened to shoot a police officer."  But didn't.

Bleeding hearts will say "and he threatened to shoot himself."

Unfortunately he didn't.

A July 22nd Parole Board of Canada hearing, just released, has lifted restrictions that limit Brian Edward Abrosimo to one-hour day trips from the community residential facility in the Okanagan where he lives, and eliminated a requirement that he must be accompanied by a male staff member.

He will be free to leave without supervision and without a curfew.

I wonder if his victims have ever felt truly free since their attacks by him.
Likely not.

Government Greed Knows No Bounds

Are you listening, City of Vernon?
Especially the part about "There is a ripple effect when sales and new homes are postponed or cancelled," president of CHBA-CO said.

Stoni Consolidated Holding would likely agree with that.
Especially when considering how the City of Vernon--whose bluff they have called--cancelled a whole bunch of previously-enacted agreements with the developer.

Anyway, now to this story, as reported today by Capital News Staff writer C.Clow:


"Housing sales drop affect(sic) government income:

Only 2357 homes were sold this June in the Central Okanagan, said the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board.  That is 415 fewer homes than the same time last year.  Read a B.C. report here.
Also click on New Homes Data, June 2019 here.

The decline may not seem detrimental, but its effects are far reaching said Cassidy deVeer, president of the Canadian Home Builders' Association Central Okanagan (CHBA-CO).

"There is a ripple effect when sales and new homes are postponed or cancelled," deVeer said.  "It's not just the home builders, but all those who service and supply the industry."

"A flooring supplier representative told me yesterday that his residential sales are way down," she added, noting a new report that cites the impact of the housing sales decrease also on government revenues.

That report, commissioned by the BC Chapter of CHBA, studies the benefits new home construction offers government.  It was not publicly released until now.

The report revealed that one new home built and sold in the Central Okanagan raises more than $94,000 in revenues split by the three levels of government.

"Housing affordability is an issue we hear about often and it's a top concern of all Canadians," deVeer said.

"When buyers hear their homes include more than $94,000 in tax, you get their attention quickly."

The report looked at both fees and taxes directly levied on the construction and sale of new homes and additional revenues generated through income taxes and taxes on the construction materials.

Provincial sales taxes generated by the purchasing of materials was also included, but the report did not take into account the Energy Step Code charges.

"In order to better inform the public before the upcoming federal election, CHBC launched an awareness campaign on housing affordability," continues the news story.

The website affordability.ca summarizes factors affecting home affordability right now.


"Tax me, I'm a BC-er," Kia would've said (thinking of Comrade Horgan's empty homes taxes, etc. etc.)


And Stoni Consolidated is likely saying "tax me, I'm a Vernonite."

The Bluff Worked...Sort Of

Is the City of Vernon "losing face?"
Maybe their noses (first) would be a more appropriate appendage to lose.

Today's story--fast on the heels of Wednesday's publication--reiterates that Stoni's legal counsel informed Stoni that "the developer could no longer rely on the commitments made by the City.  Most of the commitments, said Stoni Consolidated, is(sic) related specifically to permits or city-controlled costs."

Bureaucratic red tape and cancelled commitments by the City of Vernon!

The developer said it would issue deposit refunds to the 46 pre-sale homeowners, and that they would be contacting all homeowners immediately to provide more information and answer specific questions.

Owners' representative Jonathon Campbell said via e-mail two days ago that he did not have a comment for the media.

"Take your refund(s) and run, folks," Kia would've said, adding "By the time the bureaucratic red tape is fixed/minimized by the City, the developer could've built in Armstrong or Kelowna."

Lost face?
The City has definitely lost a future revenue source.
Residents should be furious at the City's stalling and waffling and rule "changes".

Calling the City's Bluff

In a nutshell, the developer is taking his bat and ball and going home because the City of Vernon's "commitments" can't be relied on, despite the developer stating he has jumped through the city's hoops. 

"...the city would be in a position to make changes

 to previously approved draft agreements

 or impose further project costs

 or even change the project...",

 the Developer said.

The City has demanded a signed unconditional closing of the sale agreement, which hasn't been received according to the City administrator.

And the developer's position is that "the increased risk of these actions directly affects the timing and 'the city would be in a position to make changes to previously approved draft agreements or impose further project costs or even change the project as they had threatened to do on May 27 by raising the issue of the 43rd Avenue entrance'."

The story was featured in today's Morning Star newspaper under "Major housing development shuts down".

If it sounds like I am taking sides with the developer, that is correct.

I do have experience with local government--albeit the District of Coldstream next door to Vernon--during my golf course project development in 2000 and 2001.  So I know that the likelihood of local government "tack-ons" is very high indeed.  In my case I was dealing with not only Coldstream, but the Regional District of North Okanagan.

Double whammy, it could be said.

Government appears to be of the opinion that "little tack-ons" can be demanded as adjuncts to approved development permit plans because government has all the rules and yes, they make the rules.

Permits up the wazoo, all needing inspection at each and every little phase of development.  Often by bureaucrats who attend in pairs, discuss progress with one another on site, and then spring another "qualification" onto the developer...drains are needed on sloping ground, that area over there must be paved, a "buffer" must be installed to prevent noise from reaching a neighbour, etc. etc. etc.

The "tack-ons" seem endless and end up costing the developer so much more money!
Money that is already tight.

So, yes, no matter how the newspaper--and the City clerks--portray the developer's lack of adherence to their new tunes (such as an added new entrance on 43rd Avenue!), I believe Stoni Consolidated Holding called the City's bluff.
And cancelled the development, instructing their agents to return deposits for homes pre-purchased.

Unintended consequences?
Certainly for the City.
Certainly for the people who pre-bought; their plans for new homes have now gone Poof!

Let's hope that the general public realizes it is bureaucratic red tape that invariably derails developments.

But all those bureaucrats are likely circling their wagons right now...so that no blame is placed on them for the City's loss of future tax/development dollars.

Good on 'ya, Stoni!