How the CRTC is proposing to change how you use the Internet and Innovative Technologies




by Schnee Wolfe on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 8:57pm

On Wednesday,January 26th, 2011, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission issued a decision to allow incumbent Media Oligarchies (controlling Cable TV services and stations, Telephone - both wireless and cellular, Internet, and various other news and public affairs services) to charge Usage Based Billing that raised the costs charged to small ISPs that lease bandwidth on the networks of Bell and Bell Aliant, mainly in Ontario and Quebec. This led DSL Internet Providers, like Teksavvy, to issue changes to plans effective March 1st, that started at 25 gb bandwidth, down from the 200 gb for the same price, of 32 dollars a month. The result is that the costs more than doubled.

The regulator has also recently issued decrees that allowed large incumbents to shape ISPs’ network traffic (slow it down). This weekend and the past two days, I immediately saw a change in my service speed and availability, even while simply using a browser to surf the internet; lag of graphic intense sites increased, and the number of times warnings came up that the web page was taking too long to load, and would I like to reduce my browsers ability to load graphics. This is intolerable, this is not competition this is abuse of the consumer in the name of monopolistic practices to close down competition.

This is not about Internet Traffic, this is about control of the Information Highway, and how the Consumer Accesses it, and who he pays for the information. In the long run, this may not mean much as technology will always leap frog legislative regulations. But in the short term, it will throttle our ability to compete in the Global Market, and show case our abilities to develop and deploy innovative technologies and data.

If each mail, freight, bus and courier company had had to develop it's own infrastructure to deliver services to the consumer, then Canada would now have been covered in roads and various airports. This analogy suits the existing infrastructure for telecommunications in that the wires, radio waves and cables should be owned and operated by the people of Canada, allowing open access to all. Placing them in the hands of a few Media Oligarchies does not serve my interests, nor my children's. Instead of debating who owns the "roads", lets put them in the hands of their rightful owners, in a way that ensures that they are used for the good of the Country as a whole, and use our time and energies to improve those "roads" with Fiber Optic to the Home and Access for Rural Canadians of more than just the basics.

Of Poverty and Strays

"A person is poor, when they are wanting something that they cannot have; I don't think of myself as poor, because there is nothing that I can't have, if I am willing to wait for it; if a person can't wait, and MUST have it NOW, then they are truly poor, no matter how much money they may have, because they will never be satisfied or content"

     I remember going to the store with change, and not having 2 cents to get the 5 lb bag of apples on sale, and had to take the 3 lb bag; then in the parking lot found the 3 cents; but I didn't go back; perhaps I should have, but I was content with what I had; I have a roof over my head, food and clothing, friends and family; so I don't have a 6 figure income or even a 5 figure for the matter; 4 will do me fine, and I am able to live on it a sustainable life, that being one that progresses, and doesn't go backwards;

     This year I was patient and now have a laptop dual core (needs a bit of TLC) with Win. 7 that cost me 200 dollars, and a free 7 year old G4 that had reached the end of it's useful life in an office, saved from the grave yard, I bought a $180 Skil drill press, end of line, for less than half price ($80), and a DeWalt 10 inch Compound mitre saw $224 dollars; the 7 cubic ft freezer is chock full, have meat and vegetables enough for the winter; about 50 lbs of flour, AP, Whole Wheat, Cake 'n Pastry; 20 lbs of rice; 19 lbs of home made mincemeat, 3 cakes and a pudding for Christmas;  this week I made 14 litres of Ginger Beer, and have been making micro batches of wine for the past 3 months which by next spring will be a cellar of 30+ bottles; not that I am a big drinker, but it is a cheap hobby which I have been learning for the past 17 years off an on; I have enough acrylic paints for my other hobby of landscape painting, and I did the 4x3 ft canvas from it, and a couple of sketches and still have paint and canvas left; the workshop equipment I am planning on using for making frames for the canvas to stretch on, and to make frames to put around some of my paintings and photos; the plan being to get money saved to buy some more prints and frame them for next summers yard sale; as well as other little projects, like a new counter top, and an exercise station that I can use standing up, that will only take up 3 ft x 3 ft of space;

     LIFE is moving forward, not backward; so long as that is happening, then one can't complain of being poor; when I look back to 3 years ago or even 5-6 years ago, when I was making $20,000 a year before taxes, and heavily in debt because of the years of only making 5-7 dollars an hour and living in the center of Toronto, I have to say that I am truly blessed to be able to live at the standard of living I am now enjoying; would I like to be earning more, certainly, but it would only mean that I would be saving faster for things like wood, canvas and the print shop photos;

       My Goal is to be as self sufficient as possible when I reach age 65 in 2 years; I am not looking to be uber rich, but to be in a sustainable income situation that will grow with the cost of living, and will enable me to remain living a healthy and fulfilling life; and not to be someone's stray project;

        Tonight that came at me rather forcefully; my daughter  and grandson were watching a movie on seals (the animals) and they heard a noise that they took to be from the TV, but when they turned off the movie, the noise persisted; when they opened the front door, a cat/kitten shot in, and sat shivering in the living room; well, a rescue effort was initiated by my brother and his wife, and in short order there was food, cat litter and a cat box over there; the kitten, for that is what she is, is about 9 months old, and has obviously been around humans and is not a feral cat; also, she has been looked after; now whether she is an escapee, or abandoned (anyone who abandons animals in this weather (-3c) should be pushed out of their homes for the night as a lesson) is hard to tell, but she has made herself at home and is very affectionate; she has made a friend in my daughter ;-) and will if necessary have found a home;

       my point is, that while I am on Gov't Assistance now, I don't want it to last any longer than necessary; I don't want to be someone's project either; I want to be either a partner with someone, contributing to the marriage, or independent of Gov't help other than my CPP and OAP; and to that end, I am utilizing the money that I do have to the best advantage that I can, while still having a life; as I said at the beginning, I am not poor,
 

Open letter to Heather Malleck of the Tor-Star

Hi Heather, I am having the devil's own time of logging in to comment, but I want to make a point!

I am disabled, 63 in January, and unlike other's don't want a CPP Disability Pension, it will limit what I can earn at a later date, IF I am ever able to get something going.Ontario DSP, when I applied, replied that I wasn't disabled enough.I need to be under a nurses care.
My income is made up of 180 dollars CPP and the rest tops up to 643 with OW/SS benefits. The CPP is limited because of back injuries and surgery when I was in my 30's working in warehousing and have been forced in my work life to take either low paying, or non CPP deducting jobs, or be a stay at home dad; in the end, while I asked my ex wife to give me the years that she holds, for CPP, which I looked after the kids, she rightly refused; those were years she worked and contributed to the fund (btw we're friends); I am SOL; at 64 I will apply for the Old Age Supplement, to get it when I arrive at 65; but in the mean time, I jog along, making a bit of progress each month; life is not all beer and pretzels, but it sure is better than water and bread ;-)
Health wise I have deteriorated, but I am not giving up my dreams; I am not going to give the Scrooges that are commenting on your column the satisfaction of seeing my body on the DVP after a flying leap off the Via Duct; In this day and age, it would be easy to rephrase Scrooges reply to the men looking for donations for the poor, in modern terms; (see below)
Am I down Hearted?? NO!!! (Brit ex-pat) other than the occasional depression about being single, and that rarely, I am moving forward not backward;

Cheers

SW

****************************************************

First Collector: At this festive time of year, Mr. Scrooge, it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute.
Ebenezer: Are there no prisons?
First Collector: Plenty of prisons and many more being built, with stricter sentences.
Ebenezer: And the Social Services and Ontario Works systems, they are still in operation, supplying cheap part time labour?? And the Food Banks, Thrift Stores and Soup Kitchens have not closed down?
First Collector: They are. I wish I could say they were not so necessary.
Ebenezer: Oh, from what you said at first I was afraid that something had happened to stop them in their useful course. I'm very glad to hear it.
First Collector: I don't think you quite understand us, sir. A few of us are endeavoring to buy the poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth.
Ebenezer: Why?
First Collector: Because it is at Christmastime that want is most keenly felt, and abundance rejoices. Now what can I put you down for?
Ebenezer: Huh! Nothing!
Second Collector: You wish to be anonymous?
Ebenezer: [firmly, but calmly] I wish to be left alone. Since you ask me what I wish sir, that is my answer. I help to support the establishments I have named through my taxes and support for the Conservative Party; those who are badly off must go there.
First Collector: Many can't go there.
Second Collector: And some would rather die.
Ebenezer: [firmly, loudly and dismissively] Then let them die and decrease the burden on the GDP!!! GOOD DAY, Gentlemen!!!

Making Christmas

I have been thinking this past couple of days about "Why am I hitting my head against the lack of Enthusiasm for Christmas traditions amongst my family and others??" only a few people are involved in Christmas, and other's are either expecting the Old Folks to Make Christmas, or are doing the commercial thing, of buying ready made products; to busy to be involved in the Real Spirit of Christmas

Some of it can be laid at the feet of Parents who have done everything, and not involved the kids; for others it is our fast paste lives, spread out from Family and Friends; while still more likely is the lack of any desire to get into a Seasonal Spirit of Past Traditions Handed Down, it's too much work and takes time, so not the quick fix that the Fast Food / Instant Gratification Society wants life to be;

My generation may be the last one to have grown up with and done for themselves the Christmas Traditions, at least as far as I know in my own immediate family; only one Daughter has any inclination to Make Christmas, and she married a man who is into that as well; regardless of his other faults, he is still someone that I am glad is in the family ;-)
This year we will have our first Christmas Dinner here at the house, with a Pot Luck, overly organized but still a start; then on New Years Day, we are planning another dinner Pot Luck, we will have more of the traditions of the family, with additions from my daughter's husband, mixing in; it will be a Made Celebration, not bought; home made beer, mead, punch, wines; puddings, cakes, and year old mincemeat I started last January; 4-5 traditional cookies, cinnamon buns, Christmas Tryfle and Jul log rolls; the nuts, cold cuts, cheeses, with home made sausage rolls, buns and breads; and of course The Real Music and Movies of Christmas !!


But Christmas Traditions are more than just food and partying; they are just a way of sharing and caring amongst the family; each one bringing what they do best, and making up the Celebration; for the religious or spiritual amongst us, it is a concrete way of sharing the Gift of the Messiah with the family and friends; by going amongst the houses and visiting, sharing a drink, cookies or cold lunches, along with chat and hugs, that is building relationships that epitomize the Spirit of the Season; whatever religion we belong to it is universal to people at this time of transition in the yearly calendar;

What to me are important traditions, won't be important to others, and while I won't do all their traditions, I will realize they are important to them and respect their doing and sharing; in the end we all grow and develop as people and friends; if I had not met the Wagners and other Northern and Eastern Europeans, I would not have the joy and pleasure of those traditions in my Christmas, added to my own families traditions; it is an evolving organic celebration that can and will change with each generation, but the core is always there; as my son said in November, Christmas to him now, would not be Christmas without the Weihnachten Lieder or German Christmas Songs to those who don't know the term;

Prettige Kerstdagen en een Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Noflike Krystdagen en in Lokkich Nijjier
Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année
Glædelig Jul og Godt Nytår
God Jul og Godt Nyttår
God jul och gott nytt år
Boas Festas e um feliz Ano Novo
Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo
Buon Natale e felice anno nuovo
Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau'oli Makahiki Hou
Veselé Vánoce a Šastný Nový Rok!
Hyvää Joulua Ja Onnellista Uutta Vuotta!
Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!
Wesolych swiat i szczesliwego nowego roku

The going, not the destination!!!

Space the New Frontier, to boldly ignore it, and grow fat and lazy, to go no where, and live the status quo; is that what we should do!! To listen to a lot of people, who complain that there are more important things to do here on Earth, and we don't have the Billions it will take to go into Space, we would think so. 

      Mr and Mrs Joe Nobody, and their kids, have more to worry about on a daily basis than getting into Space; that is a luxury they can't afford; what with the economy tanking and jobs scarce; petrol, food, housing, health and education costs rising as fast as the waters of the oceans because of Global Climate Change (whatever the cause) how can they possibly have time to think of the consequences of NOT becoming a Space Faring Species; 

       But we as a Species are stuck in a basement apartment, with all our basic needs met, even if it is getting crowded and the supplies are getting spread thin; it is a nice basement apartment and so we don't notice that things are getting a bit tight; but like for myself, it is a beautiful trap; 

         I live in a lovely basement apartment, with a full freezer, stove, 4 rooms including kitchen, toilet, workshop and laundry facilities; groceries and other supplies are delivered; there really is no NEED to go upstairs; but in the past 5 years, I have experienced a degenerating body; I can do nothing and stay in my lovely basement, but eventually I will be carried out and put in a Nursing Home, where a 20 something beauty, will change my diaper, while another one will feed me, another give me sponge baths, and I will sit in a wheel chair in front of a picture window looking out on the world that I would once have explored at will, but now restricted from for my own safety; 

           Or I can fight against the enclosing future, and exercise my body and work towards getting out of my basement, not that I need anything up there, but because to do so will free me from a future of dependency and degeneration;

           That is the choice that the human species has; the destinations, of Moon, Cis-Lunar, NEO, LEO, the Inner Planets and the Outer Planets, are not important, as we don't need what they have; we can live without them, but eventually we will degenerate and become a marginalized and extinct species, whether by global cataclysm, or just the degeneration of our society through war and pestilence; the goal is not as important, as it is the doing and going, which will exercise our species muscles of intellect and economy;  

            I have said nothing of the potential dangers that lurk in my basement; the possibility of a fire. quake, or heat attack, that could leave me trapped if I am unable to climb the stairs to the outside door, because my leg muscles have degenerated to the point that climbing the stairs is impossible; I already have one leg that last year was at that point due to an injury; by persistent use, I have brought it up to 50% strength, and perhaps I can increase that yet; but like the Space Industry, if I don't have that goal of doing, it will remain withered and useless; getting out of the house is not the goal, as the Moon is not the goal, the real goal is to be able to get up those stairs, or in the case of humanity, to develop the ability to go into Space where ever we wish; 

What is Destiny and how do we walk it out!!

Truly trying to come to grips with that word destiny, and what's next; in truth,  a friend probably said it best in her e-mail, it is a rapid ride that we control the day to day (free will), but in the background is the real direction maker; 

I think of it as being a river, where we are in a kayak, and at times there are quiet pools of reflection, where we have lots of control, and can pick directions to smell the roses and choose to move towards the shore, but always the current pulls us along; and then there are the rapids, which just wooooooooosh us along with rocks and shoals, which we have to deftly get about, and if we spy a smooth area we endeavour to move towards it for a break from the struggle; 

but the fun thing is, we are not in the river alone, for it is a broad river and there are many travelling it; so we occasionally bump into one another and share experiences; sometime too we try to connect and it just doesn't work out; not going our way or the timing is not right; anyone of a multitude of reasons; 

so what is destined to be our lot; that good old Islamic saying comes to mind; "Struggle is the meaning of life. Defeat or victory is in the hands of God (the current). But struggle itself is Man's duty and should be his joy." - Aga Khan;

so dear friends, struggle on, set you eye on the polar star and mark your course; the next bend in the river is just ahead, will it bring smooth paddling or wild rapids ;-) 

Thoughts to question the Universe with!!

I wrote this post 4 years ago this month, on the 18th; that would be Nov 18th 2006 ;-) little knowing that on Jan 24th 2007 I would be in a plane over the Irish Sea, about to land in Manchester UK ;-) but I just found it again, and a lot of thoughts are going through my mind, about Destiny and where we are headed; see the next post for my thoughts; SW

Walking out my Destiny

Nov 18th 2006

The title outlines the purpose very succinctly… Walking out my destiny… taken from the title of a religious magazine I found in the bathroom this morning… Kenneth Copeland Ministries… July 2006… perhaps I should have read it earlier ;0… but walking I am doing now… my brother and I began last week, but one thing and another, he got distracted from it, and I just waited for him to get back on track… however, last night I had a bad night, and lots of dreams… always dream, never go to sleep without dreaming… most are what I call entertainment, nothing to write home about… but this morning I had one which upon waking had me thinking a mile a minute… getting into shape… ideas were coming at me from every direction… from going walking myself, to fixing up a used tread mill that I had repaired, into a gym centre, with weights, and pulleys, to making weights that would fit on my body, without encumbering it so that I couldn't move around, or work… like some of the stuff I see people in Gym Ads wearing, leg and ankle weights, definitely not what I am looking for… want something that I can wear with street clothes and it isn't noticeable that I am, aside from perhaps appearing a bit overweight…

The point to the wearing weights, over weight people can loose weight faster than lighter people because their bodies have to work harder… ergo, if I add weight, then my body has to work harder and the weight will come off faster… now I am hoping that by positioning the weight in areas that need to lose weight that too will have a beneficial affect… perhaps, perhaps not ;)

This morning, I knew that I could not get the weights ready, so I got my Sony CD player and put some batteries in it, only to find that the music, which I hadn't listened to since this time last year, while working at the church, was Christmas music ;0… then I got the camera and tripod, put 3 layers of shirts and my fav hoodie on… I met my brother as I was getting ready… he was headed back to bed, after he had a rough night, at 6:45… told him, and he said, 'I'll believe you, thousands wouldn't!!'

I headed out at 7, and walked down to the lake, thinking that I would take a few pictures, not that the weather was any good, dark and dismal… very over cast… it took me only 15 minutes to get to the lake, then I wandered around within a very constricted area, taking pics, then started back at 7:20… arriving at 8:39… took longer because I was still taking pictures ;0… really got into it hahaha… anyway, I arrived home and made some coffee from Chile, which a friend of my eldest daughter's gave me, and set about blogging… when it went frizz… I did take a pedometer that my brother had given me last week, and it registered 5449 steps, which translates into about 2.57 miles… so really not bad at as a start… but as I have discovered once started, gotta keep going… so there will be more morning walks to the lake… perhaps taking the whole morning to walk about… as for the weights and the tread mill, that will have to wait for another day… right now I have some work for money to do, packaging sample breakfast diet drinks HOL, now how is that for co-incidence… only found out when I had a peek while sorting stuff out just now… I REALLY think Some one is trying awfully hard to get through hahaha…

Of course as usual, comments and ideas gratefully received…