Columnists

Burst my bubble

Posted: June 17, 2021 at 9:23 am   /   Columnists

Sunday. Yes it is. Almost half past June, too! I didn’t expect I’d get used to living in a pandemic world. My younger brother suggested that some people are cut out for this type of living. This morn- ing it feels as if that has happened to me— the getting used to it. I’m comfortable […]

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Inspecting a Jewel

Posted: June 11, 2021 at 10:09 am   /   Columnists

I’ve always loved country and western music—up until about 1980, when it accelerated its slow slide into a derivative rock music style combined with predictable lyrics drawn from the unholy trio of alcohol, trucks and loose women. What I love about it more particularly is its ability to paint a complete emotional picture in under […]

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Who’s on first?

Posted: June 11, 2021 at 10:06 am   /   Columnists

I’ve dealt with so many First World problems this week. But all of those issues make me feel grateful for what I have. My lawn is overgrown— but I have a lawn, weeds and all. My new pool deck isn’t finished and it’s almost pool season. I have a pool, a deck and a pool […]

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Entering a World of Deepfaking

Posted: June 4, 2021 at 10:11 am   /   Columnists

The New York Times reported a few weeks ago on a couple of potentially dangerous developments in the world of deepfaking—using artificial intelligence and machine learning to produce images that can’t be distinguished from originals, and manipulating old images to give them a digital afferlife. The first development involved a Tom Cruise impersonator, who worked […]

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We’re on the Road to Nowhere

Posted: June 3, 2021 at 11:14 am   /   Columnists

I am a fan of travelling and I am a fan of maps. I own a few maps, but I’m what you’d call a collector. I’m not a fanatic about it, but if I see an old road map (the kind companies like Texaco sponsored) in a shop, chances are it’s coming home with me. […]

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The Smell of the Wonder Dogs

Posted: May 27, 2021 at 9:51 am   /   Columnists

Can you get dogs to sniff out COVID-19? Absolutely yes, say British researchers. And they can do it better and quicker than most other ‘scientific’ tests. Claiming an accuracy rate of between 82 per cent and 94 per cent, researchers in England were able to expose dogs to T-shirt samples, some of which were ever […]

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Hiking along for Hospice

Posted: May 27, 2021 at 9:49 am   /   Columnists

Did you know Prince Edward County has a Hospice? Sure you did. You did know, right? And, did you know the Hike for Hospice is happening this year? Betcha didn’t give it a second thought because, “How can you have a Hike for Hospice if we’re locked down, told to stay home and not supposed […]

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Quantifying your bonus

Posted: May 21, 2021 at 9:00 am   /   Columnists

So it’s official. House prices in the County have been escalating at a rate even faster than in Metro Toronto, Ottawa, Peterborough, Niagara-on- the-Lake and the Muskokas, According to PEC Affordable Housing Corporation president Chuck Dowdall, the average sale price in March was $821,000—an increase year over year of nearly $250,000— not a bad return […]

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Read, Write, Re-Read

Posted: May 21, 2021 at 9:00 am   /   Columnists

I have heard libraries and booksellers are busier than they’ve ever been since the Pandemic hit. That’s got to be a good thing, right? I think it must be. When all of the isolating and locking down began, I was at a loss about what I could do to fill the days. Reading has helped. […]

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The Stress of Commemoration

Posted: May 13, 2021 at 9:55 am   /   Columnists

When our good friend Bill Wightman died in 2017, we wanted to remember him with the planting of a tree. And eventually, a tree was chosen and planted on the grounds of CML Snider public school, near Main Street. But it took place—albeit with the concurrence of the Hillier and Wellington councillors— in the absence […]

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