A short nothing
I started to write this post several times, and each time about half way through I delete it and start again. Shine On You Crazy Diamond just came up in the playlist, the lights are turned down, and it’s just me and the dogs. I am going to turn up the music, lean back with my cup of tea, close my eyes and float away. Sorry, this is all you get tonight.
Enough Already
Crap crap crap crap crap.
It snowed again today. Snow is forecast for tomorrow and Sunday. Tuesday marks the six month anniversary of snow this winter. Winter? Cripes, it’s almost MAY!
This is SO my winter of discontent. Work is suffering multiple personality disorder. It is either going to be my best year every and I will break all sorts or revenue records (for me anyway) or I will lose my biggest client. I have five projects in a holding pattern for the last 2 months that represent my next 10 months of work.
This week I learned a software vendor I used for different project lied to me. Seems that no, they can’t do what they promised and after two weeks screwing around and installing patches it is just not going to work. “Wait!” they say. “You’re out!” I say back, “alternate provider is already holding on line 2”. Problem solved but I still have to back manage the client and figure out how to cover a couple grand in extra cost. Shite.
Let’s see, what else…oh yeah, I also learned this week that the infrastructure cost for a three site project is going to be 40% higher than previously estimated. I still have the best fit solution but the ROI just went out the window. I fully expect to lose this one now. I have already received a nasty email from the client. Not a big contract but one of those that pays the rent – long term recurring revenue with little maintenance.
170 days of snow and counting
First day temperature slipped below freezing – October 4, 2012
First day we had snow this winter – October 23, 2012
This morning:
Wake Up!
You have to read this, corporate malfeasance definitely suggested. Once again Europe is leading the charge, trying to save us from ourselves. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has studies that prove bee colony collapse is definitively linked to pesticides. There is something to be said about the different regulatory regimes in North America versus Europe. Here in North America corporations hold sway. Despite an abundance of evidence that the fox is in the hen house govenment regulators continue to lay down and let themselves be bought to approve the purely short term and avericious desires of multi-nationals. By far the worst offenders in my opinion are the chemical companies related to food production.
Montana bee researcher Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk, had originally signed up to be an expert witness on behalf of beekeepers who brought a class-action lawsuit against Bayer in 2003. He suddenly dropped out—and immediately received a significant research grant from Bayer to study bee pollination, which has continued in recent years. It should come as no surprise that Bayer pesticides were never mentioned in the study as a potential cause of CCD …
….Beelogics, a company whose primary goal is to control colony collapse disorder, has just been bought by Monsanto. That means any research from Beelogics may now be compromised.
Pesticides Definitively Linked to Bee Colony Collapse
ANH-USA
According to this article nearly one-third of US cropland is planted with crops treated with neuroactive insecticides which are known to be highly toxic to bees. Similiarily roughly one-third of crop species in the US are pollinated exclusively by honeybees, including fresh vegetables and fruits. Half of the food supply is at risk if bees die off.
Just as in the GMO crop debate, you need to get involved. Start by getting educated. You need to know the extent to which chemical companies are spinning the truth and suppressing facts. In Canada we need to speak and and demand the return of appropriate levels of oversight. Restore the government labs, the testing facilities, protect the scientists who speak out. Over the past 20 years we have an abysmal record.
Food science not your thing? Try big pharma. Ask yourself what company, in a purely capitalism based ecomony, will purposely take action to put itself out of business. Then ask yourself why we have not progressed in the search for cures. All we get is symptom treatments. See all these TV commericals for prescription drugs? Want to really scare yourself sometime? Research how drugs get to market, you will find lots are invented first then the drugs companies go looking for an ailment. Then we end up talking about pseudo-ailments like fibromyalgia and treating them with anti-depressants.
My Elysium 