The Offshore/Onshore Technologies Association of Nova Scotia (OTANS) invited Contrarian to chair the Regional Energy Strategy panel at its annual CORE (Canadian Offshore Resources Exhibition) Conference this week, and that give him an excuse to make a speech.
To anyone who has looked at the challenges climate change poses for our region, it’s obvious that one key is to improve our regional energy infrastructure. It’s also obvious that doing so will be an expensive venture, and it’s far from clear how much of the expense will be shouldered by government and its taxpayers, and how much by private corporations, their shareholders, and their customers. Decisions about these matters will be made in an atmosphere of mild public concern about climate, great public resistance to increased costs, and little to no public or political understanding of risk assessment.
Full text after the jump.
09 October, 2009

Contrarian reader Bill Long writes: Thanks for jogging my memory about the amazing Mr. Smith. Back in my introductory days to the interwebs, his site, Nova Scotia's Electronic Attic, was one of the first to boggle my mind at the possibilities for citizen participation in information gathering and dissemination. Good to know he's still kicking. It amazes Contrarian how often Ivan's simple, low-tech, but voluminous site pops up near the top of Google searches on important topics. For example, it edges out Wikipedia for first place in a search for "Nova Scotia history." ...

09 October, 2009

The Globe and Mail's Omar El Akkad has the skinny on why Amazon's hugely successful Kindle book reader, now available in more than 100 countries, still can't be purchased in Canada. Moneyquote: Sources say the delay may be due to newly discovered competition. Until recently, the wireless technology used by the Kindle was available only through Rogers. This week, however, Bell and Telus announced a new next-generation network that will go live in November, giving Amazon more options to choose from for their device. The two carriers announced this week that they will use the new network to begin offering Apple's...

09 October, 2009

The CBC Radio iPhone app has finally been updated, and now includes live streams from Halifax (and Fredericton and Saint John, but not Sydney or Charlottetown), and from at least one location in every Canadian time zone. The app allows on-demand access to many good CBC Radio shows, but alas, only to "highlights" of Ideas, whose producers have for some reason been glacially slow to grasp the importance of the Internet's time-shifting potential for this program. Hat tip: Scott Gillard....

09 October, 2009

Contrarian's old friend Ivan Smith—retired teacher, railway buff, and citizen watchdog—writes to decry the inexplicable removal from Lieutenant Governor Mayann Francis's official website of the brief biographies of former L-Gs it once contained: Nowadays there is a simple list of the previous office-holders, showing names, dates of service, and nothing else. Contrast this sparse treatment with the list that was available in 2005. At first glance, the two look similar, but there is a crucial difference. In the website's 2005 list, each name was a link to a brief but informative biographical note about that Lieutenant Governor or Governor. In the...

09 October, 2009

I promise not to go on about this ad nauseam, but I just discovered that Beagle-owner Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic noted Rosie's obit in his Daily Dish blog Sunday. Rosie's sardine can caper reminded Andrew of the time his now aging beagle Dusty broke into an overnight bag some house guests had imprudently left on the floor of his loft—with two large boxes of Godiva chocolates hidden inside. Moneyquote: It was a beagle Linda Blair - with viscous chocolate liquid projectile vomiting everywhere in sight. I went to grab her to get her outside. She decided this was a game....

09 October, 2009
Moss Scuttle-csA few years ago, Contrarian's participation in the now-obscure practice of wet shaving was rescued by a Nova Scotia invention, the Moss Scuttle, a unique collaboration between a Tatamagouche potter and the town doctor. This Saturday, from 2-4 p.m., Thanksgiving weekend tourists will have a chance to visit Sara Bonnyman's pottery studio for her first ever open house. The event will celebrate the 35th anniversary of  this remarkable business (recently given new vigor by worldwide sales of the Moss Scuttle) and raise funds for the Lillian Fraser Memorial Hospital in Tatamagouche. A bit of background: Chris Moss, a Tatamagouche physician, is even more of a shavegeek than Contrarian. He uses an old fashioned straight razor (ouch!) and a badger brush (ahhh!) for his morning ritual. Unable to find a proper scuttle, the antique, double-walled bowl traditionally used to keep lather warm, he designed one himself, and asked Sara to make it.
08 October, 2009

Robert Creighton writes: As happens in most places when Street View goes live, I predict the local media will run around the streets trying to find locals who are outraged at the "invasion of privacy" introduced by this technology. I will be watching Tom Murphy on CBC News as they try to stir up yet another "controversy." Worth noting that the cameras used in UK seem to be much higher resolution than used here. No idea what Tom will do, but in recent weeks, CBC has been conspicuously indulging the hoary tradition whereby old media condemn the moral decay promoted by attractive new-media...

08 October, 2009

Google's Halifax street view feature is now online. Getting there is a little tricky. Here's how: Go to maps.google.ca Enter a specific address in the search box, and press enter. I entered "1726 Hollis St, Halifax, NS B3J 2Y3," which is the address of Province House. A little red-orange teardrop enclosing the letter "A" should show up in the map. Click on it. In the small window that pops up, click on "street view." Voila! Play with the cursor and the arrows in the image. It takes a bit of getting used to, but it is pretty darned cool. Let me know how far it ranges: Dartmouth?...

07 October, 2009

Doug MacKay, who edited the Halifax Daily News in its heyday, writes from Toronto: I am sorry to read that Rosie passed away. From the moment she peed on the editor's carpet, I knew she and her owner were of like mind. A great companion. For the record, Rosie only ever peed on the editor's carpet once, and at a young age. It is acknowledged, however, that the stain never came out, and may have played a role in Transcontinental's subsequent decision to abandon the Burnside location. UPDATE: What is it with beagles and journalists? James Cobb, Automobiles Editor of the New York...

06 October, 2009
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