 |
Friday, January 19, 2007
That's not a big deal ... in the south, where bandwidth is wider than the Mackenzie River.
Things are a little different here in the North. There are fewer of us. Connections south can be problematic at the best of times. The information superhighway is still being paved.
Last week, Yellowknifer heard from web surfers, unhappy about having to pay hundreds of dollars more after exceeding Northwestel Cable Internet's 10 gigabyte monthly limit. SSI Micro's limit is five GB.
For starters, 10 GB is a lot of information. That's about 10 feature films, about 2,500 MP3 song files.
In the south, download limits are much higher, because of economy of scale, bandwidth and a host of other reasons.
We don't doubt download levels will continue to go up in the North, just like telephone long distance rates dropped a few years ago. Remember, it wasn't that long ago that a 56.6 kilobyte dial-up connection was state of the art in Yellowknife.
Even so, internet providers can't operate in a vacuum. There must be a way to send an automated message when the 10 GB limit is reached.
Then it's up to the user to decide whether the downloads are worth the extra fee. That's just good customer service.
As well, downloaders must rein in their urges. You signed a contract where the download limit and overage costs were explained.
It's a testament to the people behind the Yellowknife Boxing Club that its fighters enjoy so much success.
The boxers used to train at the Ndilo gym, but had to set up and take down their equipment each time. The club thought it had found a permanent home in a Kam Lake warehouse, where the ring and training equipment could be set up and left there. But with just 12 permanent members, the club couldn't afford the $2,700 monthly rent and now it's looking for a home once more.
It's sad to see such a valuable athletics program suffer.
Due to the nature of the sport, boxing needs a large space where equipment could be set up permanently, much like the gymnastics facility.
It took the gymnastics club several years to raise the millions needed for its gym. And it had hundreds of members and plenty of parents to do the work.
Perhaps the boxing club can join forces with the various martial arts organizations in order to pay for their own facility, one that could be attached to the Multiplex fieldhouse.
Editorial Comment
Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News
The next few months promise to be interesting with Nunavut Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) Nancy Karetak-Lindell announcing she will not run in the next federal election.
Lindell has a hunch Canadians will be back in election mode by the spring and we tend to agree with her.
Historically, minority governments have a short lifespan and bringing in a new federal budget is always prime time for them to take a tumble.
What's going to be interesting in Nunavut is finding out who each of the three main parties favour as their candidate.
Although he steadfastly denies having any interest, the Liberals could do a lot worse than looking in former Nunavut MLA Glenn McLean's direction in Baker Lake.
McLean proved himself adept at meeting his riding's needs during his time in Iqaluit, and we see no reason why he wouldn't be just as efficient representing Nunavut.
With every seat up for grabs being especially important in the next election, it will be intriguing to see who the Tories and the NDP want to take their next kick at Nunavut's political can, which has been mainly red in colour for decades.
Will they stay with the same candidates who were so soundly beaten by Lindell the last time out, or will they look in another direction?
That decision may prove especially troubling for the Tories.
They've backed themselves into a corner over raising the same-sex marriage issue again in a country that's mostly tired of hearing about it.
The issue played a large role in the Tories' defeat the last time out in Nunavut, despite the unwavering support of the territory's bible belt.
To go back to that well again will likely produce a similar result.
There are two wild cards in the deck for the next election and neither one of them reside in Iqaluit.
In fact, unless Premier Paul Okalik decides to throw his hat into the arena, we predict the next elected MP from Nunavut will, once again, not call Iqaluit home.
The two wild cards reside in Rankin Inlet.
It would come as no surprise to us if Rankin Mayor Lorne Kusugak didn't run in the last federal election because he believed he couldn't defeat the Liberal's political machine in Nunavut, nor the party's four-time victor here.
But, this time around it may the Liberals who come knocking on the mayor's door.
Finally, anyone who paid attention to the last election had to be impressed with the way our second wild card handled himself - Felix Kappi-Gawor.
The Green Party candidate surprised a number of people with his insights during the campaign and, with a stronger party behind him, would be a solid bet to represent Nunavut after one of the next two elections.
Hopefully, if one of the big three parties do come calling on Kappi-Gawor, he will get his dad, long time Kivalliq News columnist Bill Gawor, included on his writing team.
At that point, we would guarantee all Nunavummiut one of the more colourful elections in recent history!
Editorial Comment
Dez Loreen
Inuvik Drum
I was sitting at my desk on Monday morning, checking my e-mails when I read some disturbing news regarding a former Inuvik teacher.
Al Nicholson died of a heart attack while teaching in China, only two days before Christmas.
I don't know how many of you remember Al.
He was a math teacher at Samuel Hearne from 1998 to 2001.
He was also the director of a production of Anne of Green Gables, which was performed by students at the school.
When I read of his death, I froze in my seat and a feeling that I can't describe came over my body.
One of the people who was instrumental in my graduation has passed on.
During that morning I spent time remembering some of the lessons he taught me, none of which was math-related, because he was an academic teacher and, well, I was not an academic student.
It always hurts when we lose one of our teachers, like when the late Cliff King passed away.
Both men did a lot for the school, in their own time.
Al did not serve here nearly as long as Cliff did, but still he made an impact.
While Cliff had computers and accounting under his thumb, Al managed to accomplish something rare.
He made math interesting, even to those not in his courses.
Al had a way of reaching the students in his classes with his friendly attitude and positive outlook on life.
Al was a role model in our community and a fine one at that.
I like writing about people who do positive things in the community, because it's what we need.
Phillip Jacobson is another positive person doing the right thing with his energy.
For all the years I've known Phillip, he has always been encouraging others.
I'm glad he is sharing his skill at Arctic sports with the youth of the community.
Those games will keep you in good shape and promote the culture at the same time.
While I was talking with Phillip, he spoke about returning to Tuk and working at the youth centre.
I like that, because it shows that he has a genuine concern for his community.
While we are always losing role models to fate, we should also take pride knowing that there are young people like Phillip out there willing to take up the torch and contribute to their communities.
Editorial Comment
Roxanna Thompson
Deh Cho Drum
There's nothing like a motor vehicle accident to bring the fragility of life into focus.
One minute you're driving along and the next, for whatever reason, something goes wrong. The consequences could be minor, like a dented fender and some sore muscles, or people could end up changed for life, or even dead.
You don't need to be in an accident to have a taste of its effects. Just driving past one on the road, like some residents of Fort Simpson did last Saturday, can be enough.
The sight of a battered truck on its side in the ditch leaves a person wondering what happened to the people inside and what went wrong to cause the accident.
In this case, alcohol, speed and poor judgment -- things that are avoidable -- were likely factors.
It's lucky the accident happened early on a Saturday morning when there wasn't more traffic on the road, otherwise it could have been a multi-vehicle accident. In this case, a densely-packed snowbank was the only other thing that was dented.
It's even more fortunate that no one involved in the crash was seriously hurt.
Everyone, especially youth, believes they are invincible and will live forever, or at least for a long time.
Vehicle accidents are a reminder that these concepts aren't true.
Hopefully this accident will shake up people who may have grown lax in their vehicle safety. Accidents can be caused by a large number of things from animals to mechanical failure, and people need to be on the lookout for them and also make smart decisions.
I hope everyone will remember to drive safely so there won't be any more serious accidents to report in the Drum.
It's good to see that Fort Liard has an almost- full hamlet council again after there were no candidates in the municipal election last month.
As John McKee stated, it's not unusual for vacancies to be left on hamlet or village councils. This makes it all the more significant when people step forward to take on that responsibility.
It's hard to say if Fort Liard's one new and three returning councillors are there on their own volition or if some arm- twisting was involved, but they deserve a round of applause either way.
Being a councillor isn't the most enjoyable job in the world.
There is lots of paperwork to sort through and reading to do. Councillors have to attend meetings when there are other, more enjoyable, things that they might like to be doing.
People also count on councillors to make the right decisions. If they disagree with a decision the council makes, the council members and the mayor are the ones who will hear about it every time they leave their homes.
All and all, being a councillor or a mayor isn't the best position in the world, so those who step up to the plate should be recognized for their efforts and community involvement.
An error appeared in last Wednesday's Yellowknifer ("Missing girl found," Jan. 17). RCMP Const. Resus Orgon's name was incorrectly spelled. Also, incorrect information appeared in the Friday, Jan. 12 Yellowknifer. Feb. 16, 1988 is actually the latest the ice crossing at Fort Providence opened not the earliest.