Communities I'm Running on Dreamwidth

There's two of them right now:

ottawa_gatineau, which is devoted to discussing stuff going on in the Ottawa-Gatineau region of Canada, including its core cities.

viarail_fandom, for talking about passenger rail service across Canada in all its forms, regardless of its name.

Update re: VIA Service - Ottawa-Montréal-Ville de Québec

Service restored in that corridor. I apologize for the delay in passing this along:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/via-rail-blockade-ottawa-quebec-1.5466851

NAFTA, Canada and Privacy

Should we all be screaming "Aaaaack!" (per the comic strip Cathy) or "Auuugh!" (per Peanuts) here?

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2020/02/we-dont-have-any-specific-analysis-cusma-negotiators-surprising-admission-on-key-privacy-issues/

CBC: News boss Jennifer McGuire leaving

Details here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cbc-mcguire-leaving-1.5478034

I must admit to some surprise at this news. Opinions, anyone?

Heron Gate Situation as of end of Feb 2020

Been watching this play out from a distance over the last year or two. A few friendly acquaintances have either lived or worked in the affected area.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/legal-fees-piling-up-heron-gate-residents-1.5477429

Ottawa Byelections Today

I voted here in Orléans. Anyone else on my friendlist in either Orléans or Vanier got their ballot counted?

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/orleans-byelection-ontario-province-2020-1.5449792

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-vanier-byelection-ontario-province-2020-1.5449947

I didn't know John Turmel was still running for offices. Per the CBC article on Orléans, you'll see he's parachuted himself in as the Pauper's Party candidate.

Additional sidebar: one of the candidates in Vanier decided a couple of years ago upon changing their name as a protest measure. I know of at least one comic-strip character who can empathize.

MAC/TECH: Intuos 4 Needs New "Pen"

I managed, just a few minutes ago at this writing, to accidentally dismantle the pen that came with my current tablet. It's a PTK-640, which I bought about ten years ago. So...looking for a solution that preferably doesn't entail recycling the rest of the tablet or anything else deemed financially intolerable for someone between day jobs.

Update 1: There may be a solution in hand by Saturday. Stay tuned.

Update 2: The solution is in hand. Thanks be to the Ottawa Comic Jam network of artists.

Health and Work and Human Rights

Noting some of the cross-connections between the COVID-19 crisis, and the American situation re: workers' rights to sick leave and the American health care system...too many people believed in the value of the power to reduce people to death-by-poverty as a tool to maintain their version of order, and they've believed it for too long. This is how it can backfire.

TECH/VIDEO

Too late for my old Intuos 4 pen, because I knocked the little metal buttons off of the circuit board before I saw this video. But maybe this saves someone else some grief.

Thanks to my ByMUG friends for the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyPgkW8lqKs&authuser=0