CBC Maritimes

Recent Topics

• Not the Kind of BLT You Had in Mind/ The Older I Get, the More I Realize......

  August 10, 2010 1:49 PM

  

  Female blacklegged ticks in various stages of feeding. Note the change in size and colour, from right to left. (Photo courtesy of Public Health Agency of Canada)

  Ticks Spread: Nova Scotia has identified a fourth area of the province where the ticks that carry Lyme disease are established. Dr. Maureen Baikie travelled to Pictou County to warn people they should take precautions to avoid black-legged ticks when they're outdoors. In New Brunswick, these ticks are also well established in some areas near Saint John, but in PEI (where ticks generally aren't common), they haven't presented a problem yet.

  Lyme Disease is infectious and can cause a variety of symptoms, starting out with a rash in the shape of a "bull's-eye" which can lead to other symptoms such as fever, fatigue and depression, if left untreated. We spoke with Dr. Maureen Baikie in Pictou.

  Words of Wisdom : Acquiring knowledge is one thing. But wisdom - something that grows out of years of observing the tragic, comic and mundane elements of life - wisdom is quite another. The insights that eventually bubble up to top of mind don't necessarily work for anyone else, but they can help guide you through life's ups and downs. And you don't have to be of advanced years to notice recurring patterns in human behaviour - some old souls seem to sort things out pretty early in life. Our guests are keen observers of life - at home, in their communities and in the wider world. Lisa Hrabluk provides professional writing services in Saint John and has been, among many other things, a political columnist. Don Munro is the Producer of Information Morning in Sydney & a quizmaster who's been known to make radio hosts sweat when he tests their knowledge of current events.
  So, did you complete the following sentence : "The older I get, the more I realize....".

  And if you'd care to share your wisdom, click here.
  

  Podcast - requires flash to listen

• Phone-in - Terry O'Reilly of "The Age of Persuasion" : What's the Most Effective Ad You've Seen Lately ?

  August 9, 2010 1:38 PM

  

  From the phenomenon of the Old Spice campaign to the changing role of gender in advertising, Terry O'Reilly engaged with callers to discuss what makes (or breaks) an ad campaign

  I'm Not On A Horse: Let's say you have a product that you want to sell. It doesn't matter whether it's new or something that's been around for a long time and lost significant market share - how do you get people at least to think about your product and - ideally - to buy it ? And who's going to do the buying : a man or a woman ?
  Well - there are print ads, spots for radio or TV, billboards, the space on the rear end of buses - heck, you can place your ad at eye level above the urinal in men's rooms (which, alas, will not by seen by half the population).
  You could use conventional advertising media to direct people to your website for a more personalised interaction.
  Or you could tap into social media : YouTube, Facebook and Twitter - and try to connect with people who'll then spread it to their friends. Creating buzz on social media by "going viral" is a recent phenomenon, but ultimately - do the same principles of conventional advertising apply ? Do those amusing videos actually persuade you to part with a buck ? And if they do, is it because the creativity & effectiveness of the pitch was superior ?
  Terry O'Reilly has worked through many fads and trends in the advertising world, and he's a keen student of his trade's history & evolution. He's shared insights through his CBC Radio One series "The Age of Persuasion" (to hear past shows, click here ) and through a book of the same name - "a book aimed at the people ads are aimed at".
  Terry O'Reilly was our guest as we asked : "What's the most effective ad you've seen lately ?"

  Podcast - requires flash to listen

• Phone-in: Veterinarian Helen Douglas - Stories about significant animals in our lives

  August 6, 2010 1:57 PM

  

  "I started out with the intention of telling 'my best stories, but the book turned into much more, and led me to open up regarding my feelings about animals, my failings, my family and much more." - Dr Helen Douglas

  It's Complicated : The relationships we develop with animals can become as nuanced as any human entanglement, with one overwhelming difference : we can decide the fate of the animals in our care. Their habits become part of our routines, and their quirks & behaviour fuel the humourous narrative we share with neighbours and friends.

  Throughout human history, animals have been our hunters and labourers. They feed us, they can be our saviours when we get lost and soothing companions.

  Sometimes the connection with our pets can be so powerful we'll spend almost any amount of money on expensive foods or high-risk medical procedures to try to keep them alive. And we grieve when they die.
  There's a darker side to the relationship, of course - from neglect or abuse of defenceless animals, to using them for profit and gimmicry (like the recent promotional stunt in which a donkey was strapped into a harness and forced to parasail over a Russian beach).
  Dr. Helen Douglas has witnessed most aspects of our complicated relationship with animals through a 30-year veterinary career that had its beginnings here in the Maritimes. From treating injured deer to vaccinating feral cats in bags, from calving in manure-filled barns on a frigid winter night to treating spoiled family pets, there isn't much she hasn't experienced.
  Dr Douglas has gathered her experiences as a country vet in a book call William's Gift: One Veterinarian's Journey. It combines accounts of learning on the job - by caring for animals both great and small - with an exploration of the emotional connection between humans and the animals with whom we share our lives.

  She shared her stories and we heard about animals that loom large in your life

  Podcast - requires flash to listen

• Maritime company grows to meet global demand for a particular size of wind turbine / History repeats itself with cheap food imports squeezing out locally-produced items / Phone-in: Advice on solving computer performance problems

  August 5, 2010 1:49 PM

  

  Marie Kulbaski told us the best ways to protect your computer from worms and viruses and improve its performance

  Small But Mighty : When it comes to the wind power industry - that is, companies that build all those turbines - there's a perception that the real action goes on outside the Maritimes. But a regional company has been growing its export trade in a particular wind power niche : the 50-kilowatt turbine that's ideal for rural users, such as farms, fish processing plants and industrial parks.
  Seaforth Energy of Dartmouth has just acquired the assets & intellectual property of Entegrity Wind Systems - a firm with operations in PEI and Colorado that went bankrupt last year. Seaforth's president Jonathan Barry told us he feels the acquisition will help his company capitalise on worldwide demand for its turbines.

  An Old Story : Many of you seem hungry to talk more about the importance of buying locally-produced food and the frustration of not being able to find it regularly on grocery store shelves. Colin May of Dartmouth sent an email which explains how his genealogical research in England indicated that this was a problem in the 19th century, when cheap imports from the more agriculturally advanced and productive farms of Holland and Denmark affected farmers in the UK. We also read an email from Tom Webb, Program Manager with Co-operatives and Credit Unions in Atlantic Canada and played a call from Kevin Ans of Sussex Corner, New Brunswick.

  Floss Your Computer : Is your computer driving you crazy - with pages that load so slowly your coffee is cold by the time you get to the site you want ? That might be symptomatic of a nasty problem. Is it a virus? Or a worm? Or something else? And what's the best way to protect all the information on that hard drive?
  Marie Kulbaski, a senior manager with Media Technology Services at CBC Radio provided some high-powered technical help in sorting through common issues that plague your computer.

  Podcast - requires flash to listen

• Norm Miller of Corridor Resources on pursuing oil and gas in the Gulf of St Lawrence / Frustrations of trying to buy local food / Phone-in: Dave Holland on pest control

  August 4, 2010 2:00 PM

  Oil, Gas & Our Gulf : With the Gulf of St Lawrence surrounded by the four Atlantic Provinces and Québec, you can imagine the kind of complications that arise when you talk about developing oil & gas reserves. Exploration there has been stalled, because - unlike Sable off Nova Scotia, or Hibernia off Newfoundland - whatever petroleum lies under the seabed straddles provincial boundary lines. And to make things more difficult, one of the lines is in dispute. But last week, Federal Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis said there's "momentum" towards an agreement with Québec that could lead to development of oil and gas reserves in a field known as "Old Harry".

   

  

  Newfoundland already has such an agreement, and a "site survey" of its side of "Old Harry" will begin next month. Given the bitter relations between Newfoundland & Québec on energy issues, and the dispute over the provincial boundary which cuts through Old Harry, the Gulf is becoming a focal point of political interest. And recently, a coalition of groups from the five provinces called for a moratorium on petroleum development because of the risks to fisheries and tourism.
  We spoke with Norman Miller, who's in an interesting position. His company, Halifax-based Corridor Resources (with operations in New Brunswick and PEI), holds licences to pursue exploration on both the Newfoundland and Québec portions of the Old Harry field.
  But what do you think of the risks & benefits for provinces that border the Gulf ? Could such an industry coexist safely with fisheries and tourism ? Contact us

  
  Buy Local ? Easier Said Than Done : Last week, a study released by the Ecology Action Centre & the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture showed that the portion of people's food budget spent on local meat, fish, vegetables and fruit has actually declined - from 17% in 1997 to 13% in 2008. Fred Wade, who used to run nine independent supermarkets in the Annapolis Valley has a pretty good idea about at least one of the obstacles to increasing local sales.He told us Tuesday that supermarket managers for the major chains do not have the authority to buy food directly from local producers.
  After that interview, several of you wrote and called to tell us about your own surprises trying to buy locally. Maritime Noon's Producer Deborah Woolway joined me to go through the responses.

  Pest, Begone : In Hollywood movies they're portrayed as evil creatures which transform into blood-sucking vampires. In reality, they feed on blood-sucking mosquitos. Either way, many a bat can be seen swooping around the stoops and porches of Maritime homes at this time of year. And when that swooping leads to swooning, Dave Holland gets a call. He's with Braemar Pest Control in Halifax. He answered questions about bats and any other perceived pests which might be running, or flying, or crawling around your home.

  Podcast - requires flash to listen