On March 17, a milestone was reached in Parliament which puts power back in the hands of our elected officials, and by extension, back in the hands of the Canadians who elect them. An opposition motion, tabled by NDP leader Jack Layton, and supported by all opposition parties, limits the Prime Minister’s ability to prorogue...

The first annual Castlegar Garden and Nature Fest is growing! Planning and organization has been progressing, vendors and local non-profit groups are signing up, and the speaker topics are confirmed. The Castlegar Garden Club and Castlegar Communities in Bloom are jointly sponsoring this event. It will all be happening on...

In the last column, we talked about what constitutes a good back-up system. It has to be automatic, secure, off-site, tested and it has to support versioning (multiple versions of files). Now that you know what needs to be done, let's look at some ways to do it. The ideal solution for small amounts of data is online back-up....

I will sign the anti-HST referendum petition. That doesn’t mean I think the HST is a bad way of regulating our tax structure or bettering our economy: it does mean I see protection and preservation of the integrity of our democratic system as a much higher priority. Right from the start, I have always said I was willing to […]

I cannot believe that the Conservative government is refusing to include access to contraceptives and safe abortions as part of their pledge of working towards improving maternal health worldwide at this year’s G8 summit in June. It’s beyond my comprehension how it is possible to improve maternal health unless you are willing to include the […]

I had someone come to me once with great big eyes and her laptop. ... "I'll give you a thousand dollars for just one file!!!" All of her business accounting information for three years was on that laptop and it wouldn't start up. She had visions of the hundreds of hours it would take her totry to re-construct that information...

New immigrants to Canada face a number of challenges in their lives. While they are adjusting to a new country, a new community and a new culture with new habits, they may also be struggling to find how they can best apply their skills to the Canadian job market. Immigrants with professional credentials from their […]

It seems that everyone agrees, from our regional rural development chair at Selkirk College to the federal government, the biggest problem threatening our economic future is babies. Or rather, the lack of them. Its not that our population is declining, immigration is boosting the numbers, but that, overall, the population is...

Since when did ‘Facebook-ing’ become a verb? It’s amazing how quickly we can change or shift our societal lexicon – I was genuinely creeped out and, frankly, slightly offended the first time someone told me he had ‘Googled’ me – now I think nothing of being Googled, Facebooked or Tweeted…or of doing same to others […]

Before I get into this issue's column, I'd like to extend an invitation. Do you have any questions about computers? Is there anything you'd like a second opinion on? Anything you would like to be able to do, but can't figure out? Please send me an email to donovan@castlegarsource.com. The more I can tailor my suggestions to...