Most will agree that predicting the weather involves looking back and finding patterns through the years, depending on various environmental conditions, including rainfall, temperatures, and other factors.

According to its website, the Farmers Almanac claims to use a centuries-old top secret formula based on a “top-secret mathematical and astronomical formula, taking sunspot activity, tidal action, the position of the planet, and many other factors into consideration.”

“It appears that we are going to see a fair amount of spring precipitation. Summer looks drier. So, I think the crops will be OK – but some will depend on just how dry,” says Peter Geiger, editor of the Farmers’ Almanac in an e-mail.
Many southern Albertans wonder if we’ll have more bitterly cold weather. While Geiger won’t confirm we’ll have another deep freeze, he does say more cold is on the way.
“Your average last frost in Alberta varies depending upon the city. For Edmonton, it is May 7th and for Red Deer, it is May 25th. So, I expect that there will be more cold before summer,” says Geiger.
Less farmers seem to be relying on the Farmer’s Almanac, or even technologically advanced prediction methods used by meteorologists, Farmers are leaving as little to chance as possible when it comes to growing their crops, using modern technology to grow and harvest many times more land then previous generations.
“I think that anyone who is a farmer in southern Alberta, where the weather changes so rapidly and dramatically, probably fully realizes that predicting the weather beyond about this afternoon is pretty silly,” says Vince Ellert, an agriculture instructor at Lethbridge College.

2009 doesn’t look good, as the farming industry is certainly not immune to the affects of the recession.

“2008 was a very good year. It was a year that we really needed. The outlook for 2009 is it isn’t going to be as good, because of the world financial crisis, a lot of people are simply not going to be in the market,” says Ellert.

Ellert makes it very clear that the marketplace has become a big concern for farmers. Like everyone else, they need to make money to continue operating.

“Yields are one thing. The biggest thing is market price. If you could predict what the price of wheat’s going to be in September, you’d be very wealthy. We don’t know. The outlook isn’t very good because a lot of people don’t have the money,” says Ellert.

Ellert says there are less farmers harvest more land with the aid of technology, as a great deal of farmers, as many as two thirds, have given up due to economic conditions.

“Farmers have a great diversity of skills. A farmer is on his farm, not making a great living, he says ‘gosh, I can go to McMurray, use my welding skills, and make $35 bucks an hour’, it’s not a hard decision,” says Ellert.

In regards to the snow fall amounts we’ve had this past winter, Ellert says it didn’t do the farmers much good, aside from those that have livestock, as it gives the cattle plenty to drink.

“We want snow cover in the winter, to protect certain perennial crops from being frozen, and insulation value. Having your water sources for  livestock full of water from spring runoff is extremely valuable. You can’t put cattle out in dry land range if there’s no water,” says Ellert.

Since modern farmers are managing much more last then older generations did, they have more land to farm on, and therefore yields they can make a profit on.

“Our living standards went up on the farm.  There’s less dollars of profit per acre. The cost of vehicles, fertilizer, and everything. There’s no family that can survive on 1,600 acres of dry land anymore. Dry land farms are now 4-6,000 acres, because the dollar per acre is so much lower,” says Ellert.

Originally posted 2009-03-29 19:15:47. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Starting this week, students will be emailed an invitation to take a survey to better understand student experiences with technology. It’s completely confidential, and no personally identifying information will be published.

To take the survey, go to http://tinyurl.com/collegesurvey.

The winner of the iPod Touch will be randomly chosen within four weeks after the study is completed.  All you need to do is place your student ID at the beginning of the survey.

The survey itself will be thorough, discussing everything from what software you use on a regular basis, to what sites you use to blog and or do social networking (Facebook, MySpace, etc.).

It will ask questions about what kinds of electronics you use, which email provider you prefer, and the ways you communicate (e-mail, text messaging, etc).

It is important that students respond to the survey because it is essential that we understand the technology that runs in our daily lives. However, that doesn’t mean everyone has equal knowledge about how to use it. This survey will gauge that understanding.

This survey is a fantastic way to address that knowledge gap. It will also help the college better target the most common issues students are having with technology.

It will be of great benefit to students that the college knows your level of skill with technology.

This way, they can create better methods in helping you understand how to use computers, especially during your college life.

If you have any questions about the survey, you can contact Dwayne Harapnuik at dwayne.harapnuik@lethbridgecollege.ab.ca, or (403) 320-3202 Ext 5349. You can also visit http://learn.lethbridgecollege.net.

In my next column, two weeks from now, I’ll take a look at Windows Vista and the controversy surrounding it. If you have any thoughts on any of my articles, please email me at kevin.lloyd@lethbridgecollege.ab.ca or visit www.thedigitaldistraction.com.

Originally posted 2008-10-02 10:44:21. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Kevin Mertz, service technician at Saturn of Lethbridge

When you go to buy a car, some of the things you want to know are how good the gas mileage is with the cost of fuel, how well it handles, and the safety features included if you ever get into an accident.

All of those features are controlled by technology, and nowadays, mechanics need to be as savvy with computers as they are under the hood.

“You also have to know how the electronics work together with the mechanical parts. You have to find out if it’s an electronic problem before you can determine if it’s a mechanical fault,” says Kurtis Ruston, a Toyota certified master hybrid technician.

Many of the systems built into vehicles have made driving much safer and more reliable, and according to one mechanic, we’re safer on the roads because of it.

“There’s no question that electronics have vastly improved the safety of cars. With the monitoring of seatbelt systems, with the advent of crash sensors, the car can automatically sent a signal to the authorities to send help. The pros outweigh the cons, “ says Murray Charles, service manager at Saturn of Lethbridge.

Mechanics are doing just as much hands-on work as ever, but now with the aide of computers, they can find out what the exact problem is faster and more reliably.

“They’re dealing with as much hands-on as they ever did, but [now] with electronic assistance. All of the work we do [is] connected to [scanning tools]. [This makes diagnosis] more accurate. The better we can diagnose the car, the more effective we can repair the cars,” says Charles.

A great deal of the technology built into vehicles these days is required by law, and it makes driving safer.

“All vehicles these days are required to have electronics and safety devices on board, for passenger safety of course. [There are] technologies involved there, [so] there typically can be high costs involved,” said Charles.

According to Ruston, finding a mechanic isn’t hard, but it seems the bigger issue is keeping mechanics, since those without passion for the job move on quickly.

“The government is helping people out with grants and tax breaks on the tools you buy, where when I was apprenticing, we didn’t have any of that. They’re slowly catching up, helping you get into this trade,” said Ruston.

Like in any other trade or job, finding people isn’t hard, but finding people with a passion for the work and with the skills necessary is difficult.

“It’s not hard to get people to work in the trade, it’s hard to find quality people,” stated Ruston.

Another benefit of computerized components is that they don’t wear out nearly as fast as their mechanical counterparts, making the car last longer.

“You get a lot more life out a car then you would 15-20 years ago because there’s a lot less maintenance costs, stuff doesn’t wear out now like it did 15 years go.”

Originally posted 2008-10-31 04:13:29. Republished by Blog Post Promoter