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'Geological gem' is at risk Iagn-c with S, Abrams opinion (Chronicle, Aug. 30. 2006} that local politicians have forgotten what their role Is. on the other hand the public does no! know what the local politicians are able to t untmI, In the raw ot the west-side dex elupmenl. they have control, l mu have ~.n and listened. as well as read, all the reports on the west-side development. and I am not convinced that the right deck sion is being made hummus are running high. but the cold fact, as I Yt't' It, is that we have a geological gem and under ground rt-wrunr that is being put at risk. II is in out power to alleviate the danger by limiting the amount of development and thereby reducing the pollution of our water supply. lhe city, by allowing the grading of the hills - taking nine metres of alluvial clay all the top In infill the dips in the roadway - goes against the ()MB's 1992 recommundations to retain the "tpographical land. snipe. this land was designated urban Aim now. the continuing adventures of Renova, ion Man. And of course. his ever-present side- kick. Supervisor Girl, l am not a particularly handy person. In fact, there is a general ban on my use ofa utility knife at home because of some unfortunate incidents involving my fingers. (There's also a ban on the use of bread knives. but that's only because of one misguided Samurai attempt to cut a loaf. Note to self: Move fingers First,) And the old adage of "measure twice. cut once" doesn't quite work, It's more like: measure five times. forget measurements, measure again. lose pencil. find pencil. forget In ---- plug In sun. Cut three times. Measure agar". _ All of this is prompted by, in hind- sight, what was a bit of a rash decision to tear out the carpet in our living room and replace it with a wooden floor, Werhad talked about this for some time. After investigating. we discovered the project was rated a one on the handy- man scale. That means anyone with a moderate level ofahility can handle it. Renovation Man and Supervisor Girl usually go into these projects in a certain order: . Notice item on sale, discuss possibility of instal- lation; shop for item, possibility becomes unbridled enthusiasm (deep inside. Renovation Man says. " can do this,' Supervisor Girl, not quite so opti- mislicl; lust so you know, the handyman scale is hullhooey Although. I may not be rep- resentative of the handyman communi- tht . Purchase item. after much discussion on colour and style. Renovation Man takes part in this discus- sion, but understands what he wants really doesn't matter, He is only the unhired help in this case; . Shun disagreement between RM and Sh; . bring item home. Renovation Man's supenmw- Reno Man prevails again LETTERS Under the Region of Waterloors outdoor water use hylaw. automatic Irrigation systems are subject to the exact same rules as those watering via hand-held hose, from rural in ISIS? when we did not have all the knowledge we have now. With the current knowledge surely we can change the plan. Simple solution to wasting water Ollt' way commercial and resi. dential property owners with iii-ground litigation systems can help conserve water and save them- selves money is by installing a sim- ple and inexpensive automatic rain wnmr shut-off valve. Under the bylaw. watering dur- ing a rainfall is considered a waste of water and is a violation. [he region has a team of staff that looks for water-waste violators. issuing warnings and lines. As well. if you witness sometine wasting water. you can contact regional bylaw to have it investigated. Rain 'sienrsors prevent irrigation DTH] COMMENT . Second attempt. Renovation Man comes up with a work-around solution. Supervisor Girl not sure her partner is even a functioning human being. She is starting to wonder what she sees i in him; er cormdence is now eroded 10 "What was I think ing?"; . First attempt. Supervisor Girl in power mode now. Her questions are tinged with a certain sound, which suggests to Renovation Man that he is lucky to even have the brain power to do up his pants. RM and sc, involved in some light-hearted bickering; "ildi I . Project completed. Renovation Man and Supervisor Girl rejoice in the success of their mission, and are even beginning to like each other again. . Renovation Man and Supervisor Girl reconcile. joined in their joy at the end result of their work. They agree, however, it might be better to hire someone next time. Of course, they know this will never happen, obviously because they cherish their quality time together, . Hear more of Brian's thoughts on life with the K001, Morning Crew every “whiny momingfmm 6 to 9 a. m. on Waterloo radio station 1053 K001. FM. . First attempt derailed. Instructions are (Tap Tools are crap. Renovation Man is crap. First beer: Mary Connolly Waterloo . Second attempt derailed. Rela- tionship Man and Supervisor Girl now questioning the longevity of their rela- tionship. Second and third beer; . Third attempt. Something between the instructions and the work-around solution now appears to have promise: . Third attempt now working. How- ever, Supervisor Girl has stopped talk- ing to Renovation Man. Amongst his superpowers, RM has the remarkable ability to act like a jerk, sometimes. Divorce seems likely; systems from running during ram fall events. One type of these shut-off devices operates by either measur- ing or weighing collected rainwater, Another popular type of shut-off device measures the proportional expansion of a water-sensitive material. such as cork disks or leather straps, When the water evaporates from the rain sensors. the irrigation sys- lem resumes normal operation. Some advantages of these devices include reduced disease damage to plants from over water- ing; less runoff resulting in surface and ground-water protection; and reduced utility bills for businesses and residents. When a determined amount of water accumulates m the rum wit wrs. it simply shuts offthe irrigation wxlem, Members ofthe Waterloo citizens en I 'ironmemul advisory committee Marshall Ward is a professor in the fine arts program at Wil frid Murier University Fmail is "eltome at mwordWttsltcto. , I “my are numemus, truth and lhlensh. (Arum-nuns and strategic in their hunting methods, they chase their prey to the point of exhaustion below they muw In for the kill. mere is a hierarchy among thew intelligent creatures, and they are highly predatorial. Much like wolves, they are lypecasl in movies and literature as villainous and tu1trustworthv, I'm talking about hyenas. I'm also talking about car sales people In a Canada-wide survey conducted a few bt'itrh ago In Leger Marketing. people were asked "hat profession they deem most uturustworthy: car salesperwn ranked wcond, llhl a hair beneath politicians, With the birih of nut second daughter this \pnng. my wife liylvia, and I decided we needed " roomier cur for the two chil, dren's cur scab in the back, I 'magiiu'mosipt'trplv.eveuditr h.mi on tuiihum,ivisls,, dreud tht. thought ot shoppmg for a nun whulv Hw pmln \dlt's people, (he qm-xnonahlv information the) got- you rind, ot tonne. the t'u'rtlturirlr1g haggling owr [Inna palm-nu and extras h mhauxnng, to my the 1mm a [MK gel onv thing straight - I know nothing about um, and only ru'onll} learned how {o change u flut tire. IlMillitlllilq Fortunately. my wife knows more than a thing or two about cars, and what she doesn'l know, she extensive ly researches. She's aware that knowl- edge is key - the more you know. the better consumer you become. Armed with a folder full of infor- mation from sources like Consumers Report, Auto Trader and many articles on various imported cars and how they rate. we visited a Waterloo dealer- ship last month. As well, Sylvia is well versed on the financial side of things. Understand- I MAgitlyL ing the differences between buying and leasing, doing your own calcula- tions and reading the fine print is essential -- many naive con- sumers end up paying for "add ons" and extra charges hidden in the papers they Sign Although I was not looking forward to sweating out negoti- ations across the desk from some smiling salesperson, I was looking forward to owning a roomier, more fuel-efficient car. While some may see car sales as a form of artful persuasion. I see it as just plain manipulative - and itrs because of this game they play. I'm certain the car salesperson's game is not about helping you or giving you information. but simply about getting you to drive home in a new vehicle. Today. The tactic I find hing! infuriating is the one in which the salesperson leaves you hanging while they go "talk to the man- agen" "we'he only offering you this deal today," they say. and "This car won't be here tomorrow." The game is played on their turf. with their rules, swinging the odds in their favour. You can almost certainly plan to be left hanging several times throughout the negotiations process - as they claim every offer and counter-offer has to be approved by the man- agar. I’d love to know what exactly is going on in that back room - but as the consumer. I never will. If we had to do it all over again, we would ask to speak directly to the manager and avoid the misery of waiting around with nothing to do but watch golf on a big plasma screen. One thing is for certain: the top salespeople are trained to delay and wear you down until you surrender and accept their price. As well, some will lie by omission -- and withholding certain pieces of information to make a sale is all part of their proven and effective game plan. And that game plan works because most car buyers don't have an effective game plan of their own. I think understanding the car salesperson's game, doing your homework and playing along with it is the easiest way to get through the painful experience of buying a new car. Remember. they are clever. and the nature of their game is tricky. As in any profession. l'm sure there are both honest and dishonest people __ but I personally would never fully put my trust in a car salesperson, What goes on in that back room anyway? That goes for h)enas too