Now I know why I love Ron Howard!

 Yeah, don't laugh, I really do feel we are kindred spirits, and his latest write-up could have been written by me - without my medications LOL.

Seriously, I stole this from the Internet just to show you how his points mesh up with my beliefs - it's a 10/10 fit, and I'm only too happy to share his words, with my entire endorsement-capable broken body  that I can.

Please read this, and give me a comment - I think this is a Canadian as I can get.  Remember, I grew up in a Very Catholic environment, so it was a hard swerve from hard Right to Centrist and now tick-toking back and forth just a wee bit from a Centrist position.

There's good on any side - one just has to pick a platform, and stick with it. Ron Howard's Platform is now MY platform.  I hope I can do him proud.

So, without further ado, I present Ron Howard.

 “I'm a liberal, but that doesn't mean what a lot of you apparently think it does. Let's break it down, shall we? Because quite frankly, I'm getting a little tired of being told what I believe and what I stand for. Spoiler alert: not every liberal is the same, though the majority of liberals I know think along roughly these same lines:

1.  I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.

2.  I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that's interpreted as "I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all." This is not the case. I'm fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it's impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes "let people die because they can't afford healthcare" a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. And no, I'm not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.

3.  I believe education should be affordable. It doesn't necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I'm mystified as to why it can't work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt.

4.   I don't believe your money should be taken from you and given to people who don't want to work. I have literally never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I just have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can't afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.

 5.  I don't throw around "I'm willing to pay higher taxes" lightly. If I'm suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it's because I'm fine with paying my share as long as it's actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare.

6.   I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn't have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.

 7.  I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is - and should be - illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I'm not "offended by Christianity" -- I'm offended that you're trying to force me to live by your religion's rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That's how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don't force it on me or mine.

8.   I don't believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.

 9.  I don't believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN'T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they're supposed to be abusing, and if they're "stealing" your job it's because your employer is hiring illegally). I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).

10.  I don't believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It's not that I want the government's hands in everything -- I just don't trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they're harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation

 11. I believe our current administration is fascist. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I've spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.

12.  I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege -- white, straight, male, economic, etc. -- need to start listening, even if you don't like what you're hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that's causing people to be marginalized.

 13.  I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine.

14.  I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you're using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?

15.  I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.

16.  I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?

 I think that about covers it. Bottom line is that I'm a liberal because I think we should take care of each other. That doesn't mean you should work 80 hours a week so your lazy neighbor can get all your money. It just means I don't believe there is any scenario in which preventable suffering is an acceptable outcome as long as money is saved.”

Ron Howard

 ___________________________________________________________________________

The Truth about the Bible - succinctly!

 

Truth about the bible, as I believe the facts tell me, not fairy tales

Let me explain...

It is apparent that most Christians have no idea how the Bible was put together.  It is like they just think it dropped out of the sky one day, already leather bound with Jesus's words in red.

But the reality is that it is a messy collection of letters, stories, non-eyewitness accounts, poems and historical documents – legal documents – and they were debated, argued over and cherry picked by church councils centuries after Jesus lived.

All in one book.

The ruler Constantine demanded this to happen as he needed to find some manner to unite all the different religious beliefs in his Empire, and the simplest method was a compendium compiling all the various beliefs into one Tome.  Everything from Christians as the base, then tossing in Witchcraft, Pagans, Earth-lovers, Greek Gods/Goddesses ... everything. 

He then made Christianity the de-facto religion of his Empire, despite the fact that pagan symbols of Sol Invictus and Mars still appeared on his coins.

While he tolerated certain pagan religious practices, religious freedom had its limits, pagan sacrifices were forbidden, temple treasures seized, gladiatorial contests ended (Christians disliked them), crucifixions were abolished, and laws were enacted against sexual immorality and ritual prostitution. [Constantine: World History.Org]

The Bible.

And heck, Jesus was not even his name, but somehow it is now the name above all names!
I mean, they could not make up their minds what to call him.  First it was Yehoshua, then it was Yeshua, then Iēsous, mutated into IESVS, then down the Latin well into Iesu and finally the bottom of the well went Thump! - and Jesus suddenly appeared!

Yehoshua–Yeshua–Iēsous–IESVS–Iesu–Jesus
[Wikipedia: Etymology of Jesus' name]

So, the Bible.  Yeah, about that...  Constantine kept his clerics busy for many years going through many thousands of documents, books, and yes, even the Old Testament as the "source code", but there is a lot they don't tell you!

♦Entire books were left out.
♦Stories were altered on purpose.
♦Translations came from other translations, each one losing more and more of the meaning from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

Then comes along King James VI and I - Scottish King guy #6, and English King Guy #1 – the guy most modern Christians will swear by.  He actually commissioned his “King James Bible” version not for purity, not for accuracy – He did it to consolidate his own power! 

He did it to control the masses and justify his monarchy and the actual truth is that he was a violent, manipulative ruler who knew exactly how to use religion as a weapon.  And he passed on his knowledge thru the ages.   Nothing has changed since then.

And it's just crazy to me that people are still using it as a weapon today.  But ask most Christians about this and they'll look at you like you're speaking another language, because they've been taught – they've been programmed - to never question the book.  

Even though the book itself has been questioned, edited and weaponized for 2,000 years.

And any time you DO question it, you get this circular logic – that "the Bible is true because the Bible says it's true". 
Oh, okay then. 
They usually quote a line from a letter that Paul wrote to Timothy when they say that.

Look here - when somebody says "the Bible is true because the Bible says it's true", is like plugging a power strip cord into the power strip itself and expecting electricity.

Circular logic is NOT proof.

It is just blind faith talking to itself.

BUT if people actually did the research – if they knew what was left out and why and if they understood how much of modern Christianity is built on mis-translations and political agendas, the awakening would be a rude one. Oh, and Misogyny! 
Mustn't forget Misogyny.

But at least, they would be awake.

Peace,

 Alter Funker 

 

Alberta's wish to separate is not a wish - it is a developing situation according to plans laid out as far back as 2012!

Is Alberta's dream to emulate Texas? 

 

I think so.  I'll tell you why.

I firmly believe all the folks here in Alberta that are "well to do" in financial matters, are all against "socialized government", because it uses THEIR money to help others without their permission.

In other words, they are against providing funding for poor people, or even middle class folks because they feel that they are being charged that tax money to fund the poor folks ONLY!.  That its a "everyone for themselves" world.  

Lets look at the USA.  

They dote so much on "Democracy" that all the poor farmers are being bought up by big conglomerates for pennies on the dollar. Democracy does not care about the people - only the bottom line, which usually is how much money do the Investors reap when Dividends are paid out.  Period.  They don't care how many kids were working 12 and 14 hour days to provide raw product for their factories.  They don't care that it costs them $1 to produce a Widget, but will push to sell for $10 or $20. There are no laws supporting the family farmers because big corp tells the government not to create legislation because "America loves Freedom" from oppressive laws!!! That is exactly why Trump is removing any and all "overwatch" agencies which police the government itself, and the mechanisms in which funding is handled by recipients and civilian agencies.  Non partisan.  Well, used to be...
This is all part of Trumps "clearing the swamp" of useless, oppressive and to the GOP, invasive laws that control the Economy.

This is all part in parcel of their white paper that Rob Anderson, a well known Alberta Separatist, Barry Cooper, a Political Science Professor in Calgary and an avid advocate of Western Canadian Separatism and Constitutional Lawyer Derek From 

wrote in 2021.  It was totally radical, involved all schools being "dumbed down" with "adjusted curriculum", while Charter and Private Schools will remain with the best teachers and most honest data being taught.

So, you can understand my reluctance after reading that White Paper, which was "cleaned up" for public viewing, and is now available on the UCP Website.  However, it too also states that the "end goal" is to separate from Canada and go their own way.  When the "Project 2025" paper came out in the USA, I almost shit myself because I think it was closely modeled upon the 2012 White Paper (which has since disappeared from the web...).  I had downloaded a copy back in about 2015-16 just before Trump was elected, but now have no idea where it ended up.

Look at it from my POV. The UCP wants to:

1. Take as much of CPP from Canada for Alberta's coffers as possible.  Tell Albertans it's for our citizens. Centralize all funds in Alberta. [In Progress]

2. Take away much of the current curriculum in elementary and middle schools to teach "alternate theory" on Alberta natives, Canada's corrupt laws, push Christian Dogma in Public schools, deny any other religion equal status to that of Christianity. [Started under Premier Kenny] [Kenny even had his "uncle", a musician, mentioned in history classes.  Big whup...] [In Progress]

3. Take away the powers of elected City/Municipal leaders as possible - concentrate power within the Legislature, and control all other councils with a firm commitment from elected officials, or find some way to remove from that council. [Done.]

4. Create our own Provincial Police that the Legislature can control - removing the RCMP and all Federal security agencies will allow Alberta to pronounce it's own laws, enforce them to their own dictates that the Federal agencies cannot overlook or control. [In Progress - despite open polls that state over 80% of Albertans want the RCMP to remain]

5. Migrate Alberta Healthcare to private health providers. Gutting Alberta Health of competent middle management was the first step (Done - thousands of years of "corporate knowledge" of middle managers were let go and Alberta Health was told to "adapt or be fired".  This meant in many cases, over-worked staff, poorly completed paperwork due to time constraints, patient comfort will suffer, medications will be delisted to save money.)

 

The goal is to encourage the average citizen to take their ills to a private clinic.  Initially, until a critical load is carried by private contractors, they will conform to Provincial guidelines for Healthcare treatment. 
 

Once the Legislature is happy that we have gone past the no-return point, all services will then become Private ​Providers Only, at which point, they will begin charging "extra" fees for small things like tongue depressors, wipes, cremes used in office treatments, and other services will gradually increase in price above the Alberta Guidelines, but since these Private Providers are backing the UCP, the UCP will say nothing, and citizens will have to pay more and more, and then, not surprisingly, Alberta will announce Health Insurance to cover costs above regular healthcare coverage.  

Eventually, we WILL end up with a system similar to the Health Insurance Scam happening in the USA.

This is a no-shit move that was discussed back in 2012, and again in 2017.  In 2021, these three gentlemen re-released the White Paper as the "Free Alberta Strategy" with some "edits" that were too controversial for the average citizen, and were omitted from the White Papers from previous years.  

However, the basic intent is still spelled out, but in a more "wishy-washy" word-salad. Sovereignty Act is a precursor to cutting all Federal ties. APP is a precursor to remove the RCMP and install some of our own "forces" to control the public, away from Federal Scrutiny. Independent Banking Act - that is, control all of Alberta's money within Alberta.

Now, I'm not too against that, as I would really like to move to a Credit Union of some type, but the Big Guys just keep offering me better interest rates.

Judicial appointments made only by Alberta - ensuring that Alberta's Lawyers are picked to helm the courts, and not some chump from Ontario, for instance.  Or even Saskatchewan, fer cryin' out loud!

Y'know, keep all judges on the same level, so they say.

Establish international Trade separate from the Feds. 

Ending Equalization.  I really think the UCP is screaming "The Sky is Falling". 

 

Everyone in Canada pays Federal taxes. Once Ottawa has all that money, they can decide where that money goes.  As Canada has a Social Contract with all Canadians, it behooves the Feds to ensure all Canadians have equal access to government services including Social, Healthcare and other Federally funded institutions, thus the equalization equation was created.  

 

Jason Kenny

I mean, Jason Kenny was one of the supporting folks who was in Ottawa as an MP when Equalization was created, and later on, negotiated with Alberta to receive an additional $1Bn in Healthcare transfers! Any changes to the Equalization would also affect Healthcare and Social Transfer systems.

Alberta does not send money to Ottawa in an envelope labelled "Equalization Payment Money".  Equalization funds comes out of Ottawa's General Revenue's, the same as Social and Healthcare funds come from - Personal and Business Taxes across Canada.  Fisheries, Border Control, Military, Emergency Services.  And so on.  Basically everything the Government does initially comes out of the General Accounts into specific accounts I just listed above.  

 

Equalization is just another account the Federal Government manages.

 

In the past, Alberta was even a recipient of Equalization funds, which was used to develop the oil industry, so the system works, right?  When a Province received Equalization funding, it goes into a General Revenue to help that government provide services to their citizens.  And not to fund "Quebec's day care services", because in fact, there was no way to prove that.  So, yet another Fiction.

Not one Province was asked to pay into the Equalization Payments.  This all came out of Federal Tax Money, not Alberta's coffers.  The UCP just used "creative" accounting to state that Alberta is paying way more than other Provinces.  Really?  Can anyone show me where every exact Albertan Dollar went?  How do they know that it might have gone to Defense, Dept of Fisheries, National parks, Environmental Conservation, etc.  There is no way.  It is a Fiction, and therefore a sad political move that like any other political complaint, scream it loud enough and often enough, and folks will believe it, even when they know the facts refute the complaint. 

It's all a Fiction, spread by emotional messages that are in of themselves, fiction.

This is how Trump won in the USA - tell lies long enough, have others repeat lies often enough, and eventually folks, even intelligent folks, will start to believe against their own better judgements.  Psychologically, this tends to manifest itself once the individual buys into the lie so much that they will begin to rationalize the lies with their own made-up lies to conform to "popular belief". In between all these lies, toss in some semi-truths, so that when elected and the government starts doing crazy things, they will say that they campaigned on that - when all folks thought it was also all lies as well.  Pick and choose your knowledge. Choose wrong, live in a police state.  Choose right, and prices drop, freedom flourishes, and everyone can travel any damned where they want. 

But, America choose poorly...

And this is how the UCP wants to do things here in Alberta.

But wait for it - near the end of the current Free Alberta Strategy is the push for "The Republic of Western Canada", with the goal of Alberta, Sask, Man and perhaps all or parts of B.C. to join in this grand endeavour.  Did you know that if we don't have access to an ocean port, we will be screwed for any international trade with anyone other than the USA. Forget Europe, China, Malaysia, Japan, Africa and South American, Australia.  Everything will come with a Premium Price, once all the international shipping, handling, customs, port fees (international) and so on.  The cost of living will likely triple.  Alberta will be like another Ukraine, with it's only viable water access being the Hudson Bay, when it is not frozen over...IF we can talk Manitoba into joining our Grand Illusion.

Just before I leave, here is a paragraph taken right out of the Strategy paper:

"An ancillary feature of the Free Alberta Strategy is that it will better prepare
Alberta for national political sovereignty should it become necessary. The
Strategy’s cornerstone initiatives involve recovering and consolidating the
majority of all economic, environmental and resource governance, revenue
collection, social services, law enforcement, judicial powers, and other
institutions, and placing them firmly under the authority of the Provincial
Government. It also involves a great expansion of our provincially regulated
financial institutions and intergovernmental affairs, which would naturally be
required should independence become the only viable option for the province."

"Should independence become the only viable option..."

Now, to be fair, this is a move of "last resort", however plans are continually being drawn up with this end goal in mind. This was a secondary purpose of the "War Room" that Kenny created.  So if this "last resort" is actually the real goal, then is there ANY chance of staying in Canada?  Not according to the 2012 paper.  That is the plan all along, and damned the torpedo's, lets get this thing going now!

Premier Smith - She's a sharp one, I'll admit that.  I do find her cloying, though - she's dismissive, rude and controlling, and to me, actually micromanaging the Legislature and the rest of the Province.  Taking power away from Municipal elected councils really struck me hard - a classic move invented in Europe, and utilized by every autocrat, including Hitler, when advocating for control/power.

Politicizing local town councils by allowing Political Parties to be represented in town/city councils - and you know these folks will have way more advertising funding than any independent seekers of office. This will be another "control" method, to ensure that even the smallest communities will be controlled by the Provincial Government.

I call that "overreach".  It is also a darker side of Socialism, tipping over a bit into Communism - even with Oligarch's standing on the sidelines with their hands out "...or else".  I'm not joking - look up the definitions of these, and that quote 5 paragraphs above, come right out of the UCP's Strategy paper, even the current one found online.

Just like the American Project 2025.  I am not kidding. Folks are too close to the "action" in Alberta Politics because everyone has some kind of beef about something going wrong (or even right) in Alberta.  Everyone has their brands in the fire. No one wants to step up in the current political climate because everything and most everyone will contradict you with lies, innuendo and made up facts and stories.

What is important is that Alberta thrive in a win/no win manner, to ensure that Alberta remains strong.  Problem is that Politics and Canada is not a win/no win kind of political system  Canada is the epitome of Compromise.  Not bullying. Building Bridges.

But evoking a win/no win mentality is the exact same mentality that drives President Trump down in the USA.  There is NO compromise.  No previous Treaty exists in his eyes because he did not sign it, so in his mind, that issue is still open for discussion. And he is all for winning, not losing. No. Matter. What.

Wait for it, he'll do something crazy, well, more crazy than every other day.

Premier Smith is going in that exact same direction, albeit at a much slower, and stealthy pace, so as to not alert/affect the populace - walking zombie-eyed forward so in love with the "Party of UCP" that they do not see the final goal - or even have any concept of that final goal. Changing certain wording in existing laws that will  enable separatists to more easily insert a referendum question into the next election cycle is one recent example. Again, not kidding. Check out:

 https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/june-2025/alberta-separatism/

I find these folks egotistical - they think their existence is the only thing that matters, that society as a whole is BS and does not need their active participation to keep the country/province as a whole, healthy and prosperous. All the money they have earned is THEIRS, and will fight to not pay taxes, or to ensure any taxes they pay benefit themselves.

 

I mean, they live in one of the top ten countries in the world and they bitch about it, but offer no solution to National or International issues other than ones that cater to their own personal whims, and not support the country, because it is "not MY Province". FFS....I actually heard that one said out loud!

So much for a welcoming province. Helping everyone else is what makes Canada great, but apparently, not so much for Alberta.

Under Premier Smith's MAGA-supported government. (Yes, even the Ottawa Senate knows about MAGA funds coming over the border for Right-Wing governments!)

I hope I have passed on before such a tragedy happens to my Alberta!

Peace!

Conspiracy Theories and Ivermectin. And Tinnitus, perhaps. Oh, okay, Aluminum and Mercury in vaccinations too!

Some very lovely local folks got to talking about AI and answers from ChatGPT about using Ivermectin, or getting inoculations in Canada. ChatGPT came back strongly endorsing the use of inoculations and staying current.

The same question was asked in a different manner, asking what a person should do to ensure the correct vaccinations are being used. ChatGPT came back much more circumspect, offering suggestions, but advising folks to do their own research as there are many conflicting sources.

So, what the person asking the questions just did was prove that ChatGPT is useless, because depending on HOW you ask it a question, will dictate HOW it will answer you. Very interesting. And this is still no excuse to not know stuff.

BUT 

Firstly - stay away from AI answers - they are often incorrect, and horrible things have happened to businesses who bought too much into AI support.

Here's 12 of the most recent (a FYI I could not NOT put in this post!)

♦ Chicago Sun-Times, Philadelphia Inquirer publish summer reading list of fake
    books.
♦ McDonald’s ends AI experiment after drive-thru ordering blunders,
♦ Grok AI falsely accuses NBA star of vandalism spree,
♦ NYC AI chatbot encourages business owners to break the law,
♦ Air Canada pays damages for chatbot lies,
♦ Sports Illustrated may have published AI-generated writers,
♦ iTutor Group’s recruiting AI rejects applicants due to age,
♦ ChatGPT hallucinates court cases.
♦ AI algorithms identify everything but COVID-19,
♦ Zillow wrote down millions, slashed workforce due to algorithmic home-buying
   disaster,
♦ Dataset trained Microsoft chatbot to spew racist tweets, and
♦ Amazon AI-enabled recruitment tool only recommended men.

(source - https://www.cio.com/article/190888/5-famous-analytics-and-ai-disasters.html)

It's a start, but as you all have pointed out above, it's a shit-show as to what works and what does not.

Personally, I read up on Ivermectin, and based upon Canada's stance on Ivermectin - "Ivermectin not authorized to prevent or treat COVID-19; may cause serious health problems ". I don't think it'll be readily available in Canada soon.

(source: https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/ivermectin-not-authorized-prevent-or-treat-covid-19-may-cause-serious-health-problems)

 So now I will continue on with my dialogue that I wrote on FB that I think better fit on my Blog.  So, let's talk about how all that bull-krap about aluminum, Mercury and other "metals" in drugs are misrepresentations of the actual molecule of those substances within the drugs.

For example, the most hatred of all metals is Mercury, because we all know what Mercury poisoning is like, and how easy it is to utilize. It's a horrible death.

What the drug companies, and what all conspiracy theorists don't tell you, probably because most of them as well as you would not recognize the difference - but here it is - the molecule of Mercury in medications/drugs has a different/more/less Mercury Ions, substantially changing the effects upon it's environment. So it's called Mercury (with some number/letter extension/name), but is definitely NOT the same Mercury we see in our temperature gauges.

Get the drift. Some smart doctor, who has/had a biased response to one agency or other, can pipe up and make that Mercury claim, and get away with it, but intentionally omits that it is a different Ion makeup of Mercury which is totally harmless to Humans and the Environment.

Got that? It's not the "real" mercury everyone is so spooked up about. It is a different "version" or kind of Mercury.

THIS is how Conspiracy Theories get started and pick up speed. Taking a shred of truth, misrepresenting it, get a massive following to re-create and expand upon the subject, all without acknowledging the real, actual, truth about this "Mercury".

Wanna talk "Aluminum"? Yeah, another no-starter. Read following article from

https://min.news/en/health/32f8d2c96cd3d4f80690045057949288.html

And an independent's take on the news I think you'll like also.

https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/a-huge-new-danish-study-finds-no

Okay, the metals are not the issue. RFK - you can go home now - no autism here.

Let's talk Ivermectin - it is an anti-parasite medication, indicated for veterinary use, so may have "some" effects upon the human body's ailments, but none of them can be, or ever will be, a cure for those diseases.

Ivermectin was approved in the USA in 1987 for "limited" use in humans only as an anti-parasitic medication, and doses are much, much lower than what folks suggest should be taken for COVID-19. In fact, most folks who took Ivermectin ended up in Emergency Wards. Because any lower dose would not have any affect upon the human body other than to kill parasites, which Covid-19 most assuredly is NOT!

Think about that...

As I said, it is a Veterinary medication not indicated for human consumption (however, in the US, they can legally sell it over the counter to anyone since '87!), as it can have severe side effects that are detrimental to continued healthy living.
Period.

But folks will attribute "miracle" cures when some other avenue of healing was evident. So which is it? Hmmmm?

If you want to spin that roulette wheel, based upon folk tales and some God-Fearing Farmer in Arkansas, then go right ahead.

Me - I'll stick to established protocols for any and all prophylactic shots, no matter what disease.

I mean, after the military, with my myriad of overseas shots, blood thinners for hot-region deployments and mandatory annual shots, I have yet to have a side effect from any of them. And, I mean, I've had the complete HEP A, B and C shots just before I got out - a present from some medics and a great military doctor I had just before I retired. My inoculation book is actually a book. Not a slip of paper. A book.

If there is anything that affects almost all military (army mostly) members, it is Tinnitus - it's a hazard of our work - even though we wear often wear ear plugs, and sometimes with ear-defenders over top, firing a 155mm gun is never quiet. Nor is firing a rifle - especially the 7.62's LOL. Or TOW or Carl G.

As a radio operator, I had to constantly grimace while trying to still my beating just to make out a single voice 70km away talking on a 3 watt tactical radio. Or hours listening to Morse code on HF all hours of the day and night. It really strains the ears.

But I don't plan on taking Ivermectin for my ears because Ivermectin is NOT for ear problems! Just like Ivermectin is not for viruses. It's for Parasites!

Or driving tactically, sitting next to a screaming diesel engine while the tracks spin next to your knees and shoulders at either 0 kph or 140kph! (road speed = 70kph). Yeah, real quiet - but no ear plugs as you need to hear the intercom with orders from the crew commander - the guy above you who can actually see where the heck you are going!

So - THAT, I can get behind because there is a ton of experience with managing this disorder. But strangely enough, none call for Ivermectin, eh?

My mother made sure that all 5 of us kids got vaccinated as soon as it came out.

Unfortunately, for my eldest sister, Olga, she was too late for her Polio shot, and had to endure never-ending rounds of medical procedures, bodily disfigurement, extreme handicappedness, and I will NOT got into the Michner Center, where she was a patient during that horrible horrible time.

https://www.ulethbridge.ca/unews/article/story-had-be-told

Those bastards...no, not here. Not your business. But anyone tells me that vaccines are BAD for folks have surely drank from the devil's cup, as they continue to spread this filth, lies and innuendo's to substantiate what any clear thinking, educated folks would know what works.

Listening to morons like Robert Kennedy in the US, who cannot string a complete sentence together without confusing two topics, continues to push blatant lies, and unfortunately, now has the wherewithal to enforce his beliefs. And folks believe him!!!

That will be to the detriment of all Americans, and eventually, Canada.

And I honestly thought Canadians were more intelligent than that.

Peace y'all!

I appraise my biases in life - and other stuff. Long!

 

 

Absolutely True! 

After a bad (Degenerative Nerve Disorder...) attack several years ago, I basically had to sit down and rethink my life moving forward. To do this, I needed to sort out my bias', my belief's, both Religious and morally/ethically, and my attitudes in various situations. Sigh. I have had a LOT of situations in the past. If only...

Let me start off with the happiest folks on the planet - the Gays! LBGTQ was one of the Bias' that I wanted to address, but after attending a Gay Wedding (Or Lesbian, I'm not sure what to call it, but we had a helluva good time!), I felt that I had a handle on my feelings about LBGTQ. And I will stand up and fight for their rights, as well as mine. 

Check One.

A deep dive into my Religious Past, including what I'd seen while travelling the world, and the attitudes I've seen in others have helped me develop a new belief that interestingly enough, was common to a lot of other folks - and religions.

What was my wonderful discovery is that there was an actual name for my beliefs; I am a "Universal Scientific Panthiest", and that title is a real thing, and it fits me to a Tee! 

So, for about 30 years, I've pretty much set my catholic leanings to the side as I examine my feelings, beliefs and emotions, and the Catholics can go home any day, as I've found my true belief - nothing fake, made up, or poorly thought out.

It's all about the Truth in our world. Only the Truth. Nothing but the Truth.
Everything else spans outward from the Truth, and the Truth is exposed using the Scientific Principle, not making shit up, writing it down and hoping others see it the same way you do. Uh uh. Gotta be a whole helluva lot smarter to push that load of hoohaw on me.

Of all the worlds religions, I'm kinda partial to the Sikh's and visiting their temple down the highway any time, any day, will guarantee you a nice bed and a hot meal - any time! Not one other church will bend over so quickly as their temple. No phone calls needed. No references from others. No waking up folks in the middle of the night to drive for an hour just to find you a bed.

The Sikh Temple has everything there. I laugh, but there is even an elderly man whose only job is to hand visitors a nice firm ripe banana. Perhaps even two if you pass by him a second time! A good lesson to remember.

Getting back to my beliefs - I decided, not without some deep concerns and reservations, to drop my Christianity, my Christian Attitudes, platitudes and any other "tudes" that are also associated with a Christian God. Or any God.

I became more grounded - as in becoming a "Universal Scientific Pantheist", where all my beliefs, if any, for the future, afterlife, heaven/hell, 10 commandments and so on are just so simplistically false that common sense, and frankly some scientific training and Cognitive Thinking strengthened my feelings about Religion. I am NOT Anti-Religious!!! 

I understand the pull! I just no longer believe.

I also no longer believe their stories are truth, I think I've grown up and no longer need such platitudes and demands.

I have no thoughts about others - it is none of my business. And I wish more folks would mind their own business.

Again, I will stand up and fight for your right to worship whomever you wish, as long as they don't try to push their (IMHO) Fairy Tales on me. No matter WHICH Religion. None are Illegal, so I have not much more to say....Except that if the Churches' sole business is raising money for just the Church, then start charging them taxes, as they are a fraudulent front for conning folks out of their hard-earned wages. Hell, the Mormons got a lock-down on this matter, don't they? 10%, normally Gross and not Net goes to the Mormon Church.

Each Month.

I mean, in 2012 alone, the Mormon Tithing took in between $7 and $33 Million USD worldwide. That's a lot of money to send to some tiny village in Peru or Sudan. I wonder how much it is today???

Say, did you know that back in the 1800's that Tithing could be paid with donating one day of your time every 10 days, working for the Church.

OR - Tithe with products such as: Livestock, Produce, Gold dust ... or ... Slaves.

Yup, that's right, I'm tithing 2 slaves to the church so I don't have to go work with those wonkers for another 20 days.

Check Two!

What else did I have to ponder. Well, the number one issue I have is the attitude folks have towards my "apparent" handicap. I'm a big guy. I can still walk - a bit, but must temper that with payback in the form of pain. Leg Surface Pain. Like my leg is on fire. [Edit: Bilateral Nerve Pain now...]

Sure, I take a lot of drugs, many with FB mentions as to their their effectiveness and side effects - Yes, I know all about that. I live it every second of every day. One of them is a "natural" replacement for - in this case - Ativan, sometimes referred to as Lorazepam, a Benzodiazepine.

What folks don't normally see is what I go through when I have a Pain Breakthrough [That's the proper name for such an attack]. That is when my nerves do weird and not wonderful stuff. Think of your whole leg being "asleep" with pins and needles.
Real hard pins and needles.
Hurtful pins and needles.

You know how it feels to try to move a limb that is "asleep". At times, it could be painful to position one's self, so the best thing to do is to sit and massage and stretch to "wake" up the nerves.

In my case, Pins and Needles are a constant background in my Right leg. Then it begins "warming up", the sensation becoming deeper, more insistent, then in the background, like a huge bruise on my thigh, the pins and needles become folded into a bruising-type pain, and if the breakthrough is bad enough, the bruising pain suddenly becomes a jet engine, ramping up quickly, creating more pressure and then someone throws some gasoline on my leg to cool it off, but it ignites and now my leg is aflame.

That's right, my leg is on fire. There is nothing I can do because it is all internal - all in my head, so to speak The nerves are screwed up, either impinged, raw, stripped or whatever.. At best, my leg gets real warm (hot), I cannot even touch a hair on my leg as that would impart a painful sensation, not unlike a knife stab. Okay, a Stiletto knife.

So I have to "manage" the pain without even being able to touch my leg. Have you ever hurt your leg and NOT grabbed it with your hand? Next time try NOT touching the painful area. Every time. Several times a day.

Then you get an idea of my daily source of depression. I literally am on Recliner # 4 in my office [my Pain Room, so to speak] as I grip the bolsters so tight at times, I literally rip the material on seams. I've tipped over backwards, head on the floor, and could not move for up to 45 minutes as I managed the continuing attack.

Check Three

So, let me finally get onto my final deep thoughts - although many of them come because of some rather expensive therapy. Let's talk depression.

We all suffer from Depression in one form or other, some from childhood, and other later on in life.

One of the major causes is because of the natural circle of life - the death of a loved one. Some folks never get over it. Others manage their internal pain and are able to carry on with their lives knowing that more may pass in time.

I sort of tried suicide 3 times - not sure if the wife is aware of the first two, but I chickened out all three times because, well because I thought that ending it all is not actually ending it all. It becomes a beginning for my loved ones - beginning to mourn, beginning a new life without me, beginning to hate me for not sorting out paperwork before I died.

And inside, I also thought that I would also miss my loved ones too.

Not in a Religious way - In a Universal Consciousness kind of way. Yeah, weird, eh?

And would taking my life be really fair to others close to me? Would it send a signal that would cause folks to not like me? Would it start rumours. Would all that attention focused upon my loved ones be fair to them?

So why do I keep fighting to stay alive and put up with all the pain and misery? People often don't know what my life is like, and as the pain breakthroughs ramp up in severity and length, folks are pushing me to go back to the U of a Pain Clinic for new drugs.

Look - It took my almost 15 years to find the current mix 'n match group of medications that enables me to manage my pain, but because of a bad experience about 20 years ago, I am very, VERY nervous about new medications.

Why? Because for a whole year, I have absolutely NO memory of what I did. I was the Chairperson of an organization, and apparently ran meetings, consulted with the executive and thought I ran a fair group (apparently), and finally quit when the membership wanted to throw all their hard-earned money towards supporting another "agency" to the determent of current groups finances.

I guess I was not too far wrong, as the Treasurer quit with me at the same meeting.

Anyhoo, that's about all I've been able to dredge up/remember/read about (in minutes, etc). What I did at home, I have no idea. Where we went, what we did...nada. But I was apparently fully functioning.

And I will never do that again. I'm too old to be losing years of memory at a time when I have not even exhibited any tendrils of dementia. Well, perhaps...

So, I continue to use Mindfulness to work through the bad breakthroughs, mostly from 7's on up. 6's and lower are a bit less work, and just relaxed breathing is good enough - perhaps even trying to read a bit in the meantime.

Check Four.

So, yeah, I use a mobility scooter to get around - because having extreme pains just trying to reach up for a product can end up with me on the ground. I'd rather have a nice soft seat to fall into, than onto a hard tiled surface.

I told my wife just the other week - to her amazement - that about 5 years ago, I had a #8 - rather high pain attack breakthrough in the local Sobey's store not too far from the pharmacy. I sat down next to an endcap, and eventually ended up curled in fetal position during the main event, and all I can remember is 2 folks stepping over me, and NO ONE came to offer any assistance.

Folks probably thought I was drunk or something. But later on, I was furious!

THIS is why I have a mobility scooter. Folks are more wont to offer assistance if I'm bent over as if I'm having a heart attack than if I am laying on the floor looking like a drunk passed out. I'm not. I'm doing mindfulness to manage the pain, and that is on me, as I do not like stopping in the middle to answer someone's question because it opens the pain door again, and takes a while for me to calm down again.

My pain scale goes up to 10. No higher. Because any higher would mean my heart stopped. At 10, I normally am passed out from the pain. Do Not wake me up - I'd rather wake up naturally after the attack has ended. TY. Also - do NOT call an Ambulance, as I WILL refuse it. Violently if necessary as is my right.

Check Five.

Okay, I think I beat this one to death.

Let's look at racism. 

Am I a racist? 

Well, I believe that when I was younger, I was totally racist. 100%, Especially before High School. I had never met a black person, hispanic or South American until my later teens, when I joined the Army.

Until then, I was basically freewheeling with all my learned attitudes - mostly from my friends, mind you. My parents would never talk like that. Surprisingly, looking back on the internet, TV was also a big supporter of racism at that time. Women were to stay at home, could not vote, work or earn money other than small markets, sewing and so on. Truckers and many others locally used the "N" word without shame. "Spic's" and "Wops" were a couple other slights against the hispanic and italian folks. And more and more. B&W TV was amazingly racist, when looked back upon! Hell, I had hispanic and italian friends back then. And French, German, Ukrainian, Greek, oh hell, it was a white-on-white neighbourhood, with nary a coloured skin in sight. This was the 60's. All the folks of colour were on the opposite coast of Canada at that time.

But nevertheless, old jokes from the 40's, 50's and 60's inevitably found their way to this group of little boys who thought dirty kitten jokes were bad jokes and should be told quietly. Didja hear about the pregnant stray kitty who, when asked what kind of kittens she will have, replied "How the hell should I know - I had my head stuck in a tin cat at the time!". Hilarious!!!

Hilariously dirty! Scandalous! Then came Indian jokes, Eskimo jokes (I was a member of the Edmonton Eskimo's "knothole gang" who had super cheap seats in the end zones - where we, of course told eskimo jokes). And others. Curling Bonspeils were a great source of scandalous jokes - most often very off-colour (pardon the pun!).

So, my first real contact with other "ethnic" folks other than Europeans, was during basic army training - my first Black man. Inuit, Native, and several others - it was a fun, hard, grueling but amazing time, learning so much more than I ever did in High School, and getting paid to do so at the same time!!!

After only a couple years, and still a "one-hook" private, I'm off to my first UN Tour in the Middle East - I lucked in with Cyprus, ending up for 5 of my 6 months working with the Danish at their Contingent Headquarters. Met my first Turkish guys. And Gals. Wow, talk about exotic!!! Will not talk about much other than that as some serious shit happened I am still not able to talk about.

BUT, I did meet a shit-load of amazing folks of every religion, race, ethnicity that can be found in that region, and that was a helluva learning experience.

I mean, I found an amphitheater hidden in the hills overlooking the Med, which had a single Turkish guard - with his rifle and all - standing watch for looters and so on.

I came up to him, offered to take his photo (He was delighted), then he offered to take my photo - and surprise, he hands me his AK74 to hold while he took the photo. I mean....??? Helluva photo, I assume - all my photo's from around that time were lost on the farm after my stepfather passed away.

Not too later on, I was sent to NATO in Germany for a 5-year, 2-unit stint. First year, I lived on base, but was able to secure a flat within the first year, and permission to move onto the "economy" as it were. German landladies, lots of ladies, a german motorcycle politzei officer as a roommate (that was crazy!!!), a Porsche, BMW and Mercedes. 240kph on the autobahn! Swiss Alps and goat roads during a flood at midnight - all very life-enhancing experiences...And a German bride.

But memories will suffice. And I think I've grown inside, honestly comfortable around any folks regardless of ethnicity, skin colour or partner orientation. I think having so many colourful people just makes our world all the more beautiful, and not spoiled by the black and grey of hatred and abuses.

I consider myself blessed - in a fortunate kind of way, not a religious manner - that I feel such comfort and freedom while around all these myriad folks in our great country - that is what makes Canada great! We are a country of immigrants, and need immigration to keep up with growing demands upon our population and out country.

Folks who have issues with Immigration, Religion, Citizenship or Canadian Rights, should just get the hell out of Canada - you really are not wanted. You are NOT what made this country great. You just want to use, use, use, and not think about all the others in this country. We all need to work together, without letting race get in between us and our goals, as that is counterproductive to results, and blaming folks of other races for the ignorant beliefs is not the way to grow a country.

Look at what Trump is doing in the USA - He is trying to rob the treasury blind before his term is up. He wants his new rich friends to also help him become rich as they plunder the US, it's trading partners, and especially it's own citizens, by making them pay 15% tariff's on literally anything coming into the USA from outside countries. Who pays? US Citizens. Who wins?

Well, I suspect that there is going to be a pipeline from the Tariff account to some amount of offshore accounts belonging to Trump and his sycophants - mostly members of Congress and Senate that are card-carrying MAGA supporters at the least.

Don't forget all the Billionaires that get Tax Cuts and are probably also dipping into the Tariff accounts too!

That's another kind of racism that has gotten totally out of hand. Totally KKK fukkin' White QANON Proud Boys Batshit crazy folks.

And Trump is their leader.

Suddenly, I feel so much cleaner, whiter than white pure, non-racist, abortion supporting, handicapped with a good attitude, happy to help, talk or offer a ride to anyone who asks. I feel I am [no longer...] a mean, car-raging or blown-top angry kind of guy.

I do a lot of head-shaking as I see the younger generations doing stupid stuff - like smoking at a gas station...guy looked at me like I had 6 eyes and 4 antenna!!! I like to stop and talk with youngsters - if they are willing to put up with this old reprobate, but we often have fun talks!

Today, I spent all day in the Cat Run, putting up the final roof braces for the wire-mesh roofing, carpeted a couple 4x4 post stands for the cats (well, 8 of them) - having a pneumatic Crown-stapler sure makes that job fast and easy! Oh, it was 34° in the shade. But it's a dry heat...

Well, I put up one, sat down, read a bit, listened to the radio, got up, did another one item, sat down again for another 15-20 min break, and so on. This way, I avoid bad breakthroughs by not antagonizing the nerves. Up since 0300,. still up at 1900.

Gonna sleep good tonight. I hope you all do too! Think about your life, your beliefs and your attitudes. I only have one question for you.

Who tells you what to do, to believe and who or what to worship?
Are you okay with that?
Do you want more control over your life?

Then check out Panthiesm. Otherwise.

Why do you let them tell YOU what you want, and not YOU deciding what to believe.
Oxymoronic?
Perhaps, but if you allow others to control your emotions, wishes and intentions, you have only yourself to blame - Unless you are a Child.

No child should ever be indoctrinated into ANY organized religion until at least 18, when they become an adult, then they can decide who and what to believe.
Scouts, Beavers, Girl Guides, Summer Camps, Road trips.

All great for children growing up and learning about the world around them, and every child should have the opportunity to be a member of these groups - socializing, learning survival skills, home skills, and interpersonal skills...that will support them throughout their entire lives with practical knowledge.

Until then - hands off!!! Let them grow up pure, unadulterated, and intelligent!!!

And the world will be a happier place!

Peace!

Alter Funker
[Edwin]

Getting the Mobility Scooter ready for summer!

 

Nerd Post - just some electrical crap. This is mostly venting - please ignore if busy.

I am (going to be trying to...) ignoring Politics this weekend. Actually sleeping better!!!

=============

Well, it was finally nice enough outside, and I was pain-free enough to take my Bigfoot out onto the back patio, dismount the Roof Frame, then the Seat and then the battery cover so that I could now run the 8 wires I need to connect the two batteries to the battery meters now mounted on/in my Front Trunk (Frunk).

I mounted the meters close to the Control Pedestal so that I cannot easily see the readings unless I lean a bit forward - not a hard endeavour, but this will remove the constant need to glance at the meters when I should be watching out for potential pedestrian targets!

So, the battery connections are made to the battery posts and the Shunts off of the Negative Post of both batteries, and I have enclosed the wires in that funny plastic tubing with a slit all along the length, zip-tied to appropriate locations between the batteries and up the middle of the bottom frame to the Control Pedestal.

Then it goes just up to the rubber collar of the pedestal that allows the pedestal to bend.. I have only run the wires up the back of the Frunk and into a hole (caused by, uhhhh, misadventure?) in the back of the Frunk under the mounting bolts to the pedestal, but will have to properly cover the exposed wires with that black tubing again, then carefully clip the ends for the connections to the meter (4 each!), and I have colour-labeled them so that they go into the correct slot on the meter.

#1 Red - Positive
#2 Black - Negative
#3 Green - Pre-Shunt
#4 White - Post-Shunt.

Or so I keep telling myself. We'll see what happens we go to connect them to the meters. Hopefully no "psssffffffftt!". That happened once when I hooked up the cigarette lighter outlet in reverse of a USB adapter, and, yes, you guessed it - "psssffffftt!". And the wires burned out under the scooter! Lots of power in those batteries!

The amount of information these meters will give me will be amazing - as I will be better able to gauge the health of the batteries simply by looking at the [Full vs [Empty], [amount of charge utilized], [amount recharged], [max Amp draw], [average Amp draw] and a bunch of other small metrics that the book says I can use to better understand what the battery is doing.

I like that it can see how much the batteries are taking in on a charge, (I'm not sure if it can tell me how long it takes, that would be nice), but the meters do not turn on until there is a power draw from the Black/Red terminals, otherwise, it does not use any power.

Pretty Smart. Eh?

==================

And now - back to designing, ordering and building my new 280Ah, 12V LiIonPo batteries to fit a class 24 battery box (x 2). Good thing about Lithium batteries is that orientation is not an issue, so I can utilize the space better as there is still room lengthwise (about 2.2cm) and height - probably add 1.5 to 2" extra. and it may not.

One of my dealers is having a sale on Class A 320Ah prismatic Batteries, so I asked for a quote for 8 and then 16. Each of 230Ah and 320Ah ones.

The more of the 3.2V batteries I can jam into that space allotted for each Class 24 battery, the longer range I will have - in all seasons! I'm hoping I can shoehorn in an 2P4S battery (8 cells, 3.2v each, 230Ah each.). Basically, it'll be like 2 x 12v batteries in the same case, with a common connector between one of the + and - terminals to the second set of 4 to rev up the Amp power to 460Ah!!! Still will be 12v, but the Amperage will double because...well, it does.

Why? Because it will extend the life of the batteries as each trip locally will barely draw a lot of wattage during my scoots around here, therefore will fill up quickly.

When they state the battery is good for 10,000 charges, they are referring to 10,000 FULL charges, so the less you use, the longer the batteries last.

That's my logic until some electrical engineer dissuades me of this thought process.

BUT, I have to build TWO of these mega batteries - one for each side. The Controller on the scooter is a Rhino 4, so it can take quite a bit of Amperage, but I believe it's software limited (and fuses too!) to about 100Ah, max 150Ah? I know the 12v batteries each have a 70Ah inline fuse, so that gives a total of 140Amps of fusing(?) I'll have to keep the 70Amp fuses even with the new batteries because there is no way I'll ever need more power than I already draw - enough to power the 1,800 Watt scooter (That's like 2.3 HP!) And drawing 100Amps for any length of time can cause overheating of the motor/transaxle.

I'm actually waiting for my Alibaba guy/gal to get back to me on a price for 3.2v, 230/280Ah batteries. 4 of them make one scooter battery - 8 if I want to double my Amperage.

Therefore, I will need 16 batteries, a two Battery Management System (on a chip - aka BMS's) for charge/discharge and power flow management. Overheat/cold cut-off are common on these as well. For $$$, one can also get a Bluetooth BMS so you can use your cell phone to catch battery status' like my meters at the top of this post.

Here is one of my AliBaba possibilities, but I'm doing some diligence on the company as I do not know all the players. These are 300Ah batteries, and I think the price is too good to be true, so I checking it out. The price range is about $30 each, and is actually a helluva deal than buying locally - HINT - most of the locally procured batteries are also from China - no one else really makes these, I guess.

This is an example of the offerings on AliBaba (NOT Express!) that I'm looking at for my battery project. This one is showing $28 each for the 50Ah ones, I think. The 100Ah ones were around $40 each. The 230*400Ah ones were for between $50 and $90 each, depending on the manufacturer/seller.

Just gotta find the "sweet spot".

I'm not sure I will build a box - or just aggressively use duct Tape/gun Tape and perhaps some pieces of plastic duo-tangs as sides and in between the batteries, etc. I've also sewn an insulated bag the batteries can sit in, then mount inside the frame for winter use. I don't think I will buy a BMS heater as I have 2 perfectly good 60watt Canadian Tire Battery Blankets that I can also stick inside the insulated battery bag.

Okay - I got a line on 8 x 100Ah Prismatic Grade A batteries for a price of around $250Cdn. They may supply the studs, connectors and so on for setting the batteries up, but I will need to by 2 x BMS's so they can charge properly. Waiting for prices on offer as well.

 At -20, the heated bag should be somewhere around 0°C if not warmer, and the batteries most likely warmer. I do have battery temp gauges already mounted to the battery cover just behind and aside of one's heels as they sit on the seat - so I can monitor battery temps (at the top) during the winter.

Geeze, I should look at building 2 more batteries and just haul them around in my trailer - 8x or even 16x the range LOL. I literally could drive to Sherwood Park and back without fear (round trip on Trans-Canada trail is about 30km), so I could actually go to Costco without driving a vehicle LOL.

We'll see.

Anyhoo, y'all have a good week now, y'hear!

Peace.