6 ~ Wednesday, June 12, 1985 - North Shore News

Editorial Page

News Viewpoint

Market laws

n rejecting the proposed retail develop-
| of the Park & Tiiford site, which

could restore the popular Gardens for the
enjoyment of thousands of residents and
-tourists, City council may be exceeding its
mandate.

The development would create a garden-
type shopping centre (including food and
department stores, boutiques and a theatre)
behind the Gardens themselves -- which
would then be maintained and kept open
year round free of charge. But the property,
now zoned industrial, would first have to be
rezoned commercial.

The City’s formal argument against rezon-
ing is an alleged shortage of industrial land.
This, despite the absence of any industrial
bidders since P&T announced the closure of
its plant over a year ago; and also despite the
fact that the shopping centre would generate
appreciably more jobs and tax revenue than
industry, Rut this, it seems, is not the whole
story.

There are indications that some council
members are primarily worried about the
impact of competition from yet another at-
tractive retuil complex on the City’s
numerous commercial: developments already
in hand -- the Capilanop Mall expansion, the
nearby Wosk building and Capilano Village
Market projects, Lonsdale Quay and a
revitalized Lower Lonsdale.

If that’s the REAL reason for council’s
stand, it should think again. In a free enter-
prise society competition should be regulated
only by market forces. It’s not for councils
to kill business initiative, let alone forfeit
jobs and tax dollars, merely in an effort to
revamp the laws of the marketplace.

An $8 question

f inflation continues at about 3 per cent,

the partial de-indexing of the old age pen-

sion will cost seniors about $8 a month in
lost spending power and save the government
about $250 million a year. That’s roughly 22
per cent of ‘the total payroll for federal
employces, which leads to a tempting thought:
would we ever miss one in 40 bureacurats
nearly as much as seniors living on the poverty
jine will miss that ali-important eight bucks?

,

pe

‘north shore:

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Chris Johnson
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Terry Peters

news.

7 WHONESDAY “ PRMDAY

Advertising Director - Sales
Dave Jenneson
Advertising Director - Admin.
Mike Goodsell
Editor-in-Chief
Noel Wright
Classified Manager
Vai Stephenson

North Shore Nevrs, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban
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© 1985 North Shore Free Press Ltd, All rights reserved.

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No responsibility accepled tor unsolicited maternal including
Manusctipts and pictures which should be accompanied by a stamped.
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Member of the B.C. Press Council

a 55,770 (average, Wednesday
SDA DIVISION Friday & Sunday)

THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE

V0 SAYS WHERE. NOT SORTING.
“WELL WATT TL HE TRIES To

Straight talk meeded for
happy marriage to a PC

March. For a time [| wondered whether it was

| MARRIEP A PERSONAL COMPUTER last

for better ur worse.

Many others, including
colleagues Hunter and Col-
lins, have written movingly
of the agony and the ecstasy
of those first weeks wedded
to a PC (as they’re called in
the trade). Buying one isn’t
just a purchase. It’s a life
experience closely akin to
matrimony.

The main difference being
that the honeymoon is sheer
hell. But I’ve discovered the

reason and it doesn’t have to
be that way.
When the urge finally

conquered me, 1 thought I
was quite familiar with
word-processing computers.
We write our stories on them
daily at the News where
they have big, friendly 14-
inch TV faces and, as fong
as you press the mysteriously
labelled keys the way you’ve
been taught, behave very
nicely. Like the girl next
door you went to school
with but would never dream
of marrying.

But with spring in the air I
yearned to have one share
my home life. For some
time, at the local Radio
Shack, !'d been eyeing a cute

litde portable’ number that
would sit on my lap. She
looked like a' meaningful
relationship.

For a fous-figure fee the
store manager conducted the
brief wedding ceremony and
I staggered home with two
Jarge boxes, the other con-
taining her printer. As I
fingered her and feasted my
eyes on her, she seemed to
promise everything ! ever
wanted in an_ electronic
mate.

There remained the little

matter of persuading her to ,
function, for which purpose ;
the manufacturers supplied a:

manual slightly bigger than
the computer itself. Written
for honor graduates from. a
three-year programming
course.

It told me what to do all
tight. The trouble was it
didn’t offer a clue about the
meaning of the words. What
was a byte? Or a buffer?
How did ! run, load, save,
define? Would | know an in-
terface if I met one? Let
alone a baud?

Back to the store with my
tale of woe. ‘*To make the

LETTER.OF THE DAY

NEWS insuited sport fans

Dear Editor:
Your smug editorial ‘War
Games’’ June Sth, 1985

cannot go unanswered.

Blaming the Belgium soc-
cer tragedy on long ago wars
between Europe and Great
Britain is ridiculous. Your
Statement regarding the
game of golf and tennis is
also true for the many soccer

fans in Europe and Great
Britain, who have for years
maintained a genuine inter-
est in the game of soccer and
abhor alf the violence that
has become so prevalent in
the last few years.

You are insulting these
genuine fans in your ig-
norance of the fact that soc-
cer is the No. 1 game in
Europe and Great Britain

y .
Noel Wright
Pe

printer work the way you

want,’’ they explained pa-
tiently, ‘‘you need the Scrip-
sit software, It’s $49.95.
And a cassette recorder to
load it. On sale today for
only $59.95.""

! returned home with a
third box, wondering why |
‘lidn’t need to know all this
at the News. After four

and has been enjoyed for
many many years without
violence up until recently;
and you don’t honestly ex-
pect us to believe that the
North American games of
hockey, baseball and foot-
ball are without any vio-
lence, and that there are no
hard feelings, for whatever
reason, between the U.S.
and Canada when their

perspiring hours the printer
smartened up

Then I lost half my bytes
and couldn’t find them
anywhere. Back again to the
store. They told me how to
clear the buffer memory.
They actually told me (I
think) what the buffer was.
‘Shortly afterwards came.
that dreadful evening when
everything seized up and my
new fove refused to speak to
me at all. A phone call to the
store next morning brought

a slightly curt tip to read

about the SHIFT-PAUSE-
BREAK keys.: At length I
cajoled PC out of her sulks,

Slowly the marriage began
to settle down as we got to
know each other a little bet-
ter every day. Visits to the
store for counselling therapy
were reduced to about once
a week. So far this month I
haven't been at all.

But oh, the grief we both
could have been saved if on-
ly computer book writers
were taught English. Once I
get to the end of my own
manual in mid-1986, | plan
to rewrite it. With some
straight talk for idiots. I’m
superbly qualified.

It could earn me-a bundle.
And PC says she’fl be with
me all the way! .

teams play these games.

If the media dwelt more
on the positive attitudes of
the genuine fans instead of
the violence of the negative
thugs, who are still in’ the
minority, perhaps it would
zo a long way to helping
solve the problem of vio-
lence in sport.

Angela Beer
West Vancouver