Of Fakes and Facts

On Friday, Google rolled out a fact-checking feature.  It sent me on a journey to find out about fake news.  The fact-checking feature pops up over hotly debated topics that appear in search results.  The example I used was the headline of the Woman Arrested for Training Squirrels to Attack Her Ex-Boyfriend.  The feature shows the headline, then the site that did the checking - snopes, and indicates if it is true or false.  This one was false.  It is an hilarious story, though. So I read a few articles, and find that this is a complicated and difficult one.  The best was the insightful article in the Harvard Business Review The U.S. Media's Problems are Much Bigger than Fake News and Filter Bubbles" Here is the conclusion of the article: "Which leads to my conclusion: Even if we could somehow push “reset,” we would have to expect the same sort of coverage that we got. The problems are too deep and structural for anything else. What’s the way forward? There are no easy answers to the question. This analysis mainly points to solutions that won’t work. Voluntary efforts at restraint by well-meaning journalists won’t work, because of advertising-based business models and competition. Eliminating fake news won’t change the fact that voters ignore ideas contrary to their beliefs. And it won’t solve the media’s structural challenges or change its incentives. Media companies, their regulators, and their customers — all of us — have to look for ways to confront these challenges. The stakes could not be higher." Our pictures today show the waterfront at Burlington with the view towards Toronto and then towards Niagara, showing the Burlington Bridge. I was there yesterday for a photography seminar.

How Many Welland Canals?

How many Welland Canals are there?  These pictures show the Port Dalhousie entrance - part of the remains of the third Welland Canal which was built in the latter 1800's.  I am familiar with the fourth Welland Canal as we lived on Scott Street at the canal and it was part of our daily lives. As one drove down Scott Street, one could see the ships tied up waiting for their turn in the locks. The fourth canal was completed in 1933. So there was a first, second, third, fourth and feeder canal.  There are some remains, like this entrance, to these canals.   "A history of the Old Welland Canals would not be complete without addressing the current legacy of the First, Second and Third Welland Canals and the Feeder Canal. You may be wondering what happened to them and how much of them are left? The answer to these questions may surprise you. Although obsolete and no longer in use the majority of the canal infrastructure was left alone." To find out the answer, go to this site: http://oldwellandcanals.wikidot.com/history

Burlington Skyway - Dreaming of a View

I took this picture of the Stelco view from the Burlington Skyway from the bus while commuting a few winters ago. It is a different story this weekend.  A dump truck with its truck bed raised hit the bridge last week on the Toronto-bound side.  There were workers on the scaffolding so it could have been a tragic event.  The truck was massive and the impact significant so the bridge will be closed all weekend.  It is currently being assessed for structural damage.  

It is a holiday weekend here in Ontario.  There aren't that many easy alternatives to getting around that corner of Lake Ontario.  It is one of the major routes to the US border crossings at Queenston, Niagara Falls and Buffalo.  Here's the CBC coverage of the traffic routes around the Lake for those of you in distant places.  Grimsby is the next stop after Stoney Creek.