Best not unnecessarily spook Halloween humbug

Musk’s gambit unlikely to end well

Elon Musk is that rarest of things, a benign sociopath, and therefore a person of considerable value to the world. He has just made a mistake that could ruin his long-term plan, for his purchase of Twitter is almost bound to end in tears. The sharks are always circling the very rich and highly geared, and I find myself worrying about him.

Educational drone survey of canopy targets sick trees

Drones could help save Winnipeg’s elm trees from being tagged with a fatal orange mark, owing to the work of experienced pilots and their student assistants.

Throughout the 2021-22 school year, Volatus Aerospace Corp., a so-called “drone solution company,” has recruited high school students to take part in a research project that aims to streamline canopy surveillance in Winnipeg.

City employees typically survey trees for Dutch elm disease either on foot or by driving past them. It’s a laborious process — and by the time a human eye can spot wilting, curling or yellowing leaves, it may be too late to reverse the damage caused by the fungal infection.

In partnership with the City of Winnipeg, University of Winnipeg and Seven Oaks School Division, Volatus is using drone technology to try and speed up the diagnosis process.

Brandonmeat packer thriving on its own

BRANDON — Canada Packers has strengthened its business and laid the foundation for future growth during its first year as an independent company, its president says.

The Brandon-based pork producer, separated from Maple Leaf Foods in October 2025, established its own leadership, strategy, systems, culture and identity while continuing operations across its hog production farms and regional hog barns in southern and eastern Manitoba.

The company’s first year was focused on building a successful standalone business while continuing to serve customers, communities and shareholders, president Dennis Organ said.

“Market conditions over the past year have been more challenging than we anticipated when we became a separate entity,” he said in an email. “Despite that, we continued to execute against our priorities, including increasing processing volumes, maintaining disciplined operations and strengthening the business.”

Broadening prediction-market gambling a bad idea

Let’s make a prediction: sooner or later, when Canadian governments find a way to take their own cut of the action, prediction-contract gambling on everything from sports to entertainment to political decisions is going to come to Canada.

And that’s a horrible, dangerous, pernicious idea.

Unless you have particular access to information — either inside information or strategic information based on skills or education — you’re not likely to make money at it. In fact, structurally, you’re likely to lose. In prediction markets, you basically pay an amount, plus fees from the company involved, to bet on whether something will or will not happen within a certain time frame. The amount you pay for your contract depends on how other people are also betting.

As Wealthsimple describes it, “You buy whichever side you think is right. Prices move with demand, so if the market leans towards one outcome, the more that side costs. If a lot of people are backing the TSX to finish above 38,000, yes gets more expensive and no gets cheaper.”

Province has provided $20M in flood relief so far, infrastructure minister says

The province has sent out $20 million in relief to Manitobans and municipalities affected by severe flooding in several communities in June and July, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor told MLAs Thursday.

Naylor said the government received more than 2,400 applications for financial assistance from residents and businesses, plus applications from 64 local authorities.

Provincial staff have so far processed more than 2,000 applications, she said.

Manitoba offered financial assistance after many homes and businesses were inundated, swathes of farm land were submerged and municipal roads and provincial highways were washed out by overland flooding from western Manitoba to the Interlake.

Bigger story: Jets’ playoff run or Bombers’ Cup victory?

Steve Lyons: Hello there. How’s it going? Hope you are staying warm. Guess winter is here now. Man, it’s been nice so far — especially, the lack of snow. Thought we were in for a long one after that dump of white stuff in October. I bought a new shovel on the weekend just in case. I’m sure it will show up at some point. Yes, I’ve been doing my own shoveling.

So, lots going on since we last chatted. Like the whole world changing with the Bombers winning the Grey Cup! More on that in a bit…

The Jets won AGAIN on Tuesday night, beating the Red Wings. The team is now 19-10-1-1, good for 40 points. As we chat on Wednesday morning, they are just two points behind the Blues, who hold down top spot in the Central. Heady stuff. They certainly look like they are going to make me eat my words about not making the playoffs.. I think.. maybe.. haha

One caution: Since Nov. 1, the Jets have won 13 games, but only four of those victories have been against current playoff teams — Vegas, Florida, and the Dallas Stars twice. They’ve certainly made hay in this soft spot in their schedule, but it will be interesting to see how they fare once they start playing the Caps, Bruins, Isles, Blues and Avs of the world. The one game they had against a top tier team in November, they got whacked 4-0 at home by Colorado.