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Pager 905-877-2320 * RESTAURANT * RESIDENTIAL * OFFICE SPACE CALL TODAY FOR A FREE ESTIMATE NEW CARPET CLEANING FIRE & WATER DAMAGE AIR DUCTS HARD SURFACES MONEY BACK GUARANTEE Perfect for Ceramic Floors - cleans even ground in dirt in the Grout. Introduces A SUPERIOR CLEAN For Your TILE GROUT Surfaces! NOW AVAILABLE IN HALTON HILLS Book Your Tour Today! To start on your path to a successful CAREER call today for April classes 905.453.6214 1.866.993.2831 49 George Street S. (at Queen) Brampton, ON, L6Y 1P4 Visit us at www.mellenniainstitute.com Registered Private Career College Members of the Ontario and National Association of Career Colleges Advanced Aesthetics Aesthetics Electrolysis Business & Spa Operations Post Graduate Medical Aesthetics Laser Hair Removal Vascular Treatment Non-surgical face lifts Micro-dermabrasion Chemical Peels Waxing Manicure/Pedicure Skin Care Make-up Body & Spa Treatments Laser Hair Removal Advanced Skin Renewal Treatments Choose from diplomas and certifi cates in: Institute of Aesthetics Inc. ENHANCING CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Now Offering Acton/Georgetown, Friday, February 15, 2008 7 Every few years, I like to attend the Farm Show just to keep up with whats what in the technical side of the world of agriculture. I find that way I can actually carry on a semi-intelligent conversation with the big boys who actually play in that arena. Im an equipment junkie, a trait I inherited from my dad. He loved working with good farm equipment, and I find have his genes in that area, carrying on that Brown family tradi- tion. Mind you, attending the show is simply a spectator sport for me. The costs of owning and operating those elaborate tractors or equip- ment (many in the six-figure-plus price range) are beyond the upper echelons of the reality of my financial world. But I tell ya, I can still look. And dream. Unlike shows I attended as a kid, todays are more technical. That suits me fine, as the little guys (like me) can oogle the new techy stuff that was once reserved only for the big boys. One item that caught my eye was the after- market GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) units. When introduced years ago, GPS units for farm equipment were only a dream for those farming on a small scale. They simply werent available in the smaller lines of equip- ment. But just as GPS units are becoming more common in vehicles on the road today, the same technology is out there for small farm tractors. A bolt-on aftermarket unit costs about $1,500, giving a 30-year-old tractor the same ability to sort of see in the dark, or measure an odd-shaped field, just like todays high-priced modern counterparts. One night this week, I was struck with how valuable a GPS could be. It was dark and storming as I fired up the tractor to clear the lane so The Sidekick could get home. Even with the quartz halogen lights on the tractor searing into the clouds of snow, it was difficult to see as I headed out to open up the lane. The snow circled the tractor in whiteout conditions and I had no idea where I was on the driveway. More than once, I had to stop the tractor to stick my head out the window to get my bearings. The last thing I wanted to do was blindly pull out of the laneway onto the road in front of an oncoming car. At that moment, it occurred to me how a GPS could guide me in the dark of the night, swirling snow or not, right through the nar- rowest part of the lane (and not drive off the edge), or out to the road, telling me exactly where I was driving, by means of a small light- ed display inside the tractor cab. When they first became available a few years ago, many farmers equipped their huge tractors and combines with a GPS unit to calculate field acreages and check crop yields. Today, they do even more. An operator can mark a stone jutting out of a field with the unit, and then the following year the GPS will steer the tractor around it so it doesnt hit it. Another cool thing they can guide the tractor to make an absolutely perfectly straight pass down the field. Recently, theyve developed another use for the GPS spraying weeds or insects in the fields at night. The unit simply knows where to drive the tractor so it matches perfectly with the last pass, and the operator doesnt even need to see where hes driving. And there is less wind at night, so the spray doesnt drift as much either. Seriously, I dont see myself coughing up $1,500 to mount one on my old tractor, but as time goes on, prices will drop, so who knows? But most importantly, every time I head out to do battle with Old Man Winter on a stormy night, I get to dream a little. You see, with a GPS mounted on the old tractor, Id be certain of one thing: Id have the straightest damn driveway on the entire con- cession. (Ted Brown can be reached at tbrown@independentfreepress.com) Seeing in the dark sort of Ted Brown