The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6- The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 22, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5567 Classified Advertising: 845-3824, ext. 224 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary NEIL OLIVER Publisher DAVE HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution ALEXANDRIA ANCOR Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver is a division of Guest Columnist Energy conservation tips Peter Love Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer To everyone who answered my call to use less electricity in 2007, thank you. We reduced our electricity use significantly, and to get the specific details on our progress, please see my 2007 Annual Report, Taking Peter Love Action, at www.conservationbureau.on.ca. But there's much more we can do to reach our provincial goal of saving an additional 1,350 megawatts by 2010, so here's some ways to do so. Here are 10 easy tips to get you started: · Turn off the lights in an empty room. Replace the old, incandescent bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs whenever possible; they use 75 percent less electricity and last much longer than incandescent styles. Consider solar powered lights, timers or motion sensor equipped light fixtures for outdoor security. · Use a power bar with a timer to automatically shut off electric appliances that are not being used, and purchase Energy Star appliances - their savings add up. · Dispose of the old "energy hog" fridge in the basement which is wasting both space and energy. The fridge you bought in 1975 costs about four times as much to run as a new Energy Star model. Is the temperature of your refrigerator and your freezer set for only as cold as you need? Defrost your manualdefrost freezer regularly to ensure it operates at maximum efficiency. · Have your home assessed by an energy audit expert. Homeowners interested in making energy efficient changes to their home may be eligible for provincial and federal retrofit grants. To find a local energy auditor go to www.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/new-home-improvement. Weather stripping and caulking around windows, ducts and doors can cut your heating bill by 10 per cent. · Defend the purchase of that stylish new sweater by using it as a reason to keep your thermostat set lower in the winter. For every degree you lower the heat, you'll save up to 5 per cent on your heating cost. Programmable thermostats will automatically lower the heat of your home when you are not there and warm it prior to your return. · A dirty furnace filter reduces air flow and makes your furnace work harder; clean filters can save up to five percent of energy use. Clogged lint traps on clothes dryer also waste energy by reducing the efficiency of the unit. Use special tape to seal leaky heating ducts and keep heat going to where it is needed. · Take a quick shower instead of a bath; a typical bath uses about 75 litres of hot water, while a five-minute shower with a low flow showerhead you will use about half that amount. · Wrap your electric water heater and reduce energy use by 8-10 per cent with an easy to install "tank insulating blanket," available at hardware and building supply stores. Foam sleeves that cover and insulate the heated water pipes exiting you water heater are very easy to install. · Wash your clothes in cold or warm water. Did you know that 85-90 per cent of the energy used by washing machines is used to heat the water? If you are buying a new clothes washer, check out front-loading models, which cost a little more but use about half the water of conventional washing machines. When the weather is right, use an outdoor clothesline to dry laundry. Clothes dryers account for about 6 per cent of household energy use in Ontario. · Use energy-saving small appliances, like an electric kettle, toaster oven, or microwave whenever possible. Run your dishwasher only when you have a full load, and use the energy-saving cycle. IAN OLIVER Group Publisher Media Group Ltd. Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION When even Charlie Brown has a better Christmas tree R emember when you were a kid and every day counting down to Christmas seemed like a thousand hours? Remember how those hours were agonizing and how the wait was unbearable? Well, right about now ­ as we careen chaotically toward Christmas ­ I pine for the slow-motion days of my youth, and I can't help but think that if even one of the few days that is left leading up to the big day contained a thousand hours, then I might just have enough time to complete everything on my Christmas To Do List. The crunch is on. And I admit to being a bit stressed. Just this morning I awoke at 4:45 with that aforementioned (and seemingly ever-growing instead of ever-shrinking) To Do List running through my head like a reindeer on Red Bull. Help! It seems like only yesterday that I peacefully awoke to the thought that December was dawning and I had a whole month to leisurely prepare for Christmas. Alas, December has been but a blur. Our social calendar has been crammed --- a month brimming with social obligations and a few social treats. Many of these commitments were Christmas related (I came, I caroled, I egg-nogged, I exited). Some, like my wife's company party at a wonderful restaurant in Toronto, were loads of fun (great food and conversation and a chance to catch up with people I hadn't seen since, well, last year's party); others, ah, not so much. I think everyone has a list -- actually written out or otherwise -- of things they want to do before they croak. One thing on Andy Juniper my list was to see Steve Nash play basketball because I love basketball and Steve Nash is a god. Well, as part of the packed December, I took our sons to the ACC to catch Nash and the high-flying Phoenix Suns. The game was a stinker, with Phoenix trouncing Toronto, but to see Steve was sublime. All in all, the social activities have added up to a generous lack of sleep and a liberal lack of time to get done what needs to be done. Now, I know you're probably thinking that I'm exaggerating, as is my habit, but consider this: as I write, there are but five days left until Christmas and our family room, while festively decorated -- the stockings have indeed been hung by the chimney with great care -- is lacking the one thing essential for a true Merry Christmas. That is, a Christmas Tree. It's true, we are Treeless, without Tree. There, I've admitted it, laid my shame out on the page for all to see. We meant to buy our tree in early December, as we have each year since the beginning of time. But, have I mentioned we've been busy? No sweat, we thought, we knew that we had a partially free day last Sunday wherein we'd buy the tree before we were expected at an afternoon party, and then we'd put it up and decorate it that night following the party. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men. Trouble was, 80 feet of snow fell on our plans. Snowed us in, kept us cooped up indoors and forced us to sip hot chocolate, read books, watch NFL football, and play Monopoly all day. So, what are we going to do? I suggested we go treeless, but I got yelled at; heck I even played the Environment Card, but still got yelled at. So, I guess we're going to have to get a tree. But when? My wife has consulted her day-timer, I've checked mine and, unless something comes up, it looks like we've found a date where we're both free: Jan. 4. Happy Holidays, dear readers. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajuniper@strangledeggs.com.