We'll start with my thumb, Mr. Harper. I made this face the first time I ... Never mind.

One thing that I've noticed this time is that there appear to be fewer signs on private property. There aren't a load of the big signs, either.

Nuts. Sounds like I missed a good night out. Next time for sure.

Harvey, I'm horrified that we're only finding out now that these were profitable farm operations! What kind of idiot shuts that down? I guess they're in the way of the coming superprisons, but the national media really missed the boat on this. Huge.

The image of people camping out overnight and having their tickets bought up from under them by somebody sitting at home is obscene to say the least. At reasonable limit on in-person purchases and a two-hour (heck, even one-hour!) embargo on online sales would go a long way to making things fair and not affecting the promoter's bottom line one bit.

There's also no reason why some cop couldn't periodically troll the sales and hammer the scalpers as they pop up. It IS illegal, after all.

I'm with flying monkey on 'something else'. We have quite enough corporate purveyors of clap-trap. We need more local, independent, clap-trap. Lee Valley, perhaps.

I can't ever see IKEA opening here for the simple reason that they don't need to. Why spend millions building, outfitting and staffing a new store here when we have four within easy driving distance?

I think the stated argument for closing the farm betray a bias in the government ranks. Working the farm is seen in some quarters as a "holiday" for the inmates. They're not in a cell, so they're not being punished. To hell with rehabilitation, prisons are about punishment and retribution.

Of course, that also ignores the fact that the very existence of the farms contribute to a certain amount of better behaviour: you have to be a model prisoner to be transferred to the farm. If the farm is shut down, then what?

Now, more than ever, we need people willing to work the land. Factory agriculture is only good for the corporation. If the government is truly concerned about budget, there are a lot of things they can do. Starting with running the farm like one in the real world: brand new equipment every few years just doesn't happen on a real farm. Along with working the crops, the guys will have to be able patch together equipment that they'll run into out in the world. They can save a ton and make the skills learned there even more relevant.

Of course, they won't be able to open a super-prison here if the farm stays.