The Squamidian Report – Nov. 15 / 03
Also in this issue:
A Note from Karin
North Nova News
The Ontarion
Hi All,
I don’t get much chance this time of year to take Yogi to the river during daylight. However, on Tuesday I knocked off work an hour early. The Chum salmon are spawning now, as evident by the dead ones lining the riverbank. These fish are huge. Anyway, I decided to walk up onto the nearby bridge so I could look down into the water and get a better view. Picture a school of fish stretching 20 feet wide by about 2 city blocks long along one side of the river. Now picture another school just as big along the other bank. Now look up stream and see the same thing.
The deck project is basically finished. It’s not really a deck so much as a very wide stairway. Sure dragged on a long time, mostly because we had some wet weather and I’m a slow builder. Besides, there are other things that need to be done on the weekends. I guess I’ll have to create a walkway leading from the bottom step over to the sidewalk on the other side of the back yard but that can wait till next spring, I hope.
In a show of sympathy for the rest of the country, I’ve had the snow/ice tires put onto the car and van. We don’t get much snow here (unless you look way up at the high country) but we do get black ice. Those tires designed to grip ice are great, it’s the only way to go. The only drawback is that they are very soft giving the sensation that you are driving on marshmallows rather than rubber. Takes a bit to get used to.
*
One of the problems with getting older is that you start to fall apart, literally. I’ve got enough crowns on my teeth to start my own royalty line. And these things are not cheap to have installed. One evening this week one of them just jumped right out of my head. Fifteen hundred dollars worth of dentistry sitting on the floor in front of me. At least it was a back tooth, not another front one. Oh well.
*
Greg solved his computer problems by the rather drastic but very effective means of re-formatting his hard drive and loading a fresh O/S and software. Windows O/S’s tend to gather all sorts of useless files and code bits as well as conflicting drivers etc. All the housekeeping in the world will not keep a system running at 100%. A clean software install puts things back to a brand new state. It’s easy to do and well worth the effort. As long as you have good data backups and copies of all your programs it makes for an enjoyable evening.
There is lots of great reading below so I will cut myself off here and turn it over to the other columns. Enjoy.
****
Hi Doug, (everyone)
I thought I would forward Jennifer's first
email from Berlin. You may want to include it in your weekly report. I don't
know if all your readers will find it newsworthy, but I know the people who
know her will. Jennifer left for her journey on November 11th, and will return
to Australia on Jan.27. Summer is here at last (in Aussiland). I love the 32
degree weather. But that's only because I have good airconditioning in my
studio. (and the house). You really need it here in summer. I am now heading
out to view some garagesales - the early bird gets the good stuff. I am
specifically looking for a fish-tank for Jennifer's two gold fish. I feel sorry
for them in the small tank they are in now. I hope I don't have the same bad
luck as Greg.
Have a great weekend!
PS. a belated happy birthday to Jackie - I'm not sure what number you are celebrating, but I remembered your birthday. How could I forget it - it's on Rememberence Day...
Hi everyone,
how goes it? Ingmar's just gone to uni and I figure it's about time I write
something to y'all down under.
So, the flight
was ok, a little long for my taste, but hey, I'm here now, and all I have to do
is look forward to the trip back *whee*. The flight with Singapore was quite pleasant, actually, the
food was pretty good for airline food
:} and the seating was pretty ok too. I was sitting pretty much at the tail of
the plane on the left window, so got to admire all the pretty lights and the
scenery until Singapore -which really was something awesome. All these little
blue lights around the islands and the ships. Like something from space or
those luminescent critters one finds in the deepest parts of the ocean. I
didn't much like Singapore -it was FAR too hot and damp for my liking. the
whole trip was rather too warm for my liking (me usually being the one that
prefers the cold -but you all know that ;}) though they had a fabulous orchid
display that I'm wishing I would have taken pictures of. ah well, maybe it'll
still be there on my way back. The
flight from Singapore to Frankfurt was a little bit. er. cramped, to say it
nicely... I had an isle seat, which was ok in a way, as it meant I could
relieve myself without jumping over someone (which was
the case with the two women sitting
next to me). I think I slept about 5 hours on the whole trip, which was enough
to get me through the day, but it started me off right, as I got into Germany
just as the sun was rising (I'll upload all the pics as soon as I edit them).
All I remember
from Frankfurt airport was confusion... the travellers looked confused as well
as being tired -it was 5am-, I had about three people talking to me asking if
they were in the right place. I was confused (my flight was marked "Gate
F" (while the gates were A-E -I'm just glad I didn't have the one marked
"T") Even the fellow I asked at one of the counters looked confused
when I asked him if I was in the right place. So I ended up ignoring most of
the directions there and ended up finding my way. Explain that...
Back up in the
air (on a MUCH comfier plane -airbus) the sun was rising red above the clouds
and one had a decent view of the countryside below, through a haze which gave
one the impression of looking at Atlantis through water. There was a lot of
woodland and a few mountains poking up through the clouds. Buildings peppered
the landscape. I was glued to the window most of that trip... it was very
pleasant and warm up in the sunshine. A few small planes passed by below -it
never occurred to me that I'd never seen another plane while up in the air
myself.
Anyway, my
first indication that we were approaching Berlin was the Fernsehturm standing
out through the haze which obscured the rest of the city from distant view.
Upon our approach, the city unfolded and I know it sounds kinda crazy, but my
first impression was that I was looking at a mainboard, because there aren't
that many high buildings here... er... skyscrapers, like in Melbourne, but most
buildings are about 5 levels and all joined together. Getting into the airport
was very quick and easy. All I really had to do was pick up my bag and walk
through the hallway past two security guards who looked at my passport to the
public area. That was about it. Met the boys (Ingmar and his flatmate Martin)
then we took the bus back to their place. It was so overwhelming, all of these
sights and sounds around me. New and different things. What a mind trip.
As for the
cold... I was still trying to get rid of the uncomfortable hot feeling from the
trip, so the fresh 4 degrees was very, very welcome. Dropped my stuff off at
the flat and I think that's when I called Aus to let them know I'd gotten here
safe. Then came a walk around the block to show me the immediate area. So far I
have yet to find a newsagent or art store, -something that sells paper! But
there are a lot of bakeries and cafes and even veggie stalls/stores, different
kinds of food stores including Aldi, (Aldi is a German supermarket chain which
is now popping up all over Australia. They have their own brand quality
products at bargain prices, kind of like Cosco in Canada) which a lot of you
should now be familiar with down there :}
I'm also
surprised at just how cheap a lot of stuff is... most prices are below 1 ?
(euro-dollars) which is still about $1.60 AUD... think of being able to
get milk for that price... I really was expecting the prices to be a little
higher... ah well...
The other
thing I really like here is the light... we seem to be in a constant state of
low light, being so far north on the globe. Sure, the days are short (Ingmar
mentioned that they're bankrupt here, they can't afford more daylight hours)
but the light has me constantly
believing it's either about 10am or 4pm. It really highlights the colours of
the (remaining) leaves on the trees, which are still in the processes of
turning. It really reminds me of Home in Canada, though I haven't seen such a
wide range of yellows, oranges and reds here yet. They have a lot of birch
trees and oaks, and chestnut trees, so the nuts and seeds are strewn about
everywhere. We've yet to visit some of the forests though. I look forward to
that. I get quite tired by 7.30-8 and still wake up rather early. So much for
jetlag... :[
Anyway...
Yesterday (Thursday) we went with a friend of Ingmar's to a congregation (they
didn't want to call it a demonstration) in front of the Rathaus (town hall) to
"talk" about how annoyed they were about the government cutting
funding for education. After we left there, we went for a bit of a walk around
town, since we were pretty much in the middle of a heap of tourist attractions
(well, the whole city seems to be made of them, if you ask me) including the
fernsehturm (tv tower), the Neptune fountain sculpture and Berliner Dom
(Cathedral) to name a few things... we didn't actually go up the tower, but
there will be time for that soon enough. We also went down to the old
East and saw the East End Gallery, which is the last remaining section of the
Wall. It's called a gallery because it is covered in murals. I didn't take any
pics of it yet though. We're going to come back at a later date for a closer
look.
I also got a
taste of real German bretzeln and some other tasty delights, the names of which
I've forgotten... spitz-something and something-schnecke. I think. the first
was like a melt-in-the-mouth donut with icing on it and the second was
something made of very tasty crumbs.
So, we went
from the city to Ingmar's previous residence in the lovely village of
Schulzendorf. I have been particularly taken with the architecture here from
the classical buildings in the city to the cozy-looking proud houses out in the
'burbs. The quiet of the Fall season and the omnipresent haze into which most
of the streets disappeared mystified and spooked me.
Then it was
meet the parents time... We were there to celebrate Hardy's (Ingmar's dad)
birthday so we all went out to the local Macedonian joint for chow -I tell you,
the meat here is really as good as they say. :] . -And so is the schnapps :D
It was also the first instance I dared to use my stumbly German, and I'd
say overall the whole thing was quite fun. We didn't stay very long at the
Poeses'(her boyfriend's parents) place after dinner, so headed back into the
city. By this time I was actually really starting to feel cold (So far a rare
occurrence) so getting back and finding somewhere to sleep was a pleasant idea.
And that, thus far, is my trip.
Hope you´re
all doing well down there, i'll talk to you soon. enjoy your warm weather and
be excellent to one another (b&t ;}). tschuess!
Jen
the link for the pics should be:
http://www.jaztoons.iwarp.com/Berlin
check in a couple of days for the pics, i still have
to resize them....
****
North Nova News
Winter is all around us but so far in Pictou County we have avoided that dreaded white stuff. I hear Ontario is having an early snowstorm as we speak. I don’t really hate it that much it’s just that winter can be so long when it starts in November. We don’t get early springs here. Well at least my car is ready now with the studded tires on and my heater installed. This heater not only warms up the interior of the car about 15 minutes before you get in, it defrosts the windows too. All without starting the engine. Peter bought me one of these heaters about 12 years ago because I was bad for starting up the car to warm it up for 15 minutes and then only driving 5 minutes to work. After the workday was over I couldn’t start my car. I had it towed to the dealer complaining about my new car that was not reliable. After examining it they concluded it was flooded. That baffled me but apparently it had to do with the fuel injection. And now, 3 cars later I still use my trusty heater and haven’t had a problem since. It’s much better for the car and I’m warm and comfortable on my short journey to work.
Curling is in full swing now and what a great way to get through the winter. It looks like I’m curling 3 nights a week this year and that’s a big step for me. I might actually become a decent curler with all that practice! Monday nights in our club, have always since the beginning of time (3rd oldest curling club in Canada), been the “Men’s night” but all this is changing thanks to a bold friend of ours. She decided it was about time our club dropped that tradition and signed up for Monday night. Well it caused a bit of a stir but “the men” are coming around to the idea especially since they needed more participation on that evening. A call was made to each male Monday night curler and so far it has been accepted. So you guessed it I’m the other brave female to enter the “ice of men”. It should be interesting!!
Tonight is our Pictou Yacht Club end of the year banquet where we say good-bye to our sailor friends for the winter. Although, there is one race during the winter that gets lots of attention, we have for the past 4 years formed a team of sailors and entered into the New Year’s Day regatta held in Halifax Harbour at the Shearwater Yacht Club. Halifax Harbour, since it is so deep, almost never freezes. Last year the weather was actually warm for that time of year. Zane even joined us. The boats used in the race belong to the navy ships in the harbour and are borrowed by the Shearwater Yacht Club for this regatta. The 26-foot open boats with a yawl rig including a jib, mainsail and mizzen with two masts are the same style boat that British ships used since the time when Britannia ruled the waves and the same style boat Captain Blythe sailed 3000 miles across the Pacific after Fletcher Christian kicked him off the Bounty. We were lucky to have good mild weather with brisk winds so the race was only an hour long. If we had won our set it would have meant going out again. Once was enough of a thrill and we all received Polar Regatta t-shirts and certificates for our efforts.
I’m really enjoying this every second Saturday off schedule. More time for play! After spending more than 30 years as a hairstylist working weekends I decided to try living like other people and having real weekends instead of Monday and Tuesday off. I guess I thought the world would fall apart if I tried it before. To my surprise everyone has adjusted nicely. Now I am looking forward to a three-day week somewhere down the road closer to retirement. That’s a scary word, retirement. Scary because I can’t believe I’m actually old enough to start thinking about it and what the heck do you live on when there is no other pension but the Canada pension and old age security to draw from. I hear more people saying these days, “I can’t afford to retire”. I may be still beautifying people at the age of 80!! I’ll be using one of those stools on wheels so I can sit down to do hair. It’s actually quite “in” to use them now. Who knows what the fashions will be by then. I never thought when I started hairdressing in the sixties I’d be colouring guy’s hair blonde, blue and pink let alone doing guy’s hair at all!
Until next time,
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
October
14, 2003
Hi everyone!
Well, I guess Sus isn’t the only one to experience the first cold weather of the season. We here in Kitchener got one heck of a blast on Wednesday night and throughout most of Thursday. We had gale force winds and horizontal snow from midnight Wednesday until around 5pm Thursday. We awoke Thursday morning to approximately 2” of white stuff. The roads were covered with much more than that in many areas. Hot diggity!!!!! Finally a chance to try out the Jeep in 4 wheel drive. I had to drive Carole to a friend’s place for the morning and do some running around town in the snow. I was utterly amazed with the difference in mobility once the Liberty was in 4x4 mode. I remember Adam talking about the incredible difference when he had his Xterra. Both he and Doug advised me that although 4 wheel drive vehicles go much better in the snow and ice, they don’t stop any better than their 2 wheel drive counterparts. They were right! I hadn’t been out in the Jeep for more than 15 minutes when I discovered myself testing the ABS braking system. I had waited a tad too long to hit the brakes approaching a stop sign and found myself steering to the side to avoid a possible rear ender. Another wonderful feature of modern vehicles is the ABS system. It’s so much better to still be able to steer while applying the brakes. The ABS allows you to maintain control of the direction of the vehicle while applying the brakes. What a great invention! We were supposed to be experiencing the same type of weather today but the prediction was incorrect. We had a pretty cold day but only a few flurries materialized. For the most part the roads were clear and dry. I had to take a Nissan Xterra to Markham in Northeast Toronto to have a theft locator removed from it’s computer system. For whatever reason, Waterloo Nissan said the customer that purchased the vehicle didn’t want the ability to find it easily if it’s ever stolen. Hmmmmmmmm do you think he or she has something devious in mind for the future of this vehicle if it should turn out they don’t like it? One never knows what’s in the minds of people nowadays.
I think I’ve mentioned this vehicle delivery for Waterloo Nissan before but just in case some of you missed it I’ll repeat it. After I retired, I got a call from the manager of the dealership and she asked me if I’d be interested in doing “Dealer Trades” for their company. It consists of one or two days a week of either delivering a new car to another dealer or picking one up for Waterloo. It’s not very lucrative but it’s a few hours of solitude and relaxation while trying out the new models that Nissan builds. Carole and I have been doing this as a team when the dealership needs more than one driver. We’ve even purchased a pair of walkie talkies so we can talk back and forth between cars on these trips. The radios are a much better way of communicating than flashing the headlights at each other. It’s kind of fun to do these little trips and we even make a couple of dollars each for the day. Things are a little slow in the car sales business these days so we are lucky to get a call every week or two. I’ve often wondered how the vehicle manufacturers can keep saturating the market with these expensive items. You’d think that there would be times when the population has enough vehicles that sales would severely drop off to give the ones already on the roads time to either rust out or wear out! I do believe that the carmakers produce more vehicles than the world produces babies but, I could be wrong on that one! Hahaha! This might be true in North America but in other parts of the world, who knows? They say that in Tennessee a new Mustang rolls off the assembly line every 30 seconds. I find that hard to believe but I guess it’s a fact. No wonder there’s so much horseshit on the roads these days! LOL! OK, so that’s not that funny but I couldn’t resist. Speaking of interesting historical facts about automakers, did you know that Henry Ford was originally going to set up his car company in Kitchener? He was! Not that long ago I read an article about that very thing. He apparently heard about 2 brothers here in town that were making their own cars in their cousin’s garage. I think it was on Queen St somewhere. If I can find out their names again, I’ll mention them next week. They were making one car a month and Henry came here to talk to them about their method construction. He was looking for a location to start his operation. He was actually given a huge tract of land along the Grand River by the city of Kitchener. He had to raise $100,000.00 in cash in order to build the plant and begin operations.
He was unable
to get enough investors interested in the idea to make it happen here so he
went back to Detroit. He pitched his idea to the politicians in Michigan and
they came up with the money. Thus, instead of Kitchener becoming known for it’s
auto industry, it had to settle for being the “Rubber Hub” of North America.
There were at one time more tires built in KW than anywhere else the free
world. Interesting eh? Just think of all the spin off wealth that would have
centered right here in KW. Why we’d have been known as Motor Town or “Motown”
as they say and you all know what that means, KW would be famous for it’s music
industry as well. Anyhow, it might not have happened that way here in Canada
but we’ll never know now will we! Isn’t it amazing how times change? Back in
Henry Ford’s day the good people of this area couldn’t even be persuaded to
invest $100,000.00 in something that was pretty much guaranteed to make all
involved rich beyond their wildest dreams. Yet just a couple of years ago a
dozen or so politicians just north of the Kitchener boundary happily signed
over the financial future of their constituents for the next 30 years to a
trickster without so much as asking the interest rate! Go figure!
Well, I guess I’ve spouted off enough for this week. Hope you all have a great week ahead and thanks again for tuning in.
Bye for now. GREG.
PS: Something to Think About>
Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.
****
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/
Have a good one..
the
doug