The Squamidian Report – Apr. 27 / 13

 

Issue #570

 

Including:

The Ontarion

 

Hi All,

 

I meet up with my riding chapter guys (and gals) on Sunday mornings for coffee. You know that because I’ve written it here many times in the past. We do our group rides on Saturdays but have been getting together over coffee all winter and see no reason to stop. Anyway, I headed in to Horseshoe Bay last Sunday morning at about 9 and had a nice scenic ride as usual. It was only about 10 degrees when I left home but the forecast was for it to go up to 12 or 14 and I was dressed nice and warm. There was however a 30% chance of a shower according to the weather guessers. We all sat at the outdoor tables at the Starbucks (there is no good coffee available in ‘The Bay’ but the tables are convenient), with the bikes all lined up looking good. The view is nice and the sky was blue. Then, my cell phone rang. It was ‘The Wife’. She was calling to give me a heads-up, the sky over Squamish was black, the wind was howling and blowing the deck chairs right off the deck, and the rain was hammering down in sheets. From Horseshow Bay we can see north, right up Howe Sound and sure enough we could see the billowing dark clouds in the distance. There was no point in heading home right then and there. It made more sense to keep an eye on the weather system to get a feel for which direction it might be moving and then time the ride home accordingly. I had hoped it would drift to the east but no, it appeared to be moving south, toward us.

 

The mountains on each side of the Sound were slowly disappearing from view as the low front approached. This was our signal to end the get-to-gather had head out. Everyone else lives in the Lower Mainland and therefore could easily out-run the weather and be home before it hit. I, on the other hand, would have to ride right into it. Bummer. I had been caught in the rain the day before but I had my full-face helmet with me that time and had simply pulled over and prepared myself for riding in the rain. That’s kind of normal for around here. However, I had for some reason left my full-face sitting on the bench in my the garage. Nothing left to do but grit my teeth and hit the road. So that’s what I did. Riding was fine until just a few clicks north of Lions Bay. The waters of the Sound started to stand on end and the trees began bending all over the place. Then the rain hit. It was a cold, icy driving rain and wow was it cold no my face. The rest of me was warm under my riding gear but my face felt like it was being slammed by barely melted ice water. Much to my relief, I rode out of the rain just as I reached Squamish. In fact, I had ridden right through the storm cell and the sun was peaking out. The rain we had been hammered with had been snow just a few hundred meters above us and the whole visible side of Garibaldi park above where I live was white, the trees all snow-covered. The snow up above us melted off quite quickly but it sure explained why it had been so cold on my face. And when I got home and into the house, the thermometer on the deck was reading about 3 degrees.

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Pretty well anyone who believes in evolution is aware that every living thing on this planet evolved from single cell marine life that in turn evolved from bacteria etc. That single celled life eventually evolved into worms, and other ever increasingly complex forms. Then came fish-like creatures and so on. We humans still have many links to these early life forms. We tend to think we are the end result of billions of years of evolution, the top and final step, but in fact we are simply one branch of many possibilities along a path that could keep changing forever or be snuffed out in the blink of an eye. However, as I just said, we still and will always share many aspects with the early life forms of this planet. Lungs and swim bladders, arms and fins, a back bone and internal skeleton, and so on. Where this is all going is the fact that many creatures have renewable teeth, or can keep growing existing teeth, but for some reason many creatures can’t, including us. That’s a real bummer unless you are a dentist and then it’s a good thing because that trait means you can afford a second home in Hawaii. We share so many similarities to creatures like fish that it just doesn’t seem right that some fish, like sharks, can just keep on growing more teeth. In fact, they have row after row of new teeth just waiting for the chance to move forward into place. Then it occurred to me, we do have the same thing but its not our teeth that can renew over and over. Its our nose hair. No matter how often it is plucked, pulled or trimmed, it just keeps on coming. It can be cleared right out with no sign of any left at all and the next day large tufts of stiff bristly hair has returned, sticking out of each nostril. So, like our ancient relatives the sharks, we do have renewable items after all, just not anything useful. And you thought this topic was going somewhere profound…

 

doug

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THE ONTARION REPORT

 

Hello everyone!

 

Well, let’s hope that yesterdays hailstorm was the last kick at the cat for old man winter for this year! I couldn’t believe it when I looked out at the storm after hearing the thunder and seeing over an inch of hail on the lawns and rooftops of the neighbourhood! What a shocker! On the other hand, I shouldn’t let anything surprise me this year when it comes to the weather! We’ve been subjected to so many different types of weather this winter that it’s going to be hard to get used to a warm sunny summer if indeed it happens that way. LOL! Keep your fingers crossed for nice consistent sunny weather for the next 6 months at least!

 

The other day when the sun was shining, I actually went out and took the cover off my motorcycle and attempted to start it for the first time since last fall. I had my “trickle” charger plugged into the bike all winter to hopefully keep the new battery I bought last year charged up. When I pushed the start button, all I heard was a buzzing and crackling noise. There was not enough power to start the bike, just enough to keep the clock at the right time and light up the dash lights! Darn, I guess I’ll be buying a new battery again this season. Maybe I should just invest in a good battery charger rather than that cheapie trickle charger that obviously doesn’t work worth a hoot! Then, I can let the battery die over the winter and just give it a good strong charge up once I decide to start the bike in the spring! At least then I’d be able to get ‘er going the first try!

 

Oh well, I can always get someone to give me a push and pop the clutch to start it for the first time and then count on a good toot on the expressway to charge it up. I’ll likely do just that this year and then check the battery to see if it’ll hold a charge. I hope I don’t have to buy another one this year! Likely taking the battery out of the bike and keeping it inside for the winter would help! It’s just a bit of a pain to have to take it out and put it back in when it’s time to ride again. Guess I shouldn’t be so lazy! LOL!

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We took Bailey on Thursday to Guelph to have his stitches out and he behaved very well and didn’t bite the Dr this time! LOL! He doesn’t like to be touched by strangers unless he approaches them first! LOL! He’s kind of fussy that way! His surgery healed up very well and he’s getting back to normal. We’re so happy that the surgery worked and he should have another few years left in him now that he’s back in shape! We had to switch him to special food that protects his urinary tract so he won’t get any more crystals in his bladder. One bout of going through that event was enough for Bailey and for us as well. We’re happy to have him home and doing so well! The effort and expenditure was well worth it, we have our family member back and doing great!

 

That’s it for this week folks!

Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!

Bye for now … Greg

PS: Something To Think About>

I once asked a priest how to make Holy Water. He told me that you just have to boil the Hell out of it!

 

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Have a good one..

the doug

http://www.thedougsite.net

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