The Squamidian Report – May 10 / 14
 
Online Version
Issue #624

Including:
The Ontarion

Hi All,

Its not all that unusual to have the electricity go out, or the cable for that matter. That kind of thing tends to happen during a storm or when a utility pole gets mowed down by some inattentive driver. What is unusual is to have the water all of a sudden 'go out', as in stop running from the tap, as in zero pressure. Thats what happened here the other evening. 'The Wife' had just finished a shower and I had just started to brush my teeth when suddenly there was no water. The taps were dry. That used to happen to us back on Hidden Valley when the pump packed it in or when a line would freeze but it had never happened to us here. I didn't think the problem was with our plumbing because there was no burst water line shooting water all over, and when I'd open a tap, there was a definite suction, air was being drawn in. That told me that a line outside somewhere had broken and water was flowing out the break, pulling any water it could like a big siphon.

A neighbor called to say their water was off as well. So, no water on the whole street. We thought about calling the works department but figured others would have already done so. So, we hit the hay and before we fell asleep there was the sound of trucks and equipment coming up the hill on Thunderbird. The break was just around the corner. By morning the water main break was fixed and we had water again. Humm, this didn't make near as interesting story as I thought it would. Oh well.

Ok, I'll try this one. The insurance came due for my pickup truck. Now that I'm officially a senior, I get a discount, about 15%. So, something actually cost less than expected instead of the usual more than expected. Humm, nothing interesting here either.

Well, perhaps this one... my motorcycle was in need of a new air filter. I had cleaned the old one many times but it had reached the point where there was no longer any point. Problem was, the replacement Harley filters are expensive. There is nothing special about them, except for the little Harley logo that doubles the price, and I didn't really feel a need to pay through the nose for a bike filter. I did some Internet searching and came up with the K & N filters which are high quality and high performance. They make and have in stock the replacement Screaming Eagle Stage 1 filter for my bike but at less that half the cost of the Harley filter, shipping included. So, I ordered one and it was here 2 days later. It took 5 minutes to install and all is well. Humm, that wasn't exactly an earth-shattering hold-the-press piece of information either.

How about this then...and this is very, very, cool. The Sea to Sky Gondola is now open, as of the 9th. The 'grand opening' is on the 16th but it is now open for business and 'The Wife' and I made use of our passes and rode the gondola up to the top on Friday. All I can say is  WOW, WOW, WOW! The ride up itself is worth the cost. The views as you climb higher and higher are incredible. You can also look down and see the unbelievably rugged, inaccessible terrain this part of the world is sitting on. Ridges, canyons, raging mountain streams, impossibly tall trees and so on. Once at the top there is a timber and stone lodge with surrounding glass that houses a gift shop, a coffee shop, a restaurant and a large room for receptions and parties. I know where we will be going fairly regularly for our morning coffee now. There is a suspension bridge and several kilometers of walking and hiking trails. And the views!! You are right up there in the Alpine, over looking Howe Sound. That song I wrote a couple of weeks ago fits perfectly. I had included a link to it in your April 26 issue in case you're interested.

We wandered around a bit, took some pictures and then chatted with some of the staff. They are very friendly and enthusiastic, and we will probably end up being on first name basis with many of them because we sure intend to go up a lot. Might as well try to wear our passes out, not that thats possible. The ride down is just as fun as the ride up. The vertical distance is almost a kilometers and its like coming in for a landing in a small plane, with a very steep descent rate. My jaws still hurt from grinning so much. Check out their web site: http://www.seatoskygondola.com

We took some pic while up there. I've uploaded them to my web site and 'The Wife' has uploaded them to Facebook. Here's the link to the ones on my site:
http://www.thedougsite.net/Gondola/FirstDay.html

doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT

Hello everyone!

Well we’re finally into some nice spring like weather and it feels good! I actually mowed the lawn and fertilized it on Wednesday of this week. I managed to also get the oil changed on the snow blower and put it in the shed till next September when the snow flies again! LOL! Hahahaha…… sure hope not! I still have to change the oil in the lawn mower but that’ll get done over the next week sometime. The new Jeep is due for a car wash and it’s been a month since we picked it up. Who says that black vehicles tend to look so dirty when compared to other colours? If it took a month to get noticeable dirt on the black paint, I certainly won’t put any stock in that old wives tale! I think that the black paint and the chrome front grill and other chrome accents on this or any vehicle tend to make them look very flashy and expensive and that to me is a bonus! There are too many gold, silver, beige, white and other bland colours on the road these days and I think the manufacturers should go back to producing vehicles with brighter paint jobs on them. I’m sure you all will remember (if you’re old enough) the two-tone paint jobs of the 50’s 60’s and 70’s that automobiles of all makes had right from the factories! My dad always had a two-tone car. We had a ’54 Buick with a green body and a white roof and it was considered a very classy colour combo! He also had a 56 Buick that was plain black with loads of chrome on it and when I look at the new Jeep in our drive I think back to that car because it was the same colour. Some vehicles of the 50’s and 60’s were even three toned in colour. Anyway, Carole and I really like the look of the all black Jeep and I think we’ll keep it! LOL!

We were out and about on Thursday and Friday of this week and couldn’t help but notice the number of motorcycles on the roads all of a sudden. It’s nice to see that they are trusting the weather again and that means that spring / summer has finally arrived! Now all I have to do is finish putting the yard back together ie: the pond and its pump! We’ve got a family of bunnies living behind the rocks of the pond and I hate to be mean but I think I’m going to have to try to trap them in a box and move the family out to the countryside somewhere so they don’t eat all of Carole’s summer plants! There’s always so much to do first thing in the nice weather but the sooner we finish that necessary work, the sooner we can sit once in a while and enjoy the fruits of our labour! We’re supposed to be in for a lovely hot and dry summer so let’s hope it’s one we will enjoy rather that bitch about! LOL!
I’m sure it’ll be a wonderful summer this year. Mother nature owes us a bit of relief after sticking us with such a nasty winter! I’m sure this summer will prove that she has a heart after all!

That’s about 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
Ahaaa … finally, we’re being given a chance to boot those thieving Liberal shysters the hell out of Provincial Parliament! It’s about time we were able to get rid of that mistake! For those of you who don’t agree with what I just said, you’d have to be blind or just plain stupid not to be fed up with them after costing us over a billion dollars in the “Gas Plant” fiasco just for the sake of saving a few “Liberal” seats in a couple of by-elections! They just can’t be trusted with our hard earned tax dollars any longer!
Bye bye Kathleen and her bunch of idiots!

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Have a good one..
the doug
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