The Squamidian Report – Oct. 20 / 18
Issue #856
Including:
From Russ
The Ontarion
Hi All,
A few weeks ago, back in the Oct. 6th addition of this letter, Lorne
mentioned that whenever I had little or nothing to write about I tended
to come up with something computer related as a topic. Well, I don’t
have a whole lot to write about this weeks so just to prove him right,
my topic is as predicted, computer related….
I’m running the latest Mac O/S on my Apple computer because Apple O/S’s
automatically and seamlessly updated themselves. Thats a good thing.
However, some old software programs, specifically 3rd party programs,
can at times be left behind and end up out-dated. Thats what happened
to the office suite I’ve been using all along, LibreOffice. Its a very
good, very capable and full program that can do anything as good or
better than say, Microsoft Office, or the Mac equivalent or any other
available office program. LibreOffice is and has always been an open
source program and is free, no strings attached. Over the last few
years as my computer’s O/S has advanced, my office program has not, it
was version 4 point something when I installed it and thats where it
stayed. It had become a bit sluggish over the last while, nothing
serious but it was getting slow. So, I went to the LibreOffice web site
and downloaded the latest version 6.1.2.1 for Mac (still free as
always). It installed with no problems at all and replaced my old
version as it did so. The new version opens and works as smooth as
silk, is fast and solid. I didn’t like the default interface but soon
found where I could customize it to my own liking. If anything there
are too many choices but I found one that was like what I was used to
and its all good. The only little hiccup was that during the
installation my file associations reverted back to the Mac standard,
meaning things like text files and doc files would open in the Mac Text
program instead of in the Writer part of LibreOffice. Once I remembered
how to assign file associations I was able to set that how I wanted it
and everything is how it should be now only better.
Incidentally, there are LibreOffice versions for pretty well all
operating systems and all are free. Their web site suggests that users
donate or contribute to their cause but that suggestion is only on
their web site. The program itself never mentions it and no one is ever
pestered or even reminded. If you are looking for a top notch office
suite that includes a word processor, spread sheet, draw program,
presentation program and a few others that users like me will never
even use, check it out. Like I said, it is a good or perhaps even
better than any of the suite that out there, free or paid, and it is
free.
*
Now
on to another subject….. My little old Ford Ranger pickup truck has
been pretty well bullet proof, the only times its cost me anything
since I bought it back in 2004 is when its needed tires or oil changes,
that kind of thing. It has needed brake work and once even needed the
sway bar ties replaced but thats been about it. Well, maintenance costs
have now caught up with me. The little truck became in need of a whole
lot of things, such as, brakes all the way around, a wheel bearing, a
ball joint, muffler and tail pipe, a battery, as well as filters and
fluids etc. Oh, and spark plugs, it was still running on the original
set that was installed when it was new. These are all things that do
wear out and do eventually need replacing. Kind of hurt a bit when it
needed it all at the same time. I knew it was time to put a bit of
money into her and get her back to tip top shape given that I’d like to
keep her running for a few more years and that winter is not too far
off so I took her in to our local repair shop and had the work done.
I figure it this way, if I were to purchase a new truck it would set me
back about twice the price of what I paid for my first house. I’d be
stuck with payment that would go on for years. The cost of having the
old truck put back in to top condition wouldn’t be any more than what a
few months of payments would be on a new vehicle. So if the repair bill
is about the same as lets say 4 months of payments, after that time I’m
home free and going forward is only costing what it costs to run a
vehicle. However, if I’d bought a new vehicle, after that 4 months of
payments, I’d still be looking at years to go and that vehicle would be
getting older by the day as well as costing the usual costs of running.
Therefore, in my mind, I’m way better off putting some money into the
old girl and getting a few more years out of her. Besides, I like that
old truck, always have, and there is nothing about the new vehicles
that calls my name. Newer technology and better milage would be nice
but no payments for years and years is nicer. And best of all, I am not
under any pressure to keep a 14 year old truck shiny and clean, in
fact, it looks quite nice when its dirty, like a truck should be.
doug
****
From Russ
“Thou shalt not lose thy prisoner”
The 11th Commandment for police is as above, and it means that once an
officer has placed a person under arrest, he/she has “made him/her his
prisoner”, and is now responsible for his/her safe custody.
Handcuffs are issued to police as one means of ensuring that safe custody.
In my early days of policing I’d received no formal training in their
application or use. My ‘training’ consisted of observing other cops.
Some police agencies require that all prisoners be handcuffed...those
who “come quietly” as well as those who do not! Kitchener Police
Department was silent in this regard, so it was left up to the
individual cop to cuff or not to cuff.
Placing cuffs upon the wrists of anyone is problematic at best, and
down right dangerous at worst! Too tight, and they hurt and can cause
bruising, too loose and they can be ‘slithered out of’.
“You don’t need to cuff me, I’ll come quiet”. Yeah, right!
While cuffing a “quiet one”, they sometimes change their mind, and will
“explode” into violence. There’s one thing worse than an ‘uncuffed’
prisoner....and that’s a ‘half-cuffed’ one! With one cuff on his
wrist, the open jaw of the other becomes a steel weapon, and many a cop
has the broken/missing teeth to prove it!
A cuffed prisoner is not rendered ‘immobile’. Cops are reminded of the 11th Commandment....”Thou shalt lose thy prisoner”.
Leg-irons are used when transporting prisoners which limits them to
“baby steps” or hoping. KPD kept leg irons, but like the Thompson
Sub-machine Gun, was rarely used.
When to cuff. When not to cuff. It seemed I was ‘damned’ if I did, and ‘damned’ if I didn’t!
Example of damned if I DID: Another rookie ‘plain-close-constable’ and
I were the only ones manning the Detective Division during the 4 to
midnight shift. We had arrested a youth(about 18 yrs.) for ‘theft’, and
were interrogating him when a more serious call came in for us to take
care of. We left the kid in the Staff Sergeant’s office, unattended,
while we were in an adjoining office taking information over the phone.
Returning, fifteen minutes later we caught the kid attempting to climb
out the window! He was half out and half in, and had he been
successful, he’d have had to jump about 16 feet to the pavement below,
and likely to be seriously injured. In an effort to prevent this, I
handcuffed him in a sitting position in the Sergeant’s office chair.
Not TO the chair, but comfortably seated IN said chair. I had him cross
his leg, and placed the cuffs under the knee, so he was able to smoke
if he so wished, but not able to attempt to crawl out the window again.
We considered this a ‘life-saving’ action at the time.
When the case came to court, during my giving evidence, I was told to
demonstrate how I had handcuffed the ‘accused’. I said I would
need a chair to properly do this.
“No you don’t...just show us how he was handcuffed for those long periods of time”, said his lawyer.
Like a fool, I tried to demonstrate the ‘under the knee’ position while
standing on one leg before a packed courtroom. Everyone gasped
when they envisioned the poor kid standing on one leg for 15 minutes!
Even the Crown Attorney turned on me!
“This is the sloppiest police work I’ve ever seen!”
(Naturally, the kid was found ‘not guilty’! )
I was the guilty one! Guilty of cruelty and torture!
An example of ‘damned if I DIDN”T will have to wait until next week.
Your old friend, Plain Clothes Constable (Acting Detective) Unc. Russ
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
Well, it looks like we’re coming to the end of the lawn mowing season.
We actually had a round of flurries yesterday and I thought it was
going to stay on the ground but it melted pretty much right away. What
a shocker in October! I guess we’re getting to that time of year here
in Canada. I’d better get my blower up to the service people before the
first big snowfall hits! That means I have to go over to my friend’s
place and pick up our little trailer so I can haul the blower to get
serviced. It won’t fit in the back of the Jeep. Most things I can fit
in the Jeep but not the snow blower, it’s just too large. I keep the
trailer at Frank’s place since he’s got a couple of acres of land and
doesn’t mind the storage of a few things for friends. Frank has passed
away last April but his sons still own the property and have been
keeping up the storage for friends. Other than that, there isn’t a lot
to tell you. I managed to clean up and re organize my work shop the
other day. I had packed a lot of stuff into boxes just to make room
down in the shop but it didn’t turn out well because the boxes were
bulky and in the way all the time. So, I decided to put the shop back
the way it was about 6 months ago. I’m going to get back to making some
wooden toys this winter and see if I can’t amass a good collection of
toys by spring. Then I might try having a driveway sale of the toys
I’ve made over the winter. There is a guy who does just that up at the
St Jacob’s Farmer’s Market and he’s selling his toy trucks etc there.
He hasn’t got anything in his array of toys that I can’t make so what
the heck, I figured I’d give it a whack and see what happens.
I’ve got some ideas for the collection so I’m ready to start
production. I like the look of old logging trucks and fuel tankers etc
so they will be my first attempt!
Maybe I’ll try to make a cement truck or a garbage truck and see how
they turn out. The guy at the market doesn’t paint any of his vehicles.
He sells them as plain wood and let’s the buyers do the painting if
they so wish. I think I’ll do the same! I should be able to whack out a
couple of toys a day or evening when I get working on this. Over the
winter I should be able to make a good sized collection. Most of these
toy vehicles can be made from scraps of wood that I already have in my
shop from other projects. I doubt this project will cost me much over
the next 6 months or so since I have a barrel of scrap wood to work
with at the start anyway! It should be fun to see how things turn
out.
*
So
Canada is now the pot capital of the free world eh? I’ve never been a
fan of Weed or even gotten into trying it my self. My only experience
with this stuff was way back in my refrigeration apprenticeship days
when one of the other Zehr’s employees was growing it himself on his
bush land of 25 acres out in St Agatha. He brought some grass brownies
to work one day when we were building a Zehr’s store on
Courtland Ave in Kitchener. He didn’t tell anyone that these brownies
contained weed until after we had all taken a share of his baking. On
that day, it just so happened that the big boss from the Loblaw Head
Office was touring the Zehr’s stores. The entourage just happened to
take a walk through the new store at lunchtime and the group of bosses
stopped to say hello to us workers. We were installing the
refrigeration equipment at the time. We talked and my friend Ed offered
them each a brownie. After they had left the store he told everyone
about the grass content in the brownies. We all were shocked but by
that time it was too late to do anything but enjoy the giggly state we
were all in! LOL! I must say that there was very little work that was
accomplished that afternoon and with even the boss on the job affected
by these treats things were quite happy for the last few hours of the
day.
I never tried to smoke the stuff although there were many sources
around in those days if you wanted to partake in the habit. I just
didn’t like the smell of the stuff after attending a few local rock
group parties and having a lot of other attendees toking up at these
parties. After responding to a lot of drug induced problems while on
the fire department I just decided years ago that I’d never get
involved with such a habit and would not support the legalization of
such drug use. I guess, I have no choice but to realize that now it
will be a fact of everyday life here in Canada. That doesn’t mean I
have to like either the habit or the smell of the stuff from other
people using it. I don’t like to have to walk through other people’s
smoke when out in public and I’m sure I’ll have the same reaction when
having to smell the second hand Mary Jane smoke that I’m sure will be
prevalent on the streets of Trudeau-Ville now that pot is legal here in
our lovely Canada. I’m sure there will be lots of problems with people
toking and driving. They’d better get there act in gear and equip the
police with some way to detect the use of pot that can be reliable for
use in court or there’ll be a mess on the roads of this country. I
personally think the government has jumped the gun on legalizing this
drug. They really don’t know the results of using this stuff and how
long it stays in one’s system etc etc! I think it’s going to be a major
cost and burden to our health system and will end up costing the
taxpayers a real load of money through the health care system. I think
Trudeau is a pothead himself and that’s why he’s spearheaded this
legalization. One other aspect of this project that bugs the heck out
of me is the fact that the government is going to expunge the criminal
records of those who have been charged and found guilty of possession
and use of amounts of pot over the past years. Our illustrious Prime
Minister has stated that they will especially be forgiving those in the
minority groups of Canada who have been charged in the past because
they were treated unfairly due to their heritage background. Such BS if
you ask me! These people were charged because they broke the law at the
time and if they were charged and found guilty they should have to
carry that burden of a criminal history for the rest of their lives
like anyone else. Do you think that Paul Bernardo will ever have his
criminal record expunged? If “forgive ‘em all Trudeau” stays in power
long enough you never know just what will happen here in Canada!
That’s about all I have to say for this week folks!
Thank for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now … Greg
Something To Think About>
Will second hand smoke from the pot smokers of Ontario affect you?
****
Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.
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