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The Squamidian Report – Apr. 6 /19
Issue #880
Including: From Russ From Lorne The Ontarion Hi All, Fire and rain. Both can be good, both can be a problem. With this very dry winter and spring we are having, fire is bad. Someone in the Upper Squamish Valley found that out this week. There are farms up there and apparently on one of them they were very stupidly burning off dead grass or brush and instantly the fire became an acre, then 3 acres, then 12 acres and then over a hundred acres, and was burning its way up the mountainside. Forest fire crews responded with ground crews and a water bomber but didn’t have much luck until the promised rain materialized and helped out. The rain is good and badly needed. There are numerous wild fires burning throughout the province and its several months before fire season normally starts. And of course every single one has been started by careless persons. I thought all the dumb and stupid people were politicians in Ottawa and in the provincial capitals making fools of themselves but apparently not, some are out here starting fires. Last Sunday was nice and warm and sunny. Those of us that didn’t ride all winter had already put or bikes back on the road and so we had a pretty nice turnout in Horseshoe Bay with 18 or so bikes lined up along the street. We tend to take over that section of ‘The Bay’ when we have a good turnout but thats ok, we don’t bother anyone and no one bothers us. And, the tourist like taking pictures of themselves standing beside a row of big shiny bikes. We certainly don’t mind as long as they don’t touch them or try to sit on them, which some do try to do, believe it or not. You’d never go and sit in some strangers car to have your picture taken and yet some think is ok to sit on someone’s bike. Doesn’t happen often but it can so we always keep an eye on them. Road trip time. As of this morning we are driving back to KW where we will hang around for a few days and then drive back. If you don’t get a Squamidian while we are away, don’t worry about it because there probably wasn’t one. Or, if I end up doing them on my smart phone they would be about 2 sentences lone and without any contributors because I don’t know how to include that. And thats all I know. doug
**** From Russ Gout It was once called “The rich man’s disease”. That should let me out – but it don’t! I’ve been having attacks as of late, and I didn’t know why. Those ‘in the know’ claim gout is caused by what we eat and drink, so with the help of Google, I learned “what I was doing wrong”, and that I should stay away from foods high in purine. One of the ‘Medical Authorities’ has come up with a list of TEN FOODS & DRINKS I should avoid. (Yeah, right). Fish: Those with high levels of purine include herring, sardines, carp, haddock, salmon, trout, tuna, and anchovies. I’ve been having fish once a week for years, and my choices are ‘all of the above’ (except herring, carp, and anchovies. What people see in anchovies is beyond me!) Alcohol: Consuming alcohol is one of the biggest triggers of a painful gout attack. One beer a day can increase my risk by 50%. But, I don’t drink alcohol anymore so that’s not what’s causing my attacks of gout. Caffeine: Oh, oh! We all know it’s a diuretic, which means it can reduce the water in our bodies. This is dangerous for me as I am a victim of the gout. The uric acid crystals are suspended in my blood but, if I become dehydrated they can crystalize at my joints, but mainly in my big toes! And here’s the kicker – one cup of coffee per day is perfectly fine, but I gotta stay away from multiple cups around the same time! I make a full four-cup pot of coffee for myself just about every morning, and about twice a week, I’m into Timmys where I’ll have a large one. This could be just enough to trigger a gout attack. You know why they call it an attack? For those of you lucky ones who do not have gout, it strikes suddenly, without warning, and the pain, although short-lived, is so excruciating, you can’t help but jump, scream, grab, shout, kick, and holler. Organ Meats: Animal organs are typically high in purine, making organ meats bad triggers for gout attack. I’m supposed to stay away from liver (Mmm – liver & onions; I can taste it now. Think that’s what I’ll have after church this Sunday, as the little restaurant is open again) By the way, wouldn’t you know it; calf’s liver is the highest in purine! I’m also supposed to stay away from heart, lungs, and spleen of animals – that won’t be hard! What about chicken ? you ask. Chicken ranks only moderately for purine, which means it’s safe to eat this lean protein. Fried Foods: Fatty foods can trigger a painful gout attack, so fried foods are ones to avoid. Hey, I thought foods fried in oil, such as my favourite stir-fried chicken, pork, and beef (rarely) which I enjoy frequently, using ‘extra-virgin olive oil, was healthy! You know what? These ‘experts’ can go to hell! I’m not discontinuing one of my most favourite foods! Beef: Can’t afford it, so rarely eat it. Soda: (pop in Canada) Never drink the stuff! Rich Sauces: What? They include both brown and white gravy!? Shellfish: Lobster, scallops, and crab. Too rich for me. Fruits are so healthy, it can be hard to consider them to be gout-causing. Again, the ‘experts’ say “Eating fruit itself is fine because the soluble fiber limits the release of sugars”. But, they go on, “Fruit juice is just like pure sugar-water in comparison. The fructose rich in fruit drinks can increase uric acid levels”. And guess which fruit juice has the most potent risk for triggering gout? Orange juice. Did you know that gout is a type of arthritis? I got that too! Did you know that gout can also appear in the fingers, wrists, knees, and heels? I know Greg has gout occasionally because he has shared that info with me. Also Lorne has ‘enjoyed’ the thrill of gout as well, but how about the rest of you? Next week I’ll try to bring some good news for you gout sufferers, I’ll close by giving you just a peep at a bit of good news; there’ll be no gout in Heaven. Count on it. Uncle Russ.
**** From Lorne Home after an unusual journey. Coming back, the train arrived only 2 hours late even though we were 6 hours late at times. They make up time by cutting the stop times at stations and roaring and rocking along at speeds exceeding 125 km. per. As we approached Jasper, snow began to fall covering all the evergreens making a very Christmasy picture. Winter conditions as we continued East toward Edmonton, leaving the mountains far behind. Out to our right is a large herd of long horn mountain sheep, then to our left a herd of elk. That and the endless openness seemed to hold our interest across the western prairies. Eastern Manitoba and northern Ontario were under very deep snow preventing the movement of wild game. Snow turned to rain as the train wound its way toward Southern Ontario, bringing our travels to a grey old end. At Toronto, we transferred to a local train to Kitchener, where we were the only passengers in the whole car. Don't even consider taking this trip unless time means nothing, you are satisfied with great meals, meeting and making new friends from many places and a different way to see this vast country. Oh, did I mention that we traveled from spring in Vancouver with it's flower blooms and blossoms to the dead of winter in a few hours? Lorne
 **** THE ONTARION REPORT Hello everyone! Is there anybody reading this that isn’t happy to see some spring weather? If so, I’ll gladly buy you a ticket to the North Pole! WOW! It’s amazing to finally have a day with the temperature above 0c! With the Arctic winter we’ve had this past season I’m hoping the sunshine and warmth will last for the next 13 or more months. Maybe it’s just me but I’m real tired of snow in the forecast every evening on the news/weather report! Today we reached the unbelievable summit of +7c and it felt like the middle of summer when compared to the past 200 day’s temps. I had a very busy day with a bunch of running I had to do. It started off with having to be at the doctor’s office to get checked for a case of walking pneumonia that I’ve suddenly contracted from a generous person over the past week or so. Consequently I’m now on anti-biotics for the next ten days and my chest feels like there’s an elephant the size of “Jumbo” sitting on it! Unfortunately it seems to me that these continuous health problems will never end! I guess maybe the good weather will bring better health for a good number of months. The sunshine usually makes for better health and attitude! I can’t wait to see the first day that hits 20c. I actually managed to squeeze in an hour or two to uncover the MGB and hook up the battery cables. It even managed to start right up with the first couple of cranks. I checked the oil and it’s right on the full line and clear as new. Of course I didn’t put many kms on it last summer after I changed the oil so I’ll be able to wait a month or two into this season’s driving before I’ll have to change the oil once again for this years cruising. This Sunday is supposed hit +16c so I intend to get it out of the garage and take a little “first” cruise of the season. Of course it’ll be with the roof up till I see how cool it feels around town. Carole reminded me that I have to buy a new licence sticker for the MG before taking it out on the road. It still galls me when I have to pay for a full year cost on the sticker for this little car. Do any of you remember back when a 4 cylinder vehicle had to pay less for a licence than a 6 cylinder one and a 6 cylinder vehicle cost less than a v-8 for the licence? Well, that made a lot more sense to me than this gouging being required by the Ontario government nowadays! No matter what size of engine or vehicle you drive now you have to pay the same fee each year, even if you only drive that vehicle half of the year and store it for the other half. The fee is $120.00 per year! Have you heard the latest when it comes to taxing the public? I just heard on the radio today that Cambridge has instituted a 4% tax on motel rooms in their grubby city! The new tax is imposed to help Cambridge pay to promote tourism for their city. It’s said that it will bring in more than 1.8 million in the first year to boost their tourism fund. I don’t happen to agree with this tactic! In fact, I think I’ll approach a few McDonalds around KW and ask them if they’ll add 4% to each of their bills collected from customers to help me purchase a new house! I wonder if anybody would object to that? The comments on the radio were such that most people wouldn’t even notice the additional 4% until someone pointed it out to them! I don’t think this is fair at all! If a city can’t make a go of things with all the property taxes and other sources of revenue they already have it’s unfair to think that taxing vacation accommodations for this purpose is ok! Don’t we pay enough tax without taxing our vacation stops? They said that there are several cities in Ontario that already do the same and very few people have ever noticed or objected to the practice. One gentleman said that he stopped into Square One in Mississauga for a bite to eat and noticed the additional 4% on his food bill and when he asked about it he was told that it was a tax imposed by the landlord of the complex to help pay for the upkeep of the mall. I’d think that all the rent paid by the occupants should be enough to more than cover that expense wouldn’t you? This sort of business practice makes one want to move to the Maritimes! Apparently things are much less expensive out east; just ask Sus if this is true! Is it true Sus? I do know that housing is less expensive out on the east coast but I don’t know about the normal cost of living! From the sounds of things this past winter the cost of snow removal out east is quite expensive or is that “Extensive”? LOL! You do know how much snow they got this past winter don’t you? LOL! Just a little humor meant with that statement! Ha ha ha… Speaking of humor, it looks like our illustrious prime minister is spending his last 8 months in office in Ottawa if you ask political pundits! I think we may be heading for a term with a second female Prime Minister in the form of Jody Wilson-Raybould, the present Prime Minister’s favourite whipping girl! She’s a very popular and intelligent (not to mention honest} woman and would likely make a very good leader of the Conservative Party! Even if she were to remain a Liberal at least she would keep the other party members in an honest state when it comes to running Canada’s business! I’d be tempted to vote for whatever party she’s in charge of when it comes to the next election! I actually hope she does give some thought to remaining in politics and maybe even running for PM in the next federal election. There’s not much more in this old think tank for this week folks! So, I’m going to say “tadda for now!” as my old grandpa Payne used to say to us when we were kids and heading for home after a visit. Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report! Good-bye and be nice to one another! Greg.
PS: Something To Think About>It isn’t our position but our disposition that makes people happy! ****
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. |