The Squamidian Report – Nov. 27/04
Also in this issue:
Rubber Pants
The Ontarion
Hi All,
We did manage to pick up that dirt bike for Ryan last weekend. It’s an ‘86 Yamaha 225 dual-purpose dirt bike, meaning it is also street legal. We got it plated and registered so we can both now ride our dirt bikes on the roads. This time of year the weather is not all that great for biking but we did manage to take a little toot down into the valley and out to the end of the Spit. That’s the finger of breakwater that separated the mouth of the Squamish River from the Sound. The views from out there are rather breathtaking. Snow covered mountains in every direction, Shannon Falls to the east, and on and on.
There was a herd of about 8 seals in the water watching us. They are hanging out there to take advantage of the salmon spawning. There are also all sorts of west coast water birds that I don’t know the names of. I don’t mean like Fred and Ralph, I mean like duck and crane. There is one little duck type bird that runs like snot on the water as it takes off. There are herons working the shallows and the ever-present seagulls.
Also did a bit of biking around town one evening when I got home from work before dark. I must say, these little bikes are a lot of fun on the streets as well as the trails. Very maneuverable and light, they zip around pretty good.
Also managed to get the winter tires put onto the van and Sue’s car. Even though we enjoy the moderated west coast style winters here, we do get heavy wet snow and ice. Mountain winter rated ice tires are the way to go. This kind of tire is very soft. In fact, it feels like you are driving on marshmallows instead of rubber.
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Woke up this morning to a fantastic moonset over Alpha. I took some pictures from our deck but pictures can never really do it justice. They did turn out OK though so you can see them at: http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/Pictures/moonrise.htm
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Back a few issues we had a note from Gale telling us about Sue Windover’s CD. We had also posted her web site address but it was not quite ready at the time. Her site is up and running now and can be seen at: http://www.suewindover.com/
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Last weekend was also a sad one for us. After watching poor old Yogi go down hill rather fast, and both Sue and I spending parts of Saturday night sitting up with him, we had to have him put to sleep Sunday morning. It was heart wrenching but it was also our final act of kindness for him. I am grateful that Sue was here as well as Ryan. I’ve written a bit about Yogi at the bottom of this letter for anyone who knew him.
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Hello all,
I've been enjoying reading your e-mail! I believe that the overall level of
entertainment of the Squamidian contributions is rising steadily. When work is
extra crazy, or when I'm away from computers for a while I start to fall
behind. I'm happy to say that I never fell to far back since the spring, even
if I couldn't write.
I don't actually have time to write this now. If I'd only learned to type!
There are so many stupid things that have happened to me since last spring. But
I do want to tell you about my rubber pants.
Well, they're PVC actually. But they're not the fancy, kinky black type. I'm
talking about the green or yellow ones from Canadian Tire! The cheap rain pants
are kind of like thin hip waders, but without the feet. Every year when I was
younger my Dad would warn us to take rain gear when we went canoe camping in
Algonquin. Every August for years the weather was great. It was so warm that we
didn't care much when it did rain. Slowly, we stopped really caring about the
rain gear too.
A few years ago we were on our way to a week long September trip to a perfect
lake in Killarney Provincial Park. While packing I picked up an old package
that contained a pair of those pants. I grinned and tossed them back. But over
the years I've slowly become a believer in Murphy's Law. I had an unsettling
vision of myself soaked in the woods, slapping myself in the head for not
grabbing them when I had the chance. They don't weigh much, so I packed a pair
after all.
It was an amazing trip. We only saw stars on the last night. It rained most of
the time. When it wasn't raining there was very heavy mist. There were three
butts on that trip and mine was the only dry one! My top half was wet though,
because I only brought one of those
"breathable" coats. Breathable means it's a rain coat for a
few hours, then packs it in. Wet camping trips are sometimes the toughest,
often the most rewarding, and always the most educational. I never went on a
long canoe trip again without head to toe rain gear.
The next year was a repeat. I got better boots after that year. But I noticed
that my trusty green pants were wearing out. Duct tape was holding one of the
shoulder straps together. A few weeks in the woodswill wear stuff out. They
were probably 15 years old by that time.
So I went and picked up a new pair. I had the chance to test them out on a
rainy hike with some friends, on the Bruce Trail near Crawford Lake. I
immediately noticed that they were kind of tight around the inner thighs. I
adjusted them and moved on. They were still tight enough that it was messing up
the way I walked. I decided to just walk normally and let the pants worry about
it. After a while everything was perfect. Then I noticed the draft. But it was
a good draft, and they would still keep me dry. The trouble is that PVC doesn't
stop tearing. After a while longer they sort of looked like rubber chaps. They
were becoming very baggy. Big baggy PVC pants, with no crotch. When the others
asked what was going on with my pants I replied that they were the latest look,
"Gansta rappa rubba pants!"
I don't know if they bought it. By the end of the hike they were held on by the
top half and the ankles. At least I didn't learn about it while I was camping!
So I went back to Canadian Tire. Why would anyone go back to Canadian
Tire??? I went to a really big one, with a whole wall of green and yellow PVC
clothing. I found some good pants. I bought large and extra large just in case.
I packed both pairs for the September trip. Fortunately, the weather wasn't too
bad at all. But sure enough, day four on Carl Wilson lake up near Quebec, it
started coming down. Ha! I went to my tent and emerged a testament to
preparedness: a full rain suit, my freshly waterproofed heavy boots, and even
the ugly black rubber heavy duty rain hat from Squamidia. I could stand under a
waterfall in that thing! After about 20 minutes of frantically sheltering the
camp the crotch was completely torn open. On a more positive note my brother
didn't seem to be having any trouble with the other pair. I guess it's all
technique? I still don't get how the first pair lasted for weeks.
I didn't know if it would rain again, so I dried them and used duct tape to
fix'em up. All up and down the inside of the legs, plus strategically
reinforced knees and butt. With the new look was born another, nobler persona:
Duct Tape Man.
"Duct Tape Man doesn't care how it looks, because Duct Tape Man's butt is
dry!"
"Duct Tape Man doesn't want to hear about it."
"The fire is getting low. Duct Tape Man is getting some wood!"
"Duct Tape Man is starting to refer to himself in the third person. Duct
Tape Man could use a drink!"
And drink we did.
****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hi everybody!
BBBrrrrrrrrrrr here it is folks, the white stuff we’ve all been waiting for, SNOW! So far, we’ve got about 2 cm of snow and I thought we’d get more today but it didn’t happen. Now they’re saying it’s supposed to rain from Friday to Tuesday of next week. We’ll have to wait and see what happens on that prediction. No matter, I have my trusty Jeep to see us through even if we do get the traditional Canadian winter they’re predicting. I can remember being able to touch the wires on the hydro poles out in front of our house from the tops of the snow piles on Floyd St. Lord only knows why we didn’t get zapped when we whacked the wires with a shovel to make the ice come crashing down. I guess maybe the ice coating insulated the wires enough for the momentary contact. I’ll have to ask my electrician son about that one. Anyway, they’re saying that this winter is supposed to be a traditional one with lots of snow but very little rain. This just means that it’s going to be cold enough to turn the precipitation to snow before it hits the ground. Sounds like we’re in for a lot of accumulation this year. Thanks be to the inventor of the snow blower! I’m actually thinking of selling my 10hp blower and picking up a 5 or 6hp one instead. I find the 10 to be too big and cumbersome to maneuver on the smaller areas that we have to clear. When we lived out in the sticks in Linwood, we had a huge driveway and no sidewalks to clear. This made it practical to have a larger blower. We had so much snow out there that I needed a 10hp unit to handle it all. Anyway, the 10 is sitting in the garage ready to go if we get snow instead of rain this weekend.
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I was driving over to Canadian Tire a few days ago and noticed that someone had placed a small “bar” fridge at the curbside for garbage pickup. On the way home, I stopped and picked the fridge up. I figured I’d see if it worked and maybe they were just tossing it out because they didn’t want it anymore. I had picked another one the same size (2’x2’x2’) up last spring and all it took was a good cleaning and it began to work. Adam uses it in his recording studio in the basement to keep some refreshments in. I though I’d try the same with this one. As it turned out, it needed more than just a cleaning of the condenser to get this one going. There is a device on the compressor that is called a Klixon overload protector. This device was broken inside. I guess it had become brittle from many years of use. It’s a small plastic thimble shaped cup with 2 wires leading to and from it. This cup contains a bi-metal strip that senses heat from the compressor as well as from the electrical current when the fridge starts up. If the current is too high from the compressor trying to start when it’s hot, the bi-metal strip flexes up at each end and breaks contact with the wire terminals and stops the flow of electricity to the motor and the compressor won’t start. This allows the compressor to cool down. If this action did not take place, the compressor could sustain damage from starting when it’s too hot. I figured that it would be simple enough to replace the Klixon and the fridge would be back in shape. At that, I removed the device from the motor and headed down to the refrigeration wholesaler I’ve dealt with for 35 years. I was told that there was only one place to get such a part these days and that was an appliance parts store in Cambridge. Later that day I made the trip to Cambridge to get the part. I even took the old part with me. It was attached to a relay that was still working ok but apparently they sold it only as a set. The lady behind the counter told me after I stood there for 20 minutes watching her page through catalogue after catalogue that they could only get me one of these switches if I had the model number of the fridge. I said “no problem can I use your phone” and she said “be my guest”. Of course, when you try to call home, someone is always on the phone at the other end. I called home and got Carole on the voice mail. Figures! I decided that there must be an overload device in my accumulation of refrigeration junk at home. After all, I had serviced tons of these machines for many years, surely I had one somewhere. I decided to go home and take a look. Dig I did and after an hour of searching high and low, I had no luck. I decided to phone the manufacturer in Guelph and see if they could help me out. They gave me the numbers of 2 service companies in Kitchener that they assured me would solve my problem. I called both of these places and was told by one that no such overload was available. The other told me that the fridge was so old that these components had been replaced by an electronic version and they would sell me one for $35.00 + taxes but I would have to do some rewiring. At this, I decided that the little fridge wasn’t worth spending any money on and that I’d give it a home on the curb in front of our house until garbage day on Monday. This morning as Carole and I were driving through the neighbourhood and noticed that someone had placed 3 refrigerators and a freezer at the curbside for this Monday’s pickup. After taking Carole home, I grabbed my tool pouch and went back to take a look at the collection of fridges. Upon arrival, I found that two of the fridges had the Klixon style overloads. I robbed one off of each fridge and headed home. After cutting the old one off and soldering the wires to the “new” one, I plugged it onto the compressor and turned the thermostat to max. Voila! It worked like a charm. I now have a new bar fridge. Well, not new but you know what I mean. Technology changes so rapidly that it’s hard to keep up with what you can fix and what you just have to throw away if it stops working. I know it’s been a long time coming but they say that the VCR is now a thing of the past. I find it hard to believe that they would stop the production of them altogether. I’m sure that for many years to come there will be a company that will figure they should still make them for those of us who have VHS tapes of our families, not mention the vast collections of movies in most homes. I guess I’d better get Adam to show me how to use the DVD player just in case. Now I know how the “Pony Express” riders felt when someone invented telegraph. Time marches on and there isn’t much one can do about it but keep up!
I think I’ve about said enough for one week. Thanks for tuning in. Talk to you again next week.
Bye
for now….GREG.
PS: Something to Think About>
A woman will buy anything she thinks a store is losing money on.
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The family site:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/
The Squamidian Site:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b2/
Have a good one..
the
doug
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And now a word about Yogi. Please do not feel obligated to read this section, it is my eulogy to him. We had to have Yogi put down last Sunday morning. He was being treated for an infected foot but the infection was actually a symptom of a much larger problem. He was dying from cancer. He began going down hill very fast last Saturday and by the end of the day was very weak. We had to lift him up and help him around. That night was not much fun for any of us. Sunday morning I phoned the Vet’s emergency number and they sent out a compassionate young Vet who painlessly and with no stress to Yogi put him to sleep. We are having him cremated.
Yog was born just under 12 years ago on December 8th, 1992 on a sheep farm south of Cambridge. His parents ran with the sheep protecting them from Coyotes and Coydogs. Yogi would never have had that kind of disposition. He was very gentle and timid. While his growl could rattle windows, he was actually a very small puppy trapped inside a large black body that weighed in at 150 lb during his prime.
He used to enjoy walks in the forest back on Hidden Valley but always managed to get covered with mud and burs. I often thought the burs could find him because they just seemed to jump out and get into his fur. He loved the coldest part of winter and always thought snow was the worlds biggest helping of ice cream. By the time we moved west his hips and joints made only short walks possible.
He spent most of his life under the iron fist of Tracy, our schnauzer who passed away just over a year ago. She made his life miserable at times, refusing to let him play with any toys except his teddy bear that he cherished to the end. Yog did love rides in the van. We had taken out one of the seats when we first got the van so he would have a space large enough to hold him. Whether it was to Horton’s or the DQ or just around the block, just asking him if he wanted to come along was enough to get him to use his considerable size to push us to the door. Once we had settled in to our house here on the west coast, he ‘discovered’ the river. That soon became his most favorite thing in the world. It didn’t seem to matter how cold it was, he would wade around in the fresh ice-melt water. He liked to stand in a dept that put the water level with his chin so he could drink without bending over.
He liked to take naps at the same time I would. He would get quite upset if I didn’t invite him to join me. He of course napped on the floor, too big for the bed. He always called out to me when I came home. Near the end it was too much effort for him to lift his head but he still managed to acknowledge me. He trusted me as only a dog can trust a person. I think I lived up to that trust throughout his life. I know I lived up to that trust last Sunday when I helped him on his way to a better place. I miss him.
doug