The Squamidian Report – Dec. 1 / 07
Issue #288
Also in this issue:
From the Shores of Lake Huron
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Last weekend BC Ferries had to suspend ferry service to one of the Gulf Islands, leaving anyone there stranded. However, it wasn’t an unexpected service disruption, but rather one that could be expected and planned for. Once every 19 years there is a low tide situation where the sun and moon line up just right and create tide levels that drop below the zero mark down into negative measurements. And that is just what happened, leaving the water at the docks too shallow for the ferryboat. Just thought you’d want to know.
*
The eagles are back. We had driven up to Whistler for breakfast in the car with our biking neighbors, stopped in at Warren’s for a visit on the way back and then continued on back down to Squamish. As we stood out on the driveway talking we looked up and there were dozens of eagles soaring high in the air enjoying the sunshine. Most were mature, with the distinctive black body and white tail and head. The rest were young and had the brown-gray bodies and tails. They seem to like riding the cold clear air, gliding in endless circles, surveying their domain.
I continued to watch them, on and off all afternoon. They seem to be able to move in and out of view in the blink of an eye. You can look up and not seen any, look up a moment later and see then all over the place. Then, look around a bit and look back up and there will be only a couple there. Let you gaze wander a bit and when you look back there will be dozens right overhead again. It went on like that all afternoon. At times some were very low right above us and at other times some were so high they were little more than tiny dots against the sky. At all times they were like small silent airplanes with wings out wide. They seldom seemed to flap them, always finding the thermal needed for sustained lift.
Then Monday came along and the weather went down the crapper. Heavy wet snow moved in and by evening there was 4 inches of snow on the driveway. I had to use the snowblower for the first time this season. The local streets were polished to a shine as most cars and trucks spun their tires wildly, turning the snow into smooth ice. You would think people could learn to drive without spinning their wheels but it just doesn’t seem to be the case. Snow polished to ice had everything from Horseshoe Bay to Squamish at a standstill. The local cops were checking for winter tires at Alice Lake and turning back anyone heading for Whistler that didn’t have proper rubber under their cars. That’s a good thing, we get way too many unprepared and unknowledgeable drivers heading up that mountain highway.
And I had to rescuer Emily. She had bicycled to one of her jobs before the snow started and when she was finished at about 7 there was no way she could even push her bike home, even if it wasn’t too far, which is was. Ryan had decided to play it safe and stay the night in Whistler were he was working during the day. So I picked her up in the truck and we threw the bike in the back. Got her home safe and warm.
*
Because of all the overcast we had been having, I almost missed the comet. I hadn’t even heard about it, totally unaware that anything was going on. Then, on a clear morning at about 5-am when I stepped out to look up at the stars I saw it. A big nebula looking smudge in the sky near the star Marfak. But there shouldn’t be anything there except the star. I saw it again that evening when that section of sky had climbed above the eastern horizon. I may not know much about astronomy or what all is out there but I am sufficiently familiar with the sky to know what shouldn’t be there.
It was a conversation with Lorne that pointed me in the right direction for figuring it out. He asked me if I had heard of the comet that had all-of-a-sudden appeared. So I did some Google searching and found the answer. Turns out the comet Holmes passes by every couple of decades but is too far away and dim to be seen without a good scope and knowledge of where and when to look. But on October 23 or so it flared in brightness by a million times making it an easy naked eye object. In fact, the ‘smudge’ was bigger in appearance than the full moon. And that was creating a problem, the moon was approaching full my mid November and was washing out the sky at the same time that the comet was growing dim again.
By the time we had some clear nights this past Thursday and Friday, viewing was good again because the moon was no longer a factor during the late evening. The comet had dimmed a bit making it harder to see as a naked eye object if you didn’t know where and how to look for it. Through binoculars it was still a large fuzzy ball. Star gazing at its best.
If you are curious and want a bit more information about the Holmes comet, just click on over to: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/10775326.html
doug
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Greetings Everyone
Last Saturday a friend of mine from Kitchener came up and stayed over until Sunday. His son and he brought up the atv's and Sunday we went for a ride. We left my place went south down the old rail trail to the hydro plant exploring off trails along the way. We then traveled along the hydro corridor and ended up over near Pinkerton so from there went to Dunkeld and had lunch. We then went back over to Paisley got gassed up and headed back towards Port Elgin.
I took them to an old gravel pit and a bit of a swampy area adjacent to the pit. With all the rain we had the latter area had lots of water and mud to play in. I almost buried my machine in one mud hole but managed to get out without the winch. We then followed our original route back to my place. All in all we traveled 185 km in about 7 hours.
This past Wednesday the high winds produced a quite a few snow squalls off the lake but they didn't amount to a large accumulation but a lot of blowing snow. Thursday the area north of Toronto got dumped on pretty good. They say Collingwood ski runs are going to open this weekend. They can have the snow over there as it seems the older you get the less I like the white crap. It could come Dec. 24 and leave the 26th but I am dreaming I guess.
Well time to sign off so every one have a safe and happy week.
****
Hello
everyone!
Christmas
is getting closer and the weather is getting colder. I guess that’s to be
expected since today is the first of December. If you live in the KW area you
will remember that last year we only had a little bit of the white stuff off
and on and up until January 10th, we had no significant
accumulation. I don’t know if this year will be the same but I for one wouldn’t
mind if it was. The snow helps to replenish the ground water we need for spring
but for my money we don’t need 4 feet of the stuff to refill the wells. Doug
told me that he has already used his snow blower this week to clear a fairly
heavy down fall they had out in BC. Maybe we are trading weather with the west
coast after all? LOL! I guess when you think of it, that wouldn’t be all bad.
It would at least give Doug a chance to make use of the 4x4 feature on his pickup
truck. We’ll just have to be patient and see what the weatherman brings.
*
We
watched an interesting movie tonight. It was called Mr Brooks and it was about
a man that had a compulsion to commit murder. He had this alter ego for many
years and because of his method he never got caught. It is quite an intriguing
plot line to say the least. It makes one think about the possibility of having
a murderer in your life and not even knowing it. This guy had an imaginary
friend that he talked to as he planned and committed each killing. He said that
if you plan each murder thoroughly, tell nobody what you’re doing and only kill
people you don’t know or have any connection with you’ll never get caught.
Sounds like a plan to me!
I watched
an Oprah show once that was all about getting away with murder. The guests she
had on were cops that had worked for many years on the LAPD homicide squad and
they were really interesting to listen to. They said exactly what Mr Brooks
said about committing a murder. The one detective said that the majority of the
cases their department solves are solved due to the murderer talking to someone
about what he or she had done. The smallest detail mentioned to a friend or
relative can lead to the killer being found out. Most people could never kill
another person and keep their mouths shut about it. If you have even a shred of
moral decency you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself after committing such
a crime. You’d be so eaten up by guilt you would eventually have to tell
someone to try to relieve the burden. That’s why I think that anyone that can
take another persons life other than in self defense has to be insane. You
don’t have to be a raving mad, foaming at the mouth lunatic but you do have to
have a screw loose somewhere. I hope I’ll never know anyone personally that has
that loose screw. It’s shocking enough to know that there are people among us
that have the potential to be like that without actually knowing one of them.
As far as I’m concerned watching murderers in action on the silver screen is
close enough for me. There’s something intriguing about a good murder mystery
and the movies is a good place to keep them.
If you’re
looking for an evening of suspense and entertainment, rent Mr Brooks.
*
That’s it
for this week. Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all
again next time in The Ontarion Report.
Bye for now… Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
What city
in the USA was named North America’s most dangerous city for 2007 by the FBI?
****
The Family Site:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/
The Squamidian Site:
The Biking And Stuff Site:
Have a good one..
the
doug
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