The Squamidian Report – Oct. 25 / 14
Issue #648
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
I know its a bit early in the season and for all I know, it won't even
be needed this winter, but I checked out our snowblower this week. Its
had been virtually abandoned at the end of last winter, a winter that
practically didn't even happen around here. The blower normally would
have been put away with a full tank of treated fuel, clean oil,
lubricated surfaces and so on. But, it just got parked down in the
lower shed and forgotten about. I had the intention of getting back to
it at some convenient point but like they say, out of sight, out of
mind. When I had put the blower away the year before, it had a full
tank of fuel, and that tank of fuel never even got fully used up
through all of last winter and so that gas was now 2-years old, not a
good thing at all. This had been nagging at me on and off lately and I
figured I'd better check it out before it might be needed. I'd hate for
it to all of a sudden be late November or mid December and find it
would not start and was stranded down in the shed where working on it
would be a pain. I needed to make sure it at least would run enough to
bring it around and into the garage where I could do the over-due
maintenance.
So, I drained the gas from the tank and carb bowl. There was not much
left in it at all which was not a surprise because thats how I left it.
Thats was pretty dumb because that meant there was mostly air in the
tank which meant the gas could really go sour and condensation might
well be further contaminating it with water. Oh well. I filled the now
drained tank with fresh, clean, treated gas and primed the carb until
the gas was overflowing as a way of flushing the lines. Then, not
knowing really what to expect, I set the throttle and choke, and gave
the engine pull handle a pull. Yup, one pull, and away it went. Didn't
even sputter, just caught and chugged up to speed. That really
surprised me. I figured it would need several pulls, assuming it would
start at all. I let it run for about 10 minutes and then shut the fuel
valve so it would suck the carb dry and shut itself off. Thats how I
usually shut it off if its going to be sitting more than a day or so,
even in snow blowing season, by letting it suck the carb dry. That has
always seemed to avoid a lot of fuel and carb problems that I've so far
managed to not have although I suppose it could be exposing rubber
lines and carb gaskets to drying out. I really don't know, but its
worked so far.
Now I know that the blower not only will start, but it will run. Thats
a good thing. My intention is to bring it around and into the garage
right after I tuck the bike away for the winter. On paper that would be
a week and a half into November because my bike insurance runs out on
the 9th of November. At that time I'll replace the spark plug again, I
do that about every second year, and change the oil as well as lube
things that should be lubed and so on. Then, if this coming winter is
anything like last winter, it will just sit there again, not even being
used enough to use up the current tank of fuel. Or, it could be like
the winter before and get used constantly. Either way, when needed, it
beats shoveling.
On another topic, its a hard job but someone's got to do it. 'The Wife'
is closing in on 100 trips up the Gondola. We've been working
diligently on racking up the necessary number of times to get her into
that rather exclusive club. She had lost out a bit when she visited
Ontario. But, we are getting her there. It really is a lot of work and
hardship on our part. First, we must endure that rather incredible ride
from the base station up to the top. Ten minutes of silence and scenery
that unfolds as the gondola car climbs. Then of course there is our
'regular' walk that we do most time, the Panorama Ridge walk where we
see not just the macro scenery but also the micro scenery. The
mountains and the moss, the waterfalls and the lichens, and so on. If
we are feeling particularly hard done by, we will go in and endure a
coffee or hot chocolate in the lounge or take it out onto the deck
where we must again chance wrenching our necks as we turn our heads up
and around trying to see everything. Yes, its a lot of hard work and
its not over yet. We must of course ride the gondola back down. Another
2 kilometers of unfolding scenery as we glide down across the ridges
and rock faces, over and through the trees before coming in for a
landing at the base.
One day this past week, I believe it was her 94th trip, the forecast
was for stormy weather. This is the time of year where we can get 2
inches of rain per day, every day and hardly even notice it unless you
get caught it in on the bike in which case you tend to get a bit damp.
Anyway, the winds had picked up quite interestingly and as we topped
the first big cliff we were hit by some pretty good gusts that sent the
gondola car swinging, back and forth and sideways, like a canoe in
heavy seas I guess. It was really cool. There was a time that 'The
Wife' would have been pretty well freaked out but now she's a seasoned
veteran and takes that kind of thing in stride. When we got to the top
the attendant pointed out to the rather nervous visitors waiting to
ride down that it must not be too bad because we were grinning widely.
At least I was, heck, its a lot of fun.
Anyway, we've been working hard at getting her into the 'one hundred
and over' club. Due to being busier than we'd like to be, with all
sorts of thing, we are not quite there, in fact, as of today, assuming
you are reading this today (Saturday), she is at 99. Unfortunately, we
won't have an opportunity tomorrow to get to number 100 as we are
taking a day-long first aid course. But thats ok, Monday will be the
big one, her 100th trip up the Sea to Sky Gondola. Cool.
One last thing, not related to snowblowers or gondolas, we were coming
back from walking the dog one morning and happened to look up our
neighbor’s driveway. There, reclining comfortably on her front porch
was a big black bear, munching on a bucket full of apples. Around here
we are supposed to pick all ripe fruit and keep our yards clear of
anything that might be an attractant, she had picked, but had not
removed the fruit. As this is a friend of 'The Wife', we have her cell
number in our cell phones. I phoned her and advised her to not step out
onto her porch without first making enough noise to scare the bear
away. Then, as I stood on the end of the driveway talking to her, there
was the sound of banging on her door. That caused the bear to get up
and start down the driveway, right toward where I was standing. We were
still talking over the phone and I requested that she hold off a bit
from driving the bear too far away from her door until I could move on
up the street a little further. The bear then wandered on to her front
lawn, then, came back, and laid back down on her porch again with the
intentions of finishing off the apples.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
It was indeed a sad day on Wednesday when that young soldier died at
the hands of another murdering terrorist on Parliament Hill! Thank God
nobody else died or was injured in the incident except for the one who
deserved to be killed! I wasn’t aware that the parliamentary Sergeant
At Arms actually carried a weapon until I heard on today’s news that he
was the one who shot and killed the terrorist inside the parliament
buildings. The Sergeant At Arms is a retired RCMP Officer and in my
mind, a very brave man!
The news reported that the downed terrorist had ties to a Middle
Eastern terrorist organization and that the RCMP had his name on their
“watch list” and had confiscated his Canadian Passport. An expert in
terrorist organization activity stated that once the suspected
terrorist affiliates that live in Canada have had their passports
confiscated they are sworn to cause acts of terrorism within Canada and
if necessary become Martyrs. This seams to be exactly what happened on
Wednesday and also in Quebec this past Monday! I think that our federal
terrorist task force and the RCMP are going about this the wrong way.
When they have someone on their “watch list” they confiscate their
passport and then just turn them loose to go about their evil business.
Following these sworn murderers does nothing but give them the
opportunity to continue their plans behind closed doors for committing
terrorist acts! Once they have a line on these evildoers they should
immediately arrest their asses and put them in a high risk federal
prison for the rest of their natural lives! There is no such thing as
rehabilitation of killers of this kind and since Canada doesn’t believe
in capital punishment, this is the most sensible and harshest penalty
they can receive. If I had my way, I’d rather they be publicly executed
as soon as they are found out and arrested! It’s a good thing that the
Sergeant At Arms shot to kill when he defended Parliament Hill on
Wednesday! If he had allowed the killer to be arrested by the Ottawa
Police or the RCMP, the terrorist would have been brought before a JP
in the local court and given house arrest for 6 weeks as a punishment!
It’s time that here in Canada the punishment fits the crime!
This type of crime deserves the DEATH PENALTY!
Why the hell are we wasting millions and millions of dollars
watching and following these known terrorists when a 45 cent bullet
would eliminate the problem once and for all! We’ve got to stop this
nonsense and realize that karma gets what karma gives! I guess what I’m
saying is getting back to the old “eye for an eye” concept may just be
the better way to reduce this problem once and for all! Let’s not waste
any more money or young Canadian lives on trying to tame these killers
by treating them civilly. From now on, if you’re a threat to our way of
life, YOU DIE!
That’s the way I see it
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>
What say we institute Capital Punishment for terrorists?
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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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