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The Squamidian Report – Apr. 28 / 18
Issue #831 Including: From Russ The Ontarion Hi All, Every find yourself in need of destroying old hard drives? As we occationally upgrade and replace the ones in our computers, we end up with old out dated drives that we no longer have much need for. Eventually we find we have half a dozen drives taking up space and collecting dust on some shelf somewhere. Last time I dealt with a bunch of drives I spent a fair amount of time drilling holes through them in order to destroy the circuitry and the internal platter. Several months ago I decided to finish destroying my stack of old drives and thought I had the perfect way to do it. I dumped them into a bucket and then ran enough water into the bucket to cover the drives, then dumped in a handful of road salt. We all know how road salt kills every thing from cars to cloths and lawns. After leaving the bucket outside for most of the winter I decided to check on how corroded and wrecked the old drives were. After dumping the icky water I checked the drives. To my surprise they all looked as pristine and perfect as the day the were removed from whatever computer they had lived in. So, I opened one up and the inside was clean and dry. The electronics looked fine. Bummer. I ended up drilling holes through them after all. I didn't bother to hook them up and test them, but I couldn't believe how indestructible they seem to be. Now you know. Here's something I haven't done for quite a while but did do this past Wednesday.... I played up at the gondola. I was expecting it to be fairly quiet up there as its still not quit tourist season, but, the sun has been out lately and the temps have shot way up. The place was crowded. Oh well, I can play to a crowed place as easily as to an empty room. Because it was so warm most of the people were out on the deck which was good because there wouldn't have been room for everyone inside. If this were summer I'd have been set up out there as well but this isn't summer and it could just have easily been snowing sideways. As for the warmth, make that hot as heck. On Wednesday Squamish was the hot spot for the whole country with a temp of 28 C. (Thursday hit 29.2, beaten out only by Lyton over in the Fraser Canyon). In the summer that would feel warm but after enduring a very long wet and cold spring, we are not acclimatized to the heat and it felt very hot. So even though it was hot inside as well, at least it was shaded. As for the playing, it went just fine thank you. That Martin guitar of mine sure likes to play in public and its kind of my responsibility to oblige her once in a while. And then there's my semi-annual hair cut.... As per usual, my wild, out of control head of hair had reached its usual spring time level of chaos, causing my head to look like a grey dandelion with stuff sticking out in all directions. For the life of my I can't figure out why the stuff grows so fast. Ever notice that as you get older, hair starts to grow from places it should never be aloud to even consider growing from? Like my ears. They end up looking like I've got some kind of furry critter attached to each side of my head. Anyway, with this week of rather warm weather I reached the point where I couldn't stand it any longer. So to that end I headed down to the barber I've now been using, well, this was my second time using them. My old barber retired. You may remember, she was the one with bad eye sight and shaky hands that would remove eye brows and leave tufts of hair sticking out of my head and not even notice. Going to her was always an adventure and one never quite knew what the outcome would be making it an exciting adventure. But I digress.... I'm now going to to a barber shop that is run by two old women that are characters to say the least. They do a pretty good job and charge reasonable rates. They tend to cut a bit close but thats ok because my hair grows so fast I can almost see it grow. Like I said, their rates are good, I have in years past gone to barbers that charged ridiculous rates for the exact same results and left feeling ripped off. Perhaps they were charging combat rates to deal with my head, who knows. But good rates are good and like I've always said, if a haircut costs $20 for argument sake, then getting 1 inch cut off costs $20 per inch. If getting just half an inch cut off costs that same $20, the cost per inch is now $40. But, if you get oh, say 4 inches cut off, the cost per inch is now a much more expectable $5 per inch. Just the way I like it. doug
**** From Russ There’s not a lot going on......... Alberta has too many Black Bears. According to the CBC, twenty four orphaned Black Bear cubs have been euthanized in the past 5 years. But now, Alberta is allowing orphaned bear cubs to be rehabilitated, then released back into the wild. Previously, it was against the law in that province to raise bear cubs in captivity, so some cubs were sent to Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Ontario. This “stay of execution”, however, does not apply to orphaned Grizzly Bear cubs.....they will still be euthanized as before. Black Bears are infrequently spotted around Kincardine, and if one is seen, it makes the front page of our local rag: The Kincardine News Thursday, April 12, 2018 A visit from a black bear (bear photo showing front paws on deck railing) A curious visitor returned to bless the Taylor family of Kincardine with an up close and personal experience at their residence. A black bear that has awakened after his winter hibernation was seen out and about on Jim Taylor’s property located on the North side of Kincardine and even came up on his deck to check things out. The bear was easily scared off after Jim raised his voice to spook the bear off his deck. The bear did not seem to be threatening in any way but rather very hungry and curious of his surroundings after looking for bird seed on their deck. Just in case you see a bear, there is a “Bear Reporting Line” you can call: 1-866-514-2327. We need not emphasize, NEVER approach a bear! If you accidentally encounter one, they say you should stop, raise both arms to make yourself look bigger, wave them about, and make a lot of noise, as you slowly back away. And NEVER attempt to pick up a “cuddly little bear cub” as it’s mother won’t be far away....out of sight, maybe, but will come at you...... all 250 pounds of her, with a top speed of 55 Km/Hr.....knock you down and eat your heart out via your ‘behind’! But you won’t remember ANY of this advice, because if you are like me....you’ll be too scared!! If you have an emergency...and you are still able, call 911. But, like I say....There’s not a lot going on....... Uncle Russ.
**** THE ONTARION REPORT Hello everyone! Wasn’t it nice to have and enjoy the sunshine of the past few days? Now we’re back into a little rain for a day or so but it’ll pass and Monday should be our first day over the 20c mark. I’m looking forward to enjoying a drive in the city and countryside in the MGB. I got her battery hooked up, the tires checked, the interior vacuumed out and she’s topped up with gas. I also managed to purchase my license sticker for this year. It’s a shame that I still have to pay full price of $120.00 for that little sticker since we only drive the B for 6 months at the most each year. I guess that’s just the way the government likes to gouge the driving public. Oh well, as they tell me it’s a privilege to drive on our roads not a right! We were out in the MG for a quick drive earlier this week and just took a run up through Waterloo and back in to Kitchener. It was only about 14c out so it was just a tad cool with the breeze that hits you in the back of the neck while driving in a convertible. I’ve discovered that they make a “Wind Screen” that I can mount behind the seats in the MG that can be seen through but still blocks about 80% of the blow back wind that makes cooler days uncomfortable while cruising with the top down. I’m sure I’ll check further into such a screen and will likely purchase one this spring. We still have a few features that I can add to the MG so as to enhance the performance and comfort of driving this year. I’m looking forward to adding these features to the car and then It’ll be complete. The car is in great shape and I even waxed the entire paint job the other day in the garage. The weather was around 16c and comfortable enough to allow me to wax the car in my shirtsleeves. Well, not quite my shirtsleeves, I have a thin set of blue coveralls that I wear when doing anything outside the house and that includes work I do on the cars. Makes me feel like a real mechanic when I have them on! LOL! With a little extra time that day, I decided to start the project of installing the new convertible roof on the MG. I removed the old roof, frame and all from the car and then had to tear the old vinyl roof off the frame before starting to install the new one on the frame. Unfortunately I had to stop at that point because I need to have at least an 18c day with warm sunshine before the new vinyl roof will be pliable enough to fit it on the frame. The sunshine is the perfect way to warm up the new roof so it can be unfolded and wrapped around the framework. If it’s too cool the vinyl will tear if forced to unfold. Don’t want that after having the new roof in the box for the past 18 years. LOL! One might say I’ve been procrastinating a little when it comes to installing the new roof. No kidding eh? Anyway, Monday and Tuesday of this coming week are supposed to be a lot warmer than any we’ve had so far this spring and that’s when I intend to do the job of the new roof for the MG. I hope I can get it all done without damaging the new one. They say in the instructions as long as the roof is warm enough it’s an easy install! I hope they’re right in the instructions. I once had a ’63 TR4 Triumph Sports car back in the early ‘80’s and I installed a new roof on that little car too but being so long ago, I’ve lost any talent I might have gained from doing that one. So I’ll just have to read and follow the instructions like a good boy and hope all goes well this time too! I think that’s about all for this week folks! Not much else on my mind tonight so I guess I’ll let you all off easy this week. No sense in boring you with a bunch of meaningless babble this week. 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> I guess you’ve all or at least some of you have been wondering what an MGB looks like. Since many of you weren’t born during the production years of the little British car circa: 1962 to 1980 so I’ve attached a picture of “R WEE B” for all of you to check out! I hope you like it! Maybe it’ll inspire one or two of you to invest in a hobby vehicle of your own to enjoy some top down driving this summer! I think Al and Carol would look great in an MGB of their own! What do you say guys?  **** 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. |