|
The
Squamidian Report – Sept. 11 / 21
Online
Versions
Of This And Past Issues Issue
#1007 From Russ The Ontarion
Hi All, Thanks everyone for your replies and feedback regarding the email problem that some of you are having. The issue seems to be the Roger’s email system. It is either blocking this newsletter or flagging it as spam and then shunting it off to the spam (junk) mailboxes of computers on their system and in some cases giving it a low priority delivery level. Rogers seems to think you shouldn’t be aloud to receive emails that contain multiple addresses. This is frustrating and there is nothing I can do at my end to fix or even try to fix the issue. Everyone else, being those who use a different Internet and Email company, or are using systems like gmail etc are receiving their copy of this letter just fine. My suggestion to those on the Roger’s system would be to call their tech support and complain about their service dictating what email is being or not being delivered and request it be fixed. If that gets them no where, well, they can keep looking in their junk or spam box, or, set up a secondary email address through gmail or any of the other systems that are working. There is one other small issue for some on the list…. Their own personal computer has decided to flag the letter as spam and shunts it off to the junk box. That can usually be fixed by setting a rule of otherwise telling that computer that the Squid is not spam. So, bottom line is that any of you being effected by this can try to have Rogers undo their arbitrary policy, or, look for the letter in you junk or spam box, or, set up a second address through a free carrier as mentioned above. And of course there is always the on-line versions of all of these letters dating all the way back to the beginning. Just follow the link at the top, book mark it and you can easily get to and read the current or any past issues. Hopefully, thats the last we will spend time on this issue. * Finally, the last of the summer long weekends are over with. They are a royal pain in the butt. Crowded crazy highways, crowded crazy everywhere else too. The last long weekend of summer tends to also be the psychological end of summer. That means things tend to slow down a bit as people stay home due to work and school. That also means I could finally do a nice little day trip on my nice little motorcycle. Until now the highways around here were simply too busy and crazy to be safe for an old guy like me on a motorcycle. So, Tuesday morning I saddled up and rode to Lillooet for lunch which obviously means up to Pemberton and over the Duffy. Once I got through Whistler I basically had the road to myself and thats the best kind of riding there is because there is no pressure from other vehicles. The scenery was rather stunning as it was an almost perfect day for riding with the only little issue being that it turned a bit hot on the ride home. Even with my riding jacket open I was roasting. But, most importantly, I had a great ride and put on about 400km. The bike purred like a kitten and rewarded me with almost 70mpg. Not bad at all because even though its a small bike, it has a fairly big engine. I stopped along the way to take this pic of Duffy Lake.
I and then realized I should have included the bike in the picture. So, I aimed my phone at the bike parked just to my right and took this picture.
* For this week’s amateur entertainment I’ve got an old sailing song called ‘The Bluenose’. I think it’s from the Sing Along Jubilee days if memory serves but who knows. I guess I could look that information up but it really doesn’t matter so why bother. The song is about the ship called the Bluenose, the one that is pictured on our dime. The original ship was a rum runner that could outrun everything else. The rebuilt version was used for racing and tended to win her races. Because ‘The Wife’ was away babysitting in Maple Ridge and therefore the house was nice and quiet, I was able to throw together a video version of this song. Then I thought, why not try putting together an audio version as well, with harmonies and instrumentation? So, I did. Worst that could happen is that is didn’t work out and I’d have to delete it. It seems to have worked out so I kept it. Cool. Hope you enjoy the song, either or both versions, it or they might even bring back memories for those that were listening to Canadian folk music way back when. Audio
Version
Video Version doug ****
From Russ
The Point Clark storm. Hi Doug. This is coming to you a day earlier than usual because I'm running on emergency power and have been since 4:30PM yesterday (Tuesday). Because of the storm that went through here last evening many trees have been uprooted, or 'snapped-off'. A large tree took down our main power lines and we will remain on generators (or nothing) until power is restored around 6:00Pm this evening (if we're lucky). The Weather Station and radio kept warning us all day of the approaching storm, but the sun was shining from a clear- blue sky, no strong winds - it was hard to believe a storm was coming. I was working at the computer all day, and it wasn't until I saw the menacing, almost black clouds coming over Lake Huron - directly toward me that I headed for the basement. I could hear the TV warning sounds and the scary news that there was a tornado about to touch-down in Point Clark! Yes, this is real! They warned of damaging winds, up to 100Km/h, large hail (Toonee size), and heavy amounts of rain!! Sitting on a chair beside the sump-pump - I waited. Suddenly the winds carrying large hail-stones, and rain so heavy I couldn't see a thing through the basement windows. But the ROARING (like a freight-train), was so loud, I thought part of the roof had blown off! .........Suddenly - silence......I crawled up the stairs (the only way I can manage safely), and took a quick look around....the roof was still 'a roof' - no windows smashed - opened the back door - WHAT A MESS!! The deck, the Handicap ramps, the paved driveway/parking area, and the entire lawn covered in 'shredded' leaves, sticks, branches, and stuff! My rain gauge (the one Doug gave me), showed 4.5 inches. My neighbour's 5.5 inches. News reports are starting to come in. There were at least three Tornadoes in Bruce and Grey County's. So far, no reports of injuries, or fatalities (thank God), just damaged homes, flattened barns, etc. Must end this report now, as power may soon be restored, and the 'pause' between generator and the Gov. energy sometimes causes my 'work' at the computer to end-up in ^*#+@^ Uncle Russ. This is the first I've ventured out on my tricycle - too much standing water on the gravel roads to do this earlier. As the saying goes; "I have a good memory, but it's short". I think I'm able to give you a 'blow-by-blow' description of my 'tour' of the nearby neighbourhood now. Point Clark, being mainly a 'Tourist Haven' it's a 'ghost town' today. Labour Day weekend is the 'unofficial' end of Summer and all the 'weekenders/renter's have gone home. But it's not quiet as you'd expect - in fact, it's quite noisy! All the noise is coming from the homes/cottages of 'full-timers' - those of us who Winter in Point Clark. I counted twelve generators humming-away in an eighteen block circuit. Most of the roads are open now, but they were closed this morning due to fallen trees. There were bunch of 'near-misses' - large trees and limbs crashing down narrowly missing cottages. Many trees had their tops broken off with the strong winds carrying them many meters away. ****
THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone! Hope you’re all enjoying some of this cooler weather for the start of September! I know that I am indeed. I didn’t mind the heat of summer but it is nice to have a couple of cooler days. Adam and I spent the past week in the garage just reorganizing things and of course weeding out the items that we no longer use or need. Many of them went to the Salvation Army store on Highland Rd to be used by someone else, rather than ending their use by just taking them to the dump! No sense in tossing out something that can be made use of by a second owner! The garage is now looking more respectable and also roomier for the two vehicles we have to store in them. That is especially so during the coming winter months! The Jeep has spent most of the summer out on the driveway due to my need for work space in the garage for different projects I’ve had going on during the summer months. It’ll be nice to have the Jeep back inside especially when thinking of all the vandalism that’s been happening to vehicles in people’s Drives lately. My only hope lately has been “Who would want an older vehicle anyway these days?” but, you never know, do you? If they were shopping after midnight for a good vehicle, they would most likely steal Adam’s new truck, rather than a 2011 Jeep! Adam and I spent a good five days working on cleaning and rearranging the garage contents and then two days ago he surprised me with two insulation kits to be mounted on the inside of the garage doors! These kits are basically large sheets of Styrofoam that you had to cut to size and shape to be mounted on the inside of the doors. They were supposed to be glued to the back side of each door but we found that once they were cut to the exact size to fit between the inside braces on each door they fit so snugly that they are holding themselves in place nicely! The end result of two day’s work is quite impressive indeed! Once they were both finished today, we could notice a remarkable difference not only in the warmth of the garage but also the amazing sound proofing that these sheets afforded when the doors were closed. We could hardly hear the sound of passing cars and trucks with the sound dampening insulation! I’m hoping that these insulating sheets of foam will make a difference in the dead of winter so we can still work on projects in the garage during the cold months. I’m sure a small heater will make it quite comfy in the garage. However, only time will tell! * Last week, I attended a car show at the Wellington County Museum between Elora and Fergus. They hold this classic car show each year but with the Covid-19 problem it’s been cancelled over the past two years! It was a lovely but extremely hot day last Sunday for the show. It’s held on the front lawn of the Museum and there were approximately 200 vehicles in attendance. I must say, our MGB attracted quite a lot of attention from the fans of the show that day. We had many compliments on the condition of the MG and many folks asking permission to photograph the little British car! We found on the following day that our MGB was featured on the web site of the Waterloo British Car Club! I guess that’s a feather in our caps to have such a prestigious club choose to show pictures of our MG when we no longer belong to that club! I guess they appreciate a nice restoration job when they see one even when said vehicle belongs to a non-member! With the garage cleaned out and reorganized we are almost finished with the outdoor preparations for winter around the house. We still have some work to do on the fence between our house and the folks next door but that won’t take more than an afternoon to complete. Then we have to do a little brick repair job on the Chimney where a few of the bricks on the outside of the fireplace section have begun to crumble after 45 years time! Once that repair is finished we’ll be ready for winter to set in! Like I’ve said before, home ownership comes with a lot of maintenance and repair work through the years, so you have to keep on top of these projects when they come up! It’s a never ending battle for sure! The only time it’ll come to an end will be when I’m pushing up daisies! LOL! Hopefully that won’t be for many years to come! I’m just happy to be able to still be doing most of the work needed around the house and yard these years! With Adam’s and Carole’s help of course! I think I’ve said enough for this week folks! Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next time in The Ontarion Report! Bye for now … Greg PS: Something To Think About> Don’t forget to Vote! ****
Take
Care
And Be Safe |
