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The
Squamidian Report – Jan. 18 / 25
Online
Versions
Of This And Past Issues Issue
#1182 The
Ontarion ****
From Greg – The Ontarion
Hello everyone! Another year has passed and I caught up to Doug in age once morel It’s funny how each birthday reminds me of a song! This years 76th made the tune 76 trombones stick in my mind all weekend! Next years will likely be the old TV show theme song 77 sunset strip! Likely too many of you will be too young to remember that show! It was about two young California guys who travelled around the US in a vintage Corvette! I remember both the car and the lifestyle appealed to their audience! I know it did appeal to me! Luckily, the life style I chose wasn’t that carefree and irresponsible! LOL! I don’t know where I’d be if not where I am these days! Likely pushing up daisies! With my bday yesterday I was given the gift of money from Carole and Adam to purchase a wood lathe to develope a new hobby in the new year! I’ve been admiring the products turned out by people working on their lathes and thought I’d like to try that same hobby! So, Carole and Adam decided to help me into that hobby to occupy my future free time! On the videos people make all kinds of beautiful and useful items on their lathes! I’ve always liked to make things out of wood and this will be an extension of those items! We have to research and purchase the best lathe to fit my purpose so it should be a fun thing to do even that much to get started! It’s exciting to look forward to this in the near spring! We’ve just got to clear and set up a room in the basement to accommodate this new project! Im sure that Adam and maybe even Carole will like to give this lathe a try once I get into doing it! Over the years I’ve done everything in woodworking from building bird houses to building our house in Linwood back in 1990! Wood is an amazing medium to work in and the results are fun to look back on years after! We have many pieces of furniture I’ve made that we still use to this day. I’m sure once the lathe is a reality, I will make good use of what it will produce! I’ve seen everything from bowls to candle sticks on line that were made on lathes! Should be a fun skill to learn! Have any of you on the squid ever worked on a wood lathe? If so write In and tell us about it! I’m in the midst of making canes and walking sticks as a hobby so I’m sure the lathe will fit into that hobby quite well! I’ll be sure to write about my progress as it developers!
Anyway, that’s
about it for
this week! Greg ****
From Russ
Mixed feelings. We live 'next door' to the world's largest operating nuclear plant. It is a great boost to the economy of Canada, and provides well-paying jobs for thousands of Canadians. "In its year-end review, Bruce Power said the highlights included continued work on the life-extension program and major component replacement project, which will refurbish the site's nuclear fleet and secure local operations for another 40 years." Bruce Power spends 'big bucks' to ensure safe, continuous, clean power. For example: they signed a $700-million contract with the Steam Generator Replacement Team, a joint venture with Aecon. "Bruce Power also progressed its Project 2030 in 2024 by making improvements to existing assets toward a target site net peak capability of 7,000 megawatts by early 2030s." My observations indicate Bruce Power invests wisely, and that "safety" is the key component in their successful operation. And they produce more than electricity - much more! "Bruce Power touted the expansion of its Isotope Production System, and cobalt-60 production capabilities, including the commitment to building a hot cell facility in Bruce County. Medical isotopes are used to diagnose, characterize and treat cancers." I can't think of a more precious product as we face more, and more cancers! By the way, cobalt-60 is used worldwide in the treatment of cancer, sterilization of medical equipment, and food safety. * There is at least one "downside" in the nuclear process, and that is - what to do with spent tubes? I can't think of the name, but they remain a dangerous source of radiation for thousands of years! Presently, they are stored on the surface of the site here, North of Kincardine. Bruce Power spokespersons claim they are "safe" on the site right on the shore of Lake Huron, but for the long term, they want to store them deep in an earthen repository not too far from the lake. They have finally found a community which has agreed to have the "Deep Repository" built in their community. It is miles from the lake, and will be hundreds of feet below the surface in "bed-rock" which "will not allow leaching into Lake Huron." (They say, but not all of us are convinced!) The 'Great Lakes" are the largest source of 'fresh water' in the world. We, both Americans and Canadians are proud of our precious resources, and we continue to work together to keep our drinking water free of contaminants. Radiation contamination would be destructive of the fresh water - and likely deadly to all living creatures! Kincardine residents refused to allow the repository in their community. How would you vote if you lived near, or were concerned about radiation leaching into your 'drinking water'? Russ😕🙁 ****
From Nova Scotia Sus
So far this winter we have had not much snow, a little bit of drifting snow with the wind blowing and comfortable temperatures. We finally got our parts from John Deere for our snow blower and now we are ready for anything. January always seems like a long month with short daylights and long darkness. We don't have much in the way of projects to do with everything covered in snow. It was great having two weeks off over Christmas and New Years. No one needed their hair done as they had made sure they looked good for the holidays. I hope everyone had a good break over Christmas and New Years. Sus ****
From Carol
I suppose it is time to give another update on my health situation. I really hoped I would be doing much better by this point. I’m still waking up most mornings to nausea but am usually ok by mid-afternoon. I still need to put most food through the blender in order to keep it down but I like soup so that is ok. Constipation is the norm. My blood work showed that I am anemic and my doctor has put in the paperwork for me to receive an iron transfusion. We are hoping that will increase my energy level as right now it is hard to do much. I think I may have to face the fact that my stomach issues might not improve but be something I will just have to live with. On the other hand I am alive and there were times that, quite frankly, surviving wasn’t a sure thing. With a total of 15 weeks in hospital (spread out over 15 months) I certainly used my share of health care dollars. It may not seem like a big accomplishment to those of you who have been married for over 50 years but Al and I are very happy and proud to reach the 30 year mark in February. We plan to celebrate our 30th anniversary and the fact I lived to reach it. we are throwing an open house on Sunday, February 16th from 1 to 5 at the venue where we married, also known as the Homestead by the family. This will be best wishes only and we really hope those of you in the area can drop in to celebrate with us. Carol ****
From Doug
The Anatomy Of A Mid January Motorcycle Ride…. We’ve had several nice days of late, but while my motorcycle friends in the city have been able to ride, it has stayed too cold up our way. The frosty nights have left the streets icy. However, on Wednesday the frost melted off the streets as the temperature soared to a balmy 5 degrees. So, I bundled up as bundled as I could get, pulled the little Royal Enfield out of its corner in the garage, and headed down to Horseshoe Bay. This time of year there are eagles hanging around the river and they often like to ‘play’ with the traffic as vehicles drive along the highway. They will swoop down and follow a car, or fly just ahead of one, just for the fun of it. I rode down out of our neighborhood and onto the highway. As I crossed the river bridge a big eagle swooped down over me and settled in just ahead and just above me, gliding effortlessly. That was cool. Most of the highway along Howe Sound is in shade this time of year so the ride stayed chilly. My biggest concern was that the sides of the road could be slippery but I didn’t feel any slipping issues so that was good. What I did find was that the road surfaces that were in the shade had a lot of wet salt guck on them that sprayed up as cars and trucks drove along. You know the stuff, it dries on your windshield and turns white-ish making it hard to see. Well, thats what it did on my helmet visor, making seeing difficult. I cleaned my visor while in Horseshoe Bay but it got just as dirty again on the ride home. Perhaps someone should invent wipers and a washer system for helmets. Once back into town I fueled up the bike and then headed back up the hill to home where I again tucked the bike into its corner. I did notice a funny buzzing rattle and discovered a loose bolt holding the muffler heat shield in place. Bummer, especially since there should be 2 bolts holding the shield. A bit of digging though my stash of nuts, bolts and other stuff I found one with the right thread and dimensions and proceeded to fix that little issue. The ride was quite nice, cold but nice. Its always really nice to get out on a bike this time of year. Extra vigilance is required as other motorists don’t look for bikes in mid winter but given this is the west coast, there are a lot of year round riders in the greater Vancouver area so while there are not a lot of bikes out, there are some. No way of knowing when the next time I’ll be able to get the bike out will be, and, in another few weeks it just might be time to put the Harley back on the road so there is that to look forward to. * Now here is something that was quite touching and took us completely by surprise, we walked into the gondola upper lodge for our Friday morning coffee expecting to fine the wood fire burning nicely as per usual. What we found was not just the fire but a sign post that read ‘Doug & Sue’s Corner’. We tend to get there first thing each morning so that we can not just enjoy the few comfortable chairs that are there, but also to sit by the fire with our coffee and enjoy the scenery and at the same time, NOT having to put up with the usual mob of customers who start to roll in later in the morning. The people who work there look forward to seeing us just as we look forward to seeing them. Some of the operations crew took it upon themselves to create a wooden sign post with our names carved into it. They simply can’t know how much that meant to us at this point in our lives.
Doug ****
Have
a
Good One ****
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