Choke cherry jelly!

It's been two years sinced I made my last batch... I walked by the tree this morning and was surprised at how ripe (and how many) the choke cherries were. We grabbed the ladder and started picking them after work today. Claudette is better on a ladder than I am... and she had a better eye for the ripest fruit. I just spent two hours washing and sorting the choke cherries. Gonna cook 'em up and put 'em jars tomorrow.

I will try anything ... once

So Claudette and I went to dinner this weekend... I saw something that looked interesting, so I decided, sure, why not try it. It was couscous... certainly it looked apetizing. They say it's a Middle Eastern food from the 13th century... Hmmmm. I think the stuff I ate was older than that. Yecccchhhh! It tasted like Cream of Wheat with a side of veggies. No wonder they're always fighting over there.

On the job up north

A friend at De Beers sent this photo from the opening day at the new De Beers diamond mine last month. With all the running around, the newsies got a chance for a minute to stop for this photo - from the left is me, Jessica Young with Timmins Press, Natalie Geddes with Rogers Radio and Erin Howe with CTV. You can't really notice it, but we all had wet, muddy shoes from from running around on the muskeg. For some reason, the gals seemed more interested in seeing diamonds than I was! : )

Interesting sunset eh

The rain, the clouds and the sun all sort of came together at the right time last night to make a very nice sunset over Timmins. I wasn't quite sure how to record it, so I snapped a couple of pictures... one beside the cathedral on Pine Street, and then I zipped over to the north end to grab a shot from atop the big rock on TV Hill.

Ten thousand photos!

The NIKON tech guys tell me my camera is good for 100,000 activations before it dies. This week I reached photo number 10,000. Actually this one is photo number 9999 and then the camera goes back to "0001". So the number 10,000 does not actually register. I have had the NIKON for about two and half years... at this rate, it should be good for 25 years. Anyway, this was part of the gang from De Beers in Timmins having a bit of a celebration on Wednesday night.

So they sparkle a lot...

What's all the fuss about diamonds anyway? I guess it's something special because so many people buy them. In any case, I was at the official opening of Canada's newest diamond mine today... the De Beers Victor Mine, about 700 kilometres north of Timmins. They had a display there of just a handful of the diamonds they've mined so far. I get the impression that a handful of diamonds is something special. De Beers says the new mine is small by most standards, but what makes it unique is the stunning quality and clarity of the Canadian diamonds. It was nice to see them.

It's a good day eh

Jenn called this morning with news that my grandsons Tyler and Nate were on their way into Timmins. Don and Denise were heading out of Westree on a grocery run and decided to come north for the day. So well all met at the new Tim Horton's and had lunch and a great visit. Victoria was there too. It was so nice to see them all. Tomorrow will be an interesting day. I am flying out in the morning to Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast and then heading inland to the Victor Project... Canada's newest diamond mine. It's the first diamond mine outside of the NWT. De Beers is throwing a bash for all the VIPs for some place down south called Toronto. It should be fun. Security is a big issue for De Beers. No one but a few media types is allowed to bring cameras. We've been told we cannot shoot photos without permission and only in specific areas. That should be interesting.

My first breathalyzer test...

It was indeed nerve wracking last night for those few seconds when I blew into the handheld machine the cop held out in front of me. It was just after midnight when we decided to leave the Summerfest street party in South Porcupine and drive back to Timmins. We got out to the main road and there was a RIDE spot check set up. I knew I had only two drinks over two hours and was confident it would be okay, but for those few seconds when you're blowing into the breathalyzer, you wonder .. "holy crap, this could a real problem here..." I told the cop I had two drinks. He later mentioned this is what people usually say when they've had four or five drinks. I guess that's why he asked for my breath sample. After blowing into the machine, I stared at it for seconds, and seconds, and seconds....the little green light came on. Anyway, the reading was 0.024 per cent, which he said was well under the limit of 0.08 per cent blood alcohol level. Still, I have to confess, it's nothing to be proud of.

Flying car wash?

No I wasn't trying to get the truck washed for free. As the photo shows, the truck was parked close to a brush fire on the weekend as the helicopter water bomber flew in ... but no we didn't get wet. One firefighter told me there was a situation a few years back where a pick up truck was hit by a water bomber and there was a very nice dent in the roof. Sunday was hot and windy in Timmins, but the fire was knocked down in less than an hour.

I'm on You Tube

I think I have found my 15 minutes of fame. A couple of years ago when I was working in tourism, I hosted a TV crew from a California based outfit called EcoNews. (See blog entry for Aug. 19, 2006) We spent a bit of time traveling around the area. Just yesterday I found out it was on You Tube. Here’s the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9JnAedpjwM
The item is not quite 15 minutes, but it shows off our part of the country, so check it out if you’re interested.
It’s Saturday morning in Timmins and I am enjoying a nice cup of tea. For some reason, I have stopped having coffee in the mornings. Tea is good. The weather is beautiful today. It’s a wonderfully pleasant 11 degrees right now. Finally, a day with no rain forecast, but it’s going to be a scorcher with a high of about 31.That’s way too hot. It might be a good day to find a breezy lake or stream and spend some time in the canoe.

Canada Day

Canada Day was fun in Timmins, with plenty to do. It was interesting that a new monument was unveiled as a tribute to miners who have died on the job. The new monument in located in the McIntyre park, situated betweeen two of the most famous gold mines in the country... the McIntyre and the Hollinger.
My CB cousins would be interested in knowing that Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was there... as we chatted I discovered that Charlie has roots in Cape Breton. His grandmother was a MacNeil from a place called Iona.

The boys were in town!

Yep, Jenn and the boys dropped by on the weekend for a visit. And that meant we had to have a special breakfast on Saturday. You guessed it -- chocolate cake and ice cream. The boys loved it. Sop we had to do it again Sunday morning. It's all good.

It's a nice day eh!

I don’t know if they’re called annuals or perennials but these flowers keep coming back each year in the garden at the front of the house. The flowers never last long, but they look nice. Today is father’s day. I have to say I am a happy father because I am lucky to be blessed with two great children.

So what's new?

Just an updater… been so busy lately, as you may notice from my OTHER BLOG. I was out in the bush on the weekend and got chewed up by the black flies. But the truck was fine… got new bush tires on it and the front end was finally fixed. At first Chev thought the problem was part of a recall… but then decided it wasn’t! Oh well. I was out in the bush again today, at the new Liberty Mine site. Tonight I will be touring the Pamour mine… that’s the one where they moved the lake to get the gold! Well the warm weather has arrived in Timmins... but there's frost forecast for this region tonight.

Claudette's Escape

Claudette had been mentioning "an escape" for quite awhile. I thought she was talking about a vacation. On Friday, she dropped by to show off the Escape she just bought ... it's a truck made by Ford. Nice eh?

Yup... just after the May Run weekend!

Snow! ... that's right. There was snow at about 9:30 this morning. Just as everyone was settling in back to work after the long weekend, we get snow in Timmins. It didn't last long but it sure pissed everyone off! : ) It was gone by lunchtime. If you don't like the weather in Timmins, wait ten minutes. It'll change.

Whose bed have your boots been under?

Interesting news today... if you can believe the PEOPLE magazine website -- Shania Twain, 42, and her husband Mutt Lange, 59, are splitting up.

Good news - crazy news

The good news is my truck got a clean bill of health today... I thought I had a problem with the front end .. but it just turns out to be bad roads in Timmins. I figured it would be $500 to $1000 for repairs. Two guys at the shop both road tested and inspected the front end... and they said there is nothing wrong - woohoo!
By the way, the truck was a convenient step ladder for a couple of news shooters at Foleyet today, where the VIA rail train was quarantined.
Bizarre story... it's in all the papers of course.

Sparkling ice

Mother nature at work at Porcupine Lake this week, where the wind and waves pushed ice pans up onto the eastern shore. A very nice spectacle, we don't often see in spring in Timmins.

Finally...

Saturday morning and the two snow shovels are finally put away in the shed. I have been watching and waiting. There was snow forecast for Timmins. Right now it is just overcast. Maybe we will have a normal spring. In Timmins, that means the river is rising. Yep, there has already been some flooding. It has been a good week otherwise. Scott made some shepherd's pie this week. It was great. And now it's gone.

Want a free tree planted in your honour?

Earth Day is on the way -- Tuesday April 22. Here's a chance to do something different. A Timmins company will plant a tree, just for YOU! -- if you log on to their website: http://www.millsonforestry.com. - and then send them an e-mail.
So what's the deal. Well, they're a forestry company that creates seedlings, by the millions, and then plant's them... yeah, they're the ones who hire all those crazy tree planters. So go to the website... click on the "contact us: section and send them an e-mail telling them you saw their new logo.

Feeling much better, thanks...

Still not sure what to think about something the size of a grain of sand being so painful. I am finally feeling okay after an episode of passing kidney stones on the weekend and Monday. Hmmm... sounds like a sporting event . . . "passing kidney stones". It was certainly an event at the hospital where I was probed, poked, cat-scanned and injected with all sorts of mind-numbing pharmaceuticals. Pain killers are good. But they sure make you stupid. At least with a tumbler of scotch, I am told I can carry on a half decent conversation. Can't say the same for morphine.

Susan Aglukark likes to fly!

One of the nice things about work is getting to meet interesting people every now and then. Today I met singler/songwriter Susan Aglukark. She was giving a motivational talk to aboriginal students at the college. She was quite interesting, and good looking too. (That's a nice photo I snapped!) The best part was when she confessed her passion is to fly bush planes in the Arctic. She actually talked about Twin Otters. Now that’s cool.

Of course it's my fault!

Yep, it was so nice and mild on the weekend. I cleaned out the truck. Put the snowshoes away in the house. And what's the forecast for tonight? Fifteen centimetres of snow!!! Or it might be rain... oh yeah, that's my fault too... I changed the wipers on the truck Monday.

Wow... what a day!

It was April Fool's Day and Mother Nature pulled a fast one on Timmins with a howling snow storm.(look in the pic for the flag blowing in the wind!) For the first time this winter, they closed the highways into and out of the city because of the white-out conditions. The snow and wind howled till about five oclock this afternoon, just on time for everyone to get home and shovel their driveways. This day is also Tyler's birthday so in honour of my first grandson I enjoyed chocolate cake for breakfast! I should mention that I happened to have the cake because yesterday was my birthday and even though I worked late, I managed to sneak over to Claudette's place for a late night bite of cake and some coffee and Bailey's. Storm or no storm... chocolate cake for breakfast is a great way to start the day!

Roomie is a great cook

I have a roommate. Scott is staying at the house for a several weeks while he upgrades his electrician's papers at Northern College. The cool thing is that every now and then when I get home, there's food on the table. Today was one of those long days at work, but when I got home, woohoo, there was garlic-glazed ham, veggies and scalloped pototoes. This is all good.

Hockey Night in Canada - in Westree

The family was all at Don and Denise’s camp in Westree for the Easter weekend. It was a great Canadian moment Saturday night when Don Alexander, Jennifer’s father-in-law, came back into the cottage just as the game was starting. Everyone was singing O Canada, so Don, despite being a good Newfoundlander, took off his ball cap like everyone and sang along. Then the fun began because that’s when Don noticed the entire Alexander family had put on Toronto Maple Leaf sweaters. Don is an Ottawa Senators fan and was ready to throw the entire family out in the snow. It was all good… especially since the Leafs did the unexpected. They won the game.

Sun block

Who would have thunk it? It's still winter and I get a bit of sunburn! I was out on the ski trails last week,... no i wasn't skiing, i was snapping photos. I cannot ski. But anyway I was out on the snow in bright sunshine for about thirty minutes. And now I am red! And I am not blushing. What's worse is that the top of my head is red! My hair is thinning to the point that the sun burns my scalp. Gonna have to dig out the SPF lotion!

The pilot and the pantyhose!

Interesting news in Canadian aviation this week. Yeah I know I’m an airplane nut, but anyone who has lived in the North appreciates the de Havilland Twin Otter, one of the best airplanes of the 20th century. Well it’s so good that they’re going to start making them again. A Canadian company called Viking Air Ltd. plans to build another 200 planes over the next ten years. They used to make them at the plant on the Downsview air base where I lived as a kid.
One of my fave Twin Otter stories takes place some years ago when I was on a photo shoot with some fellas from Austin Airways. We landed on the ice for a refuelling stop at a place called Ivujivik, on the Hudson Strait just below Baffin Island. It was so goddamn cold I’ll never forget it. And we were still 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle. The pilot was worried that the fuel, stored inside a big rubber bladder, would be turned to jelly because of the cold. Luckily it wasn’t, but the windchill was seriously around minus 70! I’ll never forget how cold that felt. But because we were refuelling, everyone had to leave the plane. A group of Inuit villagers came out on the ice and boiled up some tea for us. (There is no Tim Horton’s in Ivujivik.) Then the pilot did the strangest thing. He pulled out a small package, and unwrapped it. It was women’s pantyhose! I didn’t know what to think until he explained that the nylon pantyhose was the best fuel filter you could use for bush flying. He said you don’t take chances when flying in the Arctic.
You may remember the Twin Otter from a famous news story from a few years ago. There was a women in Antarctica who desperately needed breast surgery as she was critically ill. The United States military, with all their power and might, tried TWICE to carry out a rescue using their biggest all-weather cargo planes. They couldn’t do it because of a howling winter storm.
But then a Canadian charter company, flying a simple Twin Otter, took off from Alberta and flew to the bottom of the world, landed on the ice on skis, picked up the dying woman and flew her safely back to a hospital in New Zealand where she was treated. How cool is that?!

They'll let anybody in!

Well I guess it's true... they'll let anyone into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well, they let me in.... that picture up there was three years ago and I had to pay $15 to get in. I was there the day U2 were named to the hall of fame. I was there. U2 wasn't! - - they were in New York. Who wants to go to Cleveland in March???

But I guess what I mean is now that they have inducted Madonna into the upper stratosphere of Rock and Roll royalty, it just sort of cheapens the place. Oh well, if you know me, you know I don't hold back on important things... like the R&R hall of fame. I still get goose bumps when I remember seeing John Lennon's handwritten lyrics for one his greatest songs: In My Life. I remember it from Grade 9. Slow dancing in the high school gym on Friday nights.

Amazing melody. Fantastic lyrics. And Lennon of course, was a genius.

---

There are places I'll remember
All my life,
though some have changed,
Some forever, not for better,
Some have gone and some remain.


All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall.
Some are dead and some are living,
In my life I've loved them all.


But of all these friends and lovers,
There's no one compares with you,
And these mem'ries lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new.


Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I'll love you more.


Though I know I'll never lose affection
For people and things that went before,
I know I'll often stop and think about them,
In my life I'll love you more.
...In my life I'll love you more.

Nova Scotia and Timmins

I found some interesting info this morning at the Timmins library, while researching history on Ontario Mine Rescue. It seems there was an incident at the old Moose River gold mine, south of Halifax, back in April of 1936. It wasn’t that big a deal except for the fact that CBC Radio was able to broadcast the emergency live across the country. Three men were trapped underground after a cave in. The public was enthralled for ten days as the rescue effort carried on (there was even a movie made!). That might be the reason that a team of hardrock mine rescue experts from Timmins was rushed all the way by train, seaplane and taxi to the mine site in Nova Scotia. It took a day and a half, which was pretty good by 1936 standards. The Timmins fellows crawled into the darkness and worked side by side with Dreagermen from Stellarton, NS to carry out the rescue, which took ten days! One of the fellows died, but not before Bill Hannigan from Timmins was able to write down the man's will as the man lay dying. Some story, eh?

Oh and here's another history tidbit for my CB Cousins. There's a well-known fellow who plays the fiddle in Cape Breton... goes by the name of Buddy MacMaster. Well, well... I saw the documents this morning. Buddy was born in Timmins. Yep, October 18, 1924, Hugh Allan MacMaster was born to Sadie (Sarah) MacMaster, listed as 'wife', and J.D. MacMaster, listed as 'miner', living at No. 14 Messines Ave., which was the Hollinger Mine townsite. Interesting.

They like my photos!

Anyone who knows me well, knows I'm an airplane nut. I like planes. Always have. It's one of the reasons why I shoot as many aircraft photos that I can. I send them in to the JetPhotos website just for bragging rights. They're very fussy and very exacting. I send in tons of photos, but very few get accepted. This week they accepted two shots! Woohoo. To see them just click on my links over there on the right side of the page where it says My Plane Photos.

Snowshoes and chasing helicopters

I was out and about Saturday when I noticed a helicopter crew in the west end. So I went snooping to discover the crew setting up this helicopter for an electro-magnetic survey. It’s one of the things they use to find minerals – things like gold, copper, nickel – in the ground. The rig includes a massive transponder 50-feet wide that sends a signal into the ground and then the torpedo shaped receivers read what sort of metal is in the ground. These fellows were from Australia, Yellowknife and Mississauga. They said they were just testing their equipment. Hmmmmm. Well even if they weren’t “testing” they’re not likely to blab to a reporter where they are surveying. Mining exploration is big business and they’re very secretive. I had to put on the snowshoes to get close enough to some good shots. It was a nice day to be outside.

Happy Leap Year eh!

It's been a few days since I have dropped by, but happily work is keeping me busier than ever. And sssshhhh,... don't tell anyone, but they actually give me money to do this! I love this work and yet every couple of weeks they throw money at me!! Lucky me eh.

So here are a couple of interesting winter photos. The one of the winter trees is one I shot a while ago, but I just like it so much. The other photo is a shot of a sun dog. It's something that happens on those really, really, really cold days we get here in Timmins. The sun reflects off the ice crystals in the air and gives the impression of three suns. I saw it one morning as I was heading into the senior's home for a photo shoot. so I snapped this quick pic through the trees.

My new scanner

It’s funny how much technology improves, when you’re not paying attention. I use VHF radio scanners for work. I had three… the newest being about 15 years old. The others are 20 years old. It was time to get a new one. So I went online with the Uniden company in Texas. They sent my new scanner by Fedex this week. It was only about one third the cost of the one I bought in the 1990s, and yet it has twice the power and capacity. The nice thing is that thanks to the free trade agreement, and because the product is made in the US and not some place like China, there was no duty...and no taxes!!!

Em Oh Oh En - Moon!

Yeah I was like a lot of people tonight. I went out and found a dark spot on the Hollinger tailings, set up the tripod and snapped a couple of shots of the lunar eclipse. Problem: the camera exposes the shot for 5 or 6 seconds, just enough time to cause a little blurring... because hey, the Earth is moving! So here's my moon shot... I don't think NASA will be impressed.

It's family day

Happy Family Day ... if you're in Ontario. It's a new stat holiday here... Thanks to liberal premier Dalton (the Deceiver) McGuinty. He promised a new stat holdiday during the last election... and everyone fell over when he actually lived up to a promise. Oh well, I guess he can't be blamed, he's a true liberal... says ANYTHING to get power.

Guinness is good

I’ve stopped drinking beer. Well that’s what I tell my friends. Even on a hot summer day, I’d rather have water to slake my thirst. But I do enjoy having a Guinness every now and then. Maybe once or twice a month. I had one before supper tonight, and even though the weather was so cold today, the Guinness just seemed to be a fabulous winter drink. It’s hard to explain. It sure has a different taste. It’s good. I remember years ago, when Jenn was in university, I was passing through Sudbury and dropped by for supper. I asked for a beer, she gave me a Guinness and I refused to drink it. Funny eh. Oh yeah... one other thing. A pint has only 198 calories. That's less than orange juice!

Jazz rocks!

What a cool night at the Grammy Awards! First we heard Herbie Hancock playing Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Anyone who has been to my house knows that music since I play it often. It's one of the best pieces of American Jazz from the 20th century. And then Hancock won the most prestigious Grammy, the album of year, with a jazz album. Yeah, the world is good tonight.

Fireworks and cold weather

One of the nice things about living in Northern Ontario is that one eventually gets used to living in the cold. I was in South Porcupine tonight to see the winter carnival fireworks. Walking out on the ice of Porcupine Lake, it was interesting to see literally hundreds of others out there as well. The windchill was minus 41. But that didn’t seem to slow anyone down. Kids and parents were running around and laughing like it was normal.
I found a good spot to watch and shoot some pictures. I was dressed warmly so I figured the easiest thing was to lie down on the ice, use my camera bag as a pillow and watch the show overhead. I felt a bit self conscious for a moment until I looked around and saw other people lying on the ice, watching the show. It was quite comfortable. I met Ashley later and we went to Tim’s. She told me she sat on a park bench by the lakeshore to watch the fireworks. Of course, she was all snug head to toe in a snowmobile suit. So sitting on a frozen park bench at minus 41 is just a good thing to do… if you live in the north.

Interesting grave markers

I was on a bit of a bizarre story chase today. I went looking for the graves of a couple of Cornish miners who came to Timmins in the 1920s to work in the huge Hollinger gold mine. The two fellas were lifelong friends who worked together. Unfortunately, they died together exactly 80 years ago when the disastrous Hollinger Mine Fire occurred. (Feb. 10, 1928) I was a bit surprised to find their graves were side by side and they shared the same headstone.
Moments after I snapped the photo I noticed footprints leading to another grave not far away... being a nosey sort, I checked it out. Imagine my surprise at finding the grave of the great Bill Barilko. I think only real diehard hockey fans would know about "bashing Bill." But obviously somebody was interested since there were footprints leading up to the headstone... and they weren't mine! Fans of The Tragically Hip will know that Barilko was the subject of their song Fifty Mission Cap. Click the pics to see full size.

Superbowl Updater-Giants 17-14 over the Patriots!

Wow! What a game. Just got home from Casey's (the ribs and wings were great, the chocolate cake I had for dessert was too big) and it was an excellent evening. Of course there was the usual crowd there, and we split ourselves quickly into the two camps... Them for the Patriots and Us for the underdog Giants. We figured the game was lost in the the last four minutes when Tom Brady threw a TD pass in the Giant's endzone. Suddenly the game was 14 to 10 for the Patriots. Oh well, the Giants played their best we figured. It was a good try. But then, by some miracle, the Giants rallied and came back and starting moving down the field. With 35 seconds left in the game, Eli Manning threw a pass and it was a touchdown for the Giants. Unbelievable!!! We shouted ourselves hoarse with cheers and hollers. Who woulda thunk it?! What a game!

Superbowl Sunday

I will have to go out and find a TV today so I can watch the Superbowl. I confess I have not watched a game all year. But this is different. Today's game will be talked about for decades. For the first time ever, one team, the New England Patriots has had a perfect regular season, not losing one game. So there is a chance the "Pats" could have the perfect season. That would nice to see.
On the other hand, the New York Giants are the ultimate underdogs ... in that the Giants could be (pardon the pun) the giant killers if they can defeat the Patriots in this one game! What an upset that would be. This is usually the most-watched single sporting event in the world. Today it will be huge. Either way, it's gonna be a great day for football!

It's not news ... it's just sad.

There has been much media attention about Britney Spears struggling with some personal problems and it seems to gather a lot of attention. I really don't know too much about this person except that she's one of those Hollywood people. I've never regarded the entertainment shows as news. It's all gossip presented as news by the prettiest boys and girls they can find. Anyway, one hopes they leave this person, and her mental health issues, alone.
As for interesting stuff, here in Ontario we have an inquiry going on into the misdeeds of a pathologist who used to work for the Hospital for Sick Children. Dr. Charles Smith has made too many wrong decisions and has provided testimony that sent a lot of innocent people to jail. I am following the story because Smith accused a 12-year-old Timmins girl in the death of a 16-month old baby girl. He was so wrong. But the babysitter's family went bankrupt hiring lawyers to prove her innocence. You can read more about the inquiry here: Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology in Ontario. Read the transcripts.; amazing stuff.

February... just say it.

I think I put a note in here last year about one of my pet peeves. Tomorrow is February. Yep, it's pronounced FEB-roo-air-ee... not FEB-you-air-ee. I get tired of hearing so-called professional announcers on radio and television saying it incorrectly. It's just lazy. Or maybe they're just not clever enough to pronounce it right. Oh well, I am sure there will be more pressing things to worry about tomorrow.

Facebook

Well I did it. Some friends convinced me to get on FACEBOOK. So I did. But I confess I haven't quite figured out how it all works. Neil calls it the internet's version of crack. People keep sending messages and notes and suggestions on things to do... but I am not sure how to take it all. Oh well, I could always say, "oops my computer crashed!"
By the way, that's frost on the moustache. It was minus 43 on the MacLean Trail that day.

I have an Ear Worm!

I just found out on the weekend I have an Ear Worm! Oh don't worry, you won't have to send flowers. An ear worm is a good thing... well, maybe not a good thing, but it's not a bad thing. An ear worm is when you get a tune in your head that won't go away. It just stays there and you hear it ... whenever you have a free moment. So people who know me know that my tune is The Jeopardy Tune. Yep, I will be standing in line at Sears, or pumping gas or maybe waiting for something and without really being conscious of it, I begin humming the Jeopardy Tune... da da da da, da da da, da dee da da DAH da da da da.... sometimes people notice. If they do, I don't notice. It kinda like "did I just hum that out loud?" Sometimes it's really funny when I am in a bar and go to the washroom, all the guys standing at the urinals... and I'm there humming Jeopardy! So this has been my ear worm... oh for about ten years anyway. I haven't been watching TV for about six years. Maybe I should... and get a new tune eh.

Stinky again!

People noticed when I walked into a meeting room today... that certain fragrance that says... hmmm, house fire! I should remember to stand upwind from the smoke when taking photos eh. It was a busy morning. See the news blog here.

Feeling Guilty

So I started the day, with a cup of coffee... and a bowl of ice cream. Okay, I lied. I put Nestle's chocolate syrup on the ice cream. It was just a craving. So I was feeling guilty. Not the usual Catholic guilt. (That's where you feel guilty because you ARE Catholic... apparently we're God's Home Team y'know!) I kept looking at the treadmill. Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. Then an emergency call came in. So I scooted out to the west end of town, just in time to see the cops and the rescue guys heading out into the bush... on foot! ... to the scene of a snowmobile crash. As I snapped a few photo's I felt even more guilty... so I grabbed my gear and followed them. On foot! It took a good 30 minutes of hiking to get to the scene. What a workout. My toque was soaked with sweat. No more guilt. Woohoo... i think I deserve cake and ice cream for supper now. Luckily for the rescue crews, a few snowmobilers caught up to them and rushed the paramedics in to the where the victims were. See the rescue info on my news blog here.

Gold gold gold

One day many years ago, I snapped a photo of an unusual event. Several of us were standing in a small room and the heat and the fire from the furnace got so bright and so unbearably hot, I had to shield my face and my eyes. The room was locked. A grim faced man with a loaded shotgun stood watching me. I was witnessing the pouring of several bars of pure gold at the McIntyre Mine. They poured three massive shiny ingots that day. I will never forget watching it. I am still looking for the photo… it was on a KODAK slide. When I find it, I will post it here. The reason I mention it is that Timmins is riding an economic high right now, with the price of gold breaking new records every day. Up until last Friday, the price record was previously set in January of 1980, back when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. It closed at US $850 an ounce then. On Friday it closed at $855. Just so you know, Timmins is the largest gold mining municipality in the world. The experts say gold could hit $900 an ounce by spring and $1,000 an ounce by the end of the year. It’s not all welcome news though. A local mining company has been drilling for more than a year right in the heart of town and they’ve identified a gold zone of approximately four million ounces!!! It could mean a new mine… right in the middle of the city. I just remembered that several years ago, when I was a hardrock miner, a fellow miner handed me a small chunk of pure gold one day. Back in those days, one didn’t want to get caught with a piece of gold … so I sent it to my Dad as a souvenir of Timmins. I wonder if it’s still somewhere in the house in Grand Mira?

Ice cream weather is here

Ice cream should be frozen. For some reason, when it's in MY freezer, it goes soft. Everything else freezes solid in there... but not the ice cream. I should add the only reason I have ice cream is because Ty and Nate came to visit at Christmas. But I hate soft ice cream. I believe ice cream is something that we shouldn't have to slurp once we pull it from the freezer. Two nights ago, as I was plugging in the truck, I noticed how crispy cold it was... so I ran to the freezer, grabbed the ice cream carton and put it outside on the porch wall. It works! It was frozen! - solid! Good thing the ravens didn't notice it eh.

Happy happy : )

Happy New Year morning to all. It’s a sunny pleasant day in Timmins … I think it’s a bit too bright right now. Once I have a soothing cup of tea, I am sure I will be a bit brighter myself. It’s almost 10 a.m. I was up at about 5:30 a.m. and drank two large tumblers of water for some reason. Then it was back to bed. I was out last night to help ring in the new year. I shot several photos. I don’t know what this one is, or how it got into my camera. Hmmmm.....I will try to figure that one out.

Wow... what a book!

If I haven’t been in here writing, it’s because I have become a couch potato with my new book! It seems Jenn and Scott were chatting with Santa because on Christmas morning I received a beautiful copy of Vincent Bugliosi’s new book Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It’s more than 1500 pages and is just packed with more than 20 years worth of research and interviews. Bugliosi’s whole purpose is to prove there was no conspiracy to kill the president. I haven’t made up my mind yet, but wow, this guy sure knows how to research. It took two days just to read through the introduction. And then the narrative begins with all the things that happened on Nov. 22, 1963… not just minute to minute, but in some cases, second by second. I am a bit sore today because I read for nearly five hours last night, hardly moving from the chair… but I did down a pot of coffee and half a bottle of Baileys! So when I finish the book, don’t even ask to borrow it! This one’s a keeper. It stays on the bookshelf.

It's ALL good.

What a great Christmas. I think the best part was convincing Ty to have some chocolate cake, actually a Joe Louis, for breakfast. He didn't need much convincing. Nate got a kick out of eating Froot Loops, right out of the box after we poured the milk in it. Jenn and Scott got a kick out of drinking coffee with no milk or sugar... just Bailey's, Bailey's and more Bailey's. They sure drank a lot of coffee for some reason. Of course Santa arrived and the boys must have been very good this year because they were overwhelmed with gifts, -- but seemed to get the most fun out of playing with their Slinkys. When the boys didn't have food in their hands, it seemed they had their Slinky. It was also nice that Neil called from beautiful downtown Vancouver where he was finishing up work at the restaurant called Steamworks. Poor guy ... some friends had family members arriving from Mexico with six litres of premium agave tequila. I hope they can remember Christmas ;) We also did some visiting, which is always nice. I am still enjoying all the Christmas cards I got .... from Nova Scotia all the way to Vancouver Island. Lucky me, eh.

Christmas morning

It’s Christmas morning… the calm before the storm. The boys (and their mom and dad) came storming through the front door yesterday, all smiles and giggles. The boys are still in bed now … tucked into their new sleeping bags, - they are “camping” in the rec room. I expect they will be awake shortly. I am enjoying a quiet Christmas coffee, sweetened with Bailey’s and whiskey. It’s almost 8:00 a.m. The boys were up till around ten last night. Jenn and Scott were out visiting. We had some popcorn, watched a movie and then went online to track Santa’s flight through NORAD. The boys got pretty excited about that. Then we went outside to look at the stars and see if we could see Rudolph. I think we did. It was an exciting night. Things will get more exciting in a short while I think.

Christmas Eve

What a day so far! I was up just before six, peeked out the window and sure enough the city snowplow took all the slush from yesterday's rain and piled it in front of my driveway :( I put on the coffee, called the guys at CBC for a Merry Christmas chat and went out and fired up the snowblower. The slush was quickly turning to ice, and that's all it took to snap a shear pin on the snowblower :( Luckily I had a few heavy bolts in the house and fixed the problem in about five minutes. Then the machine ran out of gas! So I went to the shed. Sure enough, my gas can was empty. Luckily my good neighbor Ed was out clearing his driveway... so he helped clear mine and gave me some gas :) So, to pay it forward, I cleared my neighbor Dave's driveway. Then I went to gas up the truck and the gas can! By then it was eight oclock and time for coffee.
Company is arriving today. So I have to tidy up, do the floors, do the bathrooms and have a drink! Wooohoo!

Looks a bit better now eh?

So here is the tree, looking a bit better. Although it "drinks" about a litre of water every day! And it sure smells nice. I've put lots of candy on the tree so I can spoil the boys when they arrive. Christmas sure is fun.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree..

It doesn’t look like much right now, because it’s still ‘thawing out’ in the corner in the front hallway, but this is my new Christmas tree. I already have a small artificial tree, but with Jenn and boys coming north for Christmas, I figured I should go out and get a real one. I was outside this morning and thought I should go to the shed, grab the bucksaw and pick out a nice spruce or pine on the edge of town… when the kids were small, that’s what we did each year.
But I was lazy and figured, ah what the heck I’ll just buy one. So there I was at Canadian Tire just after lunch and the United Way people have set up a tree lot. So I walked over and snooped around and said okay, let’s do it. So I grabbed this balsam fir, wrapped in a plastic net, and threw it on the canoe rack on the truck. Then I walked over the lady at the table. She said $50 please.
“Fifty bucks!” I screamed inside my head. “I am living amidst the great Northern Boreal Forest… the largest forest on planet Earth and these people want fifty dollars from me for their friggin tree!” I continued to shout inside my head. Trouble is, these people all know me and I can’t just walk over to the truck and throw their stupid $50 tree on the ground. So I smiled and pulled out my wallet, which is now $50 lighter. And the United Way is $50 richer. So I guess its all good. Besides it smells nice. I figure in January I will put in on Ebay… no doubt there is some tree hugger in Toronto will give me $60 for this unique specimen of a 3000 year old tree rescued from the Hudson Bay tundra… yeah, that’s the story… somebody will buy it.

Happy day Jenn!

So I called Jennifer to wish her a happy birthday. Scott answered and we chatted and he told me Jenn was still at work. I said "why on earth would she want to work on her birthday?"
Scott chuckled a bit and said "I don't think she wants anyone to know its her birthday."
I guess that happens to some women when they reach a certain age.
But being a nosey sort I had to pursue this, so I called Jenn at work. A co-worker answered the phone. I said "it's her Dad calling long distance from Timmins... It's urgent ... I have to wish her Happy Birthday!"
The co-worker said "I didn't know it was her birthday!"
I said "well now you do, go tell everyone."
A short while later my fave daughter got on the line and we had a laugh... but I am sure she'll get me back at some point.
Happy Day Jenn!

Wreath on the Mac

The wreath on the famous McIntyre headframe in Timmins is a sure sign that Christmas is near. I could have walked closer but I wasn't sure that the ice on Pearl Lake was frozen enough... and I didn't have snowshoes in the truck. They are still in the house. By the way, it's easy to see why mineshaft headframes are called the 'cathedrals of the north' because they just dominate our landscape. The old Mac is about 18 storeys tall. That wreath is more than 25 feet across.

Madonna's Mattress? : )

I guess the Parliament Hill media have nothing better to do than listen to a foreigner charged with fraud trying to get a free ride to stay in Canada. This Karlheinz Schreiber thing is such a pain in the you-know-what. This guy changes his story more than Madonna changes mattresses. The more that Schreiber makes up new charges, the more that MPs on the Commons Ethics committee want to hear. I can't believe our politicians are putting any credence in what this guy has to say. But then again, they are politicians. Schreiber is charged with fraud and corruption in his own country. In Canada he says the RCMP, the justice deparment, the former Liberals and the current conservatives are against him. He is pointing fingers at Mulroney and has already admitted he gave money to Mulroney after Mulroney left office. The money was to help Schreiber set up business for armoured vehicles. The deal didn't work out so Schreiber blames Mulroney. As for Harper agreeing to a public inquiry at the behest of the Liberals, I can't believe the Liberals are letting themselves get sucked in. Oh well, that's my rant for Saturday morning.

My new computer

This post comes to you from my newest computer. My "old" computer was only two years old and was beginning show its age... since I am a video gamer, my memory was filling up fast. It doesn't help that I shoot and store about 200 Megabytes of photos each week. That wasn't the problem. It happened that I somehow "fried" a USB port. I couldn't figure it out, so I pulled the hard drive and installed an older one... ( I think I surprised myself that I was able to open the computer and dismantle it). So the old computer worked, but only with an ancient hard drive. I spent a few days using my laptop as the home computer. Then while I was out shopping last week, I checked computer prices and was amazed to find a new terminal about six times more powerful than my last one. The price, with all taxes, was less than $400! (Yes, it was on sale with an instant rebate) So here I am with a dual-core Pentium, 1000 megs of RAM and a 320 gig hard drive. This one terminal has more computing power than the entire NASA computer complex that sent Apollo 11 to the moon and back.

Happy Day Gary

Today is Gary's birthday.
He is my big brother. I was on the phone with him yesterday.
Gary does good phone calls...
How ya doing Gary?
Okay.
Everything good?
Yep.
Anything new?
Nope.
So is winter there yet?
Yeah, a little bit...
Gary doesn't waste too many words.
That's a good thing.
Happy Birthday Gary.

Good Things

This has been a good week. It's nice to think about good things that happen.
GOOD - I have been trying to find time for an oil change on the truck for about two weeks. I have been too busy lately. Today I finally decided to give up some time and get it done. I figured I'd be waiting in the shop for at least an hour. On the way to Canadian Tire, I spotted Just Lubes on Algonquin East. I pulled up and before I turned off the truck, the kid in the coveralls was opening the bay door and waving me forward. I drove in, they changed the oil, topped up all the fluids. I was back out on the street in about 12 minutes. When things are that good, you gotta tell people.
BETTER - Two summers back I was putting the canoe in the river, when i slipped in the mud and right into the water. That wasn't so bad, except my nice little Sony digital camera got soaked and stopped working right there. So i put the camera away, figuring I could at least use the memory card someday. This week i was cleaning out my office, saw the camera and got ready to toss it in the garbage. For some reason I put a couple of fresh batteries in it... and there ya go, It works! I could hardly believe it. But yep, I did some test shots and it's just fine.
BEST - Jenn called up this week to tell me that she and the boys (yes, that includes her darling hubby Scott) are coming to Timmins for Christmas! Woohoo. Things don't get much better eh.
I also got a call from Neil this week. Actually i called him after he left a message saying "hey old man, call me". I haven't stopped laughing about that one... who the hell does he think he is, calling me an old man...? : )

And I saw something nice today... it's on my News Blog. I was at a house fire and snapped a nice photo of a dog that got rescued. Take a look here.

Sissy truck

I don’t get it. If you’re going to own a truck, get a truck. I parked downtown yesterday and discovered I was next to the strangest truck I ever saw … It was called an Escalade, made by Cadillac. Trucks are for the bush. But obviously not this one. It’s equipped with 22-inch chrome-plated tire rims. Aren't they just lovely.
It’s like if you need work boots, you get work boots. Don’t substitute them with patent leather dancing shoes. Hmmm… maybe it’s envy. But I don’t imagine the person who owns this Cadillac will be hauling lumber, or throwing the snowmobile in the back and heading off down a logging road for the weekend. And taking the kids to the dump to see the bears is definitely not likely.

Nov. 22... i won't forget it.

I guess it's because I am part of that generation that grew up in the sixties. I do indeed remember the day(Nov. 22, 1963), sitting in school, when the voice came over the PA annoucing "President Kennedy has been shot". Because ours was a Catholic School and because Kennedy was a good Boston Catholic, well that was just enough reason for the nuns to inflict another kneecap-bustin' round of the Rosary on us. I remember thinking "jeezus... sure hope the friggin pope doesn't die..." And the prayers would drone on, and I don't know if anyone else did, but I would drift off... Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come... coming down the ice with a rebound off the boards. Brewer passes. Armstrong's got the puck! Beliveau tries to catch him. It's a pass. Shack! Eddy Shack is crossing the red line and crowd here at the Gardens is on its feet..... I wonder if the nuns ever caught on why I liked to close my eyes and smile during prayers.
Anyway, the Kennedy killing still fascinates me... and a lot of others too I suppose. Well known lawyer and author Vincent Bugliose has written a book -- called Reclaiming History:The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. It always gets noticed this time of year. This is supposed to be the final word on the shooting. Bugliosi is not to be taken lightly. He is the same lawyer that put away Charlie Manson for the Tate/Labianca murders (another 60s thing). Apparently he has spent more than 20 years researching the book and has come to some startling conclusions. I can't wait to get a copy. Of course, they're all being snatched up right now for Christmas gifts... I will probably have to wait awhile.

I stink.

Whenever I rush out to a fire scene, I usually get in close to snap some photos. It's always smokey. When I come back to the newsroom, I suddenly notice I have that smell of burnt, wet garbage all around. I am gonna have to hang my coat outside a bit when I get home tonight. Come to think of it, I will have to roll down the windows in the truck for a while too.

Jesus, it's the last bottle of wine!

I know, I know... it sounds like something Mary said at the Wedding At Cana. Actually it's what I said this week when I pulled out this bottle of red wine Jenn dropped off this summer. I think this is the last bottle from the batch she made for her wedding, just over a year ago. For a moment, I felt bad about opening it. Then I figured, Ha! She'll never know! ( if you click on the pic you can enjoy the nice label)

Good music

I heard a preview today of one of Canada's best female singers. Anne Murray has a new album coming out tomorrow called Duets - Friends & Legends. It features her singing some of her best songs accompanied by some pretty amazing artists, all women. Listen for K.D. Lang, Carole King, Martina McBride, Celine Dion amd Emmylou Harris, Of course I was pleased to see that Shania is included. For real serious music fans, the album was produced by the amazing award-winning Phil Ramone.

Well it's about time eh?

Just got off the phone with Jennifer, and I am laughing because I have finally reached the age where my kids give me hell. And I have to listen, because they're not kids anymore. They're grown up and they make sense.
Jenn was peeved because I hadn't phoned in a couple of weeks and what's worse, I haven't added anything to this blog! She had no way of knowing that Dad was okay. She suggested I might just as well have fallen off the face of the planet.
I told Jenn it has been a busy time, and I never realized that a month had passed since my last entry. By the way, the apple crisp I made that day was amazing. I had thoughts of sharing it with the gang at work... but once I tasted it, I said to hell with 'em... I kept it at home for me!
I told Jenn that maybe there was not enough going on in my life right now to justify writing anything, but I know that's just an excuse... especially since I am a writer.
Well the rec room is certainly warmer thanks to all the new insulation. I noticed that right away. Winter has arrived in Timmins. We got a good dumping of snow a week ago and it's here to stay. I was too lazy to put away the canoe, so I am going to wrap in in a tarp and leave on the deck in the back.
Work is keeping me extra busy, but that's okay since I enjoy it so much. Working on a small town weekly newspaper is more fun than i expected. Part of the reason is that I am "the old guy" in the local media. The good part of that is that everyone in town knows me and tells me the good stuff. People call me at home and stop me on the street to whisper all sorts of interesting news. I did a story on a city housing bylaw that city council was pushing through rather quickly. None of the other media outlets clued in on it. Once the public found out all the nitty-gritty stuff in the bylaw, they got upset. There were petitions, letters to the editor and council has had to rewrite the bylaw three times to get it passed.
A local mining company planned to do some drilling near some neighborhoods. So we did a story... put in the front page, and once again, people got riled up. So there have been a few public meetings and the mining company is treading lightly.
It's kind of fun, but it's also part of being a local paper to keep tabs on things.
I can't get over the value of the Canadian dollar these days. It's great to see. I once told my Dad, "tory times are good times"... i think he choked on his tea.
Oh, by the way, I am sipping a new whisky these days. It's called Forty Creek, its made in Ontario I think it's one of the best new Canadian whiskies anywhere. Apparently it has won all kinds of awards. I am not a whisky snob at all, but this stuff is smooth and tasty. Keep your Crown Royal and Gibsons... try this stuff.
Today was interesting. Our local member of parliament, Charlie Angus, did something innovative. He held a passport clinic at the shopping centre. Nearly 500 people showed up. Living in Timmins, we don't always benefit from efficient government services. It was nice to see some action from the MP.
I called Gary last week and he is doing well. He says the weather in Mira is still good and he gets a bit of work every now and then with a fella who lives "down the road". The best part, according to Gary, is that the man's wife is such a good cook... so good that Gary doesn't complain when she puts onions in her cooking. That's a change, when we were kids, Gary hated onions.
Finally I forgot to say happy birthday on Friday to one of my favorite Canadian Forces veterans, my brother Ronald. Happy Birthday Brother.
Well it's Saturday night, so i am going to grab a book, a glass of Forty Creek and listen to CBC Radio, which has amazing program with Randy Bachman, called Vinyl Tap. Check it out. It's good radio.
Finally, tomorrow is Remembrance Day in Canada. Don't sit around. Get a poppy and get out to whatever services or cermonies are going on. Show your support for your fellow Canadians past and present. Next time you're at Tim's, buy a cup of coffee for one of the vets you see there all the time.