A perfect day ...

It’s one of those things when you really feel alive and well. I took in the winter hike today at Hersey Lake. I missed it last winter and so it was important to me to get out this year. I absolutely love the silence in the forest and the hike itself was indeed refreshing. Although I should not have worn my parka. It was minus 18 when I headed out, but I would have been better off wearing a couple of layers of fleece and a windbreaker. The parka was just too warm for this sort of thing. And soon I was sweating. And then my glasses fogged up! But it was still a good thing because the weather was so sunny and perfect. And I also met so many people out enjoying the day. It was so nice. I think I expended too many calories. I will have to import a few Single Malt calories after supper tonight.

By the way I shot the photos with my new Nikon coolpix pocket cam. It is water proof and weather proof. It works so nicely. I am very pleased.

Blatch ... you suck!

Okay so this is my rant today and it’s a media thing. I like to go online and read newspaper stories. That’s because newspaper articles are usually in-depth, with good quotes, good background and good sources.  That’s what I expect from a newspaper article.  I also go to broadcast websites to see television coverage of stories. I like TV news. When it is done right. 

I don’t like it when I click on a news headline and a little video screen pops up with a really lame print reporter trying to tell a broadcast story. When I want to see a video, I will go a broadcast website and watch a TV story done the right way, with good video and a good TV reporter telling a story. Example, NatPost reporter Christie Blatchford has been reporting all this week on the Ghomeshi trial. I love reading what Blatch writes. Her writing style is great. But whoever put Blatch in front of a TV camera needs their ass kicked. OMG, it is painful to watch. It is so bad that it takes away from the fact that she is a wonderful reporter   … for newspapers. 

Yes, spring is on the way...

February is here already, and I like that. It means spring is not far away. That has to be my favourite season. I was out walking in the forest the other day and just marvelled at how fresh the air is in Northern Ontario. I am not being trite. I am actually laughing because my apartment air gets stale sometimes. That’s only because my building is energy efficient and a bit airtight. Sometimes when I cook with onions I make the mistake of throwing the scraps in the garbage without wrapping the onions scraps. I will come home from work and the whole place smells like onion! So yes, I enjoying getting out for a walk on a trail to enjoy the fresh air.

I was out in the bush this morning as well. It was minus 32 with the windchill, but I barely noticed it because it was such a nice day. 

Interesting times lately. Trading was halted on shares of Lake Shore Gold on the TSX on Friday after the company released drill results with some nice high grade gold zones in Timmins. This has caused quite of bit of excitement. I am hoping this is good news for the city.

I am looking forward to next month, when I take a bit of a mini-vacation. People will laugh at me, but I am going to the annual prospector’s convention in Toronto. I am going at my own expense, but I know I will have fun. There will be mining people there from around the world, and any mining reporter worth his salt should drop in. So I will spend a few days rubbing elbows with these folks and enjoying myself. Prospectors are interesting folks and they drink the best whiskey. If I am tempted enough, I might even enjoy a cigar! I should mention that all the high finance people will be there too. It is quite something to see when the bearded fellows in the plaid shirts mix it up with the fellows in tuxedos. I couldn’t get a room at the Royal York this time. But I will be staying at the Harbour Castle. It’s a nice place and not far from the convention. 

Women's curling is so good ...

This being a Sunday I got up a bit earlier than normal to head out to the McIntyre Arena in Timmins to take in the Northern championship game for women’s curling, the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. I don’t often take advantage of having a media pass, but today I did and I am glad. The curling was just awesome. Now a lot of folks just yawn and look the other way when you talk about curling, but I tell ya, there is so much grace and finesse in this game, it is compelling to watch when excellent teams are on the ice.

In this case the final game was between the Tracy Fleury Rink of Sudbury and the Krista McCarville Rink of Thunder Bay. I had my hopes up for the Sudbury team, but they were defeated by Thunder Bay, which now advances to the Canadian women’s championship.

It was also a chance to experiment a bit with my camera to do some “still blurred motion” shots, which are still shots that depict motion. I think they worked out okay.

The second shot is of the winning skip, Krista McCarville.

You must listen to this CBC story

If you get a chance to listen to CBC Radio’s Sunday Edition news program, I urge you to take in the story about UPEI professor Ron Srigley Ph.D. lamenting the poor teaching and poor education standards in Canadian universities.

Prof. Ron Srigley wrote: "There is no real education anymore, but I still have to create the impression that education is happening. Students will therefore come to class, but they will not learn. Professors will give lectures, but they will not teach. Students will receive grades, but they will not earn them. Awards and degrees will be granted, but they will exist only on paper. Smiling students will be photographed at graduation, but they will not be happy." 

 Interestingly, Srigley’s essay on education was not published in Canada, but it was published in the United States.  Srigley said he is deeply troubled by the education system.

Here is a link to the radio programs. It is important. Give it a listen.

http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/dear-parents-everything-you-need-to-know-about-your-son-and-daughter-s-university-but-don-t-1.3405807?autoplay=true

Demise of The Dome

Friday was a sad day in the history of gold mining in Canada. It was announced that the famous Dome Mine, the first major gold mine discovered in Timmins, was going to be closed.  It has been the longest running gold mine in Canada, and when the gate is closed for the last time in July, it will have been in operation for 106 years. The mine was discovered in 1909. It went into production in 1920. In that time the mine has produced 18 million ounces of gold. That is more than the gold that was produced during the height of theKlondike gold rush.  I covered the news conference Friday but didn’t feel good about it. The Dome was the first mine where I went underground for a visit. That was in 1974. Nearly ten years later, I went underground there again when I was in mine rescue training. It really is a special piece of mining history. 

Hockey weekend.

This was an exceptionally nice weekend because Scott and Jennifer and the boys came to Timmins to take part in a hockey tournament. It meant sitting in cold arenas for the past three days watching hundreds of kids enjoying themselves on the ice. There is a certain sense of being Canadian in that. There were pickup trucks in the parking lot, the smell of hockey equipment in the crowded arena lobby, seeing your breath as you cheered from the stands and the aroma of Timmies was everywhere. There was even a guy with a cowbell! There were teams from all over the North, from Wawa, to Cochrane to Sudbury. What struck me was how many families were together enjoying themselves. Kids, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents. I really enjoyed being a part of it all.  Oh, one other thing; Scott’s team won the tournament as overall champions!

Women deserve the credit ...

I know it sounds terrible, but the women I know have made it possible to enjoy another fabulous Christmas. Women do all the work and I don’t think men should be involved.  I don’t think men are as well organized when it comes to putting together a family celebration. Heck, they’re not organized at all.  So I have to say thanks to Jennifer and her mother-in-law Denise for making this Christmas just another perfect time.  But the men do follow instructions well enough. So Don and Scottie deserve credit also.

I have also learned that it helps to make sure the women have wine, lots and lots of wine, whenever they feel like it. Men use duct tape to get things done. Women use wine. Suddenly the parable of Jesus at the Wedding at Cana, as described in the Gospel of John, makes sense. Jesus had no idea the wedding had run out of wine. His mother did.  Without her, Jesus would not have performed the miracle.

I was also pleased to bring along some Beaujolais which some wine experts say is just a great Christmas wine, since it is always released in the third week of November. Some wine snobs dispute this. But my experience is that it just always tastes good.  Always light and fruity. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad Beaujolais. So that’s all I can say. We also enjoyed a couple of bottles of Chianti, a Ruffino and a Gabbiano. Great stuff. 

Hollywood shower

I had a Hollywood shower this morning. That means I turned the water to the hottest hot I could stand just stood there soaking up the heat for as long as I could. For several days now I have endured a cold; not just your ordinary cold, but a real miserable MANcold. Ha Ha Ha. So the hot shower was indeed a comfort.  Now get this. Recent medical research indicated that men and women do respond differently to some illnesses, and the cold it one of them. It was just a study, but the indications were that when your body responds to the cold germs, it can either respond massively by causing swelling, fever, pain, congested lungs and sinus, runny nose, runny eyes, all in a bid by your anti-bodies to overcome the cold germs, --- or it can respond passively over a period of several days. So the study found that in most men, the body responds quickly, thus causing more initial discomfort. It said cold symptoms are actually the body’s response to fighting the cold. The study said for women, the response is milder. So there, MANcolds are real.

P.S. Belated happy birthday to Jennifer. Yeah, yeah, I know you're a December baby. You will get your gift at Christmas... i promise something extra. ha ha ha. 

Is this the start of something great?

Maybe I am becoming a food activist. I am not sure. I know that I don’t eat Nestlé products anymore, for political reasons. The Nestlé corporation has some very unsavoury views about acquiring fresh water for profit. I disagree, so I have stopped buying Nestlé water and all their food products… including those wonderful ice cream treats. Oh well. Today I am trying something new. Like most people I know I would only buy Heinz Ketchup. But since that company closed its Canadian plant at Leamington, Ontario it appears that our favourite Heinz is no longer made in Canada. I have been told, but have not been able to confirm, that it is made in Mexico. Well now, Mexico I am told is nice place. But I prefer to buy local. Tonight I was picking up some groceries when I noticed that French’s now makes a ketchup product. So yes indeed, I purchased a bottle. I am not sure yet that it is made in Canada, but the label said ten cents from every bottle sold goes to Ontario Food Banks. Oh please, I hope it tastes good. Or I will feel like a bloody fool.

I will sure miss Conrad Carriere

I was saddened greatly Friday to learn of the death of Conrad Carriere. His funeral mass is tomorrow. I will go. I won't go the funeral home, because I find that part of the funeral process a bit too overwhelming. I am not going to sing sweetly about him being a great man. Conrad was an ordinary guy who worked hard, loved his family, loved his community and was just a pleasure to know. He was one of the first people I met when I came to Timmins in the mid-1970s. We eventually became co-workers at CFCL, I liked him because he was a straight shooter. One of his favourite words was horseshit. If he thought some was wrong, he would say it was horseshit. I remember joking once that he must have seen enough horseshit in his boyhood when he was growing up in Gogama. When he retired I was always pleased to meet Conrad for a quick chat in the mall or coffee shop. He always had a smile and a twinkle in his eye and he would be so pleased to clue me in on the latest horseshit going on in Timmins. We miss him in Timmins, but I know the folks in Heaven are smiling now that they've met Conrad.

It's not bad!

So I am not usually a Crown Royal drinker. I have always found it a bit too sweet. But good marketing has made CR one of the best selling Canadian whiskies out there. There was some more good news last week that piqued my interest. Crown Royal produced a new product, a Northern Harvest Rye and on Friday a well known whiskey authority declared it the World Whiskey of the Year. Well, isn't that special? So on the way home from work Friday afternoon I dropped in at the LCBO to grab a bottle. Had a nice little sip Friday night, and yes, it is quite nice, very smooth. And it is a RYE whiskey. Many Canadians don't know it, but most whiskies in Canada are made from corn. The notion of rye whiskey goes back to the 1800s when some Canadian distillers added rye in their whiskey making process. Some experts have declared that rye produces a smoother flavour. I don't know. They use corn now mainly because it produces alcohol more quickly and more cheaply. But this new version of CR is made with 90 per cent rye. So yes, I bought a bottle and I am pleased. Christmas is coming. Woohoo.

Yes, I am so guilty.

I am guilty. Yes, I have been doing it again. I would feel better I think if it was alcohol or chocolate. But no. I have been on a TV binge. I am so guilty. For the past few nights after work, I whip up a quick supper, pour a glass of wine and park myself down to watch Netflix and the newest mega-documentary by Ken Burns, which about The Roosevelts.  It is 14 hours long, divided into seven episodes. This is television at its finest. I think every student of broadcasting should be exposed to this sort of work. Of course Ken Burns is the accomplished master of the TV documentary.  I think CBC producers should also be exposed to this to see how to produce a doc without inserting a political aspect into it. 

Talking is good

Some days I am not sure how to react when I see news stories about how others react to free speech. Two incidents come to mind. One is the protest at the University of Missouri where students are upset with racial slurs seemingly being tolerated. That sounds like a worthy protest. But when a student journalist tried to cover a part of that protest, he was shouted down and pushed away,.. by the protesters.  I know have that feels.

The other incident happened at Yale University when some administrators spoke against a printed warning about offensive Halloween costumes. The admins took the position that Yale students should be mature enough to select costumes without getting mandates or orders from above. Well, that just set off a firestorm of angry debate, suggesting that the admins were not being culturally tolerant enough.

I really have to wonder if some of these people will be ready for the real world. Some people get so offended when other people disagree with them.  I think universities should be places of academic freedom and discussion. There is no room at all for racism or intolerance of others. But people have to learn to calm down, and not get offended at what they perceive or think the other guy is saying.

The funniest thing happened ...

I was at the city hall parking lot earlier this evening as I was leaving a meeting. I ran into a well-known city councillor, who is a former mayor and broadcaster. As usual we took a minute to say hello, get caught up on news and gossip. Now this fellow is almost 80 and he knows so many people, and attends a lot of funerals. He is a sharp fellow and I enjoy chatting with him.  So it seems he was more than impressed with a speaker in church earlier in the day. A young woman had delivered a eulogy for her late uncle during the funeral service. “She was just the best speaker I have heard in a long time”, he told me. Apparently this woman gave the best send-off a person could possibly imagine. She was marvelous, he said. When my friend stopped talking, I looked at him and said, “Jeez, at our age, maybe we should get to know her…”. There was a pause of silence and then we both broke out into gales of laughter. I mean, we really laughed, and howled and laughed some more. It was just the best thing, two old fellows standing in the city hall parking lot roaring with laughter. 

This is so good!

The Portugese sure did a good thing a few hundred years back when they invented that fabulous fortified beverage known as Port. I have enjoyed several over the years and have always found them to be warm, comforting and delicious. National Geographic had an excellent article on the Duoro Valley a few years back. That’s where port is made.  So today when I was in the liquor store, I grabbed a couple of bottles of white wine and was looking at some reds as well. Nothing seemed to stand out for me and then I saw the Ports on a shelf. With winter coming, I had this urge to have something so sweet and smooth and warming. Usually, a good whiskey does the trick. But today I grabbed a bottle of Graham’s vintage LVBP. This is the talented little sister to the really expensive vintages that usually run about $100 a bottle.  I usually choose the tawny, medium sweet, but today I went traditional. Oh my. And it is just so fine. The critics love writing about this stuff and have mentioned that there are hints of chocolate, cranberry, blackberry, caramel and fruitcake! I honestly don’t know about that except that I love the taste and it makes me smile.

Tear the house down!

I was pleased to see so much good discussion about the future of 24 Sussex Drive, the prime minister’s residence. I have to say I am in with the group that believes it is time to tear that building down. The building is more than a century old, and filled with things like asbestos and bad wiring. If it was a school, a hospital or a day care, we wouldn’t give it a second thought. There is really no significant historical reason for keeping it. I think that tearing the old house down and creating a brand new official home is appropriate. It will indeed be interesting to see how this all unfolds in the coming weeks and months. 

Try it. You might like it.

Jennifer often jokes about my choice of beer. That’s because I am not really brand loyal. I drink whatever happens to be good, or new or different. She calls my choices “weird beer”. I have tried a new brand in the past few weeks and next time we meet, I will see if I can get Jenn to try it. It’s a very nice stout with a vanilla flavour. It also uses the same widget technology that Guinness uses, so you get that draught beer flavour with every can.
Jennifer is very brand loyal. I don’t think she will drink any take-out coffee but Timmies. I will not reveal her favourite beer, and let me tell you Bud, you won’t be any wiser. 
But she might be willing to try this brand, only because it tastes so nice. I will let you know.

Treat yourself!

Like a lot of Canadians, I was disappointed to see the Blue Jays lose to the Royals. But I did enjoy seeing some fabulous baseball being played this past month. It’s one of life’s guilty pleasures to sit down and watch a whole ball game. The game is so laid back and so enjoyable. I confess to watching the highlights more than anything. So here’s the thing. I like to go to YouTube to watch the highlights everyday, posted by MLB. It’s on the big screen smart TV, so it’s great to watch. That’s where I came across some of the documentaries created several years ago by PBS producer Ken Burns. This is amazing television. If you get a chance, sit down with a pot of tea, a bottle of wine or a few glasses of whiskey and treat yourself to some fabulous documentaries. If you can’t see it on the PBS online channel, go to YouTube. It’s there.

A bit too fussy maybe?

Standing in line at the grocery store this past week when a nice looking lady ahead of me glances up and gives me The Smile. I call it that, because it can translate into I-might-be interested-in-a-cup-of-coffee smile. I just smile and nod for the time being. She’s nicely dressed (as in no sweat pants or athletic wear). And no rings on the left hand. We’re both in the express line. Neither one of us is buying a cartload of groceries. Another good sign. (This means retired or semi-retired and there’s no crowd at home.) So maybe I will say hello. Just then, she says something to cashier. The cashier walks over to the shelf and comes back with cigarettes. Arrghh! Deal killer.
It happened again Saturday. Express line. I’ve got milk, juice and Danish. It’s all in one of those plastic grocery baskets. Lady ahead has a cart with a few things in it. Waiting patiently. She looks back casually, notices me, and yes, The Smile. Nice looking. My age or thereabouts. No rings. Looks good in jeans. So this is pleasant. Then she reaches into her cart and pulls out a very large item. So here’s my chance. Step forward and offer assistance. It’s a big, big pail. She struggles. OMG it’s a 25 kilogram pail of cat litter! Quickly, I step back. And the cart is loaded with several cans of cat food. Whew. That was close. A middle-aged cat lady. Deal killer.

Another perfect weekend in Westree ...

Happy to say the Thanksgiving weekend was extra special, as it should be. Once again, I was pleased to be guest of the Alexander Family in Westree, where the food was fabulous and the hospitality was outstanding. Denise and Don were terrific hosts as usual. Being there with Jenn, Scott and the boys was excellent. Sitting around the fire Saturday night was so relaxing just to hear the wind blowing through the trees. A perfect way to relax after a perfect supper. I am surprised we were able to pull ourselves away from the fire to go watch the hockey game. No Leaf jokes please. Ha ha. The boys had fun when Scott took them out hunting for partridge early Saturday and Sunday. As Jennifer suggested, we spent Sunday morning fishing. I figured it would be a nice quiet couple of hours on the lake. Who knew? I got the first bite within minutes, landing a small Northern Pike, that we put back in the water.(Fishing in the North isn't fishing until somebody catches a pike!) After that, it amazing as the smallmouth bass were biting like crazy. We caught lots of fish, took a few fun photos and put them back in the lake. At one point, three of us were all reeling in a different fish at the same. At one point, Tyler caught a bass, but in the process he snagged a line. I thought it was a line from the bottom of the lake, so I grabbed a knife and sliced it. I didn’t know it was Jennifer’s fishing line! Yeah, so I am going to hear about that for awhile. Anyway, it was just the best time and I do have so much to be thankful for.

Thankful

I have to admit I was a bit skittish about a hospital test I took today. It was my first time ever for a colonoscopy. Given my age and family history, it was something that was overdue. So I think I acted cool and calm about it, but my blood pressure and heart rate were a bit higher than normal according to the nurse this morning. Yeah, I was nervous. Good news though. The doctor said no polyps, no tumours, nothing unusual at all. He said to come back in five years for another one. Woohoo!
I have also been getting used to a new set of specs this past week. My other ones were more than ten years old. So yes, it was time. Well, what a difference. My prescription changed quite a bit in the past ten years, so I can see much better now with my new glasses. Imagine my surprise when I picked out the "old man" style horn rims only to be advised they're back in style. The only wildcard is that my right eye is significantly weaker than my left eye for some reason. The eye doctor said he couldn't pin down the problem, but to go back in six to nine months for a check up. I was also using Visine everyday because my right eye would be bloodshot in the mornings. Doc told me to stop using it, and in a couple of days, it would clear up. He was right.

This is going to be a good weekend. I am heading out to Westree shortly to enjoy Thanksgiving with the Alexander family. It has been awhile since I enjoyed the amazing peace and quiet of a nice camp in Northern Ontario. Well, that's a relative thing. Moose season opened today, so it will be quite busy in the bush. Maybe a bit noisy.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Remembering tea with Grandma.

I guess I will have to find out for myself what the fuss is all about. I have read about it, and even watched a short National Film Board documentary about it, and now I will have to try it. King Cole Tea. The company’s roots are in Sussex, New Brunswick and many Atlantic Canadians are fiercely loyal to King Cole Tea. So I am having it for breakfast today. I am not sure what great tea tastes like.
Tea is part of my heritage. I grew up in a home where the tea pot was on the stove all day.

When I went down home to visit my relatives, they all drank tea. All the time. I remember summer afternoons in Mira in Grandma’s kitchen, having hot, sweet tea with fresh cow’s milk and cinnamon rolls. Other times, Grandma would make perfect tea biscuits topped with butter she made herself from the thick sweet butter cream. The seemed to make the chore of milking the cows every morning somehow worthwhile. At my Dad’s funeral, the reception was held at the Mira hall. I remember the ladies there serving tea with sandwiches. The milk was already added to the tea. They didn’t ask; that’s just the way they served it. I don’t know how good tea should be, but it should be reassuring; comforting.

Unbelievable!

Every now and then when I feel like some cooking inspiration, I go to YouTube and find a recipe. It can be amazing how well some people can cook. So today I picked up some pork chops. Then I checked out YouTube and found a guy pan frying pork chops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr8MyKoNBYY
He seemed to know what he was doing, but I gotta tell ya, I was put off by his kitchen ... it was not the cleanest I have seen. I figured, OMG this guy is a slob. In the early part of the video, it looks like he hasn't cleaned his stove in a month! So he may know cooking, but I wouldn't eat in his kitchen! LOL

Holidays

One of the good things about having a few years of experience at work is that I have a tonne of holidays. And as they like to tell us at the office, if you don't use them, you lose them. So the boss sent me home early this week, to take Thursday and Friday off and make a long weekend. I still have about three weeks of holiday time left that has to be used up before the New Year. so I am here listening to some Motown favourites, reading, drinking tea and enjoying the day. I have to admit, I can only take so much of this before I get bored. I am too nosey. If there is something happening in town, I like to snoop around. Oh well, back to the book.

My new teapot!

So the day started with my decision to buy a tea ball. I get tired of tea bags that break open in boiling water sending tea leaves everywhere in the teapot. And then there's loose tea in my cup. I figured a tea ball would do the trick. You know, you've seen them. They're made of metal, about the size of a big egg. They have many tiny little holes to let the boiling water in. You place tea inside, the snap the ball shut and put in the boiling water in a tea kettle. Well, that was the plan. So I went to the tea shop at the mall. Figured that would be a good start. The sales clerk said yes, and proceeded to show me the tiniest little metal ball you can imagine. It was smaller than a golf ball. She said it was good for one cup of tea. I smiled, thanked her and shook my head, no thanks. After checking Sears and Stokes, I had no luck. Next stop was Winners, which always seems to have a good selection of kitchen thingies.
Well that's where I found my new tea kettle, all shiny and fancy. And right next to the kettle was a perfect tiny little tea strainer. Now that's something my Mom used. Mom and Dad used to boil their Red Rose by toss a big handful of loose tea into the teapot and then use the fine mesh strainer to catch the leaves as they poured their tea.
I bought the teapot for $16 and the strainer for $5. I rushed home and made a fresh pot of tea this afternoon. Here's the good part. I checked the price of the teapot on eBay. It was $41. Okay, I know I didn't really need this, but I am glad I bought it. And now that I know the price, I feel so much better.

Phones are necessary, but annoying ...

Well I survived my first week with my newest cellular phone, a BlackBerry Classic. There were some glitches and I have spent part of my Saturday morning working out the bugs. One of the problems is that many of the apps (applications in real English) keep running in the background. Of course that made my data usage go way up, and that means more dollars for the phone company. So this morning I went through the phone and deleted several of the apps… things like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, FourSquare, and a bunch of others. I use my phone for talking, sending texts and checking e-mail. There was even an app for writing stories. Jeez, these people must think we’re all 11 years old. And music! Hell, I hardly listen to the car radio anymore. As if I am going to stick little plugs in my ears to listen to music. I can listen to stereo music at home. I almost expected to see a toilet paper app spitting out little squares of paper. The one thing I do like is that I can log in to my computer and activate the phone ringer. That will help when I lose the phone under a pile of newspapers on the dining room table.

Neil would like this ...

I think Neil would be impressed. I have been enjoying many non-Corporate beers this summer. This English Bay pale ale is a Vancouver product, from a city where people seem to take craft beer pretty seriously. I know Neil does. He likes pale ales. He also told me that craft beer is more about the recipe and freshness than about the corporate beers, which he says all seem to taste the same. Imagine that. A son teaching his dad about beer! Anyway, I had this beer with supper tonight and it was pretty fresh and crisp and enjoyable with mashed potatoes, beef and gravy. Doesn’t get much better than that eh?

So, it's September ...

Hard to believe September is already here. Although I do like it. With the start of the new school year, it seems like everyone has the idea of a fresh start on their minds. People seem energized and ready for whatever comes next. A good attitude with fall and winter on the way. I was pleased to spend some time last weekend with Jennifer and her family in Val Caron. It was a great visit because I needed some peace and quiet. A really nice thing is that Jennifer has become so talented in the kitchen. She amazes me with her cooking skills. It was nice to see the boys again too, even though they were here in Timmins for the last week of August, for the Kayak Festival. I got a kick out of bringing the boys around town. They seemed to enjoy meeting some new people.

The boys met our local mayor, they met some friends from the TV station and they even met the moose outside the hunting store.
I am pleased to see such a change in the boys in the sense that they like to have fun, like any teenagers, but they also have a definite serious side. They're bright guys and I just hope I can live up to whatever their expectations are for a grandfather. This is new stuff for me. They don't fall for the old "pull my finger" joke anymore.
Anyway, I am looking forward to fall. If only for the milder weather. Our summer has had a lot of rain, and according to a lot of people, it has been gloriously hot, hot, hot. Whew, I tell ya, some of those hot days were scorchers. I would hide out in my apartment. This was not whiskey drinking weather. I even went to the liquor store and bought some pre-mixed margarita drinks. How's that for a manly beverage? Yeah, I know it's a girly drink but they're cold and sure quench your thirst. I have also been drinking quite a few craft beers this summer. Some are pretty good. I got so tired of the same old, same old taste of the corporate beer so now I experiment.

A bit shocking for some ...

Folks who have not been in Timmins for awhile might wonder how things are changing with the new Hollinger open pit mine. I snapped this shot this morning in the parking lot by Feldman's and Shopper's Drug Mart. It shows that the berm surrounding the mine pit is closer that some people might imagine. It is a bit shocking to some people right now, but in 10 or 15 years from now, the berm will be completely covered by grasses, shrubs and trees. It is going to interesting to watch the change.

Trump in the dump...

Well I spent part of the morning drinking coffee and reading the New York Times, among other things. Of course, I got caught up on the antics of Mr. Trump at the debate in Cleveland. I am amazed that Americans, who are so aware of common sense, would put up with Mr. Trump who does not seem to have much respect for the U.S. political system. Canadians have much to be thankful for. Our political leaders do not always inspire us, but they're usually a pretty common sensical, and bright, group of people. I am confident Canadians would not put up with the likes of Mr. Trump as a political leader. Yeah yeah, he can be okay to watch on a TV show, but really, you don't let someone like that in government. In my fantasy political debate, I can imagine Mr. Trump going up against Stephen Lewis, Pierre Trudeau, Robert Stanfield or even John Deifenbaker. They would leave Trump, in the dump, on his rump! LOL

The dollar

I know I should be happy that the Canadian dollar is down. It's good for exports. I am not any sort of economics person, but I am aware that a low dollar is good for our natural resources; things like lumber and mining products. That said, I am not pleased since I am a person who likes to buy stuff online. And the United States has the best selection with online stores such as L.L.Bean. But with our dollar at 74-cents compared to the U.S. dollar, I am out of luck. L.L.Bean has been sending me all sorts of urgent e-mails, inviting me to enjoy up to 10 per cent off. Still not good enough. Oh poor me, eh!

Story gave me goosebumps ...

We were talking in the newsroom this week about famous journalists we had met over the years. One of the guys had met Bob Woodward of the Washington Post. I was impressed. I have to say the most famous for me was a fellow who anchored at CNN in the 1990s and was very highly regarded by his peers. His name was Bernie Shaw of CNN and many other well known new agencies. I met him at a broadcast convention in Toronto in the late 1998 or 99. When I say I met him, I mean it was a social gathering and there were five or six of us standing together, making small talk. We shook hands, said hello and chatted. I told Mr. Shaw I admired his work. I asked what his most memorable story was. I expected him to tell us about the night he was hunkered down on a 9th-floor hotel room in Baghdad at the very moment the Gulf War was breaking out in 1991. He gave a live account as the bombs and missiles were falling. As incredibly exciting as that was, it was not his big story as far as he was concerned. Shaw said the big story was when he was in Memphis in 1968, the evening that Martin Luther King was shot to death. As he continued speaking, he told us the most amazing story. It was sometime after the shooting that Shaw told us he was approached by King's widow, Coretta King who asked Shaw to stay with her husband's body while arrangements were being finalized. King's wife did not trust the FBI with the body of Martin Luther King. What an incredible story. We stood there, utterly silent. I was amazed to hear this man recount this bit of modern history, right in front of me, from his own personal experience. I had goosebumps.

Things sure change eh?

What a change eh? This is the area of Vipond Road in Timmins, the one that separates Schumacher and the old town of Timmins. With the new mine in place, Goldcorp has installed a massive berm, about 25 metres high to surround the entire open pit. This week, they began a hydro-seeding project to add grasses and vegetation to the berm. This is going to become a permanent part of the new landscape of Timmins. On the other side, once the mining is done, there will be a new lake.

A moment of appreciation ...

I rushed into my apartment this afternoon for a quick sandwich and a coffee before heading out to a meeting at city hall. I stopped dead thinking I was in the wrong place. The breakfast dishes were done. The bed was made. The cupboards were closed. The place looked really, really tidy. I had a sudden moment of appreciation. Yup, daughter Jennifer dropped into for a visit this weekend. It was so nice having company. Thanks Jenn!

Elections were fun ...

One of the fun things about news work is planning for election campaigns. I don't think mainstream Canadians get caught up in politics as much as reporters do. We were just discussing this afternoon how NDP leader Tom Mulcair will be touring Ontario as a run up to the October 19th election. I mentioned to the news gang that I remember covering NDP leader David Lewis in the '74 campaign, with Trudeau and Stanfield. To this day I remember that I was more star struck by the veteran journalists on the campaign bus than with Mr. Lewis himself. I was a cub reporter on a hot summer morning who got on the bus north of Kirkland Lake and we were doing a quick tour of the riding. The first guy to say hello was a very tall, smiling and forceful fellow who handed me a beer (It was before noon)and asked me if I wanted a bologna sandwich with or without mustard. It was reporter Henry Champ of CTV news. He would become a superstar foreign correspondent with NBC News. Also on the bus was Mike Duffy, then with CBC Radio and Mark Phillips of CBC TV, who would become famous for his work with CBS News, all over the world. I don't know how these guys managed to get their work done with all the beer and joking around on the campaign bus. It sure was fun.

People talk

One of the things I so enjoy about Timmins is that people talk. I was driving back from the grocery store this afternoon, along a quiet residential street and there was a former well-known police officer out walking his dog. I rolled to a stop, said hello and we ended up yakking for a good 20 minutes. Of course anyone following the news in Timmins this year would know what we were talking about and so it was that we threw ideas and opinions back and forth, and it was just the best thing to do. I know that some of the things I said might eventually filter through the department, and he knows some of the things he said might eventually be mentioned in a news story. That's okay. Sometimes, that's how stories get told. The other thing was in the grocery store, my quick trip to pick up some vegetables and juice became an hour-long gab session with other people I bumped into. Saturday afternoons are not the best time to do anything quickly.

Pluto

With all the strange things that go on in the world, I am always amazed when NASA reminds us there are worlds beyond our own. I was amazed this week to see the new images of the planet Pluto along with information about the size of its atmosphere. Pluto is so much smaller than Earth, but the atmosphere is much bigger; but it's mostly nitrogen so you can't breathe it. Here is something interesting from NASA. If you weigh 180 pounds on earth, you will weigh about 11 pounds on Pluto. Cool.
I cannot help but think that some day, people from our planet will move to other nearby planets to live. I don't know how long it will take before than happens, but I am pretty sure it will happen one day.

Never saw this before ...

We had some thunder and lightning in Timmins Saturday night. It appears lightning caused a house fire and also split open this hardwood tree. I've never seen this before, and so I snapped a photo. One fellow on the street suggested it might have been caused by the intense heat of the lightning cooking the inside of the tree to the point that the sap was boiled, steam was generated and the pressure exploded all the bark off the bottom portion of the tree. It also scattered several chunks of wood all around the yard, the street and neighbouring driveways. Bizarre eh.

Guilty pleasures

I watched a movie this week where the lead actor, John Travolta, was lighting a cigar. Oh my goodness, I suddenly stopped listening to the movie and just focused on the cigar. I LOVE cigars. I wish I could smoke one, but I am sure that if I did I would be so tempted to begin smoking again. Anyway, the scene in the movie was about 30 seconds long and you could tell that Travolta was really enjoying the moment. It is one of life's guilty pleasures to pick up a cigar and inhale that fabulous smell of dry, cured tobacco and to anticipate the first puff of smoke once you light it. And then the smoke is sweet and it lingers around your head and takes over your senses for a few minutes.  My mouth is watering at the thought of it. I think I am going to have a cigar ... on my 80th birthday.

One of those days ...

Today is one of those hot summer days that so many people enjoy. The sun was high in the sky and there was barely a breeze at noon, but I could hear kids out there shouting and playing despite the heat. I am betting the beach down by the lake was packed. I stayed in all day reading, except for a brief trip to the recycle bin. Oooh I could feel the heat beating down and I began to sweat within minutes of stepping outside. A couple of the older neighbour ladies were sitting in the shade, so I had to say Hello. Of course they were the kind of people who just loved this weather and the heat. Maybe there's something about getting older, that you get colder.  I don't know yet!
Well I have made a big jug of iced tea, and I was going to have fried chicken for supper, but to be honest I don't feel like cooking. Did I mention that I broke my Nestle boycott for one product? Yeah, I am not proud of it, but I like sweet iced tea. I looked all over for a non-Nestle product, but I found a non-sugar product called Nestea Zero, which I like very much. I mix it with my own ice tea and it is very refreshing. Oh yea, it also tastes quite nice with bourbon and a bit of lemon.

Happy July

July has been miserable so far in Timmins. It was cold last week ... so cold and rainy that everyone was wearing jackets. No worries, it will get better. I am thinking at least the bugs aren't bad. Here's something funny. Visited a house last week where there was a party. A good friend was coming through town, and she invited many of us out to see her. So I did. I always bring a few beers to enjoy and I always leave several behind. I figure it is a small gift for the party host. So I had my three drink limit after about four hours, and decided it was time to go home. All good, except I forgot that I had pulled out a brand new bottle of Muskol lotion (bug dope) and left it at the party. Arrghh. I hate that. I don't mind leaving the booze, but that bottle of Muskol cost $6! Am I cheap or what eh?
That reminds me... I have the camera-buying bug again. I have been checking out prices on new photo equipment. Some of the prices are pretty amazing. I am also looking at UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) that can carry a camera. Amazing stuff. Yup, drones are gonna be the hottest new thing.  A bit costly right now, just over $2,000 ... but I am watching the prices closely.

Back online with NYT

I was pleased today to sign up for another year with the New York Times, online edition. I first signed up back in 2011 and after many months, when I had gathered all the research I wanted, I quit. It works out to less than $3 a week.
Here's something interesting. The NYT has better archives about Canadian news than either the Globe and Mail or The Toronto Star. The Globe and the Star both began doing digital archives in the late 1980s. Their archives are pretty basic. The New York Times has incredible archives going back to the mid-1800s and they've been able to reproduce it in a nice PDF doc form. When I need to look something up about Canada, or even Timmins or Northern Ontario, I can search the archive and find what I need. Excellent! Below is a news clipping from the front page in 1928, when there was a disaster at the Hollinger Mine.

Concert season

Timmins is struggling with the fact that a lot of big name music acts don't bother coming here. The problem seems to be the fact that no one wants to buy tickets ahead of time and the promoters are not willing to take the chance of bringing in a big-name act without financial security of advanced sales. So a local committee has been formed to try to convince people to be more accepting. I agree with that. The Tragically Hip is performing in Kirkland Lake for two nights this week, and the concerts are sold out. Here's the thing. A lot of people will not pay $100 for a concert ticket but they will think nothing of going out of town, paying gas, paying hotel, paying restaurants etc to see a concert. I would rather go out to a great dinner with friends and then take in a nice concert right here in town. $100 would be a bargain!

Socks and suits

I mentioned I was in court last week. And the lawyers were there. Suits and socks. Did you know that it’s a fashion thing now to have loud colourful socks? Oh yeah! That’s the thing when you have to wear a suit now. So when you’re in court, you’ve got lots of time to look around. Sure enough, Toronto lawyer guy is wearing socks with big polka dots on them. Oh well, if that’s what you like, enjoy.

 

But then I noticed all these guys wearing suits that looked just so, so uncomfortable. I mean, the men’s fashion industry is just terrible. I know these people have to change things around every now and then make money, but holy moley, these new suits just suck. They may look pleasing to some people, but I think they look so uncomfortable to wear. I am sure I felt uncomfortable just looking at them. I dropped into a men’s store last week to check out some blazers. By mistake I grabbed a suit jacket, with my size, and tried it on. OMG it was terrible. The arms were so skinny and the armpits felt like they were up to my ears. I couldn’t possibly imagine wearing a suit jacket all day. The guy said it was the “European cut”. I mentioned that I thought we got rid of all the dumb stuff from Europe in the last war. The guy just looked at me. Blank. I don’t think he got it.

Anyway, I wore suits for years. Still have one, just in case somebody dies! LOL I am not being disrespectful to the courts. I like to wear a nice cashmere blazer, a crisply pressed shirt and my best jeans. I don’t have any loud socks. Just sayin’

Helicopters and Horses

It has been a crazy week for news in Timmins, but as I always tell the younger reporters, there is more news in Timmins than you can wish for. On Wednesday we learned there had been a break-in at Canadian Tire and that it was suspected an armed gunman was still inside the store. It created a huge response from local police and OPP. As it turned out, the guy who did the break-in got away minutes before police showed up, even though he was on the surveillance video.

Another story was a happy news story about our local firefighters were rescued a horse that fell into a mudhole in a gully. I was happy to be there and watch the rescue. And yes, at last word, the horse is okay.

My hands were shaking...

Okay some days, the news gets a little too intense. It happened on the weekend when a seriously disturbed young man set fire to a two-storey apartment house, while arguing with the Timmins police. The man was refusing to leave the house. He holed up in an upstairs room, while the fire burned and the smoke grew thicker. After several minutes, he opened the window and decided to get out. I thought, holy crap, he's going to jump. I didn't like watching this, but I knew I had to photograph it. I felt ill and my hands were shaking. As it turned out, he jumped onto the little porch roof at the left. After several more minutes, police were able to convince him to climb down a ladder. The guy was arrested and charged with arson, among other things. I hope he gets some professional help.

Photo by Len Gillis ©

Waiting on my pears...

The doctor tells me I have to eat more fruit ... but nothing too sweet or sugary! What? Yeah, so he gave me a list of "good" fruits. Seems bananas are not on the good list, neither are grapes. I love grapes. So the other night, I closed the curtains and turned off my cell phone just in case. I ate some grapes. Oh god, they were so juicy and good. Now,  he says pears are good. I like pears. But you have to wait for pears to get just right, just when they're soft, and so juicy. I call it slooshy! So I am waiting. I bought these pears about five days ago. They're still hard, well not THAT hard. But I came home from work today just hoping to have them. They were not ready.  I figure sometime in the next day and half, they will be perfect. I can't wait!

Covering court

Spent a couple of days this week in court, covering police commission hearings, since our police chief was accused of improper conduct. It was all about a couple of traffic tickets and a member of city council. Here's the thing that worries me. There was very little news coverage of it since our local media companies are not willing to commit the time to sending their news people to cover local stories that requires some time and effort. The reporters are all great people. Young and hard working and willing to learn. Their bosses don't care. Only three reporters showed up the first day of the hearing. Four reporters showed up for the second day. I remember there was a time when our local radio station CKGB would run with a full ten minutes of news and sports every morning at eight oclock. Now they run 92 seconds of information, and it is certainly not news.
Rant number two: Court is boring. The lawyers and witnesses drone on and on, hour after hour, repeating the same testimony. It is hard to hear because even the air conditioning system is louder. Every now and then,  a real interesting bit of info comes up and you furiously take notes ... and then the reporter next to you, a smoker, breaks into a coughing fit and you can't hear a damned thing.

You still play CDs?

So when is the last time you played a CD? I was thinking about that last night just before I went to bed... You see my bedtime is something of a ritual. A glass of water, a book and music. I usually tune in to Grooveshark.com for my music, or CBC Radio and I set the time so the radio shuts off in 59 minutes. I am usually snoring by then and the book is stuck to my face. Eventually I will wake up, have a drink of water, turn off the bedlamp and go back to sleep.
Here's the thing. I found out Friday that Grooveshark was shut down for legal reasons. So there went my link to free music...  Music that I liked and that I picked. Oh well. So then I went to my ROKU box and picked up on another music service Shoutcast.com, which has thousands of free internet radio stations. Last night I found a very agreeable jazz station; Global Smoothjazz out of Monterey, California.  So I set the volume low and there was relaxing music all night. The other cool thing was that I could have chosen rock, country, classical or even folk. And that made me wonder, why do I even have CDs anymore. I guess every now and then, I can pull out an album, blow the dust off my CD player and listen to Bob Bylan or Jimi Hendrex, or even Shania.

Coffee

I have been on a real coffee jag in the past few weeks. I wasn't sure why but now I think I know. Usually I will drink tea in the mornings, which is great. But then during work hours I will run out and grab a hot cup of coffee to keep my engine running. So a few weeks back I had a really great cup of McCafe from McDonalds. It just hit the spot. So every morning now, and lunch too, I make my own coffee ... with the Keurig of course. My brand of choice these days is President's Choice, Costa Rica medium roast. I will go back to tea eventually, but only if I make a bad cup of coffee.

Work in the pit.

As the weeks go by in Timmins I have been checking out the work on the new Hollinger open pit. You can see the bowl developing gradually as they blast away the high ground that has been part of the landscape for the last 106 years. Actually the rock has been there for about two billion years, if you talk to any geologist. (Timmins has lots and lots of geologists, but's that another story).
So I am posting photos from the vantage point of the old golf course road, looking east. I will keep doing that as long as I can see the pit. They haven't put up the "berm" in that area yet. In the bottom photo here, you can see where they poured tonnes of concrete in the foreground. Somebody said that will become part of the road as the trucks will descend into the pit. By the way, some of those trucks are big. That truck near the upper right part of the top photo is as tall as a two-storey house!

Dreams and good smells

As I woke up a short time ago I realized I was dreaming about cigarettes. I have not smoked since 1986 but I remembered a good smell one morning this week as I was heading in to work. It was one of those really nice mild, sunny mornings with a light breeze. A guy on the sidewalk had just lit a smoke. As I walked by, I realized that I really liked that smell. For just a few moments. I remembered being a smoker and lighting that first cigarette in the morning, and inhaling it deeply. Yup, I liked that. Okay, so I am glad I quit, but there were some things about smoking I liked.
That reminded me of the time I worked a whole summer on a tobacco farm, near Simcoe, ON. It was hard work, but the money was good and I needed the money for school. The summer of '73. I have a great memory of a wonderful smell from that time. I worked for a farmer named Hank Bakker and he gave me responsibility for my own field of crop. I never worked in farming before, but I enjoyed it and so Hank kept me on beyond the greenhouse season, which was late May.
I don't know how big my field was, but it was several acres. I had to cultivate it, disc it,  plant it, hoe it, irrigate it, do the topping and suckering and by early August, it was one beautiful field of shoulder high tobacco plants. The plants get topped with very nice white flowers and I remember being out at about 5:30 one morning to admire the field. It's kind of like looking in the mirror when you're a teenager. That's when I realized how amazingly good the field smelled. The flowers give off a fragrance that is a cross between honey and vanilla. I won't forget how nice that smelled.

Timmins is changing...

Just a photo I was able to shoot today, showing the change in Timmins as the Hollinger Open Pit mine continues to progress, as you can see in the left side of this photo. Algonquin Boulevard runs along the right side. That's the water tower in the upper left corner. Click on the photo to see a larger size.Too bad it was raining. A sunny day photo would have been nicer...

Fish from China ... I don't trust it!

I was shopping for groceries today when I decided that I should buy more fish. I like frozen fillets because they're easier to prepare when I am in a hurry. So there was Captain Highliner haddock in a nice package with several nice portions. The fine print said Captain Highliner of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, which is fine by me. I looked closer and the package said Product of China. What the heck? No Thank You! I threw the package back in the freezer bin.
From what I have read, the preparation and packaging of fish by fishing companies in China sees different chemicals added to keep the fish "fresher" for longer periods. That's just not appealing.
So then I saw another package of frozen fillets. Alaskan Pollock it said. Sounds good. I picked up the package, which said it was "imported" by some USA company. Okay, fine. I looked closer. Product of China. No Thank You!
So now when I want a fish dinner, I will have to go out and buy "fresh" fish, the non-frozen fillets you see in the glass case, on those beds of ice, in the grocery stores. I just hope that stuff doesn't come from China either.
So there you have it. The only China I want with my food is the Royal Doulton dinnerware I serve it on.

On being impatient ... or I am bored?

Okay so I am disappointed with myself for being, hmmm… for being impatient I guess. Here’s the thing. I rented a movie this week. It was okay, but predictable. So I was watching the movie, got the gist of the story and grabbed the remote and zoomed ahead by about 35 minutes. Watched a few minutes more then zoomed ahead to get the ending. It was okay.

Good thing I didn’t have company eh. But hold on, it gets better … or worse. I was reading a book, one of those adventure thrillers. The good guys are chasing down the bad guys, except in one part, they have to crawl through a tunnel. Hell no, it wasn’t a tunnel, it was a pipe! About 22 inches wide. So the story goes on for about 25 pages describing how they get through it. So I just said blah, blah, and skipped ahead. There was still about 150 pages page, so I knew the good guys were going to make it. Now I am angry at myself for the principal of it. If I am going to read a book or watch a movie, I promise to read ALL of it. As for movies, if I don’t like it, well that’s it, I just stop watching.

Things change in Timmins.

The landscape in Timmins is changing quickly with all the work going on at the new Hollinger mine open pit. In the first photo you can see the rocky area behind the fence, which is just across the road from the Food Basics store and the  Salvador soccer field, taken this morning. In the second photo you can see a nice photo of the blast this afternoon of that same area. Nearby, work progresses on the berm, the big wall of broken rock that is going to surround the pic. That bulldozer in the third picture is a big D9, one of the larger Caterpillars out there. It is indeed big. But in the fourth photo you see how small that D9 looks next to a Cat 75 tonne mining truck. Click on the pic to see them large size.

That's right, snow in Timmins on May 19th.

Yup, this is what Timmins has been talking about today. SNOW! On the day AFTER the May Run long weekend. Oh well, that's just Timmins...

Timmins is sure changing...

This is the new Hollinger Pit, looking eastward and this area used to be the Hollinger Golf Club. looking toward No. 1 hole. And that high spot near the water tower is where the No. 2 tee off used to be. Things sure do change...

Buying online... not right now!

I have become an online shopper. I am not one of those people who enjoys wandering around a store looking for sales. If I need something, I will buy it. If it is on sale, then all the better. The nice thing about online is that you can search out the one thing you really want or need, and then get it. I do support shopping locally, but I have to say, many of the things I want, I cannot find in a store.
That being said, I haven't purchased anything online since before Christmas. The value of the Canadian dollar has really tanked in recent months. On Friday, the U.S. dollar was at $1.20 compared to our canuck buck.  So even though I was thinking of getting some new shirts, I am going to wait.
Oh here's the other thing. I like to buy shirts at L.L.Bean ... They're usually at a very good price, AND the quality is great. I am still wearing shirts that I bought five years ago. They just don't wear out. But I will not pay the inflated U.S. price... well, not unless they're on sale at more than 20 per cent off!

Five CN towers!

The May long weekend has finally arrived and so I guess I can safely put my parka away for another year (Knock on wood!). Although I remember one year, maybe about ten year or 12 years ago, there was still ice on some of the lakes around here.
In Timmins, the weekend is called the May Run and it is sort of a rite of passage for young people about to graduate high school to get out in the bush and have one last party with all your school chums. The other tradition is that we always seem to have rain on the May Run weekend. Sure enough, there was rain last night and early this morning.
I had another good week at work and one the stories I was writing was about the big mining show coming at the end of the month. Now for those in the know, there is a slump right now for mining exploration.
That’s the process where prospectors, claim stakers, geologists and other rock science people are out there looking for new mineral prospects.
The price of gold is in a slump and so the investment money is in a slump too. All across Canada. But not in Timmins; well not as bad as other places.
Yup, the prospectors here are still hard at work and a lot of diamond drills are still active. Now a diamond drill is a machine that bores deep into the earth and pulls up rock samples in the form of rock core. They’re called diamond drills because the drill bits that cut into the rock are actually hollow tubes crusted with diamonds that allow the bits to drill a nice circular hole in the rock. Imagine digging into wet sand with a paper towel tube and bringing up a sample of sand. That’s how it works. So there is still that optimism here that you don’t see in some other mining towns.

The other interesting thing is that the world famous Kidd Mine (famous for copper, zinc and silver) has only six years left before the mine is empty. Well, that’s not all true. There is still ore at the Kidd Mine, but it is too deep… more than 10,000 feet, to get at it and bring it to surface economically. So how deep is 10,000 feet. Imagine FIVE CN towers stacked one on top of the other… And it is still deeper than that.
So a lot of people are putting their hopes into gold again. By the time the Kidd mine is ready to close, the price of gold should be back up there close to $2,000 per ounce.

Rambling on

Went out with the gang Friday night to a sushi restaurant. So I am not adventurous with food anymore. I ordered rice and steak. I don't know where the seafood comes from for these restaurants and I have heard of fish farms in the far east located next to sewage plants. So I passed on the fish. From now on I am only buying fish caught by U.S. or Canadian fishers.
By the way, I left my vehicle parked downtown, in the company parking lot Friday night. Took a cab home.  So I got some exercise Saturday walking back downtown.
Things are slowly changing at work, now that Sunmedia has been purchased by Postmedia. We had the eastern Canada vice president visit last week. She spent a day meeting with all the staff. She gave the gang a pep talk on the importance of print journalism, how it will continue to be vital to small communities especially as radio and television keeps cutting their news departments. These things never happened with Sunmedia. She even had dinner with the mayor. . I think the best change was the decision to shut down anonymous comments that we allowed on the website. Thank goodness. There is enough stupidity in the world without encouraging people to leave anonymous comments. It was obvious that the same handful of people were the only ones leaving comments and more often than not, those commenters resorted to attacking each other. I think some bright-eyed university student could do a sociological study on the degrading behavior people display when anonymous commenting is permitted. It's like the moment people go online, they step into a bubble of dumbness. I can't figure it out. I used to get upset about it. Now I just get embarrassed for those people.
Neil's birthday happened last week. So we had a quick online chat. He is happy. Life is treating him well in Vancouver. I don't think he plans on returning to Timmins. That's okay. But OMG, he is 35 now. Can you believe that?

I had to laugh...

I am not the only guy who thinks about these things! That was my thought earlier today when I wondered about my love for whiskey. I checked the Internet about what options are open to diabetics who like their whiskey. OMG. There were more than 77-thousand Google returns. I have some reading to do!