Measuring sleep

One of the things I like about my Fitbit is that it measures my sleep. I try to get a good night's sleep... usually between seven and eight hours. Like a lot of people, I do not sleep that well. I toss and turn. I wake up groggy, look at the clock and try to go back to la la land.
The Fitbit gives me a chart every morning, telling me how much time I slept and whether it was light sleep or deep sleep or restlessness.
So last night I hit the bed at 11:41 p.m. and got up at 8:48 a.m. But when all the time was counted, it only came to 7 hours and 25 minutes. (Click on the chart to make it full size.)

My light sleep was more than five hours. The deep sleep was just over one hour.
Interestingly, a couple of weeks ago, the Fitbit recorded a nap I had on the weekend. I hit the couch and was restless for about seven minutes and then went into a deep sleep for more than an hour. All that from napping on the couch. I should nap more often :)

Back to the books ...

I used to have an e-reader. It was a Sony. I liked it. Sony had a pretty good library and some reasonable prices for books. Kobo was the e-book supplier for Sony. A few years ago, the battery crapped out. I set the reader aside and now I don’t even know if I still have in packed away somewhere. Today I bought a new Kobo reader. It was either a Kobo or a Kindle I was looking for. So I signed into my old Kobo account. It was still active. I contacted Kobo and asked if I could still access my previously purchased books… I had 75 books in my account. Kobo said yes.   I like that. Books use hardly any memory. So I went with the Kobo. With the hot weather lately I think I will hide out in my cool living room for awhile and catch up on my reading.

Damn, I shouldn't have done that.

So today began so nicely when I decided to have an iced coffee for breakfast. I added half a cup of strong coffee, some ice cream, milk and a bit of chocolate syrup in the blender. Yeah! It tasted just as good as you can imagine.
I sat down, fired up the Internet and enjoyed my ice drink.  I was drawn to the Timmins obituaries by the news that an elderly man there was killed in an accident downtown on Thursday.
That’s when I began to browse recent obit notices in Timmins. Damn, I shouldn’t have done that. So many familiar faces of people I really liked have died in the six months that I left Timmins. I was truly saddened to read that Ted Tichinoff died in June. A really good guy, and he was just too young to die. Then I saw that Helmut Twardowski died. Helmut was older, but I will miss him.  Also my good friend Ivor Jones. We always had a smile and handshake whenever we met. I turned another page and saw that Sonny Newton died also. Sonny always had something interesting to talk about. What a loss. So it certainly makes me think I have to be more appreciative of the people I meet. 

Something new

I first tried the Fitbit watch back in 2016, figuring it would be interesting to monitor my physical activity and heart rate and things like that. It was. But my first Fitbit fell apart. Daily usage after three years will do that. The electronic part was fine but the plastic bracelet just wore out.

So I bought a new one this week -- The Fitbit Charge 3. It has all the bells and whistles to measure my activity, but I can also monitor the weather and get a vibrating wrist alert when I have a phone call. It also reminds me when I need to get up and move around. I think that's cool.

Seige

I am reading the book Seige, by Michael Wolff, an account of Donald Trumps current presidency. I bought the book last week after seeing a review on NBC. I don't always buy into political reviews, but I have to say this book is scary. I still don't know how it happened but the U.S. voters elected an idiot. Really. Trump has serious mental disorders and the fact that he is so wealthy (Thanks Daddy) has enabled him to hide it.
I was struck by one passage early in the book where Wolff describes the White House insiders as being alarmed by Trump's mental state. (Click on the photo to see larger version)

Another good month

I was out shopping this week and dropped into the liquor store to grab wine. I love the LCBO for its wine sales because it is the largest wine importer in the world. Of course all the excitement right now is over the new Spanish vintage called Toro Bravo. The wine experts are all excited about it because it is a fabulous red wine for less than $10. It is a very nice wine and perfect for making summer sangria.

The 2017 vintage, which is flying off the shelves, is still available in many – but not all --- LCBO stores. I was lucky to purchase four bottles. I gave one to Jennifer, who loves red wine.

The other important thing is that the LCBO now carries a huge select ion of craft beers. I thank Neil for my interest in this. He took me to the Great Canadian Beer Festival in Victoria one year. It was excellent and it gave me the chance to appreciate craft brews. Every week now I pick up a few varieties of new beer. One of my current favourites is Barking Squirrel!
Every now and then Jennifer invites me to supper with the promise that she has purchased some "weird beer" that I can try! Who could say no?

 I haven’t seen the inside of the Ontario Beer Store chain in years. I won’t support the American corporates who own the monopoly in our Beer Store chain.

Things are work are going well. The most recent issue of the medical journal is about successful graduates from Northern Ontario. This meant I had to attend a few graduation ceremonies to get photos and stories. I really get a kick out of seeing all these young people and their families. I think graduations are the last great family event in Canada. Everyone goes. Everyone is so pleased and the grads get such a boost of pride and confidence.
Anyway, June has been a good month. Can't wait for July.

Road trip to Timmins ...

I was on the road last week as I went to Timmins to take in the annual Big Event Mining Expo. The trip was good as I travelled via North Bay up through Temagami, Latchford, Cobalt, Haileybury, New Liskeard, Kirkland Lake and Matheson. I enjoyed stopping in KL to check out the new headframe at the Macassa mine where they're spending $320 million for the new 7,000 foot shaft. It is amazing that they found an entirely new gold zone there. This is rejuvenating the town's economy nicely.

The mining show was good but I think I enjoyed meeting old friends more than anything. I had breakfast two days in a row at the McIntyre Coffee Shop and I don't think I stopped saying hello for an hour. I met everyone for a chat; the old mayor, the new mayor and even Tom Luke the bagpiper. It was also nice to meet all the reporters I used to work with. The drive home was uneventful, but I did have a feeling that I miss Timmins. I enjoy Sudbury so much, but Timmins will always be a special place for me.

No more couch-crashing for Neil!

Neil is planning to visit Sudbury this summer. It will be nice to for him because he gets to see Jennifer and her family, as well as this old man. In the past poor Neil has had to crash on the couch. Luckily I managed to purchase a very big couch just for that purpose.  It is always great when he visits.

But now Neil can enjoy his beauty rest when he visits me. Today I was able to purchase one of those very nice camp-bed air-mattresses. It will fit nicely in the small second bedroom in my apartment. I set it up and it is very big and very comfortable! Let's call it a belated birthday gift. Neil's birthday was one month ago.
It is called the Coleman All-Terrain Plus, whatever the hell that means. It might mean you can set it up anywhere and sleep. I am sure that will suit Neil just fine. Thjis mattress is rated for 400 pounds. That means you can enjoy a late night poutine before you crash!

Happy B'Day Bud! LOL

Winning awards ...

We had champagne at the office on Friday. I wasn't surprised. I am now working for an independent publisher and they like to do things their way. Very different from working for the corporate newspaper companies. The champagne was a celebration of the fact this local newsroom snatched up the top six awards for 2018 at the Ontario Community Newspaper Association awards event. This all happened before I arrived, but I am still proud of the team.

The reporters here at Northern Life earned those awards through hard work and dedication. How cool is that? I think it shows the importance of local newspapers, as compared to the national newspaper companies. It also shows there is a significant cadre of local news reporters still on the job in smaller newspapers across Ontario and across Canada doing exceptional work. 

Catching up ...

Well work is going well. I was a bit worried about some company procedures, but I am happy to say I produced my first solo effort on the medical journal.

Everything went fine and the bosses are happy with it. My only concern is that three of my stories were pulled because the advertising people sold too many ads. One of the bosses told me this week to watch for that and that when extra money comes in from advertising it is reasonable to add more pages to the magazine.

Since my last posting in March, lots has happened. Tyler celebrated his 19^th birthday and we had a nice supper at the house. It was good to see that Denise and Don had returned from their winter getaway in Florida. Scott and Jenn made great supper. I took leftovers!

They had a nice time, but missed seeing some of their Saturday night hockey games.

Had a good chat with Debra on my birthday. I should mention that I officially became a senior citizen now that I am 65. I am glad to be still working. I don't think I could deal with retirement.

Debra said she is enjoying her retirement, although John is still teaching. Deb and John have purchased a condo in Florida and are now planning to build a new home in Grand Mira. They will enjoy that. Both of their boys – Alex (Married!) and Scott (Single!) – are doing well and living in Laronge, Saskatchewan.

Life in Sudbury is nice, but I do miss a lot of people in Timmins. I covered a mine rescue conference held in Sudbury last week and was pleased to meet about dozen people from Timmins. It was nice to talk and catch up.

I also met the Diamonds In The Rough, Canada's first all female mine rescue team. It was nice to be able to do a story on them.

Okay, so this is a day off and I have to read through 400 pages of the Mueller Report on Donald Trump. I don't really have to read it. But I have too many questions in my head that need answers.

Prospectors convention

The annual prospectors convention in Toronto is over for another year. I spent four days there talking to people, getting stories and meeting old friends. I have to say this one left me tired. It is held each year in the Toronto Convention Centre because the even is so much bigger now that when it was held at the Royal York back in the day.

I met more people than I had previously only because the company put out a news release advising that I was the new editor and they even put out a note on Twitter. I don't do the twitter thing, but I think it will be expected now.  

I found the convention a lot more business like this year. A lot of the investors spent time at the pitch sessions where prospectors and mining company execs were showing off their gold properties. There was lots of interest in gold and lots of interest in copper. Some folks were hoping for an announcement from Alan Coutts, the president of Noront Resources on the Ring of Fire. Nothing was said. I spoke to him a few times, but he was not revealing anything.
Still I was able to get three fresh stories for the newsroom and back up interviews for another half dozen more.
I was pleased that once again the Northern Ontario Mining Showcase was the largest single pavilion at the show, even bigger than the official Government of Canada pavilion. I did get the chance to sit in on the Prime Minister's speech last Tuesday, but security was very strict and he took no questions -- but the SNC Lavalin issue was what everyone was talking about.
What would the prospectors convention be without the parties? OMG I think that's why I was so tired. I was up early Sunday. Jenn drove me to the airport. When I got to Toronto I dropped off my stuff at the hotel and went right to the convention. Of course I got hooked into going to a party afterward. Closed the bar. Taxied to hotel. Up early Monday to cover the Northern Ontario stuff. I got back to the hotel to write two stories. Showered. Put on a fresh shirt and went to the Nortern Ontario party at Steam Whistle Brewery. It was packed and it was fun. All Northern foods, cheeses, breads, and treats. They even had vodka made in Hearst. Great band, good dancing.  Closed the bar. Taxied to the hotel.  Up early Tuesday to cover the investors forum and Trudeau. 

Toured the trade show and met with prospectors. Back to the hotel to write up Trudeau story. Grabbed a nap! YES! Then it was out to the Sudbury party and reception at the Royal York. Scotch was good, little trays of snack food were good. That wrapped up early at about 8:30 so i went down the street to the Loose Moose for supper. Waygu steak. Met a group of mining students who were in a party mood, but I left just after 11 p.m. Got back to my hotel and yes, there was another party! I couldn't say no. Closed the bar. Last day slept in until 8:30-ish. The flight back to Sudbury was at 5:15 and Jenn met me at the airport.

Explosive testimony ...

I am having a hard time believing what I heard today when MP Jody Wilson-Raybould testified before the justice committee to reveal that there had indeed been pressure on her as Canada's Attorney General to back off on the SNC Lavalin case. Her testimony has left Ottawa in shock.  She demonstrated she is a person of truth and integrity. Hard to believe she is a Liberal.

In all the years I have been watching federal politics I don't think there has been a scandal as bad as this. It is beyond scandal. It is actually unlawful.  This is the type of thing that should bring down the government. Back in the day, the "honourable" thing for the Prime Minister would be to tender his resignation to the House of Commons.
I doubt that will happen.  Gerald Butts, Justin's chief of staff has already resigned. He knew this was going to be a shit storm. Oh well, it might be a good thing this is an election year. The election is set for the third week of October. But I fear Canadian voters have short memories. We are in for some interesting times.

What's in a name?

I have to admit I get a kick out of the names that mining companies use to describe their prospects and potential mining properties.

Back in the day, mines were named usually after the person who discovered them or the name of the company. I think of Timmins which had the world famous Hollinger and the McIntyre gold mines, named in tribute to the prospectors.

I was thinking about this last night when I met Al Coutts, (guy in the photo) the president and CEO of Noront Resources. That’s the company that owns about 90 percent of the mineral properties in the area known as the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario.

There you go. This is a world class ore zone in the middle of the Canadian muskeg, and it’s called Ring of Fire. Not named after the Johnny Cash song through. It is names for its circular shape of ore zones over a wide area of land.  It is already famous because it has so much chromite, a key ingredient in stainless steel. But there are also huge quantities of nickel, copper, zinc, palladium, diamonds, silver and gold. This is an ore zone that will last well into the next century.

Some of the ore zones have names like Black Thor, Black Horse, Eagle’s Nest, the Blackbird and Big Daddy.  Every diamond miner in Northern Ontario knows that the De Beers Victor mine is also known as Brad’s Pit – a tribute to geologist Brad Wood who discovered the diamond zone back in the 70s. Over in Hemlo, there was the Golden Giant mine, discovered by Timmins prospectors. 

East of Timmins, McEwen has the Black Fox mine. Right in Timmins is the super-rich Hoyle Pond mine, which was discovered by mistake back in the 1970s, when a tailings pond on the Texas Gulf property failed.  Crews went in to clean it up and gold was discovered.

Even Detour Gold north of Timmins gets people wondering about the name. Temagami had the Beanland and Big Dan mines. Go figure.

The things you hear ...

One of the interesting things about this job is covering court. More people should drop by their local courts to sit in for a morning or afternoon to listen in on what goes on. You would be shocked, amazed, confused and frustrated by the things you hear. 

Interestingly a lot of the testimony said in open court is not reported by the media. That's because the lawyers usually seek a ban on publication. That's an interesting part of the Criminal Code of Canada that disallows any public reporting that might endanger the chances of an accused person getting a fair trial.

If there is too much information revealed before a jury is selected, then there is a chance that no one would have an unbiased impression about the accused person.

None of the stuff can be revealed until after the trial is held, and by that time, much of the info is old news.

That's what is going on in Sudbury right now. There is a bail hearing on for a very interesting capital case, but the media cannot report the details. There is amazing testimony about DNA, about fingerprints and other details that might eventually be revealed. Then again it might not be revealed.

It is also the reason the company has decided not to allow public commenting on the story or on the company's Facebook page. Anyone who does reveal details could be held in contempt of court. And yes, that includes stuff that people might post on Facebook. Be careful what you write!

I think I've said enough.

Well I sent out another order on Amazon today, only because I was able to find what I wanted at a much reduced price. One item is a piece of photography equipment and as much as I wanted to buy it locally, the Amazon price was 20 per cent cheaper, for precisely the same product. The other item, also for photography, could not be found in any local stores. I have been looking for almost two months. I found it online, and so I will buy it online. I can see why retailers are having a rough time.

I also took Jenn's advice and signed up for Amazon Prime. I am not sure how it all works, but it means quicker and cheaper shipping.

I will keep you posted.

Life goes on ...

Things are going well now that I consider my second month in Sudbury. It's nice to be able to see Tyler, Nathan, Scott and Jenn so easily. I spent Super Bowl Sunday at their place, had a few beers and was able to stay there, without worrying about driving home after drinking. It was so relaxing and the food was outstanding! I do not miss the 300 kilometre drive from Timmins.
The work is good too. We got our first 2019 issue of the magazine completed on time and ready for the PDAC convention in Toronto.  That's where I will be two weeks from now. It will be fun to meet all the interesting mining people from around the world.
I have been focussing a lot on work, but that's because I am still learning all the different responsibilities with the job. That is working out okay. I find I am still not working as many hours as I did in the daily newsroom in Timmins, but that is because the writing is not as urgent. Still I like being part of the Northern Life newsroom. It is a good place, and best of all it is not a corporate newsroom... it is an independent business.
I also had a chance to see Jennifer at work one day recently when I covered a news event at the hospital. It was cool to see Jenn at work, being all serious and everything. But she still has that Jenn grin! I took a nice photo.

The weather so far this winter in Northern Ontario has been cold and snowy and certainly has people talking. It is the same in Timmins, North Bay and Sudbury. We had one nasty day not too long ago with icy rain. The build up of ice on the vehicle was just ridiculous. So there I was that morning banging away at the bottom of the windshield to get break the ice. Crrrack! I broke the ice and cracked the windshield! I think I also broke a record for the number of curse words I spoke that morning :) .
Life goes on.

Power ... it's everything!

It's the best one hundred bucks I've spent this year. Actually it was $112 and it was on sale. It's one of these new lithium battery booster thingies. It was super cold in Sudbury - minus 42 weather on the weekend -- and the old Nitro would not start.  I was happy to call the roadside guy that I pay for,  to come and boost the battery. It worked fine. I was wondering if I needed a new battery but the tow truck guy said I might be better off getting one of those battery boost jump starters. I decided he was right. So I headed off to Canadian Tire to buy one. There was a young guy stocking the shelves when I was there. I noticed there were two items on sale. One was the old fashioned heavy battery booster pack and the other was this little battery pack, smaller than a box of Kleenex. The kid explained that the old fashioned battery pack actually had a full lead-acid battery inside, whereas the new battery had a small but powerful lithium pack. He said he bought one for himself. I figured he might be driving one of those little four-cylinder foreign cars. He said he drove a big old Chevy Silverado 1500 and he had used the battery pack a half dozen or so times to boost his truck. That sold me. I bought the little pack. Took it home, hooked it up to my six-cylinder frozen Jeep engine and it worked just fine. The vehicle roared to life. So I was at work today when one of my co-workers said he had to go home to boost his wife's car. I jumped up and offered him to try out my new battery pack. He took it home and it worked nicely. He said he was impressed. An hour later he was back at my desk. One of the ladies at work could not start her car in the back parking lot. I gave him the battery booster again and yes, it worked perfectly. He's a hero. I'm a hero. LOL

Sudbury Saturday morning...

Settling in and unpacking at the new apartment in Sudbury. Starting the new job Monday morning. I dropped by my new office Friday afternoon and they were pleased to see me, but I was just as pleased to see the new team I will be working with.

The apartment is an older building, with a definite retro look. I like it. It has many windows and nice views of the neighborhood and plenty of trees just outside the windows. I can't wait for spring and summer. Lots of stuff to be put away in the next few days and a good time to consider what I want to keep and what I will toss out. Jennifer and the boys dropped by a couple of days ago with coffee and it was just too nice to think that we all live in the same city now.

Boxing Day

Box Day has taken on something of a real meaning for me as I am packing up all my stuff. It is the best time to de-clutter. I have to admit I have a hard time with that. I keep stuff because it means something to me. OMG why do I save Christmas cards from years ago? I have saved every Birthday card from Jenn and her boys. Oh well, I will be struggling with this in the next two days. The movers come in Thursday morning.

Had a nice quiet Christmas at home and enjoyed a fabulous Angus strip loin for Christmas dinner, along with a bottle of Ruffino Chianti. I had to re-open one of the boxes to get my salad spinner out so I could make a Caesar Salad.
I called Neil later in the evening and can't believe we yakked for more than 30 minutes. That has to be a record for us. LOL. Jenn and her family is in Cuba but they should be home Thursday night. Already getting geared up for the new job. Will keep you posted. If I don't see you, all the best for the New Year.

Going to miss good people ...

Been saying a lot of goodbyes to folks in this my final week at the newspaper here in Timmins. Was pleased today when Diane Armstrong, one of my favourite column writers, dropped by bearing a single-malt gift. We have been working together for years. Diane is a great writer and it is no mistake that her column Over The Hill is so popular. She also has authored a few books. And she has the best sense of humour and knows the punchlines to most of the best jokes. I will indeed miss working with her.

Obituaries

When I began in journalism way too many years ago, one of the first things I did was write obituaries of well-known people who had died in town. I remember tapping out a story at the North Bay Nugget for a Mr. Caswell, who had died in Sundridge. Turns out he was quite the wealthy fellow and well regarded around the North. Later that day, after the paper had gone to press, I could hear heavy shoes thumping down the stairs from the executive offices above the newsroom.  As the rookie reporter, my desk was tucked in the little slanting alcove beneath the staircase.  That’s when the esteemed Mr. Mort Feldman, the publisher, found me and spoke to me. “Nice job,” he said, among other things.

I will never forget that. A visit to the newsroom by Mr. Feldman was a rare event, but to have him speak to me was a treat.

I was thinking of that this week as I wrote another obituary for another well-known fellow. The only thing is that most of the time now, I know the people I write about. That sucks. After 45 years of writing the news, I have been fortunate to befriend so many people. That means I usually get to write their obits when they die. I know where they worked,  who they worked with and who can make comments about the deceased.  It’s one of those times I get to write many nice things about people and the editor doesn’t red pencil any of the adjectives.

The Canadian Press Stylebook, the bible for all Canadian reporters, says obits should be brief, but CP dedicated two and half pages about how to write an obit. 

There are many, many people who don’t get mentioned for all the good things they did when they were alive. They should get something written about them so their friends and family members can appreciate them a bit more. 

Still, it’s not something I look forward to.

Talking ...

I talk too much. I went to the grocery store this afternoon to grab a few things. I never use a cart, just a handbasket for grabbing milk, bread etc. Today I went to pick up some stewing beef. But as I wandered around the store, I kept running into people I hadn't seen in weeks or even months. Of course, we had to stop and chat. So much so that on a couple of occasions, we had to move to the end of the aisle so other people could keep shopping. So a 20-minute trip took nearly 90 minutes. I got the beef --- which in this case was sirloin steak which was on sale, and cheaper than stewing beef. That's a whole other conversation. Enough for today :)

Sharing ...

One of the nice things about being in the newspaper business is that it is not too difficult to get copies of photographs from other reporters, no matter what part of the country they’re in. That’s how it was when I contacted reporter/photographer Erin Haluschak at the Comox Valley Record newspaper.  She was more than happy to share this photo of Ronald from the Remembrance Day ceremonies in their town. Ron’s photo was the cover of the local paper and in a special photo feature. Have to say he looked pretty good. Thank you again Ms. Haluschak.  

Good things happen

I have to admit I wasn’t sure at first. It was about a few weeks ago I got a phone call from a fellow I remembered from several years ago. He was a reporter-editor on the mining beat.

Now in Northern Ontario you cannot get away from that. This is the heart of the Canadian Shield and the mines give up every mineral you can imagine from the gold in your jewelry, to the copper, silver and platinum in your electronics to the zinc that keeps your car from rusting too quickly.

Plus it is fun to witness the pouring a new gold bar like this one at the Bell Creek Mine in Timmins. 

So this fellow was kind enough to suggest I might want to consider applying for a job with a well-known mining journal.  I wasn’t sure. I like my work in the daily newsroom. It is challenging and there is always something urgent going on. The other thing about this job is that it is in Sudbury.

The fellow said he liked my mining stories and especially the fact I had experience as a hard rock miner.  I thanked the fellow and said I would work on it.

I think it was that night that I called Jennifer and had a chat. I told her about the offer and she was encouraging. I still wasn’t sure about the job. I think I was just getting too comfortable in the news game. Maybe I was getting too laid back and lazy.  A few days later, I got an e-mail from Sudbury asking where my resume was.  Truth is I had been working on it, but was so busy on news things I had not sent it in.

That night, I spruced up the resume, added a cover letter and dug up couple of old mining stories.

Next day I got a call from the company president. He said he liked my stories. So we had a chat and then we talked about people we both knew from back in the day; I mean wayyyy back in the day.

So he made a nice offer and said he would follow up with a letter.

So here I am now getting ready for the big move in the New Year. I am looking forward to the new gig but of course the best part will be spending more time with my family. You can’t put a price on that.

Invading their privacy ...

Private conversations are just that; private. I say that in reference to the now infamous Uber tape that appeared on YouTube showing a group of six or seven professional hockey players who were on a social outing and jumped into a van for transportation. During the ride, some of the players were talking among themselves and were bad-mouthing the coaching staff for the Ottawa Senators.

The Uber driver had an interior camera that recorded everything. The players were not aware of the camera. Some days later, the five-minute recording, complete with all the trash talk, appeared on YouTube. It caused something of a minor kerfuffle in some media circles. 

I think that’s wrong. Just because somebody said something in private that others might disagree with, it was not a serious matter that had to be reported. This wasn’t national security. This was not revealing anything important. It’s just sports for crying out loud. But still I think it was intrusive for the Uber driver to do what he did.

Thank goodness Uber agreed to have the YouTube recording removed and then apologized to the players.

Small world or what?

We were just having a chat in the newsroom with the city editor and managing editor about the different customs in different cities as Canadians celebrate Remembrance Day. The boss said he had been to so many and began rhyming off the names of different towns, when he said Portage La Prairie. Well, there you go.

Small world eh? I had to chime in about the fact that RCAF Base Portage La Prairie was Dad’s first posting when we all came back to Canada from France. It’s also the town where Debra was born, so I will avoid mentioning the year. I did however recall sitting by the CNR tracks in the north end of town near the Campbell Soup plant to watch the trains coming in – Steam trains they were!  It was a nice place with cold winters. 

Gary, and Ronald and I sure enjoyed some fun times there as kids…. Including the time we begged Mom to let us push the baby carriage over to the next block, where there was a big baseball game going on.  And then we came home. But we forgot the baby.  Hey, it was safe. It was all Air Force families. But when we got back home, mom was wild! Where’s the baby!? So we rushed back to the baseball field and sure enough we found Debra in the carriage right behind the home plate fence. No harm. No foul. LOL

Hoping for toasty toes...

I haven’t given this much thought to winter in years. I think I am beginning to “feel” it a bit more these days. For starters, I take blood pressure medication which has the effect of making my fingers and toes feel cold. Doc said that was to be expected. So I live with it.

Also, when I was visiting Jennifer last week, I had the opportunity to buy a new winter coat. I call it my fall coat, because when real winter comes, I wear my parka. But my parka is just too warm for mild winter, anything that is minus 20 and warmer. So I put the fall coat on this week and it was warm, so I took out the liner. I like it.

Then I bought a new pair of leather gloves. My old ones were about five years old and had some serious holes that only a surgeon could repair.

But the real change has come with my Sorels. These old boots have been my favourites for roughly 40 years. I remember wearing my first pair of Sorels in the Arctic in December and they were fine. These boots are also perfect with my snowshoes. 

This is my second pair of Sorels. They're the original Made-In-Canada brand. Not the new ones that are made in China. 

They’re almost 20 years old and still in good shape. But I bought new liners this week. Not the usual felt-wool liners. I caved to modernity and bought a pair of those synthetic breathable liners.

They’re rated to minus 45. I don’t know how they figure that stuff out, but I know that from living in Timmins, there will be a few days that I will get to test that. I will keep you posted.

Thankful ...

I hated the drive down on Highway 144 on Friday night. There’s always moose on the highway. But the trip was worth it to spend a couple of days with Jenn and her men in Val Caron for Thanksgiving. It’s always so relaxing there, and I go into total veggie mode with a few drinks, a bite to eat, with lots of conversation, laughter and even a few tears. My grandsons are so grown up now. Tyler is first-year university and Nathan is in his final year of high school. We used to have a tradition on Saturday mornings where we sat around in our jammies and ate chocolate cake. Well, I guess the boys are not interested in that stuff anymore, LOL. That’s okay, it was still nice to spend time with everyone, -- even if the Leafs lost on Saturday night.

The best day ...

I was pleased to get an e-mail last week from a friend informing me that CBC Radio is celebrating its 40 year anniversary in Northern Ontario.  I am happy to say I was a small part of that, having spent a few years as an associate producer and producer of the morning program, Morning North.  Then, many years later, after my stint with CTV, I was invited back to CBC as a contract producer and editor.

But let me get to the heart of the story about one of the best days we ever enjoyed with live radio. It didn’t start out very pleasantly.

It was September 7, 1990. It was the morning after the Ontario Election when a huge upset had taken place. Bob Rae had defeated Liberal premier David Peterson. Now you have to understand that elections are big things in the news business.  Whoever gets elected sets the game for your city, your province or your country for the next few years.

Okay so in the days leading up to our election results broadcast I have to say we were stunned to learn that CBC Toronto had been given approval to cover the province. This was ignoring CBC Thunder Bay, CBC Windsor, CBC Sudbury and CBC Ottawa.  

This meant our morning show would be pre-empted in favour of giving the Toronto crew the broadcast from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.  Of course, the journalists in the smaller stations such as ours were livid. We protested, but without any backing from management, we got nowhere.

Only CBC Ottawa was able to complain loud enough to get back the right to cover its own territory. Not us. We would be allowed roughly five minutes each hour to insert news from our region.

That morning we all arrived for work well before 6 a.m. Of course we were excited at the news of the political upset. But that was soon tempered by the fact we pretty well had to sit on our hands and listen to Toronto. We were told to be ready in case Toronto gave us the right to switch back to our own station. Fat chance that would happen.  There was clearly a line between broadcasters and the bureaucrats.

So there we were;  myself, host Peter Williams, newsroom staffers Bill Catalano and Sherry Drysdale, noon show host and producer Benita Hart and our technician and operator Kenny Kauffeldt.

We sat in the front office with the big window overlooking Mackenzie Street and griped and moaned about not being able to do our own broadcast.

Little did we expect how bad it would be. Just as the 6 a.m. World Report news package ended, CBC Toronto came online with a quick wrap of the election upset the night before. Part of the coverage including breaking away to a live report from London, Ontario the hometown of defeated premier Peterson.   

Imagine our surprise when the poor reporter described he was broadcasting live from a local arena in London where the Liberals had been expected to celebrate Peterson’s victory. The reporter said there was no one else there. Just him. Well Duhhhh! It was so embarassing to listen to this. 

So the hour progressed. At 6:30 we did our own regional news wrap and then a brief insert on the local election results.

I remember clearly as we sat there around 6:45 a.m. griping how bad the Toronto broadcast was. Sherry said something like I wish we could just do our own show. Kenny said, “we can”.

I looked at him with surprise. He looked back at me and said anytime you want to switch back to local just tell me and we can go to a local broadcast.  I thought, well they keep telling us to be “risk takers”. So let’s see how this works.

I quickly looked at the faces around the room and asked, do you think we could pull off a good local show?

The response was immediate. Of course, and then they began jumping in with names, phone numbers and story lines and interviews. It was exciting as hell. I looked at the clock, knowing we had about 20 minutes before going live.

One of the reporters was already on the line to Nickel Belt MPP Floyd Laughren to get Bob Rae’s private phone number.

So things were in motion. We pulled together a bunch of live interviews, including an exclusive with the new Premier BEFORE CBC Toronto got him on live. We had live chats with all the newly elected candidates.  We didn’t look back. It was a great program. For the next two hours we did seat-of-the-pants live radio and it worked.

Just before 9 a.m. our host Peter was wrapping up the show with final comments. Kenny was rolling the music to mark the end of the show. The boss came into the studio with a big smile commenting on how good the show sounded.

“When did Toronto give you the okay to cut away to local?” he asked.

“They didn’t,” I replied.

His face dropped. He was horrified.

I knew my ass was in trouble, but I have to say, it was so worth it. It was the best day.

Advice :)

Dropped in to see the doc on Thursday. He said keep an eye on your blood sugar. Dropped in to Timmies on the way back to work. I got a dark roast coffee with NO SUGAR! I deserved a reward for that I figured, so I got a SMILE cookie too! LOL

Old glass. Nice photos...

So yes I am pleased with a decision to resurrect one of my older Nikon cameras. The cam is six years old and I had to send away to Amazon to get new batteries.  I read a recent article talking about many shooters (journo-talk for photographers) bringing out older film camera lenses that seemed to have pretty nice glass and then using them on the newer digital cams. Well that sure got me thinking because I own a fabulous old Nikon 50MM 1 to 1.4 lens that is so perfect, you’d swear it came from heaven.  This is the same lens sent to the moon on Apollo 11.

 This is the same lens LIFE magazine and National Geographic shooters used all during the 60s and 70s around the world and in Viet Nam. One of the biggest differences is that it is not an auto-focus lens, so everything is manual shooting.

 I tried it out this morning on the flower garden beside my apartment building. I was pleased. Then I went out to a mining executive’s lunch and shot photos.  I also shot backup photos on a newer cam, but the city editor chose the photo shot with the older lens. The detail was amazing! You can count the guy’s whiskers. 

Covering the PM

Well I don't often get the chance to cover a PM. Mr. Trudeau came to Timmins this week and I was assigned to get photos and a story. Unfortunately, the media was told there would be no questions, just cover the speech. We were also told we had to get our photos from a riser stage located at the back of the venue. I didn't agree with that, but I didn't complain... as the speech was ending, I mentioned I would like to get up front for some better pictures. One of the interns with the PMO grabbed me and said to follow her. We scooted through the ranks of RCMP officers and other serious looking folks with stern faces. I was able to get very close to get some good shots. The speech was about 20 minutes but the PM spent twice that much time working the crowd, signing autographs and posing for selfies. Things have changed.

Flying north ...

I was advised by a trusted friend to start writing more stuff on this blog because it will help in the event I ever decide to write something more permanent. In more than four decades of reporting news in Northern Ontario, I have enjoyed some memorable times. I was watching Netflix tonight when I noticed part of an episode where folks were flying in a DC-3 airplane or a Dakota as many folks like to call them. My first flight in a DC-3 was in December 1975 with Austin Airways.  Austin had several of these old reliable airplanes for the simply reason they were reliable. On this particular occasion, we were flying from Timmins to Moosonee along with members of the Timmins Fire Department who were bringing toys to that community as part of the annual Toylift Flight, where the firefighters would bring toys to the James Bay coast communities. The sun was shining but the morning was bitterly cold. As we sat in the Timmins terminal waiting for the plane, we were advised it was being brought back into the hangar because it was too cold to start the engines. The temperature was still about minus 40. About an hour later, I think it was around 9 a.m. we were told we could board the plane.

And so we did. Some minutes later, the plane was airborne and we were on our way North. Interestingly, the two cabin crew members handed out sleeping bags and blankets we could wrap around our legs and feet, because it was so cold.

One of things people liked to see when flying out of Timmins was the huge Texas Gulf open pit mine. And so it was that folks all peered out of the right side windows to catch a glimpse of the pit.

That when many of us noticed there was a significant amount of oil leaking out of the starboard engine. It was running down the engine cowling and along the wing. There was really a lot of oil there. So myself and a few others called on the cabin crew members to take a look.

The one fellow leaned over our seats and looked at the oil coming out of the engine. His face did not betray any concern, but he immediately walked to the front of the plane and went into the cockpit where the pilot and co-pilot were.

Moments later, one of the pilots came into the cabin and leaned over the seats to see the engine. The oil was still leaking. The man didn’t say a word. He turned and went right back into the cockpit.

In less than a minute we could all feel the plane turning. Yes, we were heading back to the Timmins airport. That seemed to be reassuring.

Suddenly, the oil leak stopped. It just stopped. We let a cabin crew member know that the oil leak had stopped. He went right to the cockpit. Sure enough, the plane turned and was back on a north bound course, heading to Moosonee.

We all looked at each other and began laughing. I won’t ever forget that.

A sparkling day ...

Rarely have I done a news story on the birth of a mine and then, ten years or so later, the death of a mine. I was up North in the James Bay Lowlands today to cover the 10th anniversary of the De Beers Victor mine, the first and only diamond mine in Ontario.

It is a success story in the sense that the company has spent billions of dollars to create the mine and run it -- but it has also earned billions more by recovering 7 million carats in diamonds. But the mine will soon be depleted and by this time next year, it will be shut down.
I was first here in 2008 when the mine officially opened and there was a lot of excitement. Hundreds of new jobs. Hundreds of millions provided to the First Nations. And so it went. For the past ten years the glitter of diamonds has provided wealth and comfort to so many people. I am on holidays this week, but I couldn't pass up the chance to visit the mine again to see how it has developed; now more than a thousand feet deep.

And so things change and all new mines eventually die. But before De Beers leaves this area it must leave the land in good shape. And so there was a tree planting ceremony to symbolize the fact that the company will continue to spend money on a massive land reclamation project. They event provided a tree sapling so I can plant my own tree.
Each visitor was also given a nice little chunk of Kimberlite ore. That's the type of volanic rock where diamonds are found.

That's a good thing. It means the company will be allowed to keep mining in other parts of Canada. Oh by the way, I chatted with De Beers Canada president and CEO Kim Truter today. He said the process will start again in a couple of years with a new project in Nunavut. I asked how much money would be spent and how long that mine would last.
Truter smiled and with his thick South African accent he said "It's early days my friend, early days."

Hot summer. Whisky yes. Vodka no.

So yes we have had a hot summer so far this year in Timmins. Hell, there are forest fires all over the North. So I have enjoyed some nice beverages lately. This past week I was making iced tea and adding a bit of vodka. I was told that makes a nice drink. It does. Then a co-worker said vodka is nice with just ice for sipping. He went on and on about Grey Goose vodka and how nice it is. So I tried sipping vodka. Just vodka. With ice. Yuck! No thank you. I will stick to whisky thank you. I had the same conversation in June when Neil came to visit. He loves his Tequila. We had a chat about how there are some excellent versions of Tequila that are good for sipping. I was polite. I listened. Quietly. But truthfully, no way Jose! So i have to sign off. It is Saturday night. Netflix movie time. With whisky!

Amazon package arrived

So yes my package arrived from Amazon. It's my new computer battery and yes it works like a charm. It arrived four days early. The price was less than half the price quoted to me by the manufacturer. I have been assured this battery is just as good as, if not better, than OEM. So I will watch it carefully and if there are any problems, I can always return it for the refund. I don't know if this is a good or bad thing since I means I didn't spend my money locally. I will struggle with that.

Using Amazon

Shopping locally is important for me. It is usually local businesses that support the newspaper company I work for. So I like to give back. I was surprised this week when I was shopping for specific items to learn that a few local businesses did not carry the item I wanted. I am finding a few stores will say, Oh we can order that for you.  But then they will charge a fee for ordering and delivery.  One younger store clerk said, Why don't you try Amazon? He actually looked the item up and found what I wanted. At a much cheaper price than I expected. The nice thing about Amazon (Yes, I have ordered before) is that they give a refund if you don't like the product. No questions asked. So if you don't mind waiting three or four days, Amazon is not a bad way to go.

Summer is good. So is beer ...

Okay, so one of the good things happening this very hot summer is beer. I noticed it this past week since Neil left a few cans of beer in my fridge. I am not a big beer drinker; only three or four a week. But I do like different tastes. Neil and I are the same that way.  (I should mention he also bought me a fabulous bottle of Irish whiskey!)I got tired of the old corporate beers years ago. Besides most are owned by American companies now. I don’t go to the Beer Store anymore because it is owned by the Americans too.

Two things have happened recently. One is the hot, hot summer we are having in Ontario. The other is that Ontario finally relented and we can buy beer in many grocery stores here. It makes it easier to pick up a couple of beers when I am out buying stuff for supper. I like to try different brands, mostly lagers and pilsners. I am not a big fan of hoppy ales.  So I like beer, but I am not brand loyal. Beer companies hate guys like me. The other good thing is that I am seeing more and more craft breweries, producing very nice local beers. Jenn calls them weird beer.

On some really hot days, nothing is better than enjoying a cold beer in the evening. Usually one 500 ml can is enough. So yes, beer is good, and so is the summer. Cheers.

Happy Canada Day eh.

Canada Day weekend in Timmins has been one of the best ever! My children – they’re sure not kids anymore – showed up to have some fun in Timmins. And they sure did. Jennifer and Neil made my weekend by being here. And I was pleased to do whatever I could to spoil them. They even managed to hit a few pubs, see some old friends and dance the night away. Although they’re not sure which pub was the last one! Anyway, they’re the two best kids on the planet and I enjoyed every minute being with them.

The weather was looking a bit iffy this afternoon, with thunderstorms in the forecast. Despite that a lot of local folks are off to the Stars and Thunder festival to see Sons of Maxwell, Matthew Good, Our Lady Peace and Bryan Adams. Sounds like it will be a good time.

Trump's legacy...

So this is the photo by John Moore of Getty Images that shocked hundreds of thousands of Americans to realize their president was wrong. A two-year-old child crying in fear as a border guard does a pat-down search of the child's mother. For Trump to authorize this kind of action shows that he is so non-presidential. At best, he might be a pimped-up middle manager who surrounds himself with sycophants because he has money, left to him by his daddy. Way to go America.  In the months and years to come, it will be revealed that Trump has serious mental health disorders. Not that there's anything wrong with mental illness.  Except you shouldn't be president.

Frayed cuffs and other things...

Finally. This week I threw out a shirt I bought about five years ago. It wasn’t always like this.  I was getting fed up some years ago with my clothing because no matter where I went to buy, there were always frayed cuffs, frayed collars, buttons falling off, things like that after only a few months.  

So I bought several shirts online from L.L.Bean five years ago. They were a bit more costly. But they sure lasted long. It got to the point that I was getting tired of seeing photos from a few years ago and realizing I was wearing the same shirt! But the shirts just kept looking good, no frayed threads, no lost buttons, nothing like that. Finally this week I was taking one shirt out of the dryer when I noticed the collar had frayed… by just a few millimetres! That’s all it took. Shirt in the garbage. 

Now I have to start planning to buy some new shirts. Problem is the Canadian Dollar is worth only 75-cents in the U.S.

So I will have to look for sales and discount days – something that LLBean is generous with. I am not worried about the Trump tariff thing. He is an idiot.  People say he will change his mind.

Good times

It was such a good week. I don’t say that because of the Ontario election,although I am glad the Liberals got the boot. It was good because Tyler graduated high school, with honours and as an Ontario Scholar. I was so proud of this guy for making his parents so happy. It was just the nicest time to spend with Jenn and her men. It was also so nice to see Don and Denise Alexander as well. I was happy to make the drive down to Sudbury, but I had to rush back to Timmins to cover the election. It was the biggest election upset in years, but I couldn’t stop telling everyone I met that my oldest grandson graduated high school. People looked at me, like, that’s no big deal. Oh yeah. Well. Okay. It’s a big deal to me.

  Scott, Tyler, Jennifer and Nathan. 

 Tyler and Nathan.

Len and Tyler.

Politics

Politics is becoming so polarized these days. Here in Ontario we have a provincial election happening in June and a city election happening in October. So here’s the thing. There was a time when people would talk politics among friends, over a beer or even at the dinner table. Things rarely got out of hand. Sometimes they were even funny. I remember once telling my grandmother I had done a news interview with Brian Mulroney. She looked at me, smirked, and said, You’re saying that like it’s a good thing. I had to smile.

But now people tend to go too far, saying all sorts of things about their favourite politicians and then being not-so-respectful of their not-so-favourite politicians. The worst of it is that this  becomes part of the social media game and people begin sniping at each other if they don't agree with their candidate. It’s getting really bad, and sadly I am seeing comments from friends and acquaintances that make me wonder about them.

What a pain the A$$

Passwords are such a pain. I wish technology could come through with some sort of device or method to make all this password stuff go away. Just getting into this blog took three tries because I made a tiny error on one of the few favourite passwords I use. Yes, I confess. I use a few passwords over and over. Even at work, we get reminded every three months to change our main password. So I have worked out a system where I keep the main "word" but I keep adding a few little characters to it, such as & or * or # just to mix things up.  I know of one fellow who changes his by the month, passwordJANUARY, then passwordFEBRUARY, then passwordMARCH and so on.
I know that the iPADs have come up with thumb print and eye scans, but I am told that adds significantly to the price. My smartphone uses a graphic password, where I have to match two images on the screen.I like that, but on a couple of occasions in the freezing cold, it hasn't worked properly and then I have to rely on a backup consisting of words! Arrrrghhh! (Hmmm ... there's a password!)