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.