Cool cruisers eh.

Timmins has done something interesting to mark its 100th anniversary. The local police service has come come up with a new design for its police cars to mark the occasion. The new black and gold design was unveiled last week and is winning a lot of approval locally. I think it's pretty cool. And at night, the gold trim is super highly-reflective. That should make it interesting for anyone getting pulled over.

Michaëlle Jean is too cool.

I don't care what any bleeding heart Europeans think, I think Governor General Michaëlle Jean rocks! She went to the North and met The People (literal translation of the word Inuit). She showed them great respect by engaging in their traditions and she ate a tiny raw piece of a seal's heart. Of course this action just flies in the face of the decision by the European Union to impose a ban on all seal products. I think it's a fantastic gesture. And I say to hell with the Europeans. Like my Dad used to say, we saved their asses twice in two world wars, why don't they just shut up. LOL. That is my rant for this week.

Lucky me! : )

Woohoo! I must be special. I just know I am lucky. This is what arrived for me at work today... flowers and chocolates! I even checked out the card, and it wasn't a mistake. Of course, working at a newspaper, I always figured I was the nosiest person in the office. It seems everyone else around here is just as curious as moi! Interesting eh?

A nice weekend... and poutine too!

What a grreat weekend. Jennifer was in town so we could drop by at a nice family gathering for Gerry and John. It was indeed a nice time to see most of the gang again and everyone seemed especially happy that it looks like the warm weather is here to stay. Jennifer asked for a weather update before heading home. We fired up the airport weather frequency only to hear there is a FROST WARNING for tonight. It was still nice enough this morning get two loads of wash out on the line. I took it easy most of the day and did something I've never done before. I enjoyed a take out order of Poutine from the famous Chez Nous store in Timmins. Apparently it's where Shania would hang out for poutine. It's also the first ever time I have had an order of Poutine. Oh I tried a taste of it before, when Neil used to come home late at night, but up until today when Aline treated me, I've never had a full feed of it. It tastes great, But I think I will be on the treadmill early tomorrow morning.

100 years of gold

It has been mentioned here before, but it's worth mentioning again because of a couple of things I have seen. Last night I got up close and friendly with a rare piece of high-grade gold. It was found in the Dome Mine in 1928 and sent off to Toronto where it sat in various government vaults and offices. Yesterday, the Ontario government gave it back to Timmins since the city is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of gold here. It is a gorgeous sample. (click the pic) This is the sort of stuff that prospectors drool over. The Klondike gold rush was seen as one of the greatest in history, but it lasted about five years and yielded 12 million ounces of gold. The rush is still on here in Timmins. It has been 100 years and 75 million ounces! Sometime in the coming months, the newest mine, Lake Shore Gold will officially go into production. They've already identified a million ounces in their ore zone. A couple of weeks ago, I was invited on a scavenger hunt to find things that represent what Timmins is all about. I found something interesting that I now have in my office... although I am not sure it's legal to do that.It's a genuine four-foot long claim post. The claim was staked in a remote area north of the city. It was left in the bush some years ago, but its not that old because the claim tag is aluminum. They used to be brass. Either way, i think it looks cool.

Snow on the morning after the long weekend!

So here is a photo I shot at 6:30 a.m. today as I was heading out to the office. I threw a copy of Friday's paper on the windshield so you know this is not a joke shot saved from last February. Look at the snow on the truck and the neighbours lawns! Can you believe this is May19th? LOL Lots of grumbling at Tim Horton's this morning.

The list.

A friend recently e-mailed a copy of their list of things to do and things they have done. It's the thing now to have a "bucket list" as outlined in the popular movie with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I was inspired. I am working on a bucket list, but I already have a wacky list so far:

I have slept outside in minus 35 temperatures and taught others how to do it.

I have interviewed five Canadian prime ministers. (Trudeau, Clark, Turner, Mulroney, Chretien)

I have interviewed one PM’s wife.(Mila)

I was at the controls of a cargo plane flying through the Eastern Arctic one night with five tons of frozen halibut from Greenland. The real pilot had been drinking and needed a snooze. He woke up a few hours later so we could land in Sanikiluaq.

When I go canoeing, my blood pressure goes down.

I once went 14 days without a bath or shower. I was on a northern canoe trip and this sure helped keep the bugs away.

I was in a coma for three days from injuries after falling out of car when I was a kid, which might explain why I think I have a problem when I read.

On the other hand, I read about two books a week.

I dread going to the dentist. But my dentist says it’s okay to have a shot of whiskey before going in for a check up if that’s what it takes to calm down.

I am blessed with two grandsons. I marvel at how smart my grandkids are. They are probably no smarter than any other kids, but I enjoy talking with them and am amazed at what they see and how they think.

I am afraid of heights. I don’t like ladders and that’s why I don’t put up Christmas lights. This does not include airplanes. When I am in a plane, I don’t mind hanging out the door upside down to shoot photos.

I was a smoker for 22 years. I quit a two-pack a day habit when I was 32.

I am an airplane freak. If it flies, I like it. When I go to air shows, I go to the display area and touch the airplanes. Some days I go to the airport, just to watch planes take off and land. Some of my earliest memories as a child were of living on a jet fighter base and hearing supersonic jets taking off day and night.

I also like trains, especially older trains. But not as much as I like planes.

I once rode a freight train through the Rockies from Banff to Revelstoke, through the Spiral Tunnels and the Rogers Pass. It was awesome.

I don’t like hot weather. Anything hotter than 25 and I am uncomfortable. I am okay with cold weather.

I got horribly drunk on lemon gin when I was 14. I chopped down a tree in a city park, puked all over the place and passed out.

I woke up early on Christmas morning when I was six and opened all the gifts. My mom didn’t think it was funny when she found me playing with stuff that was supposed to be for my brothers.

I have been in five oceans. Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Mediterranean, and the English Channel… but that’s not really an ocean is it?

I ate raw caribou in the Arctic once. It wasn't exactly a sushi feast, but it was good.

Forest fire season

I don't usually do this, but I am putting another person's photo on the blog. I think this is the first time. OPP Sgt. Mack Pettigrew got a nice shot of a flying fire tanker at work south of town this week when they closed the Sudbury highway because of a forest fire. Apparently, despite the fire, there were still patches of snow in the bush! Only in Northern Ontario eh. And wouldn't ya know it, with the long weekend coming, we've got rain in the forecast for the May Run.

Finally...

Clothesline weather is here in Timmins. I have been doing laundry for the past two days 'cause I love the smell of clothes from the clothesline. Gotta tidy up the house a bit. Jenn is coming to town next week. Better get rid of those dust bunnies eh.

Busy, busy

Saturday morning, the coffee is good and I am a bit tired. I stayed up late last night watching that old favorite with Bogart and Bergman, ...Casablanca. Watching it on Blue Ray HD TV was amazing. Each time I see the movie, I get a kick out of seeing some of the characters in a new light. I really enjoyed Claude Rains in his role as Captain Renault. I think I am on a classic film kick. Last week we sat down to watch The Magnificent Seven.
I was happy to attend the Ontario Mine Rescue dinner in Timmins last night. Some people may not know it, but Ontario mine rescue began in Timmins 80 years ago, in 1929 after the Hollinger Fire Disaster. The dinner was nice. They were honouring the winners of the mine rescue competition and the 80th anniversary of mine rescue. It was great to meet some of the older fellows I worked with years ago, and I did take some pride in the fact that I was once a Drägerman when I was a hardrock miner. It has been 25 years since I left the mine, but it's nice to see the guys every now and then.
Blogging here is a fun thing and I am happy to advise that a very nice friend of mine has joined Blogging. Victoria is Scott and Jennifer's young niece and she has started a blog to outline things going on her family and I enjoy it because it's about her and Tyler and Nathan. It's pretty cool. You can see the blog here. http://familybuzz-victoria.blogspot.com/ Nice work Vic!

May 1 and SNOW!

I knew it! Here we are, the first day of May and the snow in Timmins is all melted on the roads and grass... but the snow still fell from the sky for more than hour today! You can see it there in the photo. I was heading out of the office just after lunch when I decided to shoot this pic. I don't think it will last... but it sure is annoying.

Happy Day Neil Michael Gillis!

Woohoo. The young man is 29 today. Pretty soon I am gonna have call him Mister Gillis! Keep smiling Neil.

Pontiacs

It is sad to hear that General Motors is phasing out the Pontiac line. I always had a fondness for Pontiacs because my Dad liked them. He bought his first new Pontiac in 1965. It was the same year Uncle Rannie took the train to Toronto and he bought one too. I remember the first time I drove a car on a public road was my Dad’s new ’66 Pontiac Laurentian (above). We were living in Toronto and got hit with a snowstorm. Dad didn’t take the car to work but called the base to be picked up in a staff car. He told me to move the car and shovel the driveway. Yes sir! So I shovelled like crazy and when the time came to move the car, I didn’t merely move it to another part of the PMQ parking lot. I decided to take the long way around. I drove the car out of the parking lot and around a few streets and then back onto Sheppard Avenue. I was 12 years old. I could barely see over the dash and reach the gas and brake pedals at the same time. It was a hoot. People kept staring, but I just kept driving. I got back to our neighbourhood and parked beside the road. When Dad got home I could tell by his look he was wondering how the hell I got the car out of the parking lot and onto the road. He didn’t ask. I didn’t tell. A few years after that, I was thrilled because Dad bought another Pontiac… a sleek new ’69 Parisienne, which was the Canadian version of the classic Bonneville (below). This was the car I drove all through high school. Cool or what?

Maybe it's spring... maybe

I've started putting away my winter clothes. I have this funny feeling that this might somehow cause a turn in the weather. It has been nice weather all week. The snow is melting on the lawn. There's still about two feet of snow there, but it's going away fast. I wouldn't be surprised if we had one final winter storm. It has happened before. A few years back, I think it was 2001 or 2002 we had a late cold snap and there was ice on the lakes for the May 24 weekend. The river is open but there is still ice on many of the local lakes. Oh well. Back to putting the clothes away... I am also bagging up any winter clothes I did NOT wear this winter. Those go to the Salvation Army store.

Food stuff

Monday morning was a good start to the week. There was a communion celebration in Aline's family on the weekend and somehow a nice piece of cake ended up in my fridge on Monday morning. It was a nice breakfast.
While on the topic of good food, I have to confess that rice pudding is a really nice desert, and very easy to make. Here's a tip: Uncle Ben's makes great rice. But don't buy the bag of rice that is pre-flavoured with garlic. It just doesn't jive with rice pudding.

Melissa heads west

In my rush to write Sunday, I forgot to mention that we all had a nice little get-together last week at Casey's. Melissa, Ray and Diane's youngest daughter, is moving back out west. She'll be living the good life working at a golf resort in Victoria. We are going to miss her, but I have a feeling she will be burning up the e-mail lines in no time. And of course, Neil is happy because he has another west-coast beer drinking buddy to call on now.

Such a nice weekend

This was a nice Easter weekend. The weather was perfect. The highway south from Timmins was clean and clear Saturday morning, but there is still plenty of snow in the bush and even on the boughs of the spruce trees. I got to Don and Denise’s camp at Westree in time to enjoy a great cup coffee and say hi to everyone. And of course, everyone was there enjoying the day including Christine, Demetrios, Victoria, Tyler and Nathan. I was so tempted to stay for a late breakfast… the house sure smelled good, -- but I had decided to move on to Sudbury to spend the day with Jennifer. She has a new job and had to work on Saturday. It was a good thing I dropped by since Jenn took me out to dinner Saturday night, and even paid for the Guinness. We got all caught up on the gossip. Sunday morning was nice and lazy, and oh soooo quiet at Jenn’s place. Jenn made brunch and then I hit the highway to head back home. I think spring is finally arriving. I stopped at the chutes north of Onaping Lake to snap a photo. The water was running high and fast and the snow is melting quickly.

A good day eh.

Today started quite nicely, thanks to couple of birthday cards (yes, I finally picked up the mail!). I received two fabulous hockey cards from my grandsons, showing off the achievements of couple of outstanding little guys who are the most important hockey players I know. Do those guys look cool or what, especially Nate with that missing tooth! I just had to celebrate. So I grabbed the last two chocolate cupcakes I had and decorated them ... and named them for Tyler and Nathan! And then I ate 'em for breakfast. Yum yum! Thanks guys!

Well the weather has cleared a bit today, but the forecast calls for snow on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday... cloudy Thursday and Sunny on Friday! I just know that spring is on the way.
Spent about two hours clearing the driveway yesterday. Actually, the shed door was iced shut and I couldn't get at the snowblower. But once I did (after chopping away the ice), I finally got the driveway cleared. Went out to see Aline's new mega screen TV. Watched an old movie and had brie with strawberries stewed in Amaretto. That was good. Got home to discover that the plow drove by our street and created a new snowbank in front of the driveway. I was tired, so I put the truck in four-by-four and drove over it. Sometime today, I will have to get out and clean that mess.

Snowing again!

It has to be my fault. On Friday morning I put the truck into two-wheel drive. The roads were clear and dry. It had been four-by-four all winter. By 2:00 p.m. Friday we were getting slammed by another snowfall. By suppertime, it was a blizzard. Then the power went out in the North End of town around 8:30 p.m. It came back on after midnight. This morning I found out that police had closed all highways into and out of Timmins. Highway 144 from Timmins to Sudbury was closed. Highway 11 between Timmins and North Bay was closed.
Here's the Environment Canada forecast from this morning:
Issued: 5.30 AM EDT Saturday 4 April 2009
Snowfall warning in effect.
Today:Snow at times heavy and local blowing snow. Amount 10 to 15 cm. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60. High minus 1.
Tonight:Snow. Amount 2 cm. Local blowing snow early this evening. Wind northwest 40 km/h gusting to 60 becoming light overnight. Low minus 5.
Sunday:Light snow ending in the morning then cloudy. 60 percent chance of flurries in the afternoon and evening. High plus 1.
Oh well, so we are all stuck in town. ...well, my goodness, why would anyone ever want to leave Timmins?

How do ya like them Apples!

Just to bring you up to date on my Mac problems... I took the G5 into the Apple repair shop yesterday. The guy at the front rolled his eyes and yelled to the guy in the backshop "Another Apple for ya..." The guy in the back shop just groaned. I described the problem of the monitor blacking out, and he advised it was common with Apples. Why, I asked. They just do, he said. And they're expensive, he added. How expensive, I asked. He went to his computer... which by the way was a PC... in an Apple repair shop. (Oh, the irony!) Fifteen, he said after punching in a few keystrokes. Hmmm, I thought. That's not so bad. Yeah, he said, fifteen hundred dollars with all parts and labour. I nearly choked, then I grinned at the thought of breaking this news to the boss. The repair guy explained that Mac parts are "good parts" but they're very expensive. I asked, what if we just hook the Mac up to a different monitor with a long cable. Yeah, that should work too, he said.
Mac Repairs:
Their solution = about $1500
My solution = about $50
Explaining it to be boss = Priceless.