Cams and kids...

Wow, busy week, so busy I forgot Sunday was a special day... Father's Day. Jennifer and Neil both called and we had grrrreat chats. Jenn called in the morning as I was rushing out to cover a plane crash. Good thing it was only a minor crash, pilot rescued from the lake, no injuries. But I had to cut Jenn off, wondering "Why is she calling on a Sunday morning?" In Ontario, we are no longer allowed to chat on a cell phone while driving. But it was all good when we connected later in the day. Then Neil called around suppertime and we had a nice chat. Good news is, he is coming back to Ontario for a couple of years. He and Nolene will be settling in Toronto as she continues studies at University of Toronto. So that will be nice. And Jenn and the boys and I will spend time together on Canada Day weekend! So I have lots of housework to catch up on. I finally got my new camera today. It's a nice compact little SONY that I will take on my holidays. I was dreading the thought of lugging my big Nikons around so I figured it was time to get something I can literally tuck into my pocket. So today was summer solstice. Longest day of the year. From this point on, the days get shorter! Ahhhh... I just know that spring is on the way!

The Great Porcupine Fire

It will be this time next month that the people of Timmins will stop and remember one of the worst forest fires in Canadian history. It will be the 100th anniversary of the Great Porcupine fire of July 1911. It's called Porcupine because back then, this whole area was known as The Porcupine Gold Camp. It's amazing to think not so much that people endured the fire, but that they continued on in spite of it. Back then, there were no warnings, no special firefighting airplanes, no evacuations. The people who came to Timmins were taking part in one of the great gold rushes ever recorded. Fire devasted the towns, hundreds died, but the people carried on in spite of the great sadness and loss of life. There was even the story of the mine manager who rushed to bring his family down into a mine shaft to escape the flames ... but the firestorm sucked all the oxygen out of the mine. They were found dead days later, without a scratch, without a burn. They had suffocated. There was also the story of the train rushing into town, without knowing of the fire. Sure enough, as the story goes, the train was carrying a shipment of dynamite for the mines. It caught fire and exploded, causing even more death and havoc. Archives Canada has saved many of the photos showing the fire, the people on shore at Porcupine Lake trying to get away, and then days later carrying the bodies out to Deadman's Point, which still exists as a cemetery today. (Photo Credit: Library and Archives Canada)

I like cookies and prospectors too

Sunday morning, tea and cookies. Yeah, I know it's not the healthiest breakfast, but it will do today. Wow, hard to believe June is here already. I was thinking about that this week as nearly all of my photo assignments have been outdoors. I am okay with that. Well the new computer is all set up to my liking. It is working nicely and very fast. I have removed all the files from the old laptop and will be handing it off to the boys next chance I get. I have a full Rubbermaid box at the front door of all the clothes I did NOT wear this past winter. I will have to drop it off at the church. It's too easy to get too many clothes. I also put my second last suit in the box. I have not worn a suit since Jennifer's wedding, so I figure it is time to get rid of one and keep one. I thought about suits about a month back when I was covering "a gala dinner" for the prospectors association. Sure there were a lot of suits there, but there were just as many guys without suits, wearing dress pants and a checkered shirt! If you've just found a new gold mine, people don't really care whether you're wearing a suit.
That reminds me. It was at that dinner that I met several people from across Canada and we talked about how we all seem to like prospectors. They're some of my favourite people. We agreed that they're a cheerful and optimistic group. I know one fellow well. His name is Dave. He's around 60 and I have known him since his twenties. There were a few times I saw him with a new truck and I knew things were going good. Then one day I saw him walking home from the grocery store, carrying his groceries. He had to sell the truck. So I knew things were hard for him. A couple of weeks ago, I heard Dave had staked some new ground on the big gold play west of Timmins. I sure hope this is "the big one" for him. He's a good guy.

A new toy for the old boy.

Just enough time to squeeze in one more posting in May. It will be June in about 20 minutes. I was at a meeting at city hall last night when my laptop crapped out and died on me. I was upset... for several minutes, until a colleague reminded me the laptop was six years old. And I have dropped the old laptop on occasion... I am content that I got my money's worth out of it. So today, I had to go out and get this new machine. I am quite pleased with it. It's an HP 2000 and it cost less than $400. It is superbly fast and has half a terrabyte of RAM. I had the option of using the MAC G4 from work, but I need to know I have a computer I can count on. I have spent the evening uploading all my programs and enjoying this nice little toy. I will have to strip down the old laptop and get it ready for Jennifer's boys... I am sure they can find a use for it.

It went Ka-Boom! But nothing happened ...

Friday was an interesting day at one of the local mine properties. Goldcorp was demolishing a headframe ... by blasting it down. That's always fun to watch. (Click the photos to see full size. In the first photo, look for the worker with his hands covering his ears toward the bottom left.)
The only thing is that once the blast has gone off, the headframe is supposed to fall over. It didn't. It seems one of the steel support beams didn't break and it held the whole thing up. So they went and got another box of explosives, set the fuse and it went down ... like it was supposed to.

The search for my brother ...

The search for my brother began one freezing morning in 1981 when Ronald and some friends decided to drop in at Earlton, south of Timmins. The temperature was minus 42. Ronald was with about 950 other soldiers doing a parajump. Since I knew he was visiting Northern Ontario, I knew I had to be a good host and find him. So I drove to Earlton, but believe it not, as I approached the area where the jump was, I was stopped by soldiers in an armoured vehicle. That’s my tiny little Dodge Omni in the photo. Once I explained what I doing, they let me proceed.
Before long, there were dozens of C130 aircraft overhead dropping people and material on parachutes. One of them was Ronald. He was out there somewhere. So I began walking along through the drop zone, where there were hundreds of soldiers getting their gear together and forming up into groups. I kept asking if anyone knew Ron… many did. And they kept pointing me in various directions. Sure enough, I eventually found him… he was outside his tent making tea. So we chatted a bit and then decided to go into town for a beer. The problem was that Ron was not allowed to leave the drop area. No worries. He laid down in the back of the car and we drove out. We had a beer in the local tavern, but Ron’s main mission was to find a grocery store, so he could buy a few extra things and junk food. I am sure his buddies wondered where he got all the extra stuff.

Just a few old photos...

I had the chance to go through some older photographs this week and I have scanned them and saved them to a digital format. They sure bring back some nice memories. These photos are from the late 1970s!!! I just know people will be e-mailing me and asking for copies.Click on the photos to see them larger.

The media table . . .

Part of my job involves covering political speeches. This past week was a doozie ... three days of speeches by mayors and visiting cabinet ministers. And it involves evening work too. That's not so bad, because the people putting on the meetings always feed the news reporters. This was the media table Thursday night. A nice roast beef dinner. What you can see on the table though are notebooks, cameras, beer glasses, empty wines bottles and double servings of crème brûlée dessert! All in a day's work eh?

Woohoo for Neil!

I want to put a plug in here today for Neil. There was a vote-in contest in Vancouver for the best restaurant, best bar, best staff etc. Sure enough, Neil got short-listed as one of the five finalists as best restaurant manager. So if you have Facebook, log in and vote! Here is the link: Vote for Manager of the Year! I am sure Neil will appreciate it.

25 years . . .

Just noticed that it has been 25 years to this very day that I quit smoking. I was lucky. I was able to just stop. I think that's a good thing. Some days though, I wish I could enjoy a nice cigar.

The funny thing about facebook . . .

Some things are not politically correct, but they're still funny. And this Facebook inspired image fits. The funny thing about the Facebook chatting process is that if you LIKE what somebody has written, you give a thumbs up. Enjoy the image.(click the pic) As for political correctness, it gets tiring. With Osama's death, I think I might know how my parents felt when it was revealed that Hitler was dead.

A crazy week eh

Wow, what a crazy week eh. Locally in the federal election, our MP Charlie Angus, was re-elected. I snapped that photo at his victory party. I have to say I am surprised at the outcome of the election, with Jack Layton in the opposition seat. Although I do remember somebody in Westree telling me that the NDP was coming on strong. I honestly didn't expect Michael Ignatieff to take such a beating, but such is politics in Canada. The Liberals have a special way of killing off their own. I remember it happened to Pierre Trudeau after his famous "walk in the snow" back in the mid-80s. The other crazy news is the killing of Osama Bin Laden. It sends out the message that if you really upset the American people, they WILL get you and kill you. It's a cold message, but lots of people have learned it the hard way. The Americans rarely go looking for fights, but they often finish them, and win. And those who win get to write the history books.

Westree weekend

Easter weekend was pleasant at the Alexander camp in Westree, where I drove to meet with Jennifer and her family. Of course it’s always nice to get away and totally tune out. My phone was off for nearly 48 hours. The weather on Friday was perfect spring weather, with the sun shining and the temperature around ten Celsius. Along with Jenn’s family being there, Christine, Demetrios and Victoria had driven in from the Toronto area. That night we had a fabulous buffet supper put on by Denise and then it was outside to enjoy the evening air, have some drinks and enjoy the great bonfire created by Don. We laughed and talked till midnight. I was pleased that I was assigned to sleep in the Westree Penthouse, which is Don and Denise’s fifth wheel trailer. That was very nice and great for a nice peaceful night’s sleep. Who would have guessed that the next morning that winter would come back? It was mild out, but it snowed all morning. The photo of Portage Road tells the story. I remember thinking about the drive down from Timmins and noticing that almost all the snow in the bush had melted. Saturday morning, there was fresh snow everywhere. After lunch some of us decided to take a walk down to the landing by the lake to throw rocks in the water. I was so impressed that Jennifer came along for the hike, rubber boots and all. Believe it or not, we had to climb a steep hill and Jenn managed it. I was simply amazed, considering her condition a year ago. (See the posting on this blog on March 14, 2010). Jenn’s struggle to beat her cancer is inspiring. I am so proud of her inner strength and resolve. She also looks pretty nice with all that curly hair! The other nice part of the weekend was watching the hockey game Saturday night. I was the only one who cheered when Boston scored the winning goal. I couldn’t help myself, thinking of all those smug Habs fans across the country who had to sit there chewing their tongue. Ha ha ha ha. (click on the pics to see large size)

Things are good.

Well I haven't dropped in here for awhile, but some exciting things are happening.
One is that I am seriously considering a vacation trip this summer to Scotland. I have submitted the time off request, which is the first step, so we will see where that goes. I am also seeking out some genealogical information on the Gillis family and its connection to the village or Morar in northern Scotland. Several people are helping including my cousin, Glen MacNeil, who is on assignment with Canadian Forces in Jerusalem right now. I may have to wait until he returns to Halifax to get some fresh information.
Secondly, right now there is excitement in Timmins. The price of gold is nudging the $1500 per ounce mark. That will be the highest price in history and a huge milestone. Timmins is one of the few cities in the world built on gold. Mining exploration here is at a fever pace. If we top $1500, I am betting we will see a huge rush on for claim staking and drilling.
Best news for last. I will be spending Easter with Jenn and the Alexanders again in Westree. Sounds like we're going to have a wonderful time. Stay tuned.

Hi, I went to HAWWWW-vud!

First posting in April. I figured I should wait a few days so no one would think the lawnsign photo from Harvard was an April Fools joke. LOL. Okay, okay, it's a joke but I figured I would put it there to irk my favourite sister Debra. We had a fabulous phone call this week and got right into politics. Oh my goodness, it was fun. We also have a $20 bet going on the outcome of the election. I think it's worth 20 bucks just to get a rise out of her. Anyway, you know all about Michael. He's very big into WINNING. Maybe he should go on tour with Charlie Sheen!!! LOL

A very nice, very fun day

Well it has sure been a fun day. I was planning to take the day off work, since we get our birthday as a floater. But I was awakened at about 5:30 a.m. ... there was a fire call at a remote logging camp south west of town, so I headed out there. That was a challenge, but it's so quiet in the bush on a winter morning that I was able to shut off the truck and listen for the sound of the fire engine motor off in the distance and was able to find the camp. It was still dark and I didn't see smoke until the sun rose.
Got back into town around 8:15 a.m. just to catch the first e-mails from my EARLY April Fools gag that I put on Page Three and the website. What a hoot. We reported there was a new tax on text messaging and twittering. Well, what a commotion. The switchboard lit up at city hall and even the mayor took angry calls. A company rep from Bell Mobility called and asked up to pull the story since their call centre was backed up with angry callers. Then city hall put out a news release asking the other media in town to report that it was all a joke. So... that was fun. Even though the folks at city hall are mighty Peed Off at this fellow.
I called Jennifer but she was AT WORK today... yes, she is working! She has a temp job at the Revenue Canada tax centre in Sudbury.
Then my cell phone died, which was a good thing because I was getting phone calls and voice messages from friends who enjoyed the gag. Some were not so nice! LOL
But the nicest part was all the nice birthday wishes from people i got in emails today and on Facebook. Even my little bro Ronald left a message here on the blog, in a comment with the black and white photo right below this posting. Ha ha funny guy! LOL. Tomorrow will be another nice day. Hard to believe that Tyler is going to 11 years old! OMG...before we know it he will be a teenager!!!

Winter is still here.

I was out in the bush this morning. The sun was shining beautifully and thank goodness I remembered to put SPF on before heading out today. It was just a really nice day to spend time outside and appreciate the clean, fresh air. I have this photo in colour, but I like the black and white version as well. I think it convey's the message of pure outdoor fresh air in the winter.

A big March moon.

I noticed earlier this evening there was a big old March moon in the night sky, so I snapped a photo. Apparently, this was a super moon tonight because for some reason the moon is much closer to Planet Earth than normal.

Staying in touch...

Apologies for not dropping in here sooner. I have no excuse other than my own laziness, but March so far has been a busy month. I was hoping to spend some time with my grandsons, and take time off during March break. But the company cut those plans short. Last week was nice. I got a call from my friend Fay who I haven't seen in four or five years. She was visiting Timmins and so we were able to spend time together. We keep in touch via the Internet, but it's always nice to see somebody. The weather earlier this week was outstanding. The temperature was actually two or three degrees on Wednesday. Of course, I left the parka in the closet and pulled out a spring jacket. My fault. Today we have snow and minus 20 in Timmins.
I covered an interesting story this week where a local firm is now producing mining trucks, brand new ore haulers, and shipping them out to the U.S. It's a first for Timmins. Gold mining is still king in and around Timmins. We reported recently on how Detour Gold Mine is buying new trucks from Caterpillar. A lot of people don't think that mining contributes much to the economy. For new trucks alone, Detour is spending $125 MILLION dollars.
On the other hand, I also covered another mining death. I hate it when that happens. Timmins has been mining now for 100 years. In that time, there have been more than 600 miners killed in our mines. That's terrible! The funeral mass for the dead man is today.
I went out this week to celebrate St. Patricks Day. It was fun to run into the usual suspects that I only see once or twice a year. I hooked up with Colin Kilgour, a fun Irishman if there ever was one. I think I have seen Colin about ten times in the past ten years, and it's always on St. Patricks.
I got over to the bookstore again this week and picked up some new novels. Reading is one of my guilty pleasures. Last night I put on a pot of tea and zipped through about 160 pages. I also had time to play some Wii Tennis. Finally, I broke through the 2000 point mark! Whew, that was an effort.

Quinzhees and Kraft Dinner at 35 below

It's almost lunchtime, but I am back in the office after spending some time in the bush this morning. It was a beautiful Northern Ontario morning with the temperature at about minus 15 and the sun shining so nicely. I was out to snap some photos of the Timmins Porcupine Search and Rescue providing winter survival training. It brought back some great memories of when Neil and I were involved with Scouts Canada about 20 years ago and spending winter weekends at the Windy Lake camp north of Sudbury. I remember one day we went on a 10K hike in minus 35 weather. We built a quinzhee shelter and even cooked up Kraft Dinner over an open fire. Those were fun times. It's just amazing how nice it is to spend time in the bush on a winter day. Today was good in another way. I topped out over 1700 points playing Wii tennis this morning. Woohoo. I can't wait to show off for Tyler, Nathan and Victoria. Had a nice chat with Jennifer on Friday to get caught up on things. The boys were in another hockey tournament. I had to laugh because the boys figured they would have Friday off to play hockey. But once their game was over, Jennifer was at the rink to pick them up and drive them to school! She is such a good mom.