Brexit vote

I am not sure quite what to think about the Brexit vote, the fact that the Britain has voted to exit from the European Union. I think part of the issue is racist. And that comes from fear. I think another part of issue is that the younger Brits just didn't vote. Either way, I don't think this is the end of the matter. I think Germany and France will be having votes before we know it.

Loss of a legend...

So yes, I felt sadness today at the news of Gordie Howe’s death. It is bizarre because just last week at work we were talking about the death of Muhammad Ali and we wondered what other athlete might have had the same impact in sports that Ali had in the 20^th century. I suggested maybe Gordie Howe. Some of my co-workers agreed. So Rest In Peace old man.

I also remember myself and Gary playing rubber boot hockey in Portage La Prairie when we were kids. (we didn’t have skates yet) We had one pair of shin pads and a Gordie Howe Red Wings sweater between the two of us. So if one got the sweater to wear, the other of us got the pads. I always enjoyed wearing that sweater when it was my turn. I remember arguing with Gary that he shouldn’t get the sweater because he was playing goalie.  Either way it was kind of cool that kids back in 1961 wanted to be Gordie. 

After a long week ...

I spend a lot of money on groceries. I think everyone does. But some days I just don't feel like cooking. That's how it was Friday night. I worked a bit later than expected and so I decided to stop at Tiffany's take-out. The clerk at the counter said there was a 30-minute backlog on orders. I said that's okay ... and I took a chance and complimented her on her hair. It looked like a new cut, so I mentioned it, said it looked nice. I had my order in five minutes! LOL Maybe she just wanted the old guy to leave quickly. Either way, I got home and enjoyed a nice medium serving of Quebec-style poutine. I know I have to eat healthy, so I tossed in a baby tomato!  By the way, I like Tiffany's better than the "other place" that is so well known. I also enjoyed a very nice cold can of Guinness with the poutine. Life doesn't get much better eh. Wonder how the poor folks live!

Red Rose from now on ...

It's disappointing to learn that something that you enjoy so much has something wrong with it. I am referring to a cup of tea. CBC Marketplace ran a report not too long ago that revealed that most popular tea products in Canada have trace amounts of pesticide. Now Health Canada said that this is not a major problem even though the Canadian Food Inspection Agency revealed that many popular teas have pesticide residues above the acceptable limit. The tea industry also responded to Marketplace saying that pesticides are a fact of life for tea. Most teas are produced in India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), China and Kenya.

Here's the thing. Red Rose Orange Pekoe Tea and Red Rose Canadian Breakfast Blend has no residues, none, nothing. At first I thought it was a mistake but then Red Rose issued a statement saying its tea producers are certified organic and that their tea is grown in Kenya, where there is no threat from insects and therefore no need for pesticides. You can see the organic approval seal on the left side of the box.
So, I went out Saturday and bought Red Rose. I threw out half a box of Tetley, half a box of Lipton and a few sachets of Twinings.

Staying hopeful ...

I saw the following in Tuesday's edition of New York Times. I am hopeful.

Mr. Trump has said so many irresponsible or dangerous things so often and in so many settings that there is a real risk that many voters will simply tune out and his campaign will somehow be normalized.

So it is particularly important to note when Mr. Trump’s statements go beyond the merely provocative or absurd and instead represent a threat to America’s carefully balanced political system. This is such a moment. It is not too late for Republicans who revere that system to question how they can embrace a nominee who has so little regard for it.

Good news for Dome Mine ...

It was satisfying this week to find out that they're extending the life of the Dome Mine for a few more months, no doubt in response to the gradually increasing price of gold. I got a whiff of the story Thursday night and as luck would have it, I bumped into the mine manager about 15 minutes later at a social event. I pulled him aside to see if there was any truth to the story. You can imagine my surprise when he confirmed it, and then unloaded the details on me.
It was funny when I asked the mayor for a comment and at first the mayor didn't believe me, then said how pleased he was at the good news.
I just hope the price of gold keeps moving north. I have lots of geologist friends who assure me there is still lots of gold beneath Timmins that hasn't been found yet ...

A good trip to Sudbury ...

So the next time you go to Red Lobster, try out the Garlic Linguine Lobster, and then order a side of scallops and then order a side of stuff mushrooms. Oooh yeahh. That's what I did this weekend when I dropped in to see Jennifer, Scott and Nathan. Tyler was away at camp. So it was a very pleasant weekend in Val Caron. I think it has been about two years since I visited Red Lobster and so it was a good time for a repeat visit. So it was the best seafood meal I have had in some time... Although I have had some delicious seafood treats in Westree Sur La Mer!

So yes it was indeed a nice visit. Everyone is well and I convinced myself I have to hit the highway a bit more often, if only to go shopping at Costco with Jenn. They had the best deals on socks and underwear!

Nice things eh?

Well it was kind of nice to get noticed. I was fortunate to be honoured, along with three of my colleagues, as a finalist in the Ontario Newspaper Awards. I didn't expect it. But it was nice regardless. One award for city hall reporting, the other for feature reporting on a story about mining history. So Sarah Moore, who was also a finalist, was kind enough to attend the awards night in Hamilton and to bring back these tidy little pieces of etched glass. I put them someplace special ... next to my whiskey bottles!

So I picked up a little blonde...

I saw that Guinness had this new American style lager the other day, so I grabbed a couple. After all, I am a true fan of Guinness Irish Stout. I figured why not. It is called Guinness Blonde. Well, I am sorry to say I took about three sips and that was all I could manage. I poured it down the kitchen sink. I find it too bitter. Now I've read a few reviews and most folks seem to like it. But I have to be honest, it just wasn't to my taste on Sunday. So I will keep the other can in the fridge and wait for a really hot summer day and try it again. In the meantime, I am keep my taste buds well sated by enjoying a new bottle of Graham's Tawny Port. OMG it is such a treat. I was thinking about it at work today and my mouth was watering. So before bed tonight, two ounces of that lovely port will send me off into dreamland.
And before I sign off, I was so pleased yesterday when Jennifer texted me the happy news that Tyler has his driver's licence. Wow, I remember what fun it was to get a licence. I am so happy for him.

Fingers crossed!

I have to say I am beginning to feel a sense of relief about the U.S. presidential primaries. Thank goodness for Clinton’s win in New York. I know Bernie Sanders is a nice guy but I think he is more suited to a Grateful Dead tribute concert than the Oval Office. I think a lot of Canadians were getting worried about Mr. Trump, but I am confident that Ms. Clinton will prevail. Well let’s just say I am hopeful. Fingers crossed!

Onions and other things I smell...

I got in the door one day recently when suddenly the smell hit me. Onions. Not the smell of onions cooking, which I love, but just the smell of raw onion … rotting. Yukky! So I had been cooking with an onion and I took the peel, just a small amount of raw onion and tossed it into the kitchen garbage bin. Big mistake.  Because I recycle a lot I put my garbage out only once a week. The problem is that if there is something in the bin that is stinky, then it stinks up my apartment. That’s another problem. The windows here are so airtight that there is poor circulation unless I deliberately remember to open a few windows every day. I swear I could fart on a Monday and I will be reminded of it on Friday! Getting back to my onion problem. I discovered that if I sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of baking soda into the garbage bin, the odour problem goes away. 

Got a Fitbit!

Well I am pleased that I have a new gadget to play with! Took the advice of a friend and got a new FITBIT bracelet. It's a device that is a watch, but it also measures your heart rate, your physical activities and even your sleep patterns. So I had some Airmiles to use up and sure enough there was a Fitbit Charge-HR available and so I grabbed one. I just spent several minutes synchronizing it with my computer, so I will get a daily chart of my activities. I think it will be interesting.

Hot dogs!

Well I have sure been taking my time reading Steinbeck this past week, but it has been enjoyable. Being a Sunday I usually plan something substantial for a Sunday dinner. Sometimes it's roast beef. Sometimes a nice pasta dish.  But here's the thing, I had some amazing smoked trout on Friday and that's hard to beat. I wasn't sure what to have for supper today, so I was out shopping to stock up and milk, bread and other things. That's when I noticed Schneider's Juicy Jumbo Hot Dogs. Well that did it. I haven't enjoyed a good hot dog in months. So I picked up some nice freshly-baked herbed buns, a bottle of sliced pickles, some nice organic tomatoes and a fresh squeezey-thing of French's mustard. Got home with the groceries a few hours ago and put the oven on at 270. Put a couple of those juicy dogs in the oven with foil wrap, some salt, pepper and garlic powder. 20 minutes. Then I added the buns for about five minutes. The hot dogs came out perfect, just nice and sizzled. So I put them in the buns with pickle slices, really thin tomato slices and then I drizzled on the mustard. Chopped up some cheddar cheese and poured a nice frosty beer. OMG. Heaven. Okay so now I have a leftover package of hot dogs. But they're in the freezer. I will have to plan for some wieners and beans next week.

Back in book mode

With some embarrassment, I admit I haven't read a book in the past two months!!! But that's okay, I got fed up with myself and this week I bought a classic novel, perhaps one of the best books of the last 100 years. I have begun to re-read Steinbeck's beautiful novel,  The Grapes of Wrath. This is my second time. The first time was nearly 50 years ago. I have this amazing feeling of being at

one with the Joad family on their incredibly sad, yet inspirational journey across America. So I have lots of tea, some danishes and some whiskey to get me through the next few days. I know the story too well. Maybe I should get some Kleenex too! ha ha ha.

Easter Monday, 1986

Here is a news story about what happened in Timmins  30 years ago, Easter Monday 1986. I am sure Jennifer and Neil will remember that day... * * * * * * * * * * As emergencies go, it was the first time and the last time anyone can remember such a large portion of Timmins had been evacuated. More than 5,000 people were ordered out of their homes. Perhaps what is more amazing is that despite the damage, there were no serious injuries reported. It was Easter Monday 1986; thirty years ago this week. The date on the calendar was March 31. It was overcast. There had been a bit of rain. At first, it seemed like a normal spring morning in Timmins. But something went wrong at the Imperial Oil Esso bulk plant on Spruce Street, near Ogden Avenue. A worker had set up a hose to transfer gasoline from a 36,000-litre rail tanker car to a bulk fuel tank. Somehow the four-inch fuel line broke away. It was about 8:30 a.m. The worker had not stayed with the tanker car. No one noticed it right away. Roughly 21,000 litres of gasoline poured out of the tanker and onto the ground. Much of the gasoline pooled into low-lying areas and seeped into the soil. But a lot of it, no one knows how much for sure, flowed into a nearby catch basin and from there into the city’s sewer system. At 9:08 that morning, an urgent call was made to the Timmins fire hall advising of the gasoline spill. Fire Captain Sonny Farrell and a crew of firefighters responded. The gasoline spill was obvious, with shiny rainbow slicks floating on nearby puddles and pavement. The oily sheen could clearly be noticed between the ties of the railroad tracks. Captain Farrell alerted Timmins fire chief Bert Schaffer who was on the scene in minutes. Schaffer was surprised at what he saw in terms of thousands and thousands of litres of spilled gasoline. Schaffer said that the gasoline spill emergency was completely unexpected and unprecedented in terms of the size of the spill. But he said once it became apparent that gasoline had entered the sewer system he knew there was potential for disaster. “I started making calls you know as soon as we knew the gasoline was hitting the sewers that it could go anywhere,” Schaffer recalled. And so it did. As firefighters were helping that morning to contain the gasoline that had spilled, their emergency radios suddenly squawked to life. Spruce Street, near Ogden, is a high point in the city. The gasoline in the nearest sewer quickly began flowing downhill. People living nearby could smell the fumes, but didn’t give it much thought at first. Unknown to many residents, gasoline had also crossed over into sanitary sewers. Fumes began seeping into homes, coming up through the basement drains. SUDDENLY AN EXPLOSION... One woman on Mountjoy Street South, near Cody Avenue, was sitting in her kitchen enjoying a morning coffee. The freezer chest in her basement kicked on. A tiny spark erupted inside the freezer. Suddenly there was an explosion. It was 9:48 a.m. just forty minutes after the initial call out to the tanker spill. It was less than a kilometre from Spruce Street and firefighters rushed to the scene. Luckily there were no injuries after the explosion in the basement, but there was a minor fire and damage to the house. Firefighters were quick to contain the incident. As if he sensed the potential danger, Schaffer took a minute to speak to a handful of news reporters at the scene, asking them to get the word out to the public as quickly as possible. This was especially important for Timmins radio reporters that day since there was no Internet and no e-mail. Cell phones hadn’t been invented. “If they smell gas, get out of the house,” Schaffer implored. “Just get out of the house and then call us!” Just as the chief was wrapping up the impromptu street corner news conference, the conversation was interrupted by deep resonating Whoomp! Another explosion, this time in a house on nearby Columbus Avenue. Fire crews raced up the street to find a two-storey home with flames licking out the windows. All the windows had been blown out. Curtains and a curtain rod were lying on the ground across the street. Again, good fortune prevailed. Two adults and five children got out of the house safely, without a scratch. As firefighters fought that blaze, another thump was heard. Half a block away, the home of a well-known furniture dealer had exploded. Citizens in the streets helped firefighters drag hoses in that direction of that fire. And on it went. Fast forward thirty years, and fire chief Mike Pintar, spoke with amazement in his voice as he reviewed all the official fire reports from that day. The archived file for March 31, 1986, revealed 47 emergency call-outs that day, seven of them were explosions or fires he said. The other calls, just as serious, were from frightened residents who reported the smell of gasoline in their homes, as fumes seeped in from nearby sewers. Schaffer recalled the situation was bad and becoming worse as that morning wore on. He said he was alarmed to learn that reports of gasoline fumes were coming from the Melrose area. It seemed possible that gasoline fumes were heading for the river. Schaffer said that was when the decision was made to cut off hydro in Timmins. “We had to shut it down. Nobody knew exactly where the leakage was going or what house it was going to hit next,” Schaffer remembered. There was also a concern for the municipal sewage treatment plant on Airport Road. If gasoline fumes built up inside that plant, it could spell disaster. The multi-million dollar building could be ruined. “Well there was a lot of people who were ticked off about that,” said Schaffer. “We bypassed that plant eh, so all the sewage and everything went into the river.” He said it was a hard decision, but said it was a decision that had to be made. “If we had lost the plant, if that blew up, we’d have nothing there for weeks, months probably,” said Schaffer. As it turned out, Hydro was gradually able to restore power to most parts of the city after a few hours when officials were better able to pin down which areas had been contaminated by the gasoline fumes. For the most part it was that portion of Ward Five, south of Kirby and Kent Avenues. Hydro would remain shut off in the part of town. Schaffer said the next hard decision came after a meeting with Mayor Vic Power and other community leaders. Former mayor Power this week said he remembered the meeting. “I was notified at about 11 o'clock. We had a meeting over at the fire hall with police chief Floyd Schwantz, fire chief Albert Schaffer, training officer Albert Walsh and Emergency Measures people,” he said. EVACUATION WAS NECESSARY ... “It was decided that the whole south …, I guess it’s the southeast quadrant of the City of Timmins, was to be evacuated,” Power remembered. “It wasn’t that difficult to decide because it was the right thing to do,” Power recalled. “People were very cooperative. Citizens of Timmins were very cooperative,” said Power. He said people sensed that there was a serious problem, and it could get worse. That afternoon, local news reporters were ushered into a conference room at the Timmins fire hall for an update. That’s when the mayor revealed that an evacuation order was being issued and would take effect at 5:00 p.m. Police Chief Schwantz revealed that his officers would be going door-to-door to inform residents of the evacuation order. Ambulances would be made available for anyone needing help to get out of their homes. As darkness began to fall over Timmins later that afternoon, police cars with loudspeakers patrolled the streets announcing that people were to leave their homes and to register at the Red Cross evac-centre at the McIntyre auditorium. People were also asked to leave windows open in case there might be a build-up of gasoline fumes in their homes. Within a few hours, the south side of Timmins was in darkness. No house lights, no street lights. It was eerily black and quiet. The only activity being city police cruisers, slowly patrolling each street to prevent looters from entering the area. At the same time, city workers had gone through the area, removing heavy iron manhole covers in a bid to re-ventilate the sewers. As it happened, most of the 5,000 or so residents went to the homes of friends or family members. Other took up every available hotel and motel room. Restaurants did a booming business. Everyone kept their receipts. Less than 100 residents would take advantage of the care and hospitality offered by the Timmins branch of the Red Cross at McIntyre building. Timmins was the big story, not just in Northern Ontario, but across North America. ABC News in New York reported about it. It was reported on the CBC National with Knowlton Nash at 10:00 p.m., and an hour later on the CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson. “It was not the kind of attention we were looking for, but that’s the way it was,” Vic Power remembered. Timmins awoke the next morning, Tuesday, April 1, knowing it was not some bizarre April Fools’ event. The good news was that no more fires or explosions had happened. The sewer pipes were being infused with fresh air. Chief Schaffer said John Braney of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office had joined in the effort and managed to get a truckload of ventilation fans shipped to Timmins from several fire departments in the Toronto area. The fans would be placed atop the open manholes to create a huge vacuum to suck out the contaminated air from the sewers. Northern and Central Gas company employees had arrived from Sudbury, equipped with special “sniffer” devices that could detect gasoline fumes inside a sewer pipe. Most people were being allowed to return to their homes. Some areas were still declared off limits, but within two days, all the sewers had been cleared by the workers with the sniffer devices. NO ONE WAS HURT  When all was said and done, former mayor Power said he was pleased that no one was hurt, and that the situation was handled so well by the city’s emergency team. Power said it was a completely unexpected sort of emergency but he said it was a credit to the community and ordinary people that the situation was faced head on and people worked together to get through it. “But I can’t say enough about the work of Chief Schaffer, Chief Schwantz who has passed away since, firefighter Albert Walsh. I think those were the key players, and someone may read this and say, Gee, they forgot all about me, but that’s what I recall at this time,” said Power. “There were a whole lot of groups that helped out and volunteers like the Red Cross, I remember Heather Bozzer, and if I mention just one, I know I will neglect others. But there were a lot of community groups that came forward spontaneously,” he said. “So the crisis was over I would say within 24 hours or so. But you know when you run for mayor you sure don’t think of these things, or at least, I didn’t in those days,” Power said with a smile.
Keywords:

Weekend in Westree ...

I am back home in Timmins and still in relaxation mode after a spending a couple of very nice days at the camp in Westree. Of course Don and Denise were excellent hosts and I was pleased to come home with a care-package consisting a full turkey dinner, a full seafood dinner and a nice slice of raspberry cheesecake. My grandson Tyler and I both celebrated birthday dinners. Jennifer surprised me with a very pleasant gift and a card. 

I am always happy to see the boys who continue to grow like weeds. I think we reached a milestone today when the boys slept-in and when they did come into the kitchen this morning they were more interested in having breakfast than checking out all the Easter goodies. I think the best part was just totally unwinding, playing cards and trying out new things. The girls were all excited about having a margarita machine. I used it to make a very fancy whiskey-rita, but I found the lime juice a bit too tart. All in all, another great weekend in the North.  

No Comment. A good thing.

I have to say I am pleased at the growing movement among media companies to curb the problem of commenting on media websites. I think they're doing it for the right reasons. CBC for example now requires all comments to be posted by persons who identify themselves. I don't know how that will work, but it is a step in the right direction. The Toronto Star stopped commenting altogether. Our own Postmedia publications stopped the commenting last year.
When I refer to the problem of commenting, I must explain that it is not a problem for people to have opinions. Thank goodness we all have different viewpoints on things. The problem is that far too many comments were clearly mean-spirited, so much so I think, that ordinary well-intentioned readers just sort of gave up. Some comments actually attacked other people for their opinions. The other problem is that so many comments were misinformed or deliberately put wrong information into the comments, hoping to sway opinion.
If you have an opinion, start a blog! LOL

Good thing it was mild weather eh...

Sometimes you have to be grateful for the little things. I just wrapped up my grocery shopping this afternoon and was in the parking lot of the grocery store, not too far away from home. The fanbelt on my vehicle snapped. I have full roadside assistance, so towing is free. I called a cab to get home and had only two bags of groceries. And my shift tomorrow doesn't start until 1:00 P.M. So things aren't so bad after all. Good thing the weather was mild.

Bye Bye Keurig

The Keurig experiment is over for me. I got a machine a couple of years ago, because like a lot of people I know, it was the thing to do. It was just so convenient and easy to make a cup of coffee. To be honest, I never found it to make a really good robust cup of coffee. Yesterday I took my Keurig, cleaned it up and I will be putting it away. Maybe I will give it to a church group or something. For several months now I have been drinking tea in the mornings. I put the kettle on before my shower and soon the water is boiling. I like my King Cole and occasionally Tetley BOLD tea. Not long ago there was a sale on Maxwell House instant coffee, so I bought a jar. What is nice about it is that I can make a really strong cup of coffee, usually around lunch time. Then a few weeks back I saw a Maxwell House flavoured café mix in a little square can. So now I mix a bit of that in with the instant coffee and it is very nice. Here’s the other thing. I know I will be saving money. A box of 10 or 12 Keurig pods is $8 or $9. Good instant coffee with the specialty café flavours is much less for roughly 100 cups of coffee, and it tastes good.

Texting and Etiquette. Really?

I was a bit surprised to read there is etiquette regarding texting. Hmmm. Well I believe in courtesy and being polite. I usually apply that to conversation. But when it comes to texting, I think things are different. Well, that is my take on it. If I get a text I don’t always respond immediately. That’s because my BlackBerry is often in a jacket pocket or on a desk under a pile of papers. I even forgot the phone at work one night and I didn’t miss it. I rarely have the ringer on. I go to so many places where I think it would be rude to have a ringer sounding from my coat or camera bag. Court, council meetings, restaurants.  I figure if somebody needs a response right away to something urgent, they can telephone me. I don’t always answer quickly, so that can be a problem too. So, I find the articles on texting etiquette to be moot. In fact, I find it can be argued that the whole idea of texting is intrusive. But I put up with it. I was in a bar chatting with a friend last week when I mentioned I intended to find something online, once I got home. He asked why not check it on the phone. I told him I have the internet on my phone turned off. He was wide-eyed at the thought that I wasn’t “connected”. As afar as etiquette goes, I am often put off by people who will stop a conversation with a live person to answer their phone. You’d think they were getting a call from the Prime Minister the way they fumble and fight to get their phone out. It’s funny how the etiquette articles don’t seem to mention that. If you’re talking with a real person and the phone rings, it can keep ringing. You can check it a few minutes later and the person you were speaking with will feel much better for knowing you.