Trump's legacy...

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

Frayed cuffs and other things...

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

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

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

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

Good times

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

  Scott, Tyler, Jennifer and Nathan. 

 Tyler and Nathan.

Len and Tyler.

Politics

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

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

What a pain the A$$

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

Heartbreaking ...

I was sitting in the office briefly Saturday morning when Tom the managing editor dropped in. He was obviously pre-occupied but then mentioned out loud that another person had died in the bus crash in Saskatchewan. It was awkward, but we had to talk about it. Heading out on the team bus to a hockey game on a winter night is such a Canadian thing. Whether you live in Nova Scotia or the Yukon, there is not a Canadian family I know of that hasn’t experienced that, whether it’s the team bus or even the fan bus that follows it. What happened is something that so many of us has wondered about; worried about and then maybe offered a quick prayer when everyone got home safely. I know in Timmins there was a change put in place many years ago when the players didn’t have a team bus. They went to an out of town game in a convoy of private cars. Sadly one the cars was in a crash and some young hockey players died. After that, it was decided from that point forward that all teams would travel by bus. Sadly bad things happen, no matter what choices you make. I know that yesterday my immediate thoughts were about Tyler and Nathan and how many times they have travelled to out of town tournaments and hockey games. My heart still breaks for the boys in Saskatchewan.

Messy, yes, but it tastes great.

So I am quite pleased with new Melitta ‘Pour over’ coffee maker. You take your ground coffee and put it into the cone-shaped holder along with a paper filt. Then you pour boiling water into the cone. It then drips quickly down into your coffee mug. I find I am able to make a nicer cup of coffee than in my Keurig machine. Except yesterday during lunch I poured the cone full of boiling water and then accidently bumped the whole contraption with the kettle. Darn! There was coffee and boiling water all over the countertop, the stove top and then then down into the space between the stove and the wall. Arrrgh! What a mess.  But … it still makes an excellent cup of coffee.

Enjoying the Olympic Games

I was mentioning to Claudette the other day that the newer version of mixed-doubles curling might become so popular someday it could out rank regular curling. We have really enjoyed watching the Canadian team of Lawes & Morris perform so well at the winter Olympics. We watched every match.  The competition against the OAR was particularly entertaining. The game really moves along quickly and it is quite entertaining to watch. And this morning we learned that they have won the gold medal. So pleased.

I am feeling better this week. Really. It has been two weeks now since I slipped on the sidewalk out on Cedar Street and fell, landing on my back. I mean, I really took a flip. My left leg shot out on the ice just under the snow and I went down, hard. It knocked the wind out of me and for a couple of seconds I couldn’t breathe. That was scary, so I flipped over onto my front to push myself up. I grunted. And I breathed. I didn’t bother getting checked out because I figured if I could get up okay, I would be okay. If not I would just lay on the ground and call 911. LOL. Besides there is a flu outbreak and I didn’t fancy sitting in the emergency room with all those people coughing and sneezing.

I am better now. The next day I dropped into a sporting goods story and found some shoe spikes. Wow, what a difference. They cost $35, but they really work. They stay on your shoe by a heavy elastic strap. When you go into a store or building, you just flip up the spikes and you don’t damage the floor.  You know I take this seriously when I spend money on something when I could easily purchase a very nice bottle of whiskey for the same price.

Waiting for news...

I think I know how people in Olympic communities feel as they wait to find out whether their city or town has won the right to host the games. Timmins is among four cities invited to submit a bid to build a new smelter or metals refinery to process chromite.  That’s the main mineral located in the Ring of Fire mining area in the James Bay Lowlands. The value of the deposit is estimated in excess of $50-BILLION. Yup, that’s Billions we’re talking about. If Timmins wins the bid for a smelter, well we’re talking many hundreds of millions of dollars in local investment. And jobs. Lots and lots of new jobs. That would be helpful. So lots of folks in town are crossing their fingers. 

Yes, I am jealous.

So get used to reading the name Jada Yuan. You may not know of her, but last week she was picked for the best job in the world ... in my opinion. She is an almost-40 freelance writer who has been hired by the New York Times to travel the world for a whole year and report on what she sees. Yuan was selected from more than 13,000 job applicants. She will be travelling to 52 cities around the globe and will write stories on her experiences. Nice work if you can get it. Yes, I am so jealous.

Pencils and stuff.

This goes back to journalism school when we were all taught to carry pencils because in Canada, it gets cold and your pen will freeze. If you have to take notes, a pencil will never freeze. That was sure in evidence last week.  

Things change. All the reporters I see these days have voice recorders built into their smart phones.  I have this feature on my phone, although I am not certain how to use it. What I do use is a very reliable Sony voice recorder that picks up every comment, even in a crowded city council chamber or in a courtroom, if allowed. I also record all the phone calls I get into the newsroom. 

Although I am peeved now that my primary recorder crapped out on me this week. I am using a backup now.  I had the main recorder for about four years, so it’s not so bad. I will have to purchase a new one. Wish I had known about this during Boxing Day sales. 

Pay the working poor!

I want to weigh in on the minimum wage debate in Ontario. The Liberal government has implemented this is oh-so-obvious vote-buying bid. But it is still something that should be done. Raising the wages of the working poor is not something that should be debated or argued. It was overdue. I would have preferred to have seen a straight up income tax exemption for anyone on minimum wage. Not a tax exemption for people who can bring in a list of tax deductions, but an exemption if your pay stub shows minimum wage.

I don’t care that some small businesses will feel the pinch. Deal with it. Raise your prices, find efficiencies. Cope with change or get out of business. I have already decided I will not go to Tim Horton’s because of the way they treat their minimum wage employees. I will also accept that I may have to pay a little more to accommodate those businesses that choose to work with the new minimum wage.

I like tea. Real tea.

I went into a new tea shop in Timmins today. It was so cold outside, I welcomed the idea of a fresh cup of tea and a snack. Aline’s Tea Shop is not that new, but it is new to me. I had heard good things from other folks and decided to try it. I really like that we are getting a few more boutique style eateries in downtown Timmins. So I asked the pleasant lady for a cup of tea, telling her I like the plain orange pekoe tea. She had a shelf without about 30 big jars holding all sorts of different flavours of tea. Some of them smelled quite different. Not necessarily bad, but certainly not something I would drink.

So here’s the thing. They were not really blends of tea. They were all sorts of herbs and flavours. But I like the ordinary tea, that comes from the familiar Asian tea leaves. Usually it is known as black tea. Orange Pekoe is a grade of black tea. Everything else is an infusion. Anyway, we found a plain black tea and it tasted very nice. Only after I explained I wanted ordinary black tea like the grandmas in Nova Scotia would drink. I also had a couple of home baked cookies. Very nice. I think I will go back and bring a couple of Red Rose tea bags with me. 

Can we make stoner jokes anymore ?

I honestly don’t know what to think about this legalization of marijuana thing. On the one hand it seems innocent enough. People want to enjoy a nice mild mood altering drug; maybe in the same way I enjoy a glass of Scotch every now and then. Whoa, wait a minute. I enjoy Scotch a few times a week! I tell myself I enjoy the taste. And I have proven that a few times to myself by not buying certain brands that taste a bit too wild. I also found two distinct brands to my liking and discovered they were blended – years apart—by the same man.

So what makes this different for the person who might enjoy smoking a joint? Not much I guess, but I fear the problem will go beyond that to the stupid stoner who enjoys his weed only because he can get zonked. That also happens to alcohol drinkers, but I argue that this does not make it right. Alcohol is very strictly controlled. I hope this also happens for cannabis users. So here in Canada we will soon find out whether this is a sorry Liberal decision (redundant use of the word sorry) or whether it is something we can live with.

Happy, happy ...

So far this New Year has been crazy cold, but hey that’s kind of normal in this neck of the woods. I am pleased though that the figure-8 skating rink in Timmins – Sk8te Hollinger -- has such wide public support. Was so impressed yesterday when a bunch of teenagers took over the rink for a few hours of fun. Those kids acted like minus 30 was nothing.

I was out at the park last week and took a couple of nighttime shots, but it was too cold to spend too much time out there. Besides I lost my favourite leather gloves and so my hands get colder more quickly.

New Year’s Eve was pleasant. Claudette and I visited Louise Anne and Fred to enjoy a cheese fondue. I have to admit that in all my 63 years I have never before had a cheese fondue. Wow. It was delicious. Poor Fred had to work day shift at the mine, so he went to bed early. He has to get up at 3:00 a.m. and the drive to the mine is an hour away.

We are TV bingeing again. After watching the Netflix series Scandal, and Suits and The Crown, we begged off TV for a while, unless hockey was on. We have discovered an interesting Netflix series; The Blacklist with James Spader and Megan Boone . Quite entertaining. Check it out.

Quite the year eh?

I think the most dismaying part of the past year has been running into people who say, well Donald Trump is not so bad. Leaves me wondering. There were probably people back in my parents' day who were not worried about Hitler too. When people are complacent or choose to ignore stupidity, then bad things can happen. Oh I am sure I will hear about that comment.
Oh well, that being said, I can say that the past month has been nice in many ways. Claudette and I traveled to Sudbury to spend a couple of days with Jennifer and her family last week. That was relaxing and enjoyable. It was nice to see the boys, to see Scott and to see Denise and Don.  We missed meeting Victoria and her boyfriend who were on their way to Timmins. Likely, we passed by each other on the highway Christmas morning.
While it was great to visit Jenn and Scott, I have to say I still miss their dog Buddy. He was always there to greet me when I arrived in their driveway. More than once this Christmas I glanced out of Jenn's kitchen window expecting to see Buddy running through the snow or patrolling the yard.
Jenn had to work Christmas Day at the hospital, but we were pleased to wait until evening to have our gift exchange. Jennifer's FitBit showed she had done more than 15,000 steps that day! Regardless, I am proud that Jennifer is working to help other cancer patients.
It was nice to see Jenn and family earlier in the month when the boys had a hockey tournament in Timmins. This is the last time Tyler and Nathan will be playing on the same team. Nathan turned 16 in November and Tyler will be 18 in April. But it was nice just the same to see the boys enjoying the game. The team won the gold medal, again, in Timmins. Both boys did well, scoring often. In one game, Tyler scored a hat-trick, getting three goals!

I have been super busy at work as expected. Postmedia has not been the corporate savior many people were hoping for. They closed several newspapers in Southern Ontario in the fall. While we were spared layoffs here in Timmins, they have not hired anyone new to replace people who moved on to other newspapers. The effect is the same. Oh well, we struggle forward.

I think the worst part is that our news work is coming under increased scrutiny from the social media know-it-all keyboard warriors who like to think they know better. When they see a story they "disagree" with they label it fake news. If only they knew how much research goes into fact-checking and other steps to ensure our information is accurate. I have been saving screen captures of their comments to hold them accountable if they try to backpedal. They're just as bad as Donald Trump and his tweets.  2018 will be an election year in Timmins, and I think some of them might try to run for office. God help us. 

Fashion? I don't think so.

I bought a nice down-filled parka 10 years ago. It keeps me warm. Here’s the thing; I rarely wear it unless the temperature drops below minus-20. You don’t need a parka unless it gets really cold. I know that. I live in Northern Ontario. I travelled in the Arctic, in winter. About 30 years ago, I had another parka. It was also down-filled, made by Woods. It lasted me 17 winters. It was an excellent winter coat.  So now as I look around I see that parkas have become a fashion thing on the streets of Toronto. Are you kidding me? Toronto? I guess that upsets me. Parkas are not a fashion thing. Or they shouldn’t be. It is just a lousy reason to drive up the price, and I predict the quality will suffer. I hear people are already unhappy because parkas use goose feathers and coyote fur. Give me a break. Hopefully this fad passes soon.  

Apple crisp, revised ...

I think everyone in the Gillis clan knows how to make Aunt Sadie's apple crisp. For me, the recipe is part of my DNA I think. So last week I mentioned to Claudette that apple crisp would be a nice dessert for the weekend. We were standing in the grocery store. I picked up several fresh apples and made sure Claudette had all the other supplies at home. But I really didn't. I forgot to ask if she had any rolled oats. Anyway, the time came to make it. I peeled the apples and set them aside to prepare the "crisp". You know, flour, brown sugar, butter ... That's when I noticed I didn't have the rolled oats. Claudette came up with a couple of package of Quaker instant oats. Good, but not enough. That's when I thought that maybe another breakfast cereal would help. Claudette had Special-K. So we "crunched" up half a cup of Special-K. It worked. OMG, the crisp was so perfect. I think that's part of my future recipe from now on.

Windchill of minus 20!

I was more than pleased Saturday morning when at least 200 Timmins people coped with some cold and snowy weather to attend the Remembrance Day event at the local Cenotaph. Some people are suggesting we should hold the event indoors. And there have been times I would agree with them. A local cop who was directing traffic mentioned that it is only half an hour out the year to put up with a bit of discomfort to honour our veterans. Good comment. I also liked seeing folks carry on the tradition of placing their own poppies at the monument, kind like their personal Act of Remembrance.