I need a Nudge

26 Nov 16
06:25 hrs

     I have noticed that I have been slipping in my posts. Could some of you Dear Readers give me a nudge if you see that I haven't posted anything in a week? Thanks. Mind you, I doubt very much that you will hold up your end of the bargain.

     Big news for the day. Fidel Castro, the Cuban revolutionary leader and revered president, has died. There will be nine days of official mourning. His brother, Raul Castro has been in power for the past number of years when Fidel fell into poor health. My Lobster and I went to Cuba last year and although we saw neither of the Castro brothers we had a great time.

     We have snow. That's right! There is snow on the Beaufort Mountains. Nothing down in the Valley. It's just not allowed. Mount Washington is due to be open on the 9th of December for all those who enjoy sliding down a slippery slope at a high rate of velocity and who have the money to do so. Daily lift tickets are $85.

     A friend of mine, Russ Ball, has a new endeavour. He has coupled his passion for fossil hunting with education and love of the great outdoors. It's called Comox Valley Fossil Adventures, www.comoxvalleyfossiladventures.canic.ws. Come on out and have some fun. It will be worth your while.

     I saw something of intetest the other day. There was a truck parked with a roof rack mounted on the cap on the box. That in itself is nothing new. Seen it hundreds of times. But, connected to the roof rack was an rolled awning that could be switched from one side to the other as required. An interesting  idea. When I still had the Sport Trac I was planning on building a cap for the back with a workman's side panel for tools and a roof rack. The addition of a rolled awning or at the very least some means of securing a tarp to the vehicle would provide some environmental protection.

27 Nov 16
19:45 hrs

     Well, the CFL season is over for 2016. According to my Lobster there really was only one team to cheer for and that would be Ottawa's Red Blacks. It's not that I can't cheer for Ottawa's team. They were rated as the underdog so I had to root for them anyways. My issue is with their name. My Better Half says it's for the red and black clothes of a lumberjack.  So why not call them the Ottawa Lumberjacks. It would make things a lot clearer. Or the Ottawa Paper Pushers or the Ottawa Bureaucrats.  I just think the whole Red Black thing is funny. Regardless of their name Ottawa won the 2016 Grey Cup besting the Calgary Stampeders, 39 to 33 in overtime. An impressive game.

    

Now You've Done It!

09 Nov 16
22:50 hrs.

     The impossible has happened. I'm not going to mention his name because he is, in my opinion, such a Farging Icehole but you all know who I mean. All I can say is thank God he is not the leader of my Country.

10 Nov 16
05:00 hrs.

    As I was saying, the World Stage has certainly changed with the addition of this  clown on the political stage. I'm not advocating that you should become a prepper, especially since we live above the 49th Parallel but I would pay close attention to the developments down south. Last night there were demonstrations all across their country and the Mook hasn't even been inaugurated yet.

     Set all of that shit aside, and you really have to or it will eat you up one piece at a time. Focus on what is important. Your health. Your family. Your home. Your community. Your work. If these spheres or inter-connecting circles are in a flux then you have to bring them back into balance. Look after that which you have control over because raging against the machine is not going to do you any good. It doesn't mean that you should ignore the machine. By all means no. Pay attention to it. Monitor it. Be a witness to it. Change what you can when you can.

     I have been back filling in another work position this week. Pay is good. Better than good and the tasking is a no brainer. I started re-reading Shogun, which is an all time fave, and I am more than half way through 1100 pages in a few days. What I need to do is to find time at home to continue the transcription of the notes for my next book. I am way behind in doing that but I have filled in some the gaps in a chapter or two. I should have had the rough copy completed for editing and I don't. Sitting out at my job site I have drank so much coffee that the caffeine is now leaching out of my pores and the taste is constantly hanging around in the back of my throat. Now, I love my coffee but I think this maybe just a wee bit much for my system.  What do you think?

     Our eldest is celebrating his 18th birthday this weekend. Although he is coming home from University his dance card is full so I don't think we will be seeing much of him. I also have no clue as to what to get him for a gift. Maybe a $20 Tims card.

     My Lobster is suffering from the effects of her first winter cold. It is not pretty and I really feel for her. I was sick too. It lasted about 10 hours. It wasn't bad enough to bail into the Buckleys but I was ready for it. I don't know what its made of but The Sages swear by that stuff and believe me when I say that it works as bad as it tastes.

     The weather here in the Valley has finally cleared. Yesterday and today has been devoid of rain and wind. A drastic change from the past month. October had rain for 28 of 31 days. Rivers on the Island are flooding and the road from Over the Hump to the far Left Coast was cut off yesterday when the Somass River burst it's banks. A dozen homes were threatened with water. On our side of the Hump the local creeks and rivers are at an all time high. These couple of days will give a bit of a respite. Vancouver and some other ocean side cities are now threatened with what is termed as a king tide. With a vast amount of lands level with or barely above the ocean it won't take much for the sea to wipe out vast areas of farm land. Salt water is not too good growing crops. Maybe it's time for the citizens of the lower mainland to take a look at Holland's active measures to hold back the sea.

Security Issues

03 Nov 16
06:00 hrs

     I am sure that you have all heard of the random act of violence that has occurred in Abbotsford. Some guy, Gabriel Brandon Klein, walked into a high school and stabbed two students before being subdued by some very brave staff members. One student remains in hospital and the other died from her injuries. The assailant has no ties to the school or the victims. The incident brings into question the level of security that is required in BC's schools.

     Let's start by recognizing that as tragic as this incident is it took place in Canada and not South of the 49th Parallel. We all know that if this had occurred in Little Rock or Bozeman or Charlotte the NRA would already be campaigning to have the teachers armed and armed guards patrolling the campus grounds with their pervasive campaign of shoot first and ask questions later.

     As tragic as this was I doubt very much that Canadians will permit openly armed guards to patrol high school campuses simply because we are Canadian and not American. The use of guns as a security measure in Canada is our last security measure and we're a long ways from that point. Most assuredly there are other measures that can be employed.

    - Increased CCTV coverage
    - Restricting access points, not emergency exits.
    - Increased training for staff and drills for students
    - Trained security staff
    - A main entrance that is visible at all times by staff
    - Metal detectors

     Students and, more importantly, parents will have to realize that some personal liberties may have to be given up for personal safety. I do know that the local detachment of the Queen's Cowboys has the floor and grounds plans of every school in the district showing every room, window, entrance, exit, room access, electrical panel and crawl space in the event that they ever have to go in to a bad situation. I have it under good authority that the ERT (Emergency Response Team)   does train inside the schools. When? I have no clue. It must be late at night when no one is around because no one has ever mentioned seeing them doing it during the day.

     Only five more days until the Doomsday. Well, it could be Doomsday. In my opinion if the Donald wins the election the American people are going to suffer like never before. In fact, I wouldn't doubt that after the First 10O Days that impeachment procedures are started to get him the hell out of there. The problem is that his running mate is just as much of a loon as he is. If you get rid of one idiot can you also get rid of the other one too? Probably not without the help of a backhoe.