December 30, 2007-On to 2008

Hello faithful reader.

Well, 2007 has come and gone. The world is still in a turmoil, and Dslr shooters are in a tizzy about what may or may not be on the next generation of cameras.:-)
Actually, I had a decent year, all things considered. Had a great vacation in Las Vegas in April. Daughter and her SO accompanied us, and had a wonderful week. They plan on returning. My work here is done.:-). Also had a wonderful week at the Grandfather Mountain, Nature Photography Weekend in June. This was my third year, and i love the place. Great scenery, great company. Pentax may be the # 3 in the camera game, but the owners are #1 to me.
Even though i was bought out from my place of employment, after 34 years, it was not that bad. I had really no love for the business, and was glad to be out. The SO even said i was now sleeping better and snoring less. I tried to tell that to the PDML at GFM, but they don't believe me.:-).
This was my best year every for web based sales from my Equine shows. That means a new lens i fear.LOL

Managed to keep busy with a few part time gig's, and i think i have some decent prospects coming my way in early January.

My daughter finished her show year with 5 of 6 Championships, Champion year end and first overall in Level I, Dressage, in Ontario at the Trillium level. Why we cannot sell this horse still amazes me.

Christmas was good for us. Small and quiet. Had supper at my sisters, whom i only see 1-2 times a year. She does not cook, but didi a great job.

So to all, have a great Newyear and hope all your wishes come true. There has to be a job out there for me somewhere. I'll find it.


DJB

Dec 15, 2007-Wether the Weather

Hello faithful reader.

Well, i have finally had enough of local news and weather channels and their "Storm Watch" doom and gloom reports.

Ten minutes of super hype, for a meager amount of snow, say 1-3 cm's, that may or may not show up.

I can not believe how worked up the GTA of Southern Ont gets over these "storms". I worked for a survey company for close to 34 years, and most of my work was done away from the office, in Northern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta. I have also worked winters in the East Coast.
It is not unusual in the North, to have snow in Winter. Trust me, it does and will happen.
Usually 3-5 cm's a day is common from Nov to Jan, at least, if not more, then it settles down a bit, snow still but less often. Local news might mention it in the daily weather forecast, but believe me, they do not make any big deal out of it. Heck the snow plows don't even come out for any thing less than 5 cm's. You just drive on it.

Here is a typical Northern news lead, as i remember it.

"Oh BTW we should get about 10 cm of snow tonight, say how's are hockey team doing these day, Ken".

That's the Northern way. It should be adopted here. If i see one more reporter standing out side, toque on and saying how bad it is out side, when you can still see pavement, I'll scream.

One or Two cm's of snow, can and will, paralize Toronto and the 400 series of Hwys. No one slows down, and the OPP will respond to a crash a minute. People its winter. Has been around here for 1000's of years if not more. Trust me, in that it will snow between Nov and April every year.
Get those snow tires on, slow down or stay home.

And please no more super hype news stories about what is inevitable any way. Half the time, when i am hoping for a snow day, the sun will shine, and Buffalo gets it.:-)

Sorry for the rant. I'm feeling better now.

Thanks for listening

DJB

December 01, 2007-Repair week concluded

Hello faithful reader.


Well its been a pretty exciting week, at least for a guy with 10 thumbs.

I have, and still have, some repairs and things to do around the house. I have been "semi retired" since June, and i thought this is now or never time to get some of this stuff done. Three things needed some what immediate attention, a leaking sink cold water handle, a broken basement sub floor(the raised wood kind) and our electrical panel upgrade. I have no intention of doing the panel. The panel has been on the list for quite some time. I have had someone in to install and repair my air conditioner on several occasions and i questioned his wiring on several times. My suspicions we're confirmed by the electrician with comments like, who put this in, its illegal and could cause a fire. Stuff like that.

Managed to get the old water handle off. Its an old, old sink with separate handles. A trip to the local Canadian Tire and with some hands and knees product searching, found what i needed, a cold water plug. Nothing much to put it back in, however i forgot our house was built by a left handed owner, and the taps are all back wards. I should have bought a hot water plug, as the handle is reversed now, but i was not going to get into a fight with it again. We'll live with it.

Next i tackled the floor. A piece about 4'x4' plywood had rotted, due to a small water leak the house has during certain kinds of rain or spring thaws. I knew the plywood and at least one 2x2 had rotted, but kept putting this off. I REALLY need to be motivated to do stuff like this. Motivated, as i did not want my electricians to break a leg, i fixed it on Tuesday. My simple 1 hour plan turned into a 5 hour adventure. My carefully planed mini saw did not cut the mustured and had to find my skill saw, which took some time. Needless to say, finally a new piece is in place, but some old survey words found their way out into the open.:-0.

Friday was D day. The panel was getting up graded from 60 to 100 amps. I hand tried to get this done over the past three years, and the people my SO wanted in kept putting us off. I thought i was being quite fair in letting her have three years to ask them, so in Sept i said i was getting someone else, that she has a hate on for, and that prompted her into calling the son of another friend who is a qualified electrician and a price and date set quickly.
Friday WAS supposed to be nice, about +2 and sunny. Well, how does -10 and snow sound. We pretty much had to do this now, as it would take another month to get Hydro to come and cut and hook power up.

Only a few minor snags, wrong size this, wrong length that, but by 3 pm all was done and inspected. However the worst part was waiting for hydro to come back at 6pm and re hook. Good thing we have a wood stove.

Soooooo, three major repair items are done, i still have 10 thumbs, but its enough to please the SO for a while and i can concentrate on how i will fix the next set of problems. Remember i need to be motivated.:-)

Thanks for listening

DJB