Prairie Dog Blog

Good marketing by the GOP to have their convention in NYC on the anniversary of 9/11... those sleaze-bag opportunists. There was an 'Anti-Bush' protest march in NYC on sunday that attracted 250,000 protesters.....hey hey ho ho Georgie Bush has got to go! I don't like the Kerry attack ads from the 'Swift boat veterans for truth', they are just out to discredit Kerry and his war record. I think that Dubya lied to the American public in his rush to 'go to war' with Iraq....there were no WMD or any ties between 9/11 and Sadam. Don't get me wrong I have no love for Sadam but didn't the USA once call him and ally during their war with Iran??? Sure he at one time had chemical weapons...the Americans gave them to him!!! Now, for the convention Bush is trying to put a 'moderate' face on the GOP, the main speakers will be Schwarzenegger, Guiliani, McCain and Laura Bush. Hilary Clinton calls it the 'Bait and Switch'...put on a liberal face and when they get voted in, take direction from the southern conservatives. Oh well, I am not an American but if I was I would vote for Kerry...if only to get Bush out of there. I feel that Bush, as leader of the most powerful country in the 'free' world is taking the world in the wrong directions and taking Canada along with him. He is polarizing, not just the USA, but the whole damn world! ...you are either with him or agin him...good and evil...black and white....right and wrong...life is so simple if your name is George Bush...a guy who takes 2 hours to watch 60 minutes. My name is Dennis and this is my rant for the day!!!!!


RNC of GOP in NYC.....no shit!

I am now downloading SP2 on my laptop. Its actually going quite fast.....the little green lights on the router are blinking like mad! booyah booyah!....hope it works! Almost done!...took about 15 minutes...verifying now.
I just read Lyn's new blog.....gee whiz its hard to keep up! I hope that she is doing well after getting de-gangliaized (lump removed from her hand). I assume that since the blog was updated on the 24th that she has gone back to work. Take care and be well!

speaking of SP2.......

I try not to eat too much because that just creates dirty dishes and then you have to wash them....who wants that? Only that it is so hard to eat cereal out of your hand. When is Catherine coming back?
Catherine called from NB today. She is settled in at her cousins Lucy-ann's house. She went over to see her Dad after she dropped her bags off at Lucy-ann's place. Her Dad was there with his girlfriend Susan. Susan is the same age as Catherine and I. I really fail to see what she sees in Catherine's Dad who is 80 years old and wears a diaper. Love must really be blind or at least really needy. Catherine had a talk with Bob who ironically lamented that Susan may be taking advantage of his Dad. Bob stays in his bedroom for the most part but I suppose he comes out to go to work driving his cab once in a while. I saw Catherine's Dads house when he moved in with his sister maybe 3 years ago. It is very small and the walls were covered in smoky residue...in the kitchen you could make out the outline of a person on the wall...I guess he/she sat there to smoke. Anyways, the house has not been kept up and is much dirtier than before.
Catherine went over to visit Lucy-ann's son and the three of them went on his boat for a ride on the miriguchi or the yamaguchi river ( a tributary of the St. John's river). Tomorrow, Catherine will take her Dad out for a picnic at a nearby park. She hopes to discuss some things with him like, does he really want to marry Susan?...should he still be driving?...is Bob being a big help to him?...Is a duck's ass watertight? She is also taking her Dad, Lucy-ann and Susan out for dinner one night...maybe to the 'Ah-shucks oyster bar and grill' or the 'Chowderhead clam bar' or the 'Clamcake pancake house' mmmmm-mmmm.
Well, Susie and I did not do much today. It is raining and cool (what else is new?) so we read the paper, did the crossword, went for a wet walk, spent time on the computer and watched some TV and now its time for bed.
I see Gary is on his way to see his son Mike in Northern BC. Have a safe trip. Later...keep on blogging!!!!!

Eating only creates dirty dishes.....

Well. Catherine left for Saint John this AM. She should be there by now. She will have gotten a map from the car rental agency and will have found her way to her father's house on Fagan Court. What a name for a street but quite appropriate if Bob is living with him!. Right out of 'Oliver'. I worked the Air museum after I dropped off Catherine at the airport. I was there til 1:00 PM and here I am. I guess I'll have a cigar and watch some Olympics on TV! Ah the freedom... what's for dinner? Hmmmmm I'll have to look in the fridge. Later.
keep on blogging.

Here we are alone......me and Suzie.

Catherine and her new hairdo... 

I just finished writing a long blog and the thing dissapeared into thin air! Vapourized! Crap! It was good too. I described catherine's brother Bob as having an IQ of 20 (and it takes 15 to make a dog bark!). Bob has moved into his Dad's house in Saint John and is living off his father like a parasite! Catherine is leaving tomorrow to visit her Dad in Saint John and is not looking forward to seeing Bob. Bob has been the black sheep of the family and rightly so...he has shafted almost every family member...and I am sure that he thinks that since he has moved in with his father now, he will be in the house when his father passes away and he will have the house by squatters rights. All his sisters will be disinherited and I am sure he thinkd that will be OK because he deserves it....you know the world owes him a living. Hey this is a far better blog after all!
Catherine's plane leaves tomorrow Am at 8:50 AM so we will have to be there an hour early....ugh. I hate getting up so early iin the morning. Its nice after you get up early though! I had to get up early to go to the Health Sciences Centre this AM at 9.....I hate driving in rush hour traffic though....don't know how I did it for all those years!
We went out to the Inferno Bistro with our good friends Doug and Diana for lunch. I loves french cuisine, hyuh. I had 'le sandwich bifteck et les pommes frites'.....steak sarny with fries! Afterwards we went over to see Doug and Diana's suite. Nice....just right for them. Three bedrooms 1 to sleep in, 1 for Doug's computer and 1 for Diana's computer! They have just come back from the West Coast and in a week they are off to Bermuda or Bahamas....starts with a B anyways. Doug has been retired for 10 years and Diana just retired this June. She was a principal in Pembina Trails SD and she is starting to miss it now that all the teachers and principals are going back.
well, better go for now...Catherine is running around packing and I think that I am not doing my job unless I get in her way for a bit....she'll yell at me and I'll go and watch TV.
Remember....keep on blogging!!!!!


Damn blogger......

We are off to the lake shortly...I mean we will be going soon and not be there long..ly...for long...a couple of days. We have to get back for Thursday afternoon for an appointment. Then Catherine has to get ready on Friday for the big trip to NB on the big silver bird. She is anxious to see her Dad. It is supposed to be quite nice for the next couple of days so we might as well take advantage of it. Boy compared to last summer where the temperatures were in the 30's almost every day, this summer is a blowout. Cool, rainy. Last night we had a storm that knocked out our power from 9PM to 11:15PM and as soon as I got on the computer the power went off again.
Well better go ....remember keep on blogging!

its off to the lake we go....hoho

Catherine always looks at me suspiciously whenever I have a power-tool in my hand...it was no different when I decided to drill a hole in the closet to pass my coaxial cable from the computer to the main cable access. Anyhoo, the cable is in and it works divinely...er, other worldly-like anyway. It was working before but there was 10 metres of cable laying around...so that is gone now.
Today is a reh-fit day so we are going to the gym soon. We have a dinner date at Paul and Pat's place at 6 PM. Al and Janine have just returned from their trip out west. Al was playing tournament duplicate bridge for a week in Red Deer. He also has a brother in Calgary and they stopped to see him.
Yesterday I went to put in some hours at the Aviation Museum. I had not been there for a while and it was a blast. Seems that one of the full timers there is going on holidays and they are short-handed for a couple of weeks. I will be back to the museum on Saturday and next Monday morning.
Catherine is leaving for Saint John, NB on Saturday AM...her plane leaves at 8:50 AM so I can drop her off...kissy, kissy, and then hump over to the museum for my shift. So Princess and I will be alone for a few days...lets see A&W, George's burger, Pizza hut, Taco Bell...Taco Bell??!!...no way I choose life. Anyways we will manage. I'll finally be able to get some housework done without Catherine underfoot. bwahahahahahaha
We plan on getting back to the lake tomorrow for a couple of days, since they say it will be nice. Second coldest summer on record! They say that it is because of a series of low pressure areas that have settled in over Hudson's Bay keeps bringing down the cold air fom the North.

Well better go....keep on blogging


What are you doing with that power tool?

This is real cute...seems this bear likes his beer. I wonder if Gary and Carol saw this bear in their travels???? Maybe he was at the rally?? Friend of Andy???

Seriously though, we went to a pot-luck dinner at Silver falls with the Humanist group. silver Falls is up near Pine Falls.....uh, near the mouth of the Winnipeg river...you know where it enters Lake Winnipeg. It took us an hour and a half just to get there but the trip was worth it we had a lot of fun. It was held at David parker's place. He is a bit of an archaeologist and has this wonderful collection of arrowheads and scrapers , some from 8,000 years ago. He has found literally hundreds of them along the banks of the Winnipeg river. This river has been used for thousands of years as a trade route, a major water highway for the voyageurs. There were several forts at the mouth of this river, the HBC posts were Fort Lake Winnipeg and Bad Throat Post. David's house is right on the banks of the River and I could imagine my great, great grandfather Amable Hogue paddling down that river, as he must have done so many times. One time he brought Governor Simpson's new bride ( his cousin Francis) by canoe from Montreal to the Red River Settlement by way of this river. Some say that she insisted on bringing her piano with her. Ah, aint histry great?
Well, its back to work at the Air Museum for me tomorrow. I took ths summer off and now it time to get back there and I can say that I really missed it.
Hey Jack blogged ...the man's a blogging fool....see it here. What's with Lyn?? she hasn't blogged for a week!
Toodle-oooo for now and remember...OTHERS ARE INTERESTED....BLOG!

Bear swills bear in Washington state!

Not much has been happening here since we got back from the lake. We dropped off Nana's groceries yesterday and took her out for lunch. She loves going to the 'Pancake House'. Today were are going to get to the Reh-fit gym for a workout for sure. What with the trailer at the lake and travel, we haven't had a lot of opportunities to get to the gym.
Catherine leaves for Saint John to see her Dad on Sat. Aug.28th. I got a quote on car rentals for her and found that they wanted about $35.00/day insurance for complete coverage! We went to Manitoba Public Insurance and got better insurance coverage for the rental car for 5 days for only $35.00 TOTAL. Boy those guys in the private insurance business in New Brunswick are a bunch of shysters! They claim that in NB the insurance companies are losing money on car insurance and in the meantime these same companies showed millions in profits in the first quarter 2004. I am sure Catherine will have much to tell (especially since her brother Bob is, at 55 years of age, living with his Dad. Mooching off him more like!) when she gets back from her trip on Sept. 2nd. Catherine wonders how the dog and I will make out while she is gone and then she says she had better warn George's Burgers about her plans beacuse I'll probably be there every day. That is so unfair.....I am sure I'll ave pizza on a couple of days!
Well, tomorrow we are going to a dinner with the Humanist of MB at one of the members places in Silver Falls. It is 'pot-lick' so Catherine is taking a lasagna. mmmmmm. It will be nice to see all the humanists again. It will be so nice to be with free-thinkers and skeptics again...its been 2 months since we have seen them. I have arranged the first general dinner meeting of the year for Sept. 11th at the Viscount-Gort. I look forward to that too.
Well better go ....remember KEEP ON BLOGGING!


Humanist Dinner meeting at Silver Falls

Lyn the self-confessed blogger addict has blogged again! See her blog here! In case you cannot get the linkto work it is http://barberousey.blogspot.com/ . Lots of good news there and its so handy to use blogger to let everyone share it!!!! Ain't blogging amazing?

Let the bells ring out and the banners fly!

2004-08-16
Well, I am blogging from the Lake. Its about 7:00 AM….Catherine and the dog are still sleeping. Its beautiful, peaceful and quiet here now, with old Sol just now peeking above the trees. We have been walking, biking, and generally working about the trailer.
I put a new door latch assembly on the trailer door yesterday. It was fun trying to get it to fit because the trailer is 25 years old and I could not get a proper door latch for it; would you believe that they don’t make that type anymore? The one I had to install was wider and not as long as the old one. I had to use my jig-saw to get the hole the right size. With a little bit of stuff to plug the hole and some caulking, it should look and work just fine.
Suzie sure likes it here too. She gets to go for walks quite often. She also gets to meet a lot of people along the walks and she loves that. She is such a friendly dog…..always wagging her tail, expecting that just everyone will want to pet her, and of course not everyone does, but that does not bother her.
There was “Optimist” class sailing races yesterday on the lake. These boats are very small sailboats that are about the size of a sofa that young people learn sailing on. I would love to go sailing sometime….it seems so ‘at one with nature’, getting pushed along silently with the breeze. I still can’t figure out how they get the sailboats to sail into the wind. The little town of Gimli was bustling yesterday with tourists coming up for the day yesterday. The beach was not crowded but the shops were doing a good business. We went on a safari to find a used book store because Catherine had finished the book she brought and was getting all panicky. There is a small used bookstore in the back of one of the shops in Gimli but yikes, it was closed. Our search took us all the way down to Winnipeg Beach where we found a little used book shop and Catherine found a book to enjoy. She sure loves to read. She can often be seen at the Re-fit centre walking around the track while reading. She seems to manage it quite well, but if it were me, I would probably be walking into walls. However, I do read while I am on the stationary bike. Well, better go and have some breakfast. TTFN

PS: As a treat for doing a great job on the new door latch Catherine ordered pizza from the "Express Pizza" van and had it delivered directly to the campsite. Now that is what I call roughing it!

From the lake.

"This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely light and wires in a box."
-- Television Journalist Edward R. Murrow in TV Guide, December, 1958
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Finally got the damn TV tuner card to work. Now I got everything going except NAV and that is no problem because I am running AVG. Who needs Norton anywho? It was a wonderful challenge to get the tuner card going. I finally had to go on the Microsoft site and get direct-X 9.0 because I could not download direct-X 8.0 for some reason......this was BEFORE I could download the tuner card. Now all I need is to run the cable...lets see though the floor...just there or maybe through the heating duct just there or maybe I could take Catherine's advise and run it up my A**. Harrrrumph, I don't think women appreciate the finer points of technology. SURE, I know that we already have 4 TVS in the house but just imagine the ingenuity it took to get TV on the computer...Man has come a long way...uggg..uggg...uggg.
Well since the cool weather is improving tomorrow we are finally heading out to the lake. Hey There is a TV out there too! Now just got to hook that up....let's see if I run a cable to the lake from the basement...say 150 KMS should do it...better get to work....I loves retirement!
Remember...... Keep on blogging ......Oh and keep watching educational TV

My computer getting better everyday.

Experience is the knowledge that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
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Looks like a good plan was to get Mother to Victoria. She will travel with Carol back to Victoria when Carol visits at the end of Sept. and Mother will travel back with Gary in mid Oct. to Wpg. I love it when a plan comes together! ...even though its like not my plan. So glad Mother will have a chance to see Gary's children and Gary's children's children but not yet Gary's children's children's children....at least not yet.
Well, the weather is miserable today again....15 deg C and cloudy but the sun is peeking through the clouds and it is supposed to get sunny and warmer for the rest of the week. Better put a call in to that guy Al Nino and see what his plans are for the future! We are still refraining from going to the lake because we may freeze but will consider going out tomorrow for a couple of days...if its nicer.
I'm just munching on some nice fresh bread. Maybe Gary remembers the bakery guy who used to deliver fresh read daily to our house (we used to get milk delivered daily too!) and we used to eat a whole loaf right then and there because it was so fresh......we would cut big slices...mmmmmm.
Well, everything seems to be well with my computer for now ...I will try and install the TV tuner again and see what happens...or maybe I should wait until Gary gets here on his trip and then if it blows up I can blame it on him.....bwahahahaha. No really wish me luck.
later...........REmember BE EGG I POLK NON


Good news. Carol & Gary travel and Nana too!

There's an old story about the person who wished his computer were as easy to use as his telephone. That wish has come true, since I no longer know how to use my telephone. (Bjarne Stroustrup)
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Well, last week I bought a TV tuner card and then I tried to run it on Saturday...it caused my computer to crash and burn. I don't know what it was but I had to use the 'restore disks' that came with the computer to get it back. CRAP....most of the software was restored but my NAV is gone bye-bye along with my address book, and I have 25 or so windows updates to reload. I called brother Gary to get his advice but it was impossible to do anything else long-distance except to extend his sympathy. I ended up calling my ISP and after a couple of hours was back on line.
Later Saturday evening Paul and Pat came over for dinner. I BBQ'D some steaks, and along with some shrimp and a dessert that Pat had made (fresh figs on puff pastry with apricots and gelato) it was quite a meal. And for all those wondering...yes, I ate the dessert, figs and all. I am becoming a je ne c'est quoi?....un gormet n'est pas?....more n'est than pas but I am trying different things. After dinner we played the '90's' version of Trivial Pursuit...its hard...where in the hell were we in the 90's???
We were going to go out to the lake on Sunday but the weather turned miserable and today it is rainy and 12 degs C. It has not been a great summer but there has been a lot of sunshine and warm temps...sometimes real warm but all accross the prairies lately it has been cool. Looks real warm in Victoria and the west-coast though. It must be hard to bike in that warm weather! All you 'older' people should watch the exercising in such hot weather. Well, at least by staying in town, we can get over to the Reh-fit Centre for a workout....at least it is warm in there.

Anyhow better get back to fixing my computer. Ciao. REMEMBER...
BOON PEGGING ELK

It blowed up...blowed up real good.....

Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.
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Sure is quiet with Jack and the boys gone. The dog wanders around the house wondering where all the people have gone.
After we dropped off Jack and the boys at the airport we went to see a movie..."Harold and Kumar go to White Castle". See their site here. Its a stoner/buddy movie that is a tad immature at times and I was hesitant at seeing it but within the first few minutes of the movie I was laughing. One of the lead charachters is chinese and the scene where he is surrounded by his chinese Princeton peers is a real hoot. I thought that it was quite good and if you liked "Trainspotting" or "There's Something About Mary" or any Cheech and Chong movie , then man, this movie is for you! But, if you are easily offended then I would not recommend you go see it. I would rate it a 6 out of 10 but then I am a sucker for stoner movies. I think that it will develop a cult following once its released on DVD.
Well, better get back to bed......*Yawn*.........


Sure is quiet..............

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.
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The flags in Winnipeg go down to half mast today as the town realizes that Jack and the boys are headed back to Oklahoma. Jamie starts grade 3 next week and Andrew starts kindergarten. Jack starts back teaching at Southeastern (SOSU) next week too. Among other courses, Jack is will be teaching a digital camera course. He is looking forward to it with his usual enthusiasm. He says that he is really enjoying what he is doing and now that he is getting benefits, he is much happier. I am sure that the boys will be happy to be back home. They both have all this pent-up energy. Tishomingo...here they come!

It has been a tiring week for all of us. Mother chose to say her goodbyes last night and not go to the airport. I guess she is tired too.


Remember.........bilge eggknnoop


Jack and the boys leave for Tishomingo.

Andrew 

Goldeyes fans waiting for the game to start. 

jamie 

The Winnipeg Goldeyes ball park.....best smokies in the west! 

Today we all went to see a Goldeyes baseball game. They beat the Lincoln Saltdogs 5 to 1. HooHaw! I think that the kids enjoyed the game...Jamie probably got more out of it than Andrew, who is still a bit too young. Jamie plays Machine ball (a machine pitches the ball to the batter) in Tishomingo. Jack and the boys return to Oklahoma tomorrow. Mom is here now and we are going out to dinner soon. Here are some pics.

Happy birthday Andy! 49???? Hello, Kathie.

Baseball been berry, berry good to me.....Goldeyes!

Little Bros Jack...... 

Who's your Nana???? 

alright already...I need a nap. 

Jamie saves his brother from the killer waves! 

swim little fishies....... 

Jamie and Andrew on the Voodoo test cockpit at the WCAM. 

We've been busy with Jack and the boys. Yesterday Jack took the Boys to Polo Park with Nana while Catherine and I made a trip to the trailer to take some foam mattresses out there. Here are some pics...one of the boys at the air museum and the others were taken at Gimli beach...as you can see, the kids had lots of fun in the waves. It was a beautiful day.

Remember...............bogong elk peing

More of Jack and the boys.......Gimli Beach

"Many people would sooner die than think - in fact, they do so." (BertrandRussell).

Yesterday we picked up Mom and we all went to the Forks. I think that the Forks as an area with shops, outdoor activities (boats, walkway) that compares favourably with Granville Island in Vancouver but is far less crowded and more 'user friendly' to sitting in the shade just people watching or listening to all the buskers. A fine way to spend an afternoon. We all went to dinner on the patio at the Spaghetti Factory.
Today we are going over to the greatest little aviation museum in the West....the Western Canada Aviation Museum. We will pick up Mom shortly.
Well, better go...sounds like kaye and Brian have a real nice house in Sooke.
In the meantime....... BE KELP ONGOING


Yesterday the Forks, today the Western Canada Air Museum

Catherine and I got a lot of help with the crossword puzzle.  

A very inquisitive little monkey sitting in a dinosaur egg........ 

Its Winnie-the-Poo...and Tigger too! 

A little albino black bear by the name of 'Maskwa'. Mother hit by a car and the little one was rescued and now resides at the zoo. 

One happy family....hey, wait a minute! How come I'm never in pictures?? 

Jamie the Sponge Bob Squarepants Harley rider with a Canada hat.....at the Zoo. Colourful ain't he? 

Going to the Zoo. Andrew getting a push from Catherine.