Prairie Dog Blog

I just got lost in thought. It wasn't familiar territory ...Gobnait Drewes
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Let's see...just about a week before Gary leave the cozy wet confines of Victoria for the ,hmmm, cozy dry confines of Arizona! I trust Carol is packing and Gary is .....uh supervising and making sure the RV is ready to go...Head out on the Highway, Lookin' for adventure, Born to be Mild, Born to be mild. Don't let Carol out of your sight in Las Vegas if ya want to keep yer money Big Guy! heehee Keep the wheels a-turnin til ya make Arizona!

Brother "Born to be Mild" Gary and wife Carol

I got a tour comin' up for the Museum (of Aviation Excellance in Western Canada since, uh Dec. 17th 1903) on Sat. December (December!) 10th. I got a meeting on Weds (Nov. 30th) at the Museum at 10:30. I got two Doctor appointments on Thurs. Dec.1st. I will be busy.....correction AM busy. Just went to the endocrinologist this Am ( he studies endocrins and stuff!).

Anyhoo, 'nuff 'bout me, I hope you are all doing well and if you could blog onc ein a while like Gary and I......I would know! You don't have to wait until you are 40 or are a master at something to blog....just let us know! Consider this a hint...hint hint.

Well got to go so ta ta and remember...Peace.

Happy Monday....I can say that now I'm retired!

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now. Gobnait Drewes
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It's about time that the Bush administration woke up to the fact of climate change!


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,17367437,00.html
It's about time.....

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Mis Amigos Americanos!

I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe. Gobnait Drewes
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Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! I trust you will be having the 'big' meal today...turkey and pies and all. Don't forget the wine! Reminds me I must go and get some...also a bottle of 'Beaujolais Nouveau'..its almost a tradition.

I understand that it is real foggy out on the Westcoast and that it has been so for a few days. It is a 'good excuse' for bad golf but must be hard on the Physicy Phssic Phsyic Phsysc Phsysi P hsysic Ph sysic Phsysic Phsy sic Phsys ic Phsysi c Hpsysic Pshysic Physsic Phssyic Phsyisc Phsysci er.....brain after a while!

Margot blogged and said that she was at the volunteers wind-up at the Science Museum. Sound like she is having fun volunteering there. I can see where it would be fun what with all the kids and the exhibits and all. Check out her blog ....see my right margin.

Well I must go and pick up Catherine, she is subbing (substituting) at Gen. Burland school. Later TaTa .....and Peace all.
Hello ...it's Thursday.

Holiday Greetings to all!!!!!

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all.
Additionally,a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.
(Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the holiday spirit.)
Holiday Greetings!!!!!!
Holiday Greetings!

Did you know that...42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot? True.

Hey Joel's got a new blog and its a good one check it out!
Joel's got a new blog!

Age is something that doesn't matter, unless you are a cheese.

Today is the first day according to Catherine that we went out and brought back nothing... A first in recent history. The temp today is a balmy 1 degree C. I took a risk and washed the car.

I guess Gary is preparing the land Yacht for his trip to inner Arizona. I think it is still hot hot there so he better pack some balls..for golfing...golf balls. I am sure that the RV will be ready. I think that they are going to Washington State first to join up with the Kirkwoods and travelin a group ...."Heck's angels" or something.

Well, I miss going to the trailer and spending some time. Well, soon it will be spring....won't it??

Well better go have a nap before din-din....tata and Peace.
Tuesdays with Dennis

Hello there. Well it got to 9 degrees C yesterday. That gave us a chance to clean up the sloppy driveway from the mess the ploughs made when they cleaned the Bay. Everyhing is out of whack since the storm, the garbage truck finally came and picked up the garbage today-only 6 days late! The storm happened on day 5 so they canceled it outright....take your garbage back in and save it for the NEXT day 5...but they come today...day 4 with intentions of coming tomorrow too! What a schmozzle. Bad enough they took their time ploughing out the city (the shopping centres got ploughed first you know.....couldn't get there 'cause of the streets but once you were there it was all clean) and no they are ploughing it as it is melting! Funny thing is that the shopping Centres were full on the afternoon of the day of the storm......miss work, go shopping, go figure.

We took Mom out for dinner Saturday for her Birthday. Then we came home to our place to have some cake. mmmmm Jeannies cake. We got on Yahoo Messenger and talked to Jack in his new house. He sent us pictures of the boys....one of each of Jamie and Andrew in glasses and one of Jamie, Andrew and Josephine (hmmmm?) all ready to go out for Halloween trick or treating). The kids like Josephine....pretty too. Not much new with Jack...yup.

Love to all. AND PEACE.
Sloppy Storm Causes Schmozzle on St, Michael in St. Vital

Heard on NPR,this morning Nov.21 05,

There is No God by Penn Jillette :

"I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows, and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough… It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. "
I believe that there is no God. I'm beyond Atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy -- you can't prove a negative, so there's no work to do. You can't prove that there isn't an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word "elephant" includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire?
So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power. All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The Atheism part is easy.
But, this "This I Believe" thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life's big picture, some rules to live by. So, I'm saying, "This I believe: I believe there is no God."
Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.
Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.
Believing there's no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I'm wrong. We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate. I don't travel in circles where people say, "I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith." That's just a long-winded religious way to say, "shut up," or another two words that the FCC likes less. But all obscenity is less insulting than, "How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do." So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that's always fun. It means I'm learning something.
Believing there is no God means the suffering I've seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn't caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn't bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.
Believing there is no God gives me more room for belief in family, people, love, truth, beauty, sex, Jell-o and all the other things I can prove and that make this life the best life I will ever have. ------------------
Penn of Penn and Teller fame:

Happy Birthday Mom

Found via "Americablog":

Intelligent design may be interesting as theology, but as science it is a fraud. It is a self-enclosed, tautological "theory" whose only holding is that when there are gaps in some area of scientific knowledge -- in this case, evolution -- they are to be filled by God. It is a "theory" that admits that evolution and natural selection explain such things as the development of drug resistance in bacteria and other such evolutionary changes within species but also says that every once in a while God steps into this world of constant and accumulating change and says, "I think I'll make me a lemur today." A "theory" that violates the most basic requirement of anything pretending to be science -- that it be empirically disprovable. How does one empirically disprove the proposition that God was behind the lemur, or evolution -- or behind the motion of the tides or the "strong force" that holds the atom together?
In order to justify the farce that intelligent design is science, Kansas had to corrupt the very definition of science, dropping the phrase " natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us," thus unmistakably implying -- by fiat of definition, no less -- that the supernatural is an integral part of science. This is an insult both to religion and science.

"Putting out a newsletter can be an onerous task...." said by someone famous....hey now I'm famous. Just bitchin' .......
I hope that Gary's legs get better soon. Don't want any inneruptions on his trip south. I guess he's gettin' ready, polishing the RV and stuff. Anyhow to laser or not to laser, that is the question.....whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the indignities of the laser's light, but soft it cost too much $$$$. Maybe you can get it done in Mexico when you are there! Anyhow....get it done!......soon.

I am stuck in the computer room with the doggie while the house gets vacuumed and we are both impatient to get out...the dog to get something to eat and well, me to get something to eat....later...peace
same ole, same ole

Happy Birthday Mike! R U 40 yet!...HAHA

Not much happening today. Went to the Museum this AM for a shift. Not many there. no surprise. I got a $10.00 tip from a group of seniors from Middlechurch that I took around on a tour last week....a note said that they really appreciated and enjoyed my tour of the Museum. I liked them too... so that helps when you are doing a tour.

We still have a bunch o' snow on the ground and that's OK...it just makes for hard driving ceptin' on main streets. It was sloooow driving to the Museum this AM as the caution flag was out and people were just....driving slow for no real reason because the roads on the main drags were pretty good. Not a bad blizzard in Manitoba on the whole, at least there were no deaths like the 4 that died in Saskatchewan. And the best part is that the blizard is annoying people in the east now. I was listening to the radio on my drive to the musem and people were complaining about the snow cleanup...one guy said that he moved here from Toronto and in Toronto they would have had all the streets open by now...sure whith the help of the ARMY. Give them a chance ...we got 30 cms and that would put any city down for a while...two days at least! RELAX...have a beer and chill.

Well I hope I get my snowblower back tomorrow.

Hey did you catch the show on Dicovery," How William Shatner changed the world" what a hoot. Beam him up Scotty! Speaking of which, afer he died, Scotty's ashes were taken to space and released....neat huh? The stellar universe is not so difficult of comprehension...

Well, bye for now and.....peace

Last week I found the 'cruise control' knobby thingy on the floor of the Taurus. I went to ask about a new thingy at Midtown Ford and they told me $87.00. I said," no no, you misunderstand I don't want to buy a car just a thingy". What a rip off. I figured $25 - $30 bucks but noooooooo. So I went to a wreckers place. With some scavanging I managed to come up with one for .....oh, ZERO dollars. The cruise control was a little damaged taking it out so the counter guy said, "go ahead try and if it works, we'll square up later." NEAT. All I really needed was the plate or face-piece that sits on top. It says Accel. on top and cruise on the bottom. What a deal! I got home and popped the face plate thingy off and put it on the Taurus and there ya go....good as new.

Yeay me...one for me!....peace....oh yeah, our gas has gone down to 87.9 cents a litre. It seems to be falling every 3 or 4 days by a penny or two. Keep falling!
Story of the taurus control knobby thingy.

I'm beginning to know what Luther Krank feels like! Krank me awayto somewhere warm. Swine bloody Alberta clipper covered us with 20 - 30 (we got more like 30) cms of snow! Catherine and I donned our winter apparel (tuques and parka and gloves and ear muffs) and prepare to 'dig out' (a local term meaning "get rid of the freaking snow!") when much to my chagrin, because I have thought of getting it tuned up 100 times, the damn snowblower won't start. 8 mighty throbbing horses when it is running but s lump of steel when it is not! I had to shovel for goodness sake....son of a motherless goat! Shovel, shovel and shovel until the snowblower repairman got her and all he could do was load it on his truck and say 'see ya later in tha week!' Ya right... I'll see him around the Olympics! More snow expected tonight....great. ...but double digit temps expected for the weekend!...yahoo

Had to cancel my appointment with my endocriologist this am. Now I'll never find out what he does! Well I can't make it off of the Bay tomorrow unless they plough it.....what is the chances of that!?

Hey speaking of trucks......I went to Midtown Ford yesterday for a part and while I was there looked at the trucks they had on the lot. They had one big enough to tow the trailer (150 xlt) but it had a price tag to match! It had a 5.4 litre engine (plenty big) and a trailer towing package...the works. They were asking $33,000.00 for it. Not bad until you consider that it holds somewhere around 36 gallons....GALLONS of gas...(in the range of 150 buckaroos! a fill). Since I would have to use it as my vehicle to get around in, it is prohibitive....but so nice....and we could pull the trailer with it. Well it is to dream.

Well better go and rest.....see ya ....peace
Swine Alberta Clipper!

With an early election coming up sooner than we could wish for, I hope the Canadian voters will remember which party leader wanted to send young Canadians to their death in Iraq, along with the wishes of the current White House to support their illegal invasion of Iraq. That same party leader was all prepared to join Canada in the US "Missile Defense System", the rejuvenated wasteful "Starwars". Can we imagine the cost to the Canadian taxpayers of those ideas - not to mention the potential loss of young Canadian lives in Iraq? Makes the Liberal sponsorship mess look like chickenfeed! Sometimes the grass in NOT greener on the other side. As a Secular Humanist, I can also do without a leader of Canada who ends his speeches with "God bless Canada".
As an election nears in Canada...

First the good news...

A Winnipeg woman has won the biggest lottery jackpot in Manitoba history.
Dawn Fraser won a whopping $27.2 million on Saturday's Lotto 6/49.
The 54-year-old bought the record-breaking ticket – a $6 Quick Pick – at the Assiniboine Gordon Inn in Winnipeg.
At a press conference Monday afternoon, Fraser said she will leave her job as an account manager at a credit union, but she doubts if she and her family will move from Winnipeg.
"Really, the most important thing is your family and your friends and staying grounded," she said. "Winnipeg is our home, so I can't foresee us going anywhere else. We'll certainly go and visit other places, but I can't see us ever leaving."

Now the bad news.......

Early Saskatchewan storm leaves four dead
CTV.ca News Staff
Police warned people to stay off southern Saskatchewan's roads after a nasty winter blast left airports closed and at least four people dead.
One fatality occurred northwest of Yorkton, Sask. and involved two vehicles. One other person was injured.
Another accident on the Trans-Canada involved a minivan carrying 10 people east of Swift Current, which rolled over about 4 a.m. One person died in that accident.
Throughout the southern part of the prairie province, however, the strong winds and up to 10 centimetres of wet snow meant zero visibility in places and treacherous road surfaces.
Near Regina, dozens of drivers pulled off the road to wait out the storm.
Further west on the Trans-Canada Highway, vehicles littered the ditches and many truck drivers had trouble climbing the icy hills.
About a dozen flights were delayed at Regina's airport. Airlines were monitoring the weather and making decisions on a flight-by-flight basis.
Environment Canada predicted winter storm conditions in southwest Saskatchewan and an area running from Pilot Butte north to Yorkton and south to Carlyle, going east to the Manitoba border.
Most of southern Manitoba, with the exception of the extreme southwest, is under a winter storm warning.
Strong winds driving up to 10 cm of snow will mean very poor visibility, Environment Canada warned.

and the Worser news....The storm is here!!! Looks like about 10 cms of snow so far and same again for tomorrow. What wierd weather ...Tornadoes in Iowa ans an early blizzard here!!!
Good news ....Bad news.

Not a very hightly rated movie despite the fact that it is written by John Grisham and stars Tim Allen and Jamie-lee Curtis. It is a so-so tale but strikes home for us who have had a child move away for the Holidays or have decided to pask-in the Holidays and go on a cruise (or go down south!) Tim Allen's cheapness also gets him into a pile of trouble.
Allen portrays Luther Krank who, fed up with the commerciality of Christmas, decides to skip the holiday and go on a vacation with his wife instead. But when his daughter decides at the last minute to come home, he must put together a holiday celebration.
Personally I would recommend it ...much better than that Ben Affleck movie where he buys the Holidays.
"Christmas With the Kranks"

On Saturday we held our annual Humanist Association of Manitoba AGM (annual General Meeting). It was well attended by about 25 members. We had reports from all sectors of the executive, including Library report from Catherine (she's also the secretary) and a Newsletter report from MOI, editor extraodiaire! Putting out the newletter is an onerous task made more difficult when there is little or no help. I reported on the number of newletters I got out this year and the AMOUNT of time it took me and the DEADLINES that were expected. I simply said that without help this group will be looking at a different nesletter editor next year...MAYBE ANYONE OF YOU! heehee Anyhow the meeting went very well and the speaker Phil Verhuis ( a well spoken professor of philosopy at the University of Manitoba) was very good. The topic was "What do you say after you tell someone that you are an Atheist" ( or a Humanist!) Phil is also an apiarist and a very down to earth fellow who is a wonderful asset to any table conversation. He sat at our table and at one time quoted Steve Martin " once you take a philosophy course it F**KS you up for life!" heehee.
HAM AGM Sat. Nov. 12, 2005

Isn't it amazing how the oil companies have earned record profits during a period when gas prices for the consumer have risen to record levels. Just choke off supply. Close some refineries and watch the people squeal as they pay more and more for gas and diesel. Well that's free enterprise.....free for the oil companies like Exxon to do what they want when they want. OPEC has been doing it for years. You want to drive up the price; strangle the supply. Yep, gas isn't gonna last forever and there are other fuels out there that are more environmentaly friendly like solar power for electricity, ethyl gas as an additive to strech gas, etc., but couldn't the oil companies play fair with the petroleum that is still available given their excessive profit taking? It seems that they make a mistake and still make windfall profits...they make a bigger mistake and the profits are even greater. Too much influence especially within the current administration in the US. In Canada too the oil conglomerates wield a lot of power and in Albeta they don't know what to do with the excess profits. Yup they are closing refineries in Canada too so that if there is a demand they will not be able to supply that demand with refineries closed; ergo the supply goes down and the cost to consumers goes up. And us poor sods are stuck in the middle. AND they try to cover it up with talk of hurricanes etc. affecting the supply... the price was going up before the hurricanes....

well, I went to the Governor-Generals house for the 'volunteer appreciation' soiree. I did not get knighted. Like Catherine says, "once a knight, always a knight, but once a night is enough!" We had copious quantities of wine and 'Baron of Beef' and afterwards a maple liqour to die for.
I shall not be calling myself with the appendage "sir' added to it, although SIR Dennis has a certain, je ne sais quoi, cachet to it. Ah well, maybe next year.

We took Mom over to Shirley Hogue's apartment for a luncheon today to celebrate the retirement of cousin Wayne Hogue. He retired in September. I recall him telling me once that since they moved out to Sandy Hook he did not like it at all, but today he claims that he likes it very much. I guess that retirement does that to you. It makes one appreciate what one has....besides he doesn't have to drive into the plant everyday to work! (He used to manage the Canadian Linen Plant up on King Edward Street). Mom enjoyed it and Shirley was a real good hostess. We had pickerel (walleye) in a shrimp sauce. Rather nice. Luv pickerel. We will have to have her over for dinner some time. We also reminisced about old times, like the fact that Granny used to get dressed up to watch TV. Her theory being that if she could see them; they could see you. She made Grandpa dress in his three piece suit just to watch TVone day. There was some debate over whether Grandma could speak English at all as she generally spoke French all the time I knew her. Grandpa could speak English but preferred to speak French because that is what he spoke at home and among his friends.
After lunch we went to the conservatory at the Park. We saw all the flowers. Hey it was 11 degs C today and sunny, a gorgeous day! We ate more at the restaurant in the conservatory.

Anyhow, we have a couple of movies to watch. "Christmas With the Kranks" and some other dance movie (not my choice). So nitey nite and PEACE
Sir Dennis eats Pickerel for lunch!

"REMEMBRANCE" Day

Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't come to yours. Yogi Berra
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Well its off to meet with John Harvard our esteemed Lt. Governor for what is supposed to be a reception honouring volunteers of the Western Canada Aviation Museum. There shall be crumpets for all and tea too I'll wager! Perhaps a speech or two......perhaps medals.....perhaps I'll wear a tie! More later! It starts at 5 pm. Better go get ready!!! Methinks a knighthood may be in order or at least a 'member of the Garter' (about the garter snakes I think?)...nontheless a great honour...Dennis member of the garter Ousey....mmmmmm
Peace
Off to meet with the Queen's representative for tea!

Happy Birthday Carol, whenever your birthday is...8th 9th!!! A jeannies cake a glass of wine "Little Red Hen Shiraz 2003" and a good book and you are set! Have a good one!

Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.
The fight over Intelligent Design being taught in America's classrooms moves one step closer to a 'done deal'. The 'republican' dominated school board in Kansas has ruled in favour of compulsory teaching of Intelligent Design right along side of the (Theory?) of Evolution. Here you have a very thinly disguised creationist THEORY of how man/woman came to be. I heard one reporter on TV describe evolution as the theory that states man evolved from the apes.....definitely not true and the thick-headed reporter should have known better. ID has not been proven...it is just a wooly headed assumption. The theory of evolution is a scientific theory, meaning that it is the best scientific explanation yet as to how man evolved and it is 'open' to refining and filling in the gaps......scientific theories are like that, they can be slightly changed but the theory itself is an irrefutable truth. Like the THEORY OF GRAVITY. It is now sometimes referred to as the Law of Gravity and the theory of Evolution should be refrred to as the LAW of EVOLUTION!

Here is what 'Balloonjuice' had to say on the subject in his blog:

Risking the kind of nationwide ridicule it faced six years ago, the Kansas Board of Education approved new public-school science standards Tuesday that cast doubt on the theory of evolution.
The 6-4 vote was a victory for “intelligent design” advocates who helped draft the standards. Intelligent design holds that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power.
Critics of the new language charged that it was an attempt to inject God and creationism into public schools in violation of the separation of church and state.
All six of those who voted for the new standards were Republicans. Two Republicans and two Democrats voted no.
“This is a sad day. We’re becoming a laughingstock of not only the nation, but of the world, and I hate that,” said board member Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat…
In 1999, the board eliminated most references to evolution. Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould said that was akin to teaching “American history without Lincoln.” Bill Nye, the “Science Guy” of children’s television, called it “harebrained” and “nutty.” And a Washington Post columnist imagined God saying to the Kansas board members: “Man, I gave you a brain. Use it, OK?”
Two years later, after voters replaced three members, the board reverted to evolution-friendly standards. Elections in 2002 and 2004 changed the board’s composition again, making it more conservative.
The latest vote likely to bring fresh national criticism to Kansas and cause many scientists to see the state as backward.
Many scientists and other critics contend creationists repackaged old ideas in new, scientific-sounding language to get around a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1987 against teaching the biblical story of creation in public schools.
The Kansas board’s action is part of a national debate. In Pennsylvania, a judge is expected to rule soon in a lawsuit against the Dover school board’s policy of requiring high school students to learn about intelligent design in biology class. In August, President Bush endorsed teaching intelligent design alongside evolution.
In an effort to fight back against intelligent-design advocates, a grass-roots group calling itself Campaign to Defend the Constitution said Tuesday that it was launching a $200,000 online ad campaign “to combat a threat posed by the religious right to American democracy.”
“This is a significant attack on science,” said Jack Krebs, vice president of Kansas Citizens for Science. “They really are advancing a sectarian religious view. They’re treading on constitutional grounds.”

Don't get any wooly-headed IDers!

Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.

Spent most of the day composing the Nov. HAM newsletter! That is one onerous task! Always hanging over my head. I guess I could be better organised. Just got it out in time for the General meeting on Saturday...sheesh.

Yeah, yeah it's 2 in the morning and I could not get to sleep. I have this problem every night. I get real tired, go to bed, do my Xword puzzle and just when I can't keep my eyes open I turn out the light and as soon as I hit the pillow I am WIDE AWAKE. I can't get to sleep again until I have done my BLOG and checked my mail. I can usually sleep after that!



Well, Well Happy Brithday Carol.... How old did you say you were? Anyhow, have a great day.

Carol is the one at the back and daughter Margot and brother Gary are at the front.

Once again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL!!
Happy B-day Carol!

CBS News | 'West Wing' Hopefuls Clash in Live Debate:

What a great debate on 'West Wing'! Excellent show!

As for viewers, no matter who they side with, they won't be able to cast their ballots. Even so, the Vinick-Santos presidential debate provided a lot to think about for voters in the audience _ including, why won't real candidates debate this way?"
CBS News | 'West Wing' Hopefuls Clash in Live Debate

CBC Arts: Red Green says bye to Possum Lodge:

"'I'm a man/ But I can change/ If I have to/ I guess.' "

Red Green show to go off the air after 15 years. Thanks to Red we now know at least 1,000 uses for duct tape. Way to go Red.
CBC Arts: Red Green says bye to Possum Lodge

Do Not Contact Service: Canadian Marketing Association

I subscribe to it (free) and it has worked for me. No more pesky damn calls at suppertime trying to sell you something.
Do Not Contact Service: Canadian Marketing Association

Instead of saying that man is the creature of circumstance, it would be nearer the mark to say that man is the architect of circumstance.
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It was about 4 degs C. today and Catherine and I got out and cleaned out the gutters (eaves). I had to get these doo-dads that rest the extension ladder on the roof instead of the fragile eaves to prevent damage. All cleaned out and ready for winter and spring. If you don't clean out your eaves of leaves you get water creeping up under the shingles on days when the snow melts and ice-dams form. Catherine was a real trooper clambouring up the ladder about a dozen times while I lugged the ladder around re-locating it in between. I also cut the grass one las time and finished raking the leaves and such that Gary and Carol started while they were here. If I neglected to thank them for that,then thanks. We appreciated it a lot since Catherine was still getting dizzy on bending over after her operation and I was still recovering from Cellulitus on both of my feet. Thanks again. I only hope we fed you and treated well on your visit.

Looks like we will not be coming out to Victoria at the Christmas break as we so ardently hoped that we could. It seems that Carol's brother will be house-sitting Gary's house in Victoria from Dec. 4th to Dec 27th as part of his annual Christmas tour. We had our hopes real high but alas it was not meant to be. Maybe next year.

It seems that Wayne Hogue has finally retired! And I thought that he was going to run Canadian Linen for another 20 years. He is a bit of a workaholic and I hope it works out for him. Anyways, Shirley called and invited us to her place to celebrate Waynes retirement. Got to go....family you know! Should be fun, I like Shirley and we don't get much of a chance to see her because she is such a gadfly flitting all over the world house-sitting, travelling and such. Mom is coming too....family you know!

Well better go and get some sleep because I pull a shift tomorrow at the Museum. Peace

Lisa's Nostalgia Cafe--the 1970's









Groovy music toys and stuff from the '70s Have fun under the disco ball!
Lisa's Nostalgia Cafe--the 1970's

Nature always sides with the hidden flaw.



Bush polls....where were these a year ago!

Portrait of the Artist as a Middle-aged Man
-He writes a good blog. Keep up the good work Jack!
Jack blogged....this is NOT a halloween trick!

In peace the sons bury their fathers, but in war the fathers bury their sons.
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I got an email from Gary saying that they got back to Victoria safe and sound. Looks like they did not take the sun with them because it is raining out there. I heard on the news that Whistler and/or Blackcomb will be open on the weekend and that is the earliest in the season that it was ever open.

Catherine worked today at her old, old school Nordale and she enjoys it there because all the kids remember her and they behave because they know she doesn't put up with any guff! I took Mom to the pacemaker clinic and all is well, however she did ask the doctor this question, "If I did not get the pacemaker would I be dead now?" ...'well, that could very well be' was the answer. Personally I think she will outlive us all!

Well, everything is back to normal here. The house seems empty and the dog seems to
be missing Gary and Carol who were giving her cookies at every oppourtunity! LOL Well, she DOES like Cheerios in the morning but other than that I don't feed her too much....little bit only....

Well better get to bed, I am pulling a shift tomorrow morning a the Aviation Museum. Nitey nite....PEACE
I said peacemaker not pacemaker!