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Weblog -January 2006
We welcomed in the New Year with most of the usual lot –Jim and Peg (and Peggy’s sister Marilyn), Ian and Anke and Mom. It was a nice evening but it would have been better if we had not partied with them the night before. The stories started repeating themselves.
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Amy has decided to take almost 2 weeks off school and go to Taiwan to visit her boyfriend, Mau. She leaves in 2 weeks. Once she gets back she can start planning her trip to Cancun (for reading week), with some girlfriends. I guess I will be expected to be sympathetic when exams roll around in April.
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Yesterday, I heard the tail end of a segment on the CBC science program “Quirks and Quarks”. The woman being interviewed was doing a great job of summarizing her research –I think it was about the effect of different types of exercise on “body image” for men and women. I had just started to think that Lindsay would be interested in this when Bob MacDonald wrapped up the piece and thanked the researcher, Kathleen _______ from McMaster University. I am 99.9% sure that Lindsay is meeting with her on Tuesday to discuss doing a Masters at Mac.
Later: Lindsay met with Kathleen at McMaster and had a great talk. It turns out that they are both graduates of Malvern Collegiate. It was Kathleen on Quirks and Quarks.
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I received a late Christmas present that I just love. It’s a sign for Bedrock –our cottage. Kathy commissioned Uncle Jim to construct the sign –in the same way that he did his own cottage sign –Mosswood. The letters were carved, by hand, with a chisel.
There was some debate about where to put the sign. Everyone agreed that it should be situated at the Gazebo (down by the water) but the question was whether it should be hung with little chains and screw-eyes from the top plate (and protected by the roof) or be screwed to (and framed by) the skirt. I will paint the sign and then try it out in each location.
Later -Here is the sign, installed in its permanent location. Both of these pictures were taken while standing on the ice in front of the Bedrock. The second photo shows the cottage, "Kaylee's boat" (pulled up on the dock -which has in turn been pulled up on the shore, and the gazebo with the new Bedrock sign.
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The appearance of the Bedrock sign is Kathy's admission that the name is going to stick. The next 3 paragraphs are a reprint from Oct 18/04:
I have
decided to start calling the cottage by its proper name “Bedrock”.
There has been a lot of discussion over the years about the suitability of
this name for our cottage but the name has history and I think it is time
for me to make a stand.
Kathy
disapproves of the name for the very same reason that I like it –because
of the Flintstones connotation. I guess Kathy is afraid that I will start
coming in the front door bellowing “Honey –I’m Hooome!” or that I will run around yelling
"Yuba-duba-do" all of a sudden.
This
is the history: The overburden at the cottage is very minimal and
when I constructed the foundation wall I managed to excavate to the
granite bedrock. I was determined that the piers which would hold up the
ce
nt
er floor beam would also be poured on bedrock but I had to do this
excavation by hand (with a pick and shovel) rather that with a small
backhoe. My Aunt Dorrie was visiting at my parent’s cottage when I was
trying to dig through roots and stones and so she witnessed my “quest for
bedrock”. Later she made a little sign with Bedrock on it and posted it at
the site.
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I decided to read “ The Chronicles of Narnia -The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis. I never read the books as a kid and I was intrigued by all the talk about the books and the author when the movie came out a couple of weeks ago.
Being a ‘children’s book”, I was expecting something along the lines of “The Hobbit” or “Harry Potter”. However “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” is much more of a fairy tale written for younger children. There was never any tension in the book because the reader knows nothing really bad can happen.
I got almost all the way through to the end before I could detect any hint of allegory –and then it was so strong as to be almost sickening. I really didn’t get the point of the death and resurrection of the lion.
Although I am not sorry that I read the book, I would describe it as “uninteresting and silly”. I would never bother to read more books in the series and I would never recommend it to anyone else.
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Lightning has struck twice in the same place. Another kid that Kathy knew through high school swimming has been killed by gunfire. Jane Creba, a grade 10 student from Riverdale was shopping on Yonge Street with her family when she was shot in the head. She had caught a stray bullet in some sort of gang violence. Things are really getting bad in Toronto. The gangs are out of control.
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January 3/06 -Bruce Dobson (Born 1933 -Died 2005)
Today we got the news that Bruce Dobson has died. Bruce was a childhood and lifetime friend of Uncle Ian’s. Bruce owned a cottage on lower Stony Lake and drove around in a pickup truck –so we had a lot in common.
Bruce was a very kind and supportive man but he was also the most eccentric person that I knew. Among the many quirks that Bruce possessed was a strong dislike for the Christmas season. Each Christmas he would lock himself away for about a month. Unfortunately, it was during his annual sequestering period that he died in his sleep.
For most of his working life, Bruce had a government job in Toronto where he boarded with two old ladies. He became very close to the old dears and, in the end, he looked after them until they died. Both of them died around Christmas and this was the reason for Bruce's sequestering behaviour. His devotion was rewarded with some inheritance when the last one died and he was able to retire, and buy the property on Stony.
Bruce had a love of woodworking tools and he used some of the money to build a fantastic workshop and purchase all kinds of fancy tools and equipment. As far as I know, however, he never built anything. He often would invite me to come down and use the equipment but I never did –for a variety of reasons.
Bruce was the slowest eater that I have ever met. Apparently his father, a doctor, made him count 40 bites for every mouth full -even if he was drinking milk!
When still in his forties Bruce's hips deteriorated to the point that he needed replacements. I remember feeling sorry for him because he really wanted to be active but his body was letting him down. In his later years, Bruce was fighting Parkinson's disease.
I will remember Bruce Dobson fondly. Goodbye Bruce.
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We’ve been home from our annul New Years stay at Bedrock for a couple of days. We saw the sun only two days and the temperature hovered around zero for most of our stay. There was no skiing or skating –so walking was about all we could do for exercise. All the same, it was a good stay.
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I am closing the book on Sudoku puzzles. The spreadsheet that I wrote allows me to solve them all in around 5 to 20 minutes –depending on the difficulty. I could probably write a fancier spreadsheet, to speed up the solving time a bit, but it seems pointless. Lots of people would say it was a pointless exercise in the first place.
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On Monday I will phone the Boss to see if there is anything to do. It would appear that there is nothing. I am hoping that this is the case and that I will be able to tackle some projects at home and at Bedrock. We shall see.
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At the gym that I go to, lots of the lockers have been broken into over the years. It would be a simple matter of bringing in a small pair of bolt cutters to get into anyone’s locker.
It was getting to be a problem because so many of the lockers were out of use and I was happy to see a guy fixing up the damaged ones. At first glance, I was thinking he had done a pretty decent job. Then I noticed that he used aluminium rivets to reattach some components. Now, all it would take to break into the repaired lockers would be a decent pair of toenail clippers. What a joke.
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Just for fun, we tried to book into the hotel that Kaylee will be staying at when she goes to Hawaii with her friend Brittany’s family. It costs the same amount of money for a two night stay as we paid for our entire Arizona vacation (thats the flights, accommodation, car rental, meals and shopping for 3 people!). Wow.
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The federal election campaign is progressing. Tomorrow night is the second TV debate. I won’t be able to stand watching it because they will be so rude to each other.
The Toronto Star is saying that voters should not go with the NDP. The reasoning goes like this: Jack Layton (NDP leader) says that if the Conservatives get more seats than the Liberals they will form an unholy alliance with the Block ( Quebec separatists). This will, in the long run, lead to more powers for all the provinces (not just Quebec). That would weaken Canada (read Toronto). So Layton is saying don’t vote Conservative –vote NDP. And the Star is saying don’t vote NDP –vote Liberal. (If the NDP is so worried about the Conservatives they should not have forced an election).
I might vote NDP anyway. Part of me wants to see what Harper (Conservative leader) would do.
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“The Broker” by John Grisham is a typical Grisham. The fate of humanity does not rest on the outcome of this book but Grisham somehow makes the reader care about the outcome anyway.
The “broker” is a Washington power broker/lobbyist who gets a bit too greedy, upsets several foreign governments and ends up in jail. By surprise, he is sprung from jail and set free so that the CIA can see which foreign government “gets” him first. Most of the book takes place in Italy where the hero is relocated for his own protection. Grisham makes it all somewhat believable.
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Today, before my workout, I decided to complain about the pathetic repairs that were made to the lockers at Premier Fitness where I work out in the winter. (See January 8/06). The manager actually seemed to care and said that something would be done. I still figured that any repair would take at least a month –and probably not before someone lost their valuables. After my workout I was surprised to see two guys looking at the old repairs and I took the chance to explain my concerns. Naturally the guy that had done the work thought that what he had done was fine but I think his boss saw it my way. Now it will be interesting to see if anything happens.
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While cleaning up my workroom, I threw away all the medals that I have been presented with since I started competing in inline skating events.
A large number of medals were for participation and one of their major functions is to identify competitors at the post-race festivities (so the organizers can identify any freeloaders). The rest were for indoor and outdoor track racing. They were not special because the level of competition in Canada is very low. The best way to illustrate this is to point out that I was the Canadian Outdoor Champ (for 45 and over) for a couple of years. The simple facts are that I am simply not a gifted endurance athlete, I still have not achieved a high level of technical competence and that the number of Canadians competing in inline skating is pathetically small.
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I apparently will have a fair amount of spare time in the next few weeks. Things can always change so I am trying to make the most of it. I am in the middle of a big cleanup/reorganization of my workroom. In the next few days and weeks I want to do the same thing in the loft. That will include cleaning up the hard drives of the two computers that are up there, saving any worthwhile files etc as well as organizing a year’s worth of bills and other papers. Then perhaps I can get onto a bit of a kitchen renovation (plaster repairs, painting, new floor, new countertop and perhaps a new fridge and fridge cabinet). I also want to get up to Bedrock for a few days to do some plumbing work while the system is shut down. And I should read some books. As well, I have started to play online poker again (for play money). So far, I have managed to limit myself to an hour per evening.
I think I will be able to keep busy.
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Today I had a wonderful skate in Sunnybrook Park on the long road that leads up to the barns. It was well above freezing, the road was completely dry and free of sand or salt, and there was only a very light breeze -so the conditions for skating were great!
I had a neat experience during the skate. There were lots of people walking on the road and I was doing a 2.4k loop –over and over. After each loop I would stop for less than a minute to rest my back (because after a month’s layoff I would never be able to stay down for an hour). On one of my little breaks an old man, who had been walking, stopped his car beside me, rolled down his window and said (with a slight accent), “I’m am an old Sweed and I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed watching you skating back and forth on the road today. I wish I could still do stuff like that”. A car came and he had to go –but he made my day!
This is the first time that I have ever skated outside, in Canada, in January. It had been exactly 4 weeks since my last outing. I am very hopeful that the conditions for skating will again be good in another 2 days (after the rain passes through). After that, conditions are supposed to deteriorate.
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Kathy took Amy to the airport early this morning to catch her flight to Taiwan. She has to change planes in Chicago and Tokyo. I hope that all goes well. She is still so young and vulnerable.
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Lindsay showed her marks to the professor at Western who has agreed to write a letter of recommendation (for her to get into Masters programs) and when he saw her marks he told her that she is likely to get multiple offers and perhaps a scholarship. Wow.
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I skated again today and the conditions were even better than Tuesday. I was in heaven as I skated back and forth on the long road leading to the barns in Sunnybrook Park. I even got to blow away one poor guy on a bike. It was 8 degrees C so I only had one layer on my legs and two on top -no hat and no gloves! It was a very special outing.
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Kaylee went to Pennsylvania with a friend’s sister’s hockey team –so we have two kids out of the country right now. Yesterday was very quiet and relaxing –at least until we went to Pat and Paul’s place to see off Kathy’s nephew David. He is moving to Vancouver with the lumber company that he works for.
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Amy made it to Taiwan, without a hitch, and is having a great time exploring around Taipei with Mau. Within the first 24 hours she visited a Buddhist Temple, a night market, and the world’s tallest building –where they had a great view of the whole area. In a couple of days they will begin exploring the rest of Taiwan.
Amy has hardly been able to contain her excitement in the two short phone calls that we have received.
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Lindsay is coming home today to pick up the CRV so that she can meet a couple of professors at Brock University where she will apply for Masters programs.
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The Conservatives have taken a lead in the polls and are headed toward a majority.
Soon we will cozying up to the Bush Administration, increasing military spending, taking from the poor to give to the rich and introducing two-tier medical coverage on a formal basis. More power will be handed put to the provinces, weakening the Federal government even more. All of this will quicken our assimilation into the American culture. Hopefully we can fight off total political assimilation for my lifetime.
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Here is the text of a letter that I just sent to the editor of "SkyNews Magazine".
Dear Sir,
Over the years, there has been much discussion in “SkyNews” about the status of Pluto. I tend to agree that the “planet” Pluto should be “re-assigned”. But perhaps, at the same time, we should rename the “quarter” moon. Surely, the midway phase (between the “new” moon and the “full” moon must called the “half” moon.
Ed Duncan
I'm not expecting much for my efforts. -but you never know. Perhaps they will publish the letter and start off a whole new debate in the magazine.
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I am back from a few days at Bedrock. I enjoyed the solitude. The excuse to go up for the week was that I would be able to get some work done. Among other things, I improved the plumbing system by installing some shut-off valves and started a big reorganization of the crawl space under the cottage. I didn’t manage to finish the cleanup under the cottage but I did quite a bit. It is difficult working in the crawl space because you can never stand up to rest your back. Ventilation is also poor.
I had a couple of tremendous skates out on the
lake. The ice was smoothest close to shore and in the bays. I skated for
many miles. Here is a picture that I took within sight of Bedrock. This
boathouse has been slipping into the lake for many years because the ice
has shifted the structure off the cribs on which it was constructed.
I also spent a lot of time reading a non-fiction book that is just blowing me away. It’s called “The World is Flat”. More on the book later.
There were lots of deer around the lake in the last couple of days but two things stick in my mind. I saw a (a very small) deer on the ice that had a very serious injury to one of its legs. My guess is that the poor thing probably spread-eagled on the ice and managed to get up. I would doubt that it will last very long. I hope it doesn’t suffer unduly.
I opened the front door after dark one evening and there was a big commotion on the west side of the cottage. Clearly, a few deer had decided to bed down for the night -but my door-opening activities put a damper on their plans. I felt like the big bad wolf.
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Kathy phoned during the week to tell me that one of the 3 diamonds in her engagement ring had fallen out. She was understandably upset. Since she had just finished the dishes when she noticed that it was gone she thought that it might be in the trap. I told her how to take the trap apart and she did this but there was no diamond in the bottom.
It’s sort of funny how this would happen only a couple of months before our 25th wedding anniversary.
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Kathy and I went last night to see a production of the Broadway Musical “Hair” at the high school where she teaches. The kids did a great job. Some of the girls, in particular, had good voices. I’d forgotten how raunchy the play is and was a little surprised that a high school could get away with staging a production –even in this day and age.
I had a copy of the soundtrack (Original Cast) that I played a lot when I was young –so I was totally familiar with all the songs. I wonder if they make a Karaoke version. I could impress the hell out of all my friends.
The first time I saw Hair was in London England in the summer of 1970. I saw it in Toronto the next winter with our Grade 13 class. It was raunchy back then too.
I had forgotten that there was a strong anti-Viet Nam theme in the story and it got me thinking that when I saw the play the first two times I was really happy that I was Canadian and didn’t have to worry about being sent to Viet Nam. By the time I was eligible for the draft they had turned it into a lottery –and my birthday came up right at the beginning so I probably would have had to go.
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I had to return “The World is Flat –a Brief History of the Twenty-first Century” by Thomas L. Friedman to the library because they only lend it out for 7 days at a time –so I only got to read the first half. I got the message, however, -loud and clear.
Friedman argues that we are living through a period (of technological convergence and "Globalization") that will change the world in massive ways. The industrial revolution was step 1 toward a "flatter" word -"Globalization" is step 3. Friedman illustrates all the factors that have come together that have led to a “flat” world where people in India, China and elsewhere compete directly with Americans for jobs. Of course all of the converging factors are related to computers and IT and the list includes the PC, the Windows operating system, the internet, search engines like Goggle and the incredible spread of fibre optic cables.
Friedman also demonstrates how the new technology enables business to engage in activities such as outsourcing and supply-chaining on a global scale –taking work, of all sorts, to where it can be done for the cheapest price.
The book is filled with little stories that illustrate the points the the author is making. Many of them will stick in my mind for years. My favourite one goes something like this: Friedman's mother use to tell him to "eat your dinner because all the children in India and China are starving". He tells his kids to "do your homework because all the children in India and China are starving for your job"!
Friedman does explain what individuals, companies and entire countries need to do in order to compete in this new flat world although he seems pessimistic that his own country (the U.S.) will actually do what is necessary. Personally, I doubt that Canada will either. This is a really good book. I can't wait to read the second half.
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I have come to a staggering realization! I just recently noticed that when I spend time at Bedrock in the winter I always get sick. Within a couple of days of getting there I start to feel a general malaise together with a really awful feeling in my chest. It takes me around 3 days to recover once I get home. There is no longer any doubt in my mind. I have to conclude that the air quality inside the cottage in the winter is so poor that it actually makes me sick. Lindsay reports the same symptoms.
Why would this be so? It is because the cottage is constructed very tightly (so that no fresh air leaks in) and because I did not install any type of air exchange device to clean the air –despite knowing that I should be. I have only myself to blame.
In my defence, I twice made contact with a local outfit to discuss the installation of an air exchange system but after nobody showed up either time, I gave up on them and forgot the whole idea. I see now that it was a huge mistake.
I suppose that the good news is that I have identified the problem. I will now have to consider retrofitting an air exchange system –or else decide to wait for the addition (when the entire place could be done. Perhaps this will be the impetus that I need to get going on Stage 2.
The only thing I know for sure is that I won’t be spending much time at Bedrock in the dead of winter for a while. Boy –am I disappointed with myself.
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It was a Conservative minority and Paul Martin stepped down as Liberal Party Leader on election night. The NDP gained a lot of seats but again is just short of holding the balance of power. The next year or two will be interesting.
I voted for a strong NDP candidate –not having to worry that the Conservative candidate would slip up the middle and beat both the NDP and the Liberal incumbent. The Liberal (Maria Minna) got in. She’s ok.
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I sat down to watch a bit of TV with Kaylee before supper –you know (spending some quality time with my daughter). No sooner did I sit down than Kaylee informed me that she doesn’t like to watch “Sex in the City” with me. I was puzzled by this since she was missing a chance to hear some fatherly commentary on one of the most important shows of the early 21st century (at least to girls).
After she flipped to another station, Kaylee said that she had a very important show to watch at 8 o’clock. “What show?” I asked. “One Tree Hill” was the reply. “I thought that “The OC” was the best show on TV” I said. “Not tonight” was the reply. "Lucas has a heart attack and Nathan and Halley break up!" –Shoot me now!
It’s not that I don’t like shows about relationships. I love to watch shows about the relationships between Humans, Klingons, Vulcans, Romulans and so on.
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I have agreed to renovate the kitchen since it needs a facelift and because I have some time on my hands. It won’t be anything major since the cabinets are still in great shape even if they are badly out of date. The work will include stripping the wallpaper, painting, replacement of the countertop, ceramic tiles on the wall above the countertop, a new fridge (together with a slightly enlarged fridge enclosure) and a new floor –probably another sheet vinyl one. I’m sure this will keep me going for a good month or more –partly depending on how much Kathy does.
Kathy agrees that she is the decorator –which means that she must decide on the paint, counter, floor and tiles. I don’t want anything to do with that stuff.
I am now into the demolition phase of the work. Demolition is not the most stimulating job and I have had plenty of time to remember the original kitchen “construction” which was done exactly 24 years ago this winter. In 1981, we moved into an old home, built in the 20’s. The place was a real mess and the kitchen was positively creepy. During our first year in residence we renovated the bathroom and then the kitchen. I did 100% the work myself (except what Kathy did). With each new job that came along (like plumbing, electrical, dry wall etc) I would get some books out of the library and teach myself what I needed to know. In the end, it all came out quite well –and I acquired some skills that have served me well over the years.
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Two emails in one day!
Ed, I have been getting a real laugh out of your weblog of late. Thought you'd like to know. RD
I'm glad that occasionally I bring a smile to your day. I just hope you don't think that everything is funny.
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OMG!!!!! Luke had a heart attack?!?!?!?!?! -AD
Actually, Kaylee tells me that it was just in a dream that one of the other characters had. -Dad
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I went to the doctor for a check up. She said that I hadn’t been in (for a check up) since 2000.
Back in 2000, after the results of the lab work came back; I was hauled back to the doctor’s office for two reasons –an irregular heartbeat and high cholesterol. In the end, everything was OK. My irregular heartbeat (and also too slow a heat rate) was explained by the fact that I was highly trained (in an aerobic sense) and I had so much “good” cholesterol that it cancelled out the “bad”. This time, I expect to be “recalled” and chastised for high cholesterol. These things just tend to creep up over a lifetime and both my parents ended up on medication for high cholesterol.
The doctor got my weight at a staggering 180 pounds so on the way home I bought a proper electronic bathroom scale. When I got home I put one scale beside the other and stepped back and forth a few times. Sure enough, I weighed 175 on the old scale and 181 on the new one. I hate stuff like that.
I’ve decided to accept the new scale as the new benchmark and revise my “target weights” upwards by 6 lbs. This means that “racing weight” will be 178 or lower and “winter weight should be 181 or below. I will consider myself to be “skinny” at 175 or less.
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End of the Month Skating Report
I never would have imagined that I would skate outdoors 9 times in the month of January. Perhaps the earth is warming up. January 2006 was reminiscent of December 1998 (my first year of inline skating) when I skated a total of 11 times. Back then, I wasn’t nearly as wary of skating through “wet spots” though –since I didn’t know anything about the effects of moisture on bearings. Of course December 1998 was followed by January 1999 when Toronto got around a meter of snow in a two day period and Mayor Mel Lastman “called in the troops”.
My first outing in January followed a substantial amount of skating on Stony Lake with my hockey skates. It is always so comical when I return to inline after using my hockey skates. Hockey skates have extremely curved blades and are really manoeuvrable. Inline racing skates have almost no rocker (curve) and in comparison to hockey skates are not manoeuvrable at all. Of course, there is also a big adjustment when I start out on hockey skates after months of inline.
Despite the adventure with hockey skates I actually felt that I made some progress in my quest to become a technically better skater. Perhaps it was the fact that all the clothing dictates a “slow” pace –and I may as well practice good technique. By my 7th skate of the month, on Jan 28th, I felt that I had reached a new level of technical proficiency and I actually had my double push back! I hadn’t done anything resembling a double push since I took Barry Publow’s clinic (last August) and threw away my previously established skating style.
The really neat thing about my improved technique is that my wheels are lasting way longer. I used the last set only 39 times before I gave up on them. I’ve used current set 49 times and expect to use them for quite a while longer yet.
I’ve been visiting the gym fairly often to fill in the gaps. My weight is steady at 181 (that’s 175 on the old scale). That’s acceptable for mid-winter.
When Kaylee was in Hawaii she heard
that Brittney Spears had just recently stayed at the
same hotel. Apparently, Brittney also went to the very same
shopping mall and even the very same store. Kaylee knows
this because in the latest issue of one of her fashion magazines there is
a picture of Brittney in Hawaii wearing the very same top that
Kaylee bought! There is one difference though. Kaylee looks much better in
the top!
