Here Comes the Judge

It has been very hot for the last week. What makes it worse is the humidity. The temp. was around 35 C/95 F and the humidity made it 40 C/105 F. Perspiring all the time.
Bought a new camera the other day. After 8 years, the button on mine wore out. Too expensive to fix. To look at it would cost $50.00 and then you would have to pay for parts and repair. The new one only cost $100.00. A Kodak C653. Haven't read the book thru yet. And it takes little movies too. That's new to me. Had to try that right away. Did a pan of my back yard. And the first thing I learned was not to pan so fast.
Got a letter from the law courts yesterday. Called up for jury duty selection for the Supreme Court. That will be in Sept. It could have been for my son, since we both have the same first name. There was no middle initial. Told him I would do it. I'm retired and he is a computer consultant working for a U.S company. He travels back and forth all the time.

Tall Ships

Just about everyone knows what an Airshow is . And a lot of people have seen one. We have one here every Sept. and they fly over my house. But we also have something here that most people don't see. And that is the parade of tall ships. These are like the ships from the old days. The replica of the H.M.S. Bounty is here. Pictin Castle is here. This is the ship they use on the reality series "Pirate Master". I think there is about 25 altogether. The fee is $25.00 for a day pass to tour any or all the ships. There has been no rain for the last two days so they have a good turnout.

Speaking of rain, which it is doing right now, I heard on the news about five days ago that for the past 56 days, it hadn't rained 9 days in this area. So some days I couldn't go on my daily walk. Other times I did and got caught in the rain.

Tomorrow will be five weeks that I started doing Tai Chi. Well, at least attempting it. It's on tape and the whole routine takes just over an hour. You have to start with stretching etc, etc. So at this point in time , I am up to 42 Min. Figure it will take me a year to learn this.

Last evening , one of my neighbours came with a half wheelbarrow of cement. He had been putting in clothes line poles and this was left over. It was enough to finish off around my back door where I had that leak. That is where they wanted $1600.00 to make a new drain thru my basement. I cured the problem with cement filler, which I think was $5.69. And now it is covered with cement.

Still working on whether I need a new furnace or not. Can't believe what everyone tells you. Especially if you're a senior. They think you are an easy mark. My son is better at this . If you try and sell him something, you better not lie. If he doesn't already know the truth, he will find it out. When he goes to buy something, he first checks on the computer what everyone says about it.

Just had dinner. Scrambled eggs and shrimp. One of my neighbours received 20 lbs. of shrimp from someone and gave me 10 lbs. So into my freezer it went.

My last item is that I have a pear tree with no pears. Because I have only one tree and there must be none in the area. No pollination.

Bears

Pouring down raining outside. As it was yesterday.

My wife had a yardsale on Sat. It was darn cold and it looked like it was going to rain. We packed it in at 01:00 P.M. and ten minutes later the sun was out. On top of that, she only made $14.00. The worse part about yardsales is packing it all up.

I am going to put up a couple of pictures of something you don't see very often. And some people never see them. Took them on my trip to Alberta. These are Bear proof garbage cans. It looks easy enough. When you put your hand inside the handle, you have to keep pushing so your hand can push the lever and open the door.

Never saw any bears. When I was climbing up and down those valley trails the thought did cross my mind. I would only want to see them from inside my car.

To get to Jasper, you have to go through the Columbia Ice Fields. Went back and forth, so we went through it twice. On the way back I did my little trek across the Athabasca ice. Where the Information Center is now was covered with ice ten years ago. When you walk towards the glacier, the ground is covered with large and small rocks. Rocks that used to be inside the ice. Left behind as the ice melted. I'll add a couple of pictures. One is of my son.

Lake Louise

And to-day we have rain. Guess I got that grass cut just in time.

When you go to Banff, you have to see Lake Louise. Well I did and it certainly doesn't look the same when it is frozen over. Frozen lakes I can see at home. Took my picture in front of it. The Indians called it Lake of the Little Fishes. The first white man called it Emerald Lake and the Government changed that to Lake Louise after one of Queen Victoria's daughters who also had the name Alberta, which became the name of the province.

Jasper

Not as warm to-day. Only 21C/70F. And very windy.

While in Alberta, I went to the four national parks. They are joined together, two in Alberta and two in British Columbia. While in Jasper, I took the Tramway, which is the highest and longest in Canada. Here's a link http://www.jaspertramway.com/ . And a photo.

Back Home

Warm to-day. Temp is 30 C/86 F. What a surprise. It has been only 10 C for the past week with rain off and on.

A couple of years ago, they dug up the street for new pipes. This took months. Anyway, half of everyone's lawn went with it. So when they were finished, they put down new sod for everyone. two years later, that part of the lawns have very little grass. But they do have lots of dandelions.

My wife spent 5 hrs. one day pulling them out. My next door neighbour called the city about it and they said they would send someone out to look at it. Maybe new sods, but more than likely maybe advice. It's much cheaper.

Just got back from a trip to Alberta. My son took me on vacation with him. Horse back riding one day white water rafting another day. Now that was an experience. I'll add a photo. Me in front with the hat. My son next to me and two guides in the rear.

We had a cabin near the Athabasca river so we could see rafts going down. There was about twelve people on the raft with a guide in the center doing the paddling. So I thought this was a piece of cake. Surprise! My son had arranged the sports model and I had to paddle for my life. But it was great. On other days, we walked up and down canyons. One thing about walking to the bottom of a canyon, you have to walk back up.

This should be enough for to-day. Have grass to cut sometime. Wait for this evening when it is cooler.

Sunshine

Sunshine out there to-day. Supposed to go up to 12 C, 50 F. Stopped raining yesterday afternoon after three days.
A couple of days ago, the guy came in to clean the furnace. Sub-contracted to Sears. Different person than I usually have. Took things apart and said we needed a new furnace. Never did clean it. Spent the whole time telling us we needed to lease a furnace. Yeah, right. Went to his truck to do the paperwork and when he returned, he had already made arrangements for someone to come to do a sales pitch.
Will be getting a second opinion from my plumber. Don't want this to be a case of "Lets rip off the seniors".
The furnace is 25 years old and maybe I do need it replaced but I'll decide from where it comes.
Anyway, there is no hurry.
Guess I can do my 3km.walk to-day.

Thank You GE

Its 7:20, Wed. morning . The wind is howling and it is still raining. Since Mon. morning. But its not a big deal. If this was snow instead of rain, it would be a big deal.
Received a call from my doctor on Mon. That was quick. He doesn't fool around when he has to call. Hospital wasn't happy with my results, so now I have to go back for another CAT Scan. That cyst is getting expensive.
Had toast for breakfast and looking at the toaster, I'm reminded of its age. Received it for a wedding present, so in Feb. I will have it for 40 yrs. It's used almost every day and more than once. Only changed the cord on it twice. Made by General Electric. They certainly don't make things like that anymore. Another example of that would be the old radio from the 1930's that I am redoing. Changing all the paper capacitors and the leads are wound tight around the posts and soldered. Just like pulling teeth.
In contrast, my wife wanted a calculator with big numbers. While getting a haircut, I noticed the barber had one. Asked him where he bought it and he said at the $1.00 store. So I went and bought one. Imagine, buying a calculator for $1.00 and expecting it to work. It didn't. Took it apart and couldn't believe what I saw. The circuit board was a piece of paper and the schematic was drawn in pencil. Put it back together and it still works a year later. Guess the sheet of paper wasn't seated properly. And that's about the only repair one can do on that.

Waiting For Storm

Monday morning, 7 a.m, very windy and light rain. The temp is -4 C 26 F. Big storm in the U.S. for the last couple of days. I can look at the radar map for Halifax airport and can see that the storm is mighty close. At least it will rid us of the rest of the snow. Some of it is still ;ingering about. At this time of year, I should be getting ready to cut the grass for the first time. It's warmer cutting grass than shoveling snow. A good day to stay in the house. I'll work on my oldmagazineads .org/. Takes a while to put each one in.
Every day in the newspaper, I raed about out soldiers being killed in Afghanistan. To-day is no exception. Two coming back in coffins.
Had to go for an ultrasound last Thur. First time for that. Since I haven't done anything in a hospital since 1955, everything is first time. Oops, that's wrong. Went two months ago, when this all started. I must say, drinking that liter of water and holding it was quite unpleasant. Find out about that sometime this week.

Easter Snow.

We don't usually get snow at Easter, but there it is. It was only 10", so not a big deal. The temp. is still hovering around 0 C, 32 F. And it is very windy. Adding a picture of the snow. At this time of year, I should be out raking the lawn. The news yesterday was that six soldiers were killed in Afghanistan. I think all were from the Maritimes. One was from our city of Dartmouth. Still have my ads on e-bay and have also started a web page for them. Called it "Old Magazine Ads" at wwws.oldmagazineads.org. Just started, so not that many ads yet. I will put all the e-bay ads on it plus others. So most of the ads will be on this site. All ads will be $4.95 and the one postage will be $3.00, worldwide. we will see how it works anyway.

The sun is shining right now but it is supposed to rain or snow this afternoon.

Start of April

Operation on bladder ? Well, that didn't happen. Went for my pre-op check two days before. Had the flu, so operation was cancelled. Now I'm on the waiting list. And I haven't heard a word.
Started an internet store for my ads. Called oldmagazineads.org . Want to see how this works. Just started it two days ago, so not too many ads yet. All ads are $4.95 and $3.00 postage anywhere.
It has been cold going for a walk these days. Temp. has been around +2 C, +34 F. The wind is worse of all. At least it blows in my face only half the way.

Feb.Blah

Snowed last night. Only about 6 ins. Not a big deal.
Well, I have to go to the hospital two weeks from tomorrow. Seems like I have a stone in my bladder. Not that common I guess. They are going to take that out and cut a piece off my prostate. I guess this is a good thing. When they did the CAT scan , they found two spots on my kidney. This is the only thing that bothers me about the whole thing. Now I need to get an ultrasound to find out about that. All we can do is see what happens.

Things Done

Rained all night, which is a good thing, considering the snow we got on Mon. We didn't expecting that. I had to go for a flu shot about an hr. after the snow started. It was tough going. My neighbour told me that he came back from Bedford in the evening, which would normally take about 1/2 hr, took him 5 1/2 hrs.
Glad I got all my new windows in a week earlier. Ordered 1/2 of them in Aug. and the other 1/2 in Sept. And what happens. They all come the same day in Nov. Anyway , its done now.
So this year we have new shingles on the roof, all new windows, new wheelchair ramp out front, three bedrooms with laminate floor, two new fridges, new stove and yesterday I bought a fireplace insert. Still have to redo my kitchen but not this month. At least I have the appliances which is a start.
Still adding ads to my ebay store http://stores.ebay.ca/Karstens-Emporium-of-Ads Put in a chev from 1960 with a Cinderella coach in the backround. Noticed that year had a lot of ads with ref. to that coach.

FAMILY - Well here is a picture of everyone who lives at this house.
Myself, my wife Bettina (Betty), my son John. Met my wife when I was stationed in Germany in the 60's. My son works for ADP in the U.S. as a Payroll Systems Analyst. He used to travel back and forth every week, but now he does a lot of work from home. He is going somewhere this week though. Left this afternoon for Ann Arbor MI. And my daughter in the wheelchair is Natasha. Born with Cerebral Palsy, she is now 33 yrs old.

STORMS - Rain off and on for the last three days. Last Fri. was big rain and big wind. Tomorrow is supposed to be bad again. When you turn on the weather channel and the screen is red, means severe weather. Out in parts of B.C. its over 40 C.
LEBANON - Getting worse there. Now everyone wants to get out.
I guess Israel just got fed up. The Hezbollah sitting on their border causing grief. The Lebanonese didn't do anything about it. Not only that, they even elected them to their Parlament. I guess it got to the point that enough was enough.
INTERESTING FACT - The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

TODAY- The weather was warm yesterday and to-day. Right now being 21 C which is 70 F
YARD SALE - Actually there was a street sale yesterday. The more families that take part the better. Lots of peple wandering around and my wife was happy with the results.
VICUNAS - If you don't know what they are, here you go Peruvians Shear Vicunas in Annual Roundup What surprised me was how the population increased from 12,000 to 200,000. Maybe they are related to rabbits. But seriously, here is a national resource that was almost lost. A great example of using what you have available.
MICROSOFT - Paul Allen is the co-founder of Microsoft but you never hear his name mentioned. All you hear about is Bill gates. Why is that ? Vintage Warplanes Going Airborne Again
BIRD FLU - You don't hear much about it anymore. It is still going on and people are still dying. But the mid-east deserves more attention at this time.
More people being killed every day.
What I don't understand is why Americans and Canadians are working and living there. Sure, maybe you have relatives there etc, etc. But your family left there for a reason. And walking around with a Canadian flag and especially American flag on your shoulder isn't going to help much. When you sit on a powder keg, you are asking for trouble. And it is quite possible that soldiers can be killed trying to bring them out.
MOUNTIES - Heard to-day that those two mounties that got shot in Sask. died. It appears to me that more mounties seem to be getting shot. It never used to be like that. And the sad part is that many are shot just trying to break up a family fight.

RAIN - No, not today. Its 22* C and that is equal to 72* F.
MILITARY - One of the airmen killed in that helicopter crash yesterday had a brother who was killed six years ago in a crash. He was a pilot with the Coast guard.
GAS PRICES - The price of gas went up yesterday. The new price is $1.1602 a liter. And that price will stay the same for the next two weeks. After that it will change again, depending on market price. And by the look of things, I don't think it will be down.
The government has control over what the gas station can charge. But they have no control over what the gas company charges them. So if there is a spike in gas prices, the gas station will have to take the hit or just stop selling gas.
COORS BEER - Baron Charged With Drunk Driving Pete Coors, the telegenic beer company executive and chief commercial pitcher, as well as a former Senate candidate, was arrested in May for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, according to court officials.
Quote
"For years, I've advocated the responsible use of our company's products. That's still my message, and our company's message. I am sorry that I didn't follow it myself." An example of "do as I say not what I do"
MOVIES - Drive-in movies attract new generation What's next ? Roller skates for A & W. Come to think of it, we went to A & W at lunch time. It was in a mall so it didn't feel the same.
INTERESTING FACT - Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

SINKING - Big rain all night, big rain to-day. Had some rain come in under the cement at my basement door. My wife phoned Permacrete to look at it. There is a drain that runs all around the house. If it gets plugged up, the water may go into the house. And their solution is to dig a trench from the back of the house to the front to drain the water. They would dig this trench right through my basement floor. Picture that. This all happened a couple of weeks ago. Betty thinks we should get it done right away before it gets worse. And my idea is, lets not panic. We first have to check this out better and get more info from people who are not trying to sell us something.
The back door has three steps going down to a cement pad. In this pad is a hole that takes the rain into the drain. This hole filled up with leaves so we had a nice wading pool and the water went under the door jamb. Got rid of all the leaves and Betty put a wire fish into the hole and off to both sides. So far there is no water coming in.
Betty called a friend about it. Her husband works in this area of business. He came by and told us that the best thing to do was break the cement and dig down to the pipe. Then we can probably clean it out. We can do that after the rain stops.
NO GAS - Heard on the news about some gas stations being closed in Alberta. Esso I think. It seems that a refinery was shut down for an upgrade. It took longer than expected and the reserves ran out. There's a wakeup call for you. If something happens to some refineries, after three days you won't be able to get gas. Grocery stores operate the same way. Warehouses only have enough for three days. Our system depends on everything moving at the same time, all the time.
DAY OFF - I love this headline. Shuttle crew takes day off What do they do when they take the day off ? Go for a stroll ?
JOB LOSS - Intel to Slash 1,000 Management Jobs They use that word management very freely. In most cases it is a pay raise. And you feel much better when you are called Manager. The press always makes it look like there are actual management jobs being lost, when in reality its the workers as usual.
After all you have to have the money to pay all those Vice Presidents, because there may be hundreds of them on the payroll.
MILITARY - 3 killed as helicopter crashes during 'bread and butter' exercise
You don't have to go to Afghanistan to get killed. It can happen by just being at work.
INTERESTING FACT - The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour is 61,000.

AS USUAL - Big rain last night, with thunder and lightining. Forcast rain for to-day and tomorrow.
CHORES - It seems like there is a list of chores I have to drive around and do every day. There are some Franciscan Monks that have moved into the area. They have an old house that nuns used to own. Last week I brought them a couple of items of furniture. One of my neighbours has given me a recliner chair, so that will be going out there today.
Since I now have laminate floors in the bedrooms, I will now need some small mats. In this house that means going out and buying new mats, bringing them home to see how they look and if they fail the test, they will have to be returned. At this point we have two sets of mats and one will be going back today. And there may be more yet to test.
To the post office with an e-bay parcel.
Fluorescent light tubes I no longer use, dropped off at church.
And the other chores ? I find out what they are as I drive away from the house.
REGULATE GAS PRICES - Now that's a story. Filled up on the last day of June. Gas was $1.09 a liter. The next day gas became regulated and it immediately went to $1.15 a liter. I always thought regulation meant holding the line on sharp increases. But now being older and wiser, I find out it means holding the line on decreases. Now the question is, who is getting this six cents ?
PATIO - Finished with the patio yesterday. And I guess just in time. Two gal. of stain and not a drop to spare. If Betty could have wrung out the can, she would have. Now we have to do the front wheel chair ramp.
INTERESTING FACT - It is impossible to lick your elbow. Even if you wanted to.

THINGS TO DO - But not yet. There will be no rushing out to finish the patio. What I see is fog and lots of it.
MORNING PAPER - What I see on the front page to-day, as I have seen for the past week, is about the booming economy of Alberta. I swear that Halifax Herald must be getting a bonus from Syncrude. Everything is milk and honey and the streets are paved with gold. From my experience, there is always a bad side to everything.
Remember a few years ago. They didn't want maritimers out there. The Premier at the time , who is still the Premier, was offering free bus tickets to return home. But he has softened with age and he wants us all back. No bus tickets though. We're getting plane tickets to fly back.
The bottom line is that I won't be going out there unless its for a trip. I first wrote,"unless I'm on vacation". But I'm always on vacation. And I am too busy to get a job.
RETIREMENT - A lot of people go out west to make enough for retirement. But I have already done that so no use doing it again. My lifestyle is the same now as when I worked. You get to do the things you want to do and you don't have to rush it. When I worked for security at the airport, half the time I would have to get up at 4:00 am. For the longest time I would still get up at that time, but only on the days that my shift was working.
Stats Canada says that the average Canadian male retires at 61.5 yrs. of age. And that is exactly when I did.