Maybe I am just a slow learner.... and some pictures (Blog 18 of 30)

Maybe it is true.... maybe I am a slow learner.

If you read blog 16, you will know that I chose to ride my motorcycle to the races on Saturday and just about froze to death.

Well, today I had a preacher's meeting in Regina (I would blog about it but it is top secret!  I would have to kill you.... in the love of God of course) and so what do I think, "It is 5 degrees this morning.... how cold could it feel?????  It likely is not that bad, right????

I got there at 10 am...... when I looked at my watch at 11:40 I had to hold my arm still to stop the shaking so that I could read it.

And the ride up was the nice part!!!!   It was below 10 on the way home and it was pouring rain when I got to Stoughton.

Maybe I should have a committee to help me make decisions regarding my motorcycle.  Or at least a set of guidelines ("If it it ________ cold, do not ride your motorcycle!")

I have been home for about 3 hours now and my fingers are still tingling because they are still thawing!!

I love having a motorcycle!!!!   :)

PS.  The girls went picture taking today.... here is a random sample of them and by them.  As well, a few pics from Sari's time in Watrous.

 

Why can't I have a race track in my back yard? (Blog 17 of 30)

Yesterday, Sari was at a planning conference in Watrous.... insert "old people" joke here!  :)  (I am just kidding.... she said it was lovely).  The girls were playing soccer in Moose Jaw, so that left me to go to Manor, Sask.

Why Manor?

Well, a guy named Derek Big Eagle built a stock car track on his land and was running an "outlaw" stock car race (In other words, unsanctioned so you could run big engines, wide tires, whatever you wanted).

I gotta say, the place and the day was impressive!  He had seating for about 1600 people.  He had a great race track.  He even had a dude there with a helicopter to give people rides.  Cost $50 for about 10 minutes - but it was quite the 10 minutes. This guy was doing the "Vomit Comet" thing - going way up in the air and then dropping right to the tree tops, buzzing the grandstand.... it looked like fun but I was too cheap to do it.

In fact, the helicopter thing was so scary looking that it made me wince several times as I thought I was about to witness my "airshow crash dream" in person (If you don't know what that means - ask me sometime - but short form.... I have a reoccurring nightmare about watching the Snowbirds crash and then I have to go get the dead pilots out.  I know.... I could make some counselor rich).

Anyway, it was a great day.  It is called "The Flying High at the Eagle Showdown" and they hold it in Sept every year as a fundraiser (this year for the Manor fire department).  Go if you get the chance.  Here are some pics and a video to convince you.

Why do Motorcycles make people stupid? (Blog 16 of 30)

What is it about motorcycles that make people stupid?

Some people ride them way too fast.  That, however is not my problem.  I read too many stats and I often think about what could happen, so I consistently ride the speed limit.

Other people do all sorts of stupid stunts:  Catwalks, riding with no hands, standing on the seat... you see some really dumb things.  No me.... I can't afford to fix my bike after dropping it.  Besides, mine does not have enough power to do a wheelie or a catwalk anyway...

Some people are stupid in that they spend way too much money on a bike.  I know guys who have $30 000 in their bike (or more).  Now, if that is how you want to spend your money, have at it, but it seems like a sketchy choice to me considering you can only ride them about 6 months of the year up here and not every day at that.  No me.... my bike is good enough for me but it is on the "budget" end of the scale.  I know people have twice as much in accessories as my whole bike cost.

No, none of those things are my issue.  What is my issue???

I am that guy who always says, "Oh come on! How cold could it be???"

Case in point:  Today I decided to ride my motorcycle to a stock car race in Manor, Sask - just over an hour from here (I will post some pics from the races tomorrow).  Forecast for the day:  High of 15.  Wind SE at 20 km/h. 

Now that is not a bad fall day.... unless you are riding 100 km/h on a motorcycle and then sitting in that temp for 6 hours and riding back..... in the dark..... when the sun is gone ...... when the temp is dropping like a rock.

I was smart enough to bring extra layers of clothes (I am not fortunate enough to have a bike with a big fairing to keep the wind off and I do not have heated hand grips), so I put a few more layers on before I came home. 

In the end, I had two layers of stuff under my riding pants and I had 6 layers - yes 6 - on top (an undershirt, a long sleeve shirt...  another long sleeve shirt .... a sweat shirt.... a fleece jacket and then my riding jacket...... I felt like the Michelin Man!)

Even with all those layers keeping my core warm, my fingers got cold.  I wondered why it felt so bad when I was basically dressed for a training mission in the Artic....... so I checked when I got home and it was 5 degrees outside!!!!

5 degrees!!!!  Add in about 90 km/h worth of wind chill (I went a little slower than the speed limit b/c it was dark and I wanted to have an extra second of reaction time if a deer jumped out) and that equals.... well ......

5 degrees x 90 km/h x my IQ at that moment (not a large number) x more than an hour = really cold!!!

But I made it home.  And, as I see it, it could have been worse. 

I could have been one of those guys who saw my bike and wished they were riding theirs!  :)

Small towns (Blog 15 of 30)

Say what you will about living in a small town, but I like it.

The "Estevan Business Showcase and Collage Cultural Festival" (Say that 10 times fast) started tonight, so the kids and I went (Sari is out of town). I always like Showcase - not so much because of the trade show part of it (I hate shopping) - but because we get to see and meet a lot of people. 

For example, they had a bunch of campers and 5th wheels on display in the courtyard.... first one I walk into I hear "So what are you going to do now that racing season is over?"  It was a guy I know through another buddy of mine (he goes to the races all the time and saw me working out there this year).

Come out of the camper, see a couple from church. Go into the rink, say "hi" to several business people that I know. Walk around the corner and run into a several girls from the kid's soccer team. Go out by the food vendors, get bugged for not showing up to "Noon Hockey" yet.... and on and on it goes.

To some people, that would be really annoying... and I will admit that there are times that I would like to go to Canadian Tire and get out without seeing anyone I know.... but overall I like the community feeling of knowing and being known. 

It is nice and it is fun...... and it is definitely way better than just shopping!

NIce! (Blog 14 of 30)

The girls got their soccer "track suits/warm-up/wander around and look cute in" stuff today.  I think they look very "spiffy" (as my mom would say) or "swank" (as Sari's dad would say).... or some other nice "s" work anyway.

PS.  Though they are not wearing them in the picture, they have pants that go with the jackets, as well.  Looks good!  No?

Additional/bonus blog

MSN won't let me embed this video but click the link.....  Fireball spotted in northern Alberta

 Check out this great MSN video - Fireball spotted in northern Alberta

Two Vehicle Notes/Observations (Blog 13 of 30)

There is a theme in the blog today.... cars.... or more accurately... vehicles.

First, on the way to work today, I noticed that the driver of the car coming towards me was combing her hair as she drove.  This got me thinking.....

"How late do you get up if you actually have to comb your hair as you drive from one place to another in Estevan, Saskatchewan?"

I mean - seriously - come on!  I can see it in, lets say, Calgary where your morning commute may be something in the neighourhood of an hour.... maybe then you can use some extra sleep time and combing your hair on that long journey may be a good option.

But in Estevan???????

You can drive from one side of town to the other in less than 10 minutes if you hit the lights right.

And she had really long hair.  I am guessing that by the time she got to where she was going that she only had 1/2 her hair done (because of the short travel time) and had to circle the block six more times until she combed out the rest of it.... thus negating her "driving/hair combing advantage".

I see two viable options here.....

1.  Get up earlier

2.  Have hair like me.  I can have it all combed out by the time I put my seat belt on.  :)
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Have you bought your VW van yet?  Better get on it.  As the article here tells you, production is about to after 63 years.

My girls are going to be sad!  They like those things.

I hope VW sold a few of them in years past.  Maybe we can find one on the used market.  :)

(Those last two lines are meant to be a little joke.  VW has sold more than 10 million of them)

Fun Kids (Blog 12 of 30)

We spent Friday and Saturday in Moose Jaw at "Soccerfest".  Here are a few pics(mostly "warm up" pics but you get the idea)....

PS.  Tonight I (Tim) drove an SUV full of six girls to Weyburn to play a game.  Now, with some kids a ratio of "6 teenage girls vs. 1 Dad" may have been torture.  However, just like on the weekend, it was a ton of fun!  We laughed.... and sang off-key to the radio.... we teased Katie about how fast she eats.... it was way more fun than I expected.

Don't tell me that there aren't any "good kids" around any more!!

I know a whole soccer team of them.    :)

The Problem of Jealousy - and a cool video (Blog 11 of 30)

Sara works at an elementary school in our neighbourhood.  Part of her job is running a breakfast program every morning. When she started the program two years ago, guess who her first "volunteer" was for the Monday morning portion of the week......

So I was breakfast this morning.... Things were sort of slow, so I went around talking to a bunch of the kids (One goal of the program is to get the kids to know some of the adults in their community, because many kids these days grow up without a lot of child/adult interaction).

Eventually I got to the table where our neighbour's 10 year old girl was sitting.  I asked her and the other girl with her, "So what did you do this weekend?"

They replied, "We went to the hockey game together".

I said, "Cool were there lots of people there?"

"Ya quite a few."

Then I asked, "Did you do the dance camera thing?" (The radio station sponsors a dance camera thing in the third period where all the kids get up and dance and then they put their pictures on the scoreboard, etc).

"No - we did not do that"

"What?????" I said.  "Man if I was a little kid I would be up there dancing the entire game!!"

They looked at me sort of strangely as if I was kidding so I said, "No, seriously, I've got moves"..... and then I started busting out a few of my best dance moves.

Our neighbour girl watched for about two seconds and then looked away with this horrified expression on her face... sort of the same thing you would get if you just ran over her favourite puppy.

Oddly - when I dance at home, my girls react in much the same way.  Then they often say something about me never doing that in public.......

Jealousy is an odd thing!  :)
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Here is a bonus for you.  Ever wonder what it would be like to fly over the french countryside on the back of an eagle???? (Hasn't everyone??????)  Well, here is your answer......

Too Many Soccer Balls to the Head????

Blogging stopped for a few days because we were in Moose Jaw at "Soccerfest" with the girls. They played 5 games in less than 26 hours.... so they were busy.... and tired..... as you can see from this picture of them on the ride home.

Waterfall hair-doos were necessary for some reason.  They are a fun bunch to road trip with.  

Real soccer pictures and a real blog tomorrow.  For now, I am going to bed. G'night!

Apparently, it is a little crowded out there (Blog 10 of 30)

 

So did you see this article?

Apparently, we had a near miss yesterday.... well, "near" in space terms anyway. 

A asteroid, named 2013 RZ53, zipped between us and the moon yesterday.

Now it was still 148,000 miles (230,800 kilometers) away at its closest point, but that is still close.  For comparison, the moon orbits Earth at an average distance of about 239,000 miles (384,600 km).

The scarier part (if you are the type to be scared) .... read this.....

"NASA scientists have found more than 90 percent of the mountain-sized near-Earth   asteroids, behemoths larger than 0.6 miles (1 km) that could cause problems on a global scale if they were to impact the planet.

"But just 30 percent of the roughly 15,000 near-Earth asteroids that are 460 feet (140 m) wide have been cataloged, and less than 1 percent of the more than 1 million objects that are about 100 feet (30 m) in diameter have been found, NASA estimates

So far this month, scientists and amateur astronomers submitting data to the Minor Planet Center have found 75 near-Earth objects and two comets. This year alone, observers have found 676 near-Earth objects and 46 comets.

Wa???????  

Sweet dreams!!!!  :)

Do NOT try this at home (blog 9 of 30)

So I am making toast this morning.... Toaster pops.... I open the refrigerator door to get the jam... I walk over to the counter.... holding the jar a little sideways, I open the lid ... and a TORRENT of liquid comes pouring out!!!!!

So now I am thinking.... "Wa?  Did the jam liquefy itself? Did it sit there so long it separated??? What is going on????"

It was the jar of Jalapenos!

I didn't have time to "re-toast" everything, so let me just say..... you may not think jalapeno juice soaked toast would be all that great.... and it isn't.... but spread some strawberry jam on it and ....... mmmmmm...... spicy strawberry!!! 

I think we have a winner!!!! :)

A Sample

A little sample of last night's stuff.  We did not see this set or hear this song, but the musicians are the same.  Gives you the idea.

Concert Review (Blog 8 of 30)

Overall grade for the guys:  B (Good show... they tried hard)

Overall grade for the crowd:  D minus.... bordering on an "F" (I hate going to concerts with Canadians... a bunch of "sit on their hands do nothings!" Cheer.... Whoop.... Keep time with the music.... CLAP AT LEAST!!!!  YOU AREN'T DEAD!!!!  Though.... granted.... some in the crowd were near to it.... they could see the cliff clearly - if you know what I mean)  :)

Material (for the guys):  C... maybe a "B" (I was getting sort of "Musical genre whiplash" as they bounced from traditional stuff to modern and back again.  As well, I would have liked them to do more Irish songs - forget the modern stuff - and toss in a happy one once in a while - would that kill ya????)

Material (Band):  A +  (I loved the band.... played some reels... tin flute, mandolins, harps, the violin girl danced while she played - super impressive - would liked to have heard more from them)

Crowd size: B (Much better than I expected.... good turn out)

Stage:  A (Very cool!  Big Celtic cross in the middle... lots of fog and lights, etc.  Very professional)

Number of songs:  A (One song ended, the next started.  Got to hear lots of stuff.  Sort of missed some of the "This song was written when I was ..... " sort of stuff - I like that - but on the other hand, we paid to hear them sing, not talk - though with their accents I am sure the girls would have paid to hear them talk too - so it was nice to roll through a ton of songs)

Overall.... a really good night out with my girls!  Super nice memory!  I had tons of fun (even if the grades are low in some areas... I enjoyed it.  I just would have had more fun if they had done things differently in a few places).

The girls (all three) loved having the good looking Irish boys singing to them.... especially at the end when they wore their kilts!  All night long, I kept hearing "Ooooohhh" from the three of them.

Our seats were on the floor and in the 4th row - so they were good.

Slightly expensive.... but well worth the money.  It was a nice night out with great musicians and some impressive singers.  A more "into it" crowd would have helped a lot but it was fun none the less.

Overall grade:  B

If you were there, tell me what you thought.  If you get I chance to see them, I would say "go".

Now looking forward to seeing "Great Big Sea" - that should be a more lively concert!  :)

Random facts, Quiz answer and .... something (Blog 7 of 30)

From the random facts file.....

1.  Did you know that a Honda CBR1000RR sport bike can hit 100 mph in third gear.... and that it still has three gears left after that????  What????  Who needs that sort sort of speed on public roads???  It can also do 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds.  (I am not sure why anyone would need something like that, but it sounds fun, no?)  - Courtesy of "Twist the Throttle" - a TV show I was just watching.

2.  Did you know that at one time you could eat Montana license plates???  During the war years when metal was scarce, the green Montana plates were made from soy beans.  Ranchers often lost their plates to hungry cows (true story.... I just read that it in the "Prairies North Magazine"
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Quiz answer:  Several people - both public and privately - guessed the answer to my "What did we like in the Celtic Thunder video/know your Pippus'" test..... the girls liked the bass singing boy and I liked the girl in the long dress playing the fiddle/violin.  Who can resist a violin??????
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And here is the "something" part....

One of Katie's classes was given an assignment to re-write our national anthem..... so her group decided to rap it. 

Why three of the absolutely whitest girls I know would choose to rap anything is beyond me..... but "A" for effort, creativity, bravery, giving it a shot, being who you are.... and an "A+" for silliness.  Have a look for yourself.  :) 

You can grade them in the comments section below... Katie is on the left of the screen.

A nice Sunday afternoon (Blog 6 of 30)

You don't have to go thousands of miles away to find nice places or fun things to do.  In fact, there are interesting places everywhere.... you just have to find them.... and maybe go with the right people.

Here is sample of our Sunday afternoon hike out at a quiet cove on Rafferty Dam. 

 
A little windy..... a little sunny..... but lovely none-the-less. 

Three steps to a quieter Saturday morning (Blog 5 of 30)

Some of the world's greatest discoveries have come unintentionally.... by means of a fortunate accident.  (I cannot think of any right off the top of my head, but go with me on this ok?...... Oh wait......"Vulcanized Rubber" is one.... go look that up!  HA!!!)

Anyway, this morning I stumbled onto a three-step method guaranteed to get rid of those religious door knocking people who usually show up early on Saturday mornings and want to discuss all manner of things - you know who I mean (Ed. note:  Please read down through the disclaimer at the bottom of this post).

Step 1:  Meet them at the door carrying a big butcher knife.  Seriously, that is what I did this morning.  You should have seen the look on dude's face!!!  Baaaa haaa haaaa!!!!!  I was holding it at about chest level so it was easy to see.  When I opened the door, he took about three steps back down the stairs and was like "Whoa, whoa!!"

Now, that was the "accidental discovery" part.  I did not intend to threaten the poor man.  When he rang the bell I was actually opening up a new car battery tester that my lovely wife bought me (40% off at C Tire this week - best deal you will find anywhere).  It just so happened that I forgot to put the knife down.  It got his attention very quickly, though, and actually threw off the rest of his talk (I never did put the knife down.... he kept glancing at it).

Step 2:  Listen politely.  That seemed to confuse him as well.  I think he was prepared for an argument when he rang the bell... then he saw the knife and his "fight instinct" turned to "flight"..... then I wasn't fighting back..... his emotional chart would have been all over the place.  He was completely discombobulated.

Step 3:  Tell him that you work for the church of Christ in town.  Admittedly, this is going to be harder for some of you than for others (unless you enjoy lying..... and then you have other issues to deal with).  Generally speaking, this piece of information stops them dead in their tracks..... and gets you a look that says, "Well why did you not mention this before????"

So there you go.  Three fool-proof, proven steps to rid yourself of this common problem.

Or just do step 1.  A few times of that and I am sure word will get around.  :)

Disclaimer:  While I do not agree with everything they teach and I believe that door knocking is actually hurting their cause rather than helping it.... I have to give them a pat on the back for trying.  Lots of people claim to believe lots of stuff that they say they believe is SUPER IMPORTANT and they do NOTHING about any of it.  At least these guys believe what they believe enough to try and tell others because they believe that you need to believe it too.  If we believed in the way they believed, maybe more people would believe.... I really believe that!  :)

That should be enough for now (Blog 4 of 30)

I (Tim) did not like biology in school.  I preferred physics.  It was much more logical and followed rules that made sense.  Biological things, on the other hand, did not seem to understand logic.

Prime example:  Last night, I played squash for the first time in a year and a half.  Logically, I should have been well-rested!  I mean, not only have I not played squash in a year and half, I have not done anything in a year and a half (Unless you count watching football on TV.... there is a lot of running up and down the stairs to get snacks when I am doing that).

In this case, physics would talk about "kinetic energy" or "potential energy" (energy that is stored up and ready to be used and converted to action.... or something like that.... I really did not pay attention.).  Biologically, that did not seem to make sense to my body.

After only ten minutes, I was sweating badly and had a hard time catching my breath.... and that was when I was still in the locker room getting dressed.

After 4 minutes on the court, I was so sore I could literally feel my spleen aching (and I don't even know where my spleen is).  The 20 minutes in I got huge pains on both sides of my body.  For a moment, I wondered if I was having a heart attack, but then I realized that the pain was too low to be my heart... unless my heart had jiggled loose and relocated itself - a distinct possibility that had me worried for quite a while too.  (A dislocated heart sounds painful and hard to rehab from.)

To get me through, I kept singing "Gang of Rhythm" by "Walk off the earth".  It is a funny happy song (if you have never heard it, click here).  When exercising I always have a song going through my head.  I find it helps my mood and keeps me playing well.  I also find that if you sing the words out loud, at the top of your lungs and very off key just as your opponent is about to hit the ball... that helps too.

In addition to all of this, the squash court was so hot that the concession people were actually cooking pizzas in there.  I am not kidding!  When we opened the door to go in, steam came out!  Nothing says "Optimum exercising conditions" like being in a room that is so hot the paint is peeling off the walls.   (By the way, do not get the "pizza special" at the leisure centre today.... just saying)  

Anyway, I survived and I am sore today.  However, I did manage to win 6 of 8 games.  Hopefully, that is enough to break my opponent's spirit so that he never calls me to play that silly game again.

Once every year and a half is enough, don't you think?  :)

How well do you know the Pippus'.... or is it "Pippi"? (blog 3 of 30)

The group below is called "Celtic Thunder" and they are coming to Estevan next week.  As you would expect, they sing mostly old time Irish tunes (At least I hope this is the case.  Some of their stuff sounds very  "Broadway show tune-ish".....  they better not pull out much of that stuff or "someone" is going to be "booing"!!!!!

Anyway, at work I am signed up to an email list, originating in Houston, Texas, that has to do with Biblical texts (fun stuff right?).  Yesterday - out of the blue - buddy sends me the video below.  When I saw who it was, I had to watch.

The song is super cheesy - but there is one part in particular where my girls (all three) went "ooooooohhhhhh". 

Test #1:  Watch the video and tell me what part they really liked.  (You can describe it or write down the time in the video when it happens)

Test #2:  (To be fair) There is a part that I (Tim) like too..... name it.

How well do you know our family?????  We will find out in 4 minutes and 14 seconds.  Enjoy!  :)

PS.  After watching the video, I am afraid that I may have to dress as a white haired old lady to go to this concert - just to fit in with the proper demographic.  

Want to be happier? Watch this! (2 of 30 blogs in 30 days)

I do not know this guy.  I do not know anything about him.  Sari found the video somewhere and was all excited about.  I said, "Ya, ya, whatever".

You have to watch this!  Seriously.

By the way, he does not mention the Christianity and he is not coming from a faith perspective, but this is part of the gospel message (Ask me if you want to know more about that)

Enjoy!

My new project

With winter coming (I know that is not a nice thought, but it is likely to happen anyway), I have been looking for a project to take on for the winter.

Tonight I found it......  a 1983 Honda CB 1000.

I put an ad on a local classified page and this guy contacted me.  He said he had this bike that ran but did not run well.  It had a new seat and new tires.  When I heard how big it was I thought he would want too much money for it, but I asked anyway and he said, "The seat cost me $100 and the tires were $500 new.  If you give me 1/2 the price of the tires and pay for the seat, I will throw in the rest of the bike".

So what does $250 get you in terms of a motorcycle.  Surprisingly a lot I think.  Have a look!

 I think it looks really good for a $250 bike.  Once I get it running, put some signal lights back on it, sort out a few electrical issues, find some mirrors that will work with the straight handlebar that is on it (which I think looks really cool).... I think I will have a bike that is worth a lot more than I paid for it.

And if I can't get it running, I will sell the seat and the tires and rims (and whatever else is worth something) and I am still making money.

What do you think?

PS.  I think it is a big enough bike that it will sell (A "Manly 1000ccs")... and being that it is 30 years old it can be licensed as an antique for $139/year.   I know guys who have newer bikes that are pushing $130/month.  Couple all that with new tires..... It has got to be easy to flip right?