Part time fan - but glad to be this time (Blog 27 of 30)

Every year I say I am not going to watch curling on TV.  I think to myself, "It is sort of slow.  Why bother?"

And then every year I get sucked in.

I did not watch much of the Brier this year, but last night's game between Manitoba and Team Canada was good (big comeback for the win by Team Canada) and then tonight's was even better.

Congrats to Newfoundland/Lab for winning on home ice with a last shot draw.

Who has the movie rights?  Get me Brad Gushue's phone number!

I was glad I got suck into watching curling again.

Sunday preview

Here is what we are talking about at church.  Come and hear it and invite someone if you like!

How to be offended by Everything (Blog 26 of 30)

In a nutshell, this is why I quit Facebook.  Everyone's outrage meter is at like "10" all the time.  If yours is not, this video is for you.

PS.  I am offended by the terrible acting in this video.  I am also offended that they took an idea that could have been really funny and did such a lousy job of it.  I want my money back!!!  Oh wait....

Who Knew? [And a special one time offer] (Blog 25 of 30)

I am not a big comic book guy.  Not into Superman, Spider-Man, etc.  However, I have always liked "The Far Side" and "Calvin and Hobbs".

Sara recently gave me this book..........

I thought it was just going to be a history book sort of thing, but it was way more interesting than that.

Did you know that Bill Watterson quit doing Calvin and Hobbs on Dec. 31, 1995 and that the strip only ran for 10 years?

Did you know that he HATED the celebrity status that the cartoon gave him?  He thought (a) that it was stupid that people got attention just because they did something that was public in nature.  He figured that was no more special or interesting than anyone else.  He was just a guy doing a job...... and (b) that he could not do that job well if he caved into the fame.  He figured that if he lost his anonymity that he would lose the ability to observe and experience "real life" and the strip would suffer from the unreal perspective that came with fame.

Did you know that he believed this so much that he lived in a self-imposed seclusion where he did very few interviews and hardly ever let his picture be taken (Google it - there are hardly any pictures of him on the internet and none are less than 25 years old).

I had no idea!  And there is much much more.

Turns out, he is a super weird dude, but in some ways I really admire him.

So, here is your "special one time offer"...... if you are interested in reading the Calvin and Hobbs backstory and finding out more about the guy that people know almost nothing about..... I will give you this book.

Be the first to write to me (either in the comments section or by email) and you can have this book.  I liked it and I think you might too.

Ready....... GO!!!

Ok - That is lots now (Blog 24 of 30)

Normally, I am all for winter.  I like hockey and sledding and even walking in the snow.  I find the cold invigorating.

But I am over it for this winter.

We had a record amount of snow in December and it just has not stopped since then.  Sunday afternoon we were dreaming of spring and then today this happened.....

That is looking out of Sara's office window this afternoon...... and then it got worse.  In fact, it was so bad that I barely made it home from the office.  The streets were clogged and the visibility was bad.

I am all for saying goodbye to the snow for this year now.

It happened again! And Sunday stuff (Blog 23 of 30)

For many years Sara and I have participated in a curling funspiel in support of our Bible camp (Clearview Christian at Kenosee Lake) and every year I have great dreams of winning the whole thing.

And then other things happen.  Like one year my rink was beating by a very good curler and three little girls.  The kids could not throw the rocks through the house so they had tons of rocks in play all the time and cleaned our clocks.

This year, we were accused of "stacking" our rink,  Several people thought we could be the team to beat...... and we were..... for the first game.  Then it all went down hill.  We ended up winning one and losing two and that was the end of our day.

I would like to say that it was fun anyway..... but it wasn't!   You know what is fun???  Winning... that's what!!!   That is why they always visit the locker room of the guys who won the Stanley Cup instead of the locker room of the guys that lost it.  Winning is a more fun story to tell.

But it was nice to see some of my old friends.... it was fun to hang out with Sara.... and (I guess) it was fun to curl..... even if we lost - again!

PS.  Here is what is happening for Sunday morning (This one includes a special guest)

I have been rejected (Blog 22 of 30)

Often when I am speaking at a new place, I will introduce myself by telling people that I have been going to church all my life and that my mom's side of the family is the churchy side and my Dad's is anything but.

That is true.  Some of my Dad's good buddies, many of whom used to hang out at our place from time to time, were well known to local law enforcement.  One of the guys died in the PA penitentiary.....  another ended up on the 6 o'clock news after he was killed in a drug deal gone bad.  I am serious when I say that I sort of get both sides of that street.

Today, I suspect that "Pippus side" of things may have caught up to me.

I went to renew my passport.  Simple right?  Fill out the short form (30 minutes tops).  Get new pictures.  Take the whole thing to the government office.  Get new passport in a couple of weeks. Relatively painless.

Me.... I did all the stuff above, however when I got to the desk the lady she looked everything over and said, "Ah ha..... ah ha..... good..... oh wait".  Then she proceeded to tell me that because my passport has water damage on it (it was in my coat pocket during a rain storm while I was riding my motorcycle through North Dakota) that the government would likely reject it as having "been tampered with".  She said I could try anyway, but once you send in a bad passport, they flag you.  Too many of them (she did not know how many) may make it hard to get any passport at all.

Her suggestion:  Let my current passport run out and then start all over again as if I never had one.  In other words, fill out the long form (including doing all the guarantor stuff) and then sit around for 4-6 weeks without a passport until my new one comes.

I was at the hockey game tonight and I asked everyone I saw (virtually) and no one has ever heard of this before.

I'm telling you..... the MAN is out to get me!!!!   Maybe I should consider changing my name. Throw them off the trail for a while.

If I wasn't secretly a Russian spy sent here to gather information about Canada, I would be really offended.

Movie Review (Blog 21 of 30)

Sara and I never go to the movies..... except for tonight. 

We went and saw the NASA based show "Hidden Figures".  I won't bore you with all the details (you can read real movie reviews other places), but I will say....

1.  We really enjoyed it

2.  If you have not seen it yet, you ought to.

Don't you hate that? (Blog 20 of 30)

I have a buddy (Scott) who HATES it when people post things about their lives, but don't give enough detail for you to know what is going on.  For example, when people, out of the blue, post something like.....

"Don't know how this is gonna go!"

No context.  No real information.  No help.

In fact, Scott refers to "Facebook" as "Vaguebook" due to people's tendency to be all "cloak and dagger" about things.

All of that to say this.... I have not been very good at keeping up with my "One blog per day" commitment lately, but I have a good reason.

It is not that I am lazy or slacking off.

In fact, there is some stuff going on right now.  Good stuff!  Like, possibly something big.  I don't know how this is gonna go, but it is kinda top secret so......

You are welcome!  Have a great day!  :)

You MUST do this (Blog 19 of 30)

When people talk about TV shows, generally I stop listening.  Who cares????

However, a couple of weeks ago, my buddy Paul (who has pointed me in the right direction with this stuff several times in the past) said to me, "You need to watch a show called 'The Kindness Diaries'".... and now I am tell you.

I am so sick of all the negative, stupid stuff that fills the news, the internet and the daily gossip, that I have quit Facebook (I never had an account but I lurked on Sara's for a time), stopped watching the news (I read it online instead - quicker and less emotionally charged) and I gave up the "Grouchy old man coffee time" that I had been going to (The title of it will tell you why I quit).

"The Kindness Diaries" runs in the opposite direction of all of that.  In a nutshell, an Englishman set out to travel the world on his motorcycle with no plans and no money.  He wanted to prove that kindness still existed and that people would help when asked.  Along the way, he replays - in life changing ways - those who were kind to him,  It is great!

You can find the show on Netflix or, if you google it, you can watch it on Vimeo.

So here is what I would like you to do.  Watch the first episode or two and then tell me what you think of it.  Comment on this post or (because I know that commenting on here does not work sometimes) write to me at tspippus@sasktel.net and I will post your comment for you.  I think it would be fun to create a little area of positive on this blog - and you can help.

Each episode is only 20 minutes long..... and he rides a motorcycle..... what more could you want?

Ok...... go!  :)

Maybe they will film my Life (Blog 18 of 30)

Have you heard of "Napflix"?   It is a channel dedicated to boring content designed to bore you to sleep. Rather than explaining it, just click here to read an article about it.  Pretty funny stuff!  :)

Maybe I will make the channel someday.  My girls are gone for the weekend, so what wild and wacky things am I doing????  

I am working on cars and watching curling!  

But it could get crazy tomorrow..... I am thinking about going out for breakfast!!! Ya, boy!!! (Or whatever the wild and crazy kids are saying these days)

Studying Humans (Blog 17 of 30)

It was "Family Day" in Saskatchewan today, so we did what our ancient ancestors did to celebrate the bonds within their kin...... we went shopping in Minot!

As you may know (or could probably guess), shopping is not one of my favorite activities.  I usually survive by using two strategies..... (a) Avoidance - meaning that I drop Sara and the girls at the mall and then I head off to the motorcycle shops, "Home of Economy" and the "Tractor Supply Company"......... or (b) If I get stuck at the mall - I study people.

Here is what my research has determined.  There are four stages of Mall Existence for the male of the species.

1.  Those who are on a mission.  These are the guys that you see racing down the hallways, looking dead ahead and not smiling at anyone.  Generally, they are headed to the sporting goods store or some other place of equal importance.  If you stand still, you will see them quickly passing you going the other way because they got what they needed and got out.  I like these guys - this (to me) is the ideal mall experience.

2.  The walking semi-conscious.  You will usually find these poor souls in the middle of a large group of people - usually composed of their own offspring.  You can identify this group by their vacant stare and their general listlessness.  They may have come into the experience thinking that they were going to have fun or that they could convince everyone else to be "on a mission", but by this stage that dream has died and they are now just lifelessly going with the flow of those around them

3.  The sitting but alert.  This group can be found in the large gathering places in the mall, whether that be a food court or a central intersection that has comfy chairs.  Interestingly, though they are no longer moving, this group have regained a little life and interest in their surroundings.  Generally, this re-engagement with the land of the living has to do with the promise (usually a false one) that they may get to go home soon.  Someone has likely said something like, "We are going to meet at the clock tower at 3pm".  This makes the poor souls believe that something good is going to happen at 3 pm and this false hope buoys them for a while.  As the appointed time approaches, you will see them looking back and forth, straining to sight those who said that they would be arriving.  It is this false hope that makes this one of the most cruel stages of all.

4.  After the hope fades, you come to final stage:  The sitting semi-conscious.  This group has almost lost their will to live and they are now just existing in hopes that someone at sometime will pass by where they are and say, "Tom.... get up!!!  It is time to go!!"  This stage can be identified by lack of motion, occasional sleep and possible drool.

Oddly, women seem immune to these stages while at the mall and instead seem to infused with great energy, extreme curiosity ("Is that a green pillow with a monkey riding a unicycle on it????? How much is that?????) and an unnerving lack of comprehension of budgets and their implications on family finance (Editor's note:  I do need to give credit where credit is due..... My three girls were extremely budget friendly today.  Though they spent a fair amount, they got a disproportionate  return in their favor.... there were extremely good!).

I do intend to study this phenomenon in greater depth in the future, but for now it will have to wait as I am just regaining consciousness myself.  :)

Sunday Stuff

This is a lot more vague than I wanted it to be, but maybe there is just enough information here to make you go "Hmmmm - I should go see what this is about"

Sadly - Time marches on (Blog 16 of 30)

I still remember August 16, 1977.  I was walking down the back alley with my mom and my brother when our neighbour, Janet, came running over and told us that Elvis was dead.

I was 8 years, but I knew who Elvis was.  My mom and dad played him lots.  I also remember, later that day, staring at the cover of one of his records (one called "Moody Blue" to be specific) and thinking, "Elvis is dead".  To an 8 year old, it seemed very weird, final and sad.

I had that same sort of feeling today when Katelyn wrote and told us that Stuart Mclean had died.  For those who don't know, Stuart was a CBC radio personality.  He started as a reporter and did "special interest stories" for a long time, but he became most well known for creating a show called "The Vinyl Café" on which he promoted Canadian musical acts and told stories about a fictional family from Toronto.

I could take or leave the radio show most of the time, but Stuart really intersected with out family with his annual Christmas show.  It became a bit of a tradition for us.  In fact, the first time the girls were in the Centre of the Arts in Regina was for one of his shows.

I was always impressed that, in a time of technology and short attention spans, he could walk out onto a stage with nothing but a music stand and a book of stories and hold people's attention for three hours at a time.  It was amazing.

Sadly, that is over now.  And that is one of the bad things about living in time.... you can't go backward and re-do things.

Now someone may point out, "Well, come on.  You really didn't know him" and, if you mean personally, then you are right.  But we knew him none-the-less.... and his loss has made me think about other things I wish I could back and experience again.

For example, the first concert Sara and I ever went to together (which is another story I will tell someday soon) was also in Regina - The Nylons.   I would give anything to go back to that concert or to see them again - but three of the original four are gone now.

Another group I would like to see..... "Doug and the Slugs".  Year ago, I really liked their music, so when I heard that they were going to be in Regina, I said to Sara that we should go.  She was less than enthusiastic so we stayed home.  Doug died a month later..... and I have brought up that lost opportunity 486789436790467 times in our marriage since then!  :)

Now - before you quit reading or think, "Boy - that was a downer today"..... here is then point:   Enjoy today!  Enjoy what you have.... enjoy who is around.... enjoy the small pleasures.... if you get to do something "once in a lifetime" soak that up too.

Sara is writing an article for a magazine (I will post it when it is published) which is about something much personal than musicians passing away and her last line is something like, "Don't expect that everything will always be the way it now.  Nothing stays the same.  Therefore, you better have a look around and see what you need to remember". 

That is good advice.

Thanks for the laughs and the good memories Stuart!

For those who would like to know more about Stuart Mclean you can click here.

Oddly enough, this morning, before all this happened, I was listening to Doug and the Slugs (for the first time in about 5 years).  Just for fun.... here they are performing live in 1987

Valentine's Day (blog 15 of 30)

I get why people don't like Valentine's Day.  I understand the whole "made up holiday" and "just a why to sell cards and junk you don't really need" and "If Valentine's Day is the only day I tell someone I love them, then we have trouble" reasoning.

I get it and I sort of think that is true.  On the other hand......

Today has made me think about love.  Specifically the fact that I have been part of a family that has loved me since I was born.... the fact that I now have a wife that loves me..... that I love and am loved by my own little family.... and that I have a lot of support and love from those around me who are not blood relatives, but are family none-the-less.

That is not to say that things have always been smooth and easy all the time, but love has seen me (and us) through a lot of stuff and has made the journey better.

So today (in relatively chronological order) I am thankful for my mom, my brother and sister, Sara, Katelyn and Megan, Sara's family and for a lot of other people who have been connected to my life in the past and for many more who still are connected in various ways.

If all today does is make you stop and say, "I have been blessed" then maybe Valentine's Day is worth it after all.

It has been for me!  :)

Sara's worldwide Media Tour Continues and a thought (Blog 14 of 30)

Sara was on the radio last Friday promoting her breakfast program.  This time she got to to go to the studio and be live on the air.... something that I use to love doing when we recorded messages for the local ministerial group, but she was less enthusiastic.  In spite of that, she did a really good job.  They have not posted the audio yet (if they do, I will relay the link) but for now here is the link the the little story that they did about her visit.

https://discoverestevan.com/local/hillcrest-breakfast-program-makes-better-students

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And a thought...... I have not been in a "Dollar Store" for a long time, but Sara had to go there tonight so I went with her.

As we wondered around I noticed that some stuff was a dollar but lots of stuff was marked $3, $4 or even $6.

When I mentioned this to Sara she said, "Well, they are all like multiples of a dollar".

How is that a "Dollar Store"?   By that definition, every store in the world is a "Dollar Store" because everything is a multiple of one dollar.   The GMC dealer is a "Dollar Store" because they sell trucks that cost a multiple of a dollar..... the multiple is 75, 297 mind you, but that still counts!

I think this is wrong.  I think we should protest until they either put everything back to a dollar, or they change their name!  Who is with me?????????

Hello???????   Anyone???????   I'll pay you a dollar!!!  :)

A nice weekend (Blog 13 of 30)

So Sari and I have had an extended Valentine's weekend.  It started on Friday night when we played Crokinole.

It continued Saturday morning with breakfast out (one of my favourite activities.  If I get to choose to have a meal out - I would always choose breakfast).  Then we went for a walk down in Woodlawn where we saw a moose.  Later that night we went out for supper and then to the Bruins' game (Unfortunately, they lost to Weyburn).

Sunday we went to church and had a nice time/nice lunch and then we went for a drive in the country.  The afternoon ended with me working on my car in the garage and Sara having a nap (we can't spend the whole weekend with one another ya know?)  :)

So, it was a nice alternative to busy restaurants and rushing around on Valentine's Day.  It was a good time.
___________________
I had a realization today.   You know the Winnie the Pooh quote that says......

"If you live to be 100, I hope to live to be 100 minus a day, so that I never have to live without you"

Now..... that sounds nice and romantic etc........ but have you ever considered the fact that for this to work, both people would have to be born on the same day????

For example, say Pooh is a year younger than Piglet.  Piglet lives to be 100...... Pooh is 90 at the time.  But he said he wanted to live to be 100 minus a day if Piglet lived to be 100..... therefore, Pooh has to live 364 more days without Piglet so that he died at 100 minus one day.

Or say Pooh is a year older...... If Piglet is going to make 100 that means that Pooh gets there a year early - so that means that when Pooh dies at 99 years and 364 days, Piglet is still at 98 years minus a day.  Therefore he now has to live a year without Pooh!

The only way it works is for the two people who are in love to have been born on the exact same day.... and what are the chances of that?

So - while Pooh may be all sweet and charming and whatever..... apparently he has trouble with math!!!

I hope the next time you see this quote you think of me.  You are welcome!  :)

I'm gonna cheer for "Princatchewan" or is it "Sask Edward Island" (Blog 12 of 30)

So it is coming up on curling season on TV and so I have started paying a bit of attention (For some reason, I don't care about skins games or whatever - but I watch the Scotties and the Brier every year).

On the men's side this year, our province will be represented by skip Adam Casey..... from PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND!!!

How can that happen?  Apparently, every rink is allowed one out of province resident.

I don't think I like this!  It is sort of like when Olympic athletes compete for a country other than the one that they live in because one of their parents was born somewhere else.

Even worse is when countries give status to people to just so that their teams will be better.  For example, I heard that South Korea has recruited 6 Canadians to play for their Olympic hockey team because - as it is right now with their own players - they are ranked 23rd in the world. The host country gets to put a team in the tournament, but a team ranked 23rd would get killed and it would be completely embarrassing - so they went shopping.  They are also chasing after a German luger and an Austrian downhill skier among others.

That ain't right!!!

I say that if you stink at a certain sport..... stink at it and be proud!  What is the point of cheering for someone who simply wears your country's colours but really has not connection to it or the grass roots of the sport in that country????    It is sort of like when the Blue Jays won the world series and everyone was cheering because "Canada" won something..... NO WE DIDN'T!!!   A bunch of really good players - mostly from South America beat a team from the states made up of a bunch of really good players mostly from South America.  I think that even the ball boys were imported.

Maybe everyone should just Stompin' Tom's logic.  In 1978 he gave back all his Juno awards because he was tired of competing against people who lived and worked in the states.  He figured that if you are going to win a Canadian award, maybe you ought to live here.

 So - in the end - I will likely still cheer for "Team Saskatchewan" - even if it sort of bugs me.  After all, 3 out of 4 of them live here (maybe).

Confession is good for the Soul (Blog 11 of 30)

You may remember that last week I went out to my truck and found a roll of paper towel on the seat.  If you do not remember, or need a refresher, click here.

I was mystified.  Nothing was missing.  No one ransacked the thing.  Everything was where it ought to be.

Was it a sign?  An omen of something bad that was to come? 

The short answer:  No!

What was is then?  

Sara's aunt and uncle.

When they were over for Christmas supper, it was super cold out, so when they went to start their truck the inside of the windshield fogged up.  They came back in and asked for a towel to wipe it down and so we just gave them a roll of paper towel........ which they returned to me last Wednesday night - freaking me out in the process.

So tonight - when I finally found out - we all had a good laugh.  The good news here is twofold.....

1.  I can sleep at night now know that I am not in trouble with the mafia.

2.  Turnabout is fair play, so.........    :)

Interesting Pictures (Blog 10 of 30)

I like space related stuff, so when I came across a page showing various photographs from space spanning the last 70 years I bookmarked it so that I could use it on this blog on a day when I had nothing else to say but needed something interesting to share, so today is that that day (that -by the way - is  the longest continuous sentence in the history of man..... you may even saying that it is "One small sentence for a man; one giant leap for the English language")

Editor's note:  The quote above includes an extra "a" that most people do not use.  When Armstrong uttered this famous quote, it sounds as though he left the "a" out and said "That is one small step for man".  That would be unfortunate because "man" and "mankind" are exactly the same thing.  What he wanted to contrast was a small step for "a man" (him) and a one giant leap for "mankind" (everyone).  To his death, he claimed that he actually did say the extra "a", but that it was obscured by noise on the radio.

Oh.... ya..... click here for the link to the pictures.  :)

Weekend Re-cap (Blog 9 of 30)

So - nothing weird or interesting to say tonight - just a quick re-cap of what happened this weekend to both inform you and let you know why I have been AWOL on the blog.

1.  The girls came home.  Always a lot of fun.  Always great to see them.  Always sad to see them go again, but we will take whatever time we get with them.  They are both doing well and seem to be happy and settled in.

2.  I spent a bunch of my weekend out in the garage working on my car.  If you are looking for a way to stop watching TV all winter - get a project car to think about/work on.  I guarantee that will do it. This weekend I did a bunch of research for parts.... I ordered brake parts..... I patched a hole in the trunk floor and in the floor behind the driver's seat..... I welded that floor panel in.... and I messed with the patch panel for the floor in front of the driver's seat.   I know that does not sound like much, but it took probably 10 hours or more.  Interestingly, none of it is cosmetic.  No one will ever see the time and effort I am putting into this part, but is all mechanical and safety related - so well worth the effort.  I am gonna drive that thing this spring - that is the goal.

3.  I was not cheering for New England in the Super Bowl..... can't stand them.  However, I will give them credit for one of the greatest comebacks I have ever seen.  Wow!

4.  I did not expect anything from Lady Gaga in the SB halftime show.... and she ended up being better than I expected.   I guess that is not hard when you expect nothing.  Sort of like going to a movie that you think will be stupid - it usually seems better than you thought simply cause it didn't stink as badly as you thought it would.   I think that is what happened here - but I am glad for that - because I have really hated some of the halftime shows.

5.  I am just sort of whispering this part because I do not want to be too hasty..... but my shoulder injury is almost healed!  (Shhhhh)   It has not hurt all day and it hardly hurt at all this weekend even with all the stuff I was doing in the garage.  Another week of this and I will be ready to be called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs (I know they were just waiting for the medical report so......)

Well - that is it.  Had fun watching the Super bowl with Sari and now we are off into another week.  I hope it is a good one for you!  :)

Sunday Stuff (Feb 5)

Nice Song (Blog 8 of 30)

I stumbled across this today.  You may recognize these guys from a show called "Masters of Flip" (a house flipping show on HGTV).  I really like this song.  Enjoy!  :)

I have no idea what this means! (Blog 7 of 30)

I am not a big movie guy, but I have a fairly good guess what finding a severed horse head in your bed means (a la "The Godfather")

I also know that if you are in a meeting with a crime boss and his associates and that crime boss kisses you on the check and then leaves..... that is not a good thing either.

But I have no idea what finding a role of paper towel on the seat of your truck is supposed to indicate.

When I parked in front of the church building tonight, I left the driver's door unlocked.  It has been cold and the lock has been a little finicky, so I just left.  Came out an hour later..... and there is a full role of paper towel sitting on the seat.  Nothing is disturbed.  Nothing is missing.  No one has rooted through the glove compartment or the ash tray looking for change..... nothing!  Just a roll of paper towel.  Clean.  Unused.  Unexplained.

So..... if anyone can help me out that would be great because I have no idea what is going on.

Is someone going around secretly cleaning the inside of people's windows and they forgot to take their roll of paper with them?

Is it a new life form that only looks like a roll of paper towel (as camouflage) and since it was freezing outside it took shelter in my truck (though I am not sure how it would have opened the door on its own - not having hands and all).

Is someone trying to tell me to "Clean up my act"?

I am very confused!

Maybe it is a sign that I am going to win the lottery!  That is what I am going with.  :)

I Need a Tony (Blog 6 of 30)

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time watching car shows where guys take old junky cars and turn them into something nice.  Almost without fail, I end up thinking, "That looks like a lot of fun.  I wish I could do that sometime".

Well, thanks to my nice wife, I bought a 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger from my brother and it has become my winter project car.  And you know what?  It has been great!  I have really enjoyed trouble shooting things and taking them apart. So far it has been everything I hoped it would be (and it has given me something to do other than watch TV on cold winter evenings).

However, there is one part that I don't like so much..... I hate shopping for parts!  

I have just spent the better part of 2 hours looking around at various sites and bookmarking stuff that I will need at some point and I am about ready to pull my hair out.

Now, here it the thing.... it is not that I am cheap!  Ok - well maybe I am - but when it comes to stuff like this, I don't mind paying to get what I need.  I just HATE the process!!!  It takes SOOOO long to find what you want and then compare that to 5 other sites, etc.

Then I realized that the mechanics on the shows that I watch never actually order the parts.  In fact, they usually have some guy named "Tony" (or something) who looks for things, orders them up and - Fa Da - the parts are there when they need them

Therefore, I am hiring my own Tony!  

How much will this job pay?

Well - way back when I was single and needed a secretary at church, I used to tell the cute girls that I would pay them $5 per day and all the coffee they could drink.  The big Bonus:  They got to hang out with me!!!

As you may have guessed..... I never did get a secretary!  :(

Maybe I ought to get used to ordering my own car parts too.  

Now you Know...... (Blog 5 of 30)

So it has been a super busy weekend.  I worked in the garage on Friday, had a Bible camp board meeting on Saturday and, of course, Sunday is usually full...... so I have not had a lot of time to blog.

I promise it will get better in the coming weeks, but for now here are a couple of things that I came across recently that will make you feel smarter simply because you know them.

- There are 17 countries in the world that do not have any permanent rivers.  The largest is Saudi Arabia

- You may know that countries that are completely surrounded by other countries (such as the Vatican - which is surrounded by Italy) are called "Enclaves" (two others are San Marino and Lesotho), but did you know that an "Exclave" is a part of a country that is completely surrounded by other countries (the German town of Busingen am Hochrhein is actually located in Switzerland about a half mile from Germany's southern border)

- Those with a fear of flying need to consider this:  Based on past data, a Boeing 737 flying from New York to Los Angeles has a 1 in 4,136,239 chance of crashing, which means that you could take the flight every day for 11, 332 years without crashing.

And, lastly, a musical send-off.  Just because I really like it.

Progress??? (Blog 4 of 30)

Last June I complained about how new cars are way worse to work on than old ones (you can re-live that by clicking here) and, last night, that was proven true once again

Old cars and trucks - need to change a battery???  It is under the hood.  Undo the cables - pull the old battery out - put the new one in.  Done!  Maximum time:  10 minutes.

Last night I had to change the battery in our Acadia.  First off, it took me 10 minutes to find the battery.  It is not under the hood.  In fact, it is not anywhere near the engine.  It is in the floor behind the passenger's seat.  To get to it you need to move the floor mats, move the middle row seat back, the front seat ahead, take off the plastic guards that cover the middle seat sliding tracks and then undo a torx bolt to get the cover off....... and you have barely started yet!!!!

Then you have to take the cables off and then reach down and undo both the vent hose and the battery hold down bolt.  Then, because the box that the battery sits in is only a 1/4 of an inch wider than the battery itself, you have to undo the negative battery cable from the wall of the box and take it out completely.

Now, if you are lucky, your battery will have a handle on it.  I am not normally that lucky and, of course, my battery did not have a handle, so I had to wrestle it out by trying to jam my fingers into the plastic case of the battery itself.

The new one had a handle so that helped, but, sadly I had neglected to put the front seat forward so it was in the way.  It is a power seat (of course) so I had to hook battery cables up to the Acadia cables to get the seat out of the way.  Finally, I dropped the new battery in, did up all the cables, put the vent tube back in, replaced the cover, the slider rail plastic and put the floor mats back.

An hour and 10 minutes later I was done!   AN HOUR AND 10 MINUTES!!!!!  And that does not even count putting all the tools away again.

I am certain there must be a logical reason for jamming the battery (which you are going to have to change at some point) in a box the exact size as the battery itself and putting it in one of the most unaccessible places in the vehicle that is 95872489678943 miles away from the engine itself..... but I don't know what it is.  If the goal is to make people mad - they are doing a good job!

Oddly, my 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger has the battery right up front under the hood with 9687948679 feet of space around it.

Progress is a great thing!  :)

It is all Relative (Blog 3 of 30)

You may think that time is a constant, but somehow it doesn't always work that way for me.

For example, projects- regardless of what they are - house renos, working on stuff in my garage - always take way more time than I think they will.  Always!

On the other hand, shopping never takes as long as I suspect.

Tonight, I had to go to Canadian Tire to buy a new battery for our SUV (that is another story - tomorrow's blog) and because I was doing other things, I did not leave the house until 8:10.  Canadian Tire closes at 9 and it takes at least 10 minutes to drive over there.  Then there is usually a line at the parts counter and it often takes the little high school dude that is working that night a while to find whatever I want in the computer and then to find the actual thing on the shelf.  Then he would have to fill out all the warranty information for the thing, which always takes a while too.

In other words, I thought I was cutting it sort of close.

Then I get half way over there and there is a train on the tracks.  Like not crossing the tracks, but sitting there.  So - of course - I had to sit too.  I waited,..... and waited.... and waited..... and the clock kept ticking and ticking and ticking.  I was starting to panic!  DOESN'T THE CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY KNOW THAT I HAVE PLACES TO BE???????

Finally the train moved and eventually the long line of cars moved too.  I looked at the clock on the radio and it said 8:21 and I thought, "Well, I am too late now.  I guess I will just go and see what they have since I am almost there now anyway".

Long story short:  I got the battery, paid for it and was back in my garage by 8:36.

8:36!!!!!!!!

The point:  Shopping never takes as long as I think it will..... it just seems like it does..... so I have an idea.

I am going to build an "Old Folks home" on the side of a big shopping mall.  Then, every morning I will give each man in the home a shopping list with like 17 things on it that he has to go get.  Nothing big..... socks, dish soap.... whatever.

When he looks at that list (if he is like me) he will say, "WHAT????  This is going to take all day!"   Eventually his anger will subside and he will decide to go and get it over with..... and when he is done he will look at his watch and say, "WHAT?????  It isn't even noon yet!"...... thus giving him the rest of the day to do whatever he wants.

In the end, he feels like he has been gifted an entire half day...... and he has several drawers of new socks!

It is win/win!  :)

Never a Dull Moment (Blog 2 of 30)

Most people have no idea what preachers do during the week.  I think they assume I just nap in my office chair or something (Which is just silly.... the pews are WAY better for napping than my chair is).  :)

Over the years, I have done my actual job, but I have also been conscripted to do tons of other things too that have nothing to do with my job description such as......

- Helping people move.  I have always said that every Bible degree ought to come with a free weight lifter's belt, instructions on how to properly carry a deep freeze and a pick-up truck.... you are gonna need them!

-  Farming. I have driven grain truck for 5 different people when they needed a hand.  Oddly, they never asked me to come back after the first time (Actually, that is not true.... even when I tried to hide from some of them they found me)

- Construction.  I have put in countless hours building things at our Bible camp and around the church building.  If they need someone to go down into the crawl space below my office.... the one that is less than 2 feet high in some areas and carries the potential of not only being attacked by some rabid animal but also getting wedged in so tight that they only choice they would have to keep you alive is to send pureed food to you by straw through a whole in the floor boards... they call me ("After all, the crawl space is under your office, ya know?"  Who can argue with logic like that?)

- Sewage cleanup.  When you are the only one in the building and the basement is flooding..... you can fill in the details.

- Electronics repair.  When the sound system is wailing like a cat in dryer (not that I would know that sound first hand - seriously!  What?) and you at they only one in the building......

- Baby-sitting.  When you are not the only one in the building, but some mom came to get something done and her offspring is looking for something to do, I get to be that guy (I was probably just napping anyway)

Which brings us to today's adventure:  Shovelling snow off the roof of the church building.  This used to be a common job in the spring when we still had flat roofs that leaked like "Leaky the Clown" (He was not very popular so you may not have heard of him.  Word to the wise:  DO NOT hire him for your kid's 5th birthday party!!!).  However,  I thought those days were over when we put a pitched roof on there about 10 years ago.

However, today there was water dripping into the foyer through one of the light fixtures.  Generally not a good thing.  So I got on the roof and shovelled all the snow to the edge and then Calvin pulled it down with a roof rake.


Here is the result......

It may be hard to get the idea of how much snow that is but Calvin is standing on it and it is still quite high behind him.  I would say the pile was 4 feet high or so and about twice as wide. Took us almost two hours of straight shovelling (not sure whether this helped or hurt my shoulder - see previous post - time will tell I guess)

So there you go.  Want an interesting career???  Want new adventures all the time???  Forget running away and joining the Navy.  Be a preacher!  Every day is a surprise!

PS.  They say that people only brag about things that they do not normally do.  No one brags about breathing, for example (Unless they have trouble breathing, I suppose).  So - you would be right if you thought "He doesn't do stuff like that every day!"   It is only once in a while, but I have developed a broad range of skills because of it.

And - as a bonus - since I missed my nap in the office this afternoon - I get to take two tomorrow!! :)

We are Baaaaackkkk!!! (30 blogs in 30 days - Post 1)

So I have not died.... it just felt like it for a while.

About six months ago, on this very blog, I bragged that I never had trouble sleeping (I am usually asleep within 10 minutes of hitting the pillow no matter where I am) and that I had not taken a pill of any kind in over 10 years.

Times have changed!

In early November I did something to my shoulder/back (not sure what) and I have been in excruciating pain for like for three months!!!  I could hardly move my neck.  I have not been able to sleep. It got to the point where I was going to bed with a muscle relaxant pill sitting on my dresser  just in case I needed it in the night.

Last night was the bottom of the barrel though......  Sara went to bed 15 minutes ahead of me, so, not wanting to wake her up, when I came into the room I did not turn on the light.  I took the hoodie that I was wearing and went to throw it on the chair at the end of our bed, but it landed on my dresser instead.  So I grabbed it and tossed it on the chair.

Then.... at about 2 in the morning my shoulder was hurting so I got up to get that pill off the dresser and it was not there.  It was then that I realized that I must have knocked it onto the floor when I tossed my hoodie on the dresser..... - so  there I was - in the dark - at 2 am - crawling around on the floor of our bedroom trying to find a muscle relaxant pill somewhere under our bed........ and it dawned on me.....  I HAVE HIT ROCK BOTTOM!!!!  Visions of my future grandkids asking the girls "What was grandpa like?" and them answering, "Well, before the whole Motrin incident he was not a bad guy!!!" flashed through my head...... so I decided to forget about it and crawl back to bed.

Then I realized "Hey - my shoulder feels better now!"  Apparently, all this time all I needed to do was wedge myself under the bed in the dark and I would have been fine.  Who knew?

I think I may market this new cure..... Dr. Ho seems to have cashed in - maybe I can too.  :)

Seriously though - I have learned a couple of things from this experience.... (1) Being in constant pain is awful!!!  Even it is just low-grade pain, it plays with your mind and makes you either depressed or super angry!!!!...... and (2) If you are not in pain right now and if you can sleep anywhere/anytime - SHUT UP!!!  No one wants to hear about it.  :)

Ok - Let's hope that I am not only cured but also (maybe) a slightly better person from here on out.
_____
I have decided to start a new round of "30 blogs in 30 days" just because without the pressure to come up with something every day - I don't.   So - I will try to keep up.  Please stop by and look once in a while - and comment even - that would be nice.

The kids were home this weekend and it was nice out so we went for a run in the snow at Woodlawn.  Here is some pictorial evidence.

This was sitting on the gate as we walked into the park.....

We found some Christmas decorations, so of course we had to make Muffy wear them.....

My favourite girls .....

US (of course)

Estevan has some pretty places (especially in the frost.....)

See you tomorrow!

Sunday Stuff

Sunday stuff

Come and get the rest of the story tomorrow if you like....

A Musical Interlude

If you follow comedy, you may know the two guys pictured below.  They go by the name of "Bowser and Blue"

I have seen them on TV and they are quite funny (avoid their internet and live stuff though - as they can be really crude).  Anywho.... before these two guys hit the comedy trail, they were in bands that played all over Montreal.  Sometimes they played gigs together as a duo.

I have heard better versions of this song (or at least ones I have liked better), however, I really like the harmonies and (considering it seems as if it is done live) how they put this together.  Enjoy!  :)

Vote For Me!!

As some of you know, I have stated that when I become Prime Minister I am going to decree that all ladies must wear Elizabethan ball gowns all the time (just because I like the look).  Until today, that was the only plank in the election platform.

As strong as that idea is, I realized that, in order to draw in the mass, I may need to present a few more ideas to rally around.  Therefore, here are a couple of more of my "Make Canada even better" thoughts.  I have categorized them so they are easier to sort through them and see where each will improve the life of the average Canadian.

1.  Clothing - see gowns comment above or elsewhere on this blog (Click here for one example).  I think I have expounded the virtues of this one that it does not require any more explanation

2.  Language - I realize that (a) English is a very difficult language and (b) Correcting people`s mistakes makes one look like a jerk.  Therefore, this part of my platform will focus more on education than on punishment and it is will focus specifically on the most stupid and annoying phrases that people use (because these are easily correctable).

Punishment for the worse offenders will still be harsh though.  For example, anyone who starts a sentence with the words, "I mean....." will be deported.  Now I realize that this is going to cost us some of our best young hockey players as every interview seems to go like this.......

Reporter:  What are you guys doing that is confusing your opposition so much?

Player:  I mean..... we are just doing what we do.  I mean.... we work hard and then we skate fast!

"I MEAN" IMPLIES THAT YOU ARE TRYING TO EXPLAIN SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY SAID!!!  YOU CAN'T START A SENTENCE WITH "I MEAN" BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT SAID ANYTHING YET!!!!!

Other (lesser) language violations would include......

- People on renovation or real estate shows who refers to a room as a "space" - as in "I love the light in this space" ..... or anyone who talks about a house being at a certain "price point" (that is just stupid - say "price" and be done with it).  Punishment:  Offenders will be required to live outside in a park for a week. The goal:  To show that "Space" (As in the green, open, unprotected space of the park) is very different than a "House".  We believe that after one week the offender will never confuse the two again.

- "Game changer" I have an issue with this simply because, most of the time, the people saying it are not playing a game and the fact that the actual event itself changes only a few things.  Punishment:  A "Income changer" fine (in other words - significant enough to really change something)

- I will also launch an extensive, school-wide education initiative to teach the difference between "bring" and "take".   You can only bring something to the place where you are.  You cannot, for example, say, "I am going to bring the kids to the park tomorrow".  NO YOU AREN'T!!!!   You are going to "Take" them to the park tomorrow.   "Bring me a drink" is correct - if a little rude (you could say "Please" you know?) because the drink will be brought to where you are.  An extensive chart will be a key component of this initiative

3.  Dating - No one will be allowed to date anyone who lives outside of a 20 mile radius of their primary residence.  This may seem to be odd and arbitrary (as if the other ones do not) but it comes from a very practical place.  Last week, we had to dodge three huge storms and drive 8 hours (twice) through huge mountains of snow in minus 40 weather so that our daughter could hang out with her boyfriend from Ontario.

Under my new government, this hassle would be eliminated.  Do you love someone from Ontario? Yes!  Do you live in Ontario?  No?   I am sorry - you must break up!

See how easy that is!  Problem solved.

Here is the deal:  No matter where you live, there are lots of living, breathing humans all around you.  Pick one!  There is no need to be driving or flying back and forth all across the country trying to find "The One".   In fact, the phrase "The One" will fall under the new language law as well.  Anyone saying that they are looking for "The One" will be deported to Ontario (Thus solving the travel problem for some but increasing it for others).

My slogan here will be..... "Forget finding 'The One' - just choose Someone!"

However, in order to keep peace in my own home, I will grandfather in any existing relationships so that those in long distance situations can see them through if they so choose.  After those are done, though, forget it!

So there you go.  While others may be talking about Global Warming, Carbon Taxes and Terrorism, I am going with Ball Gowns.... Less irritating speech..... and localized dating.

I thank you in advance for your support!  I promise to serve two terms and then retire with my big government pension to some place hot!  :)

Sunday stuff

I think something is missing

As some of you know, last spring I bought this 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger as a project car and it was a bit of a project (none of the lights worked - no taillights, signal lights, headlights, etc.  The passenger door would not open.  It would not idle, etc).

This winter I broke my cardinal rule which said, "Garages are for the vehicles that you drive!" (in other words - every night our good vehicles went in there instead of storing a bunch of junk while our vehicles sat outside) and I put the Swinger inside so that (maybe) I could get some work done on it over the winter.

Well - this past week I finally got to it.  For one thing, I put some different tires on it.  My brother had a set of 14 inch tires that he gave me so I spent one whole afternoon taking tires off rims and replacing them.  Then I decided to tackle the interior.  I tore out all the seats.  I took out the carpet and underlay (ick!).  I pulled down the headliner (and an entire mouse nest of poop ran all over my head!   You aren't working on an old car until you find a pile of mouse poop!!).

Then I decided to take a closer look at a patch that someone had done in the floor on the driver's side.  It was not done well and here is what I found underneath it (or more accurately what I did not find).....

Ain't there supposed to be a floor there?  If you can see the frame and floor from the inside, isn't that a bad thing?

The good news - one of the previous owners left a big piece of metal in the trunk.... which I figured out was a patch panel for the hole in the floor.  It still needs to have the surface rust knocked off of it, but here is what the repair patch will look like when it is in place....

The other bit of good news...... my sweet wife bought me a MIG welder for Christmas, so I can weld that pan in myself (with a little more practice on things that do not matter so much first).

So - overall - it has been a good decision to put the thing inside for the winter.  Hopefully, by the spring, the holes will be patched, the other list of issues will be fixed and it will be a fun, odd, cheap daily driver.

Who wants to go for a cruise????

A Weird Year Ends Weirdly

Many have been saying that 2016 has been the worst year ever.  I don't know if it has been that bad (think world wars, the Great Depression, etc), but it has been weird.

For example, our house got flooded in a huge July rain storm.... I got blown off a highway and into a ditch in North Dakota while on my motorcycle (I still have PTSD symptoms every time the wind blows now)..... and, in the past 2 weeks, all the snow in the universe has been dumped in Estevan.

But the topper....... one of the furnaces at the church building quit last week.

Ok - that is not a big shocker.  Furnaces quit.  The interesting part is why it quit.

A bat flew down the air intake, landed on the circuit board and fried himself short circuiting the entire thing.

When the plumber came to check things out, he found a perfectly persevered bat - stiff as a board - looking at him.

A bat!

I am not sure what this means, or what it has to do with anything else, but it just seemed like the appropriate ending to a very odd year.

Up on the Roof

Apparently, I was living on the edge today.

As you may know, Estevan got hit with about 20 cm of snow on Sunday (this to go along with the 25 and 15 or so we had before..... in other words - we have a lot of snow) and so Sari suggested that I ought to go up on the roof and shovel some of it off.

Generally, this is not something I would agree to because (a) I don't like walking around/shovelling the roof in the winter because it is easy to wreck the shingles and (b) it is snow.... eventually it will melt - problem solved!   However, since the house has been creaking and cracking at night lately, I agreed to go up there.

Within minutes of crawling up there, it started.  People slowed down to look at what I was doing.  The neighbour across the street (who gave me a speech about being up there last year and who, when he saw me jump off the roof into a snow pile, grabbed his phone and started calling 911) stopped what he was doing, shook his head and carried on.  Various other people called out and told me to be careful.  In fact, one guy from down the block even brought me his "roof rake" so that I could scrape some of the snow off the roof from the ground.

Don't get me wrong!  I appreciate everyone looking out for my well-being.... they were being nice... but it makes me wonder two things......

1.  When did going up on your roof in the winter become the most dangerous activity in our society????   I am certain that I would have had less remarks directed at me if I was driving a dynamite truck through a war zone!  Yes, I too have heard the story about some dude somewhere who was doing whatever and fell off of something - but really???   Name me three people you know who have actually hurt themselves falling off of anything - much less their roof in the middle of winter.  Besides, by the time I was half done there was so much snow on the ground I could have almost walked off the roof.  In fact, the snow pile was so high I would have been in more danger standing on it rather than the roof.

2.  I must be crossing over into the "crazy old man" age.  You know, that time when you get to be too old to do the stupid things that you used to do.   When you are young and stupid, people just shake their head and leave you alone because - well - you are likely too stupid to listen anyway.  ... but now because you are both "stupid" and "old",  the age factor seems to give people a modicum of hope that you may actually pay attention to logic for once (but - of course - that isn't going to happen).

On the other hand.... I do remember my neighbour yelling at me for jumping off of my Dad's garage the summer I was 10 years old.

Maybe it would be best to just stay off the roof.  :)

Sunday December 25

Coming soon!

A new round of "30 blogs in 30 days" is just around the corner.  Keep checking back!!!  :)

Sunday Stuff (Dec 18)

If any of this sounds interesting to you, feel free to come and check it out.  You are always welcome.

Sunday Dec 11