Sari gets an award

Sari was honored last night, along with about 20 other women, for their service to the people of Estevan.  Specifically, she was recognized for the work that she does to improve the life and skills of the kids at Hillcrest school. 

It was a big deal as she was honored with women who have been in town for many years and who have been involved with some really high profile projects. 

I was really proud of her.  Sari works really hard at everything she does and most of the time she does her work quietly and without a lot of fanfare.... so it was nice to know that someone notices and recognizes all the good that she does.

It was a good night  :)

Play

 

Katie is in a play at the high school.  It is called "Figments".  Read the newspaper story about it here

It is getting CRAZY out there

What happens when you get 20 cm (8 inches) of snow that shuts the city down for a few days and throws people's schedules off????   People become morons - that is what!

I drove the kids to school again because there was no way their little car would make it through the drifts.  As I was going down Kensington by Wal-mart, the light turns red, so I stop...... and then all I hear behind me is.....

"HHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNKKKKK!!!!"

I look in the review mirror and see is this semi loaded with pipe flying toward us (doing maybe 60 km/h in town on an icy road that is normally marked 50 km/h) and there is no way he is stopping.  Good thing there was another lane because did not touch the brake as he raced past us, through the red light and just kept going.

Thing is ..... it wasn't even close!!   I mean, he was probably a block away from the light when he hit the horn...... we sat there a good 4 seconds before he came barrelling through.  Thankfully everyone got the message and waited because if anyone had pulled out (on their green light) they would have got plowed.   Or if we had been in his lane, he would have punted us all the way to the high school.

As little snow, a few delays, people getting off schedule and frustrated = brains shutting off.


That is an equation I don't really want to see again.

Just so you know/Cool :)

Comet making closest approach ever of Earth, finally becoming visible in Northern Hemisphere

Marcia Dunn, The Associated Press
Tue, 5 Mar 2013 14:01:00 CST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A recently discovered comet is closer than it's ever been to Earth, and stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere finally get to see it.

Called Pan-STARRS, the comet passed within 100 million miles (160 million kilometres) of Earth on Tuesday, its closest approach in its first-ever cruise through the inner solar system. The ice ball will get even nearer the sun this weekend — just 28 million miles (45 million kilometres) from the sun and within the orbit of Mercury.

The comet has been visible for weeks from the Southern Hemisphere. Now the top half of the world gets a glimpse as well.

The best viewing days should be next Tuesday and Wednesday, when Pan-STARRS appears next to a crescent moon at dusk in the western sky. Until then, glare from the sun will obscure the comet.
California astronomer Tony Phillips said the comet's proximity to the moon will make it easier for novice sky watchers to find it. Binoculars likely will be needed for the best viewing, he said, warning onlookers to avoid pointing them at the setting sun.

"Wait until the sun is fully below the horizon to scan for the comet in the darkening twilight," Phillips advised in an email sent from his home and observatory in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Pan-STARRS' name is actually an acronym for the Hawaiian telescope used to spot it two years ago: the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System. The volcano-top telescope is on constant prowl for dangerous asteroids and comets that might be headed our way.

Thought to be billions of years old, the comet originated in the distant Oort cloud — a cloud of icy bodies well beyond the orbits of Neptune and Pluto — and somehow got propelled toward the inner solar system.

It's never passed by Earth before, Phillips said.

A much brighter comet show, meanwhile, is on the way.

Comet ISON may come close to outshining the moon in November. It was discovered last September by Russian astronomers and got its acronym name from the International Scientific Optical Network.

Neither Pan-STARRS nor ISON pose a threat to Earth, according to scientists.

Snow Day!!!!

So I was supposed to be going to Regina today, however it looks like this out there.....

When we went out to the garage to get the SUV out, we found snow drifts 4 feet high.  The girls stayed home from school too.... 3 inches of clearance on the front of their car is not likely going to work on these streets.   Why go out just to get stuck, right?

Anyway, this has delayed some on my motorcycle dreams.... but on the good side it gives the rest of you more time to raise the $14000 it is going to take to buy me that Concours from the post below.  :)

Anyway, stay in if you can and if you need a push - call us..... the kids aren't doing anything. 

The Happiest Place on earth

Sari and the girls are away and so I decided to visit the happiest place on earth.

No, this place has nothing to do with gigantic, fake mice or princesses.  The happiest place on earth (around these parts anyway) is the motorcycle shop.

And guess what?????   They have one of these sitting in there......



That, my friends, is a Kawasaki Concours 14.... and here is the best part.... it is on sale for the low, low price of $13 999 (What is the line the girls always use on me when shopping in Minot???  Oh ya.... "I could have spent  _____ but I got this for WAY cheaper!")

Anyway, before I went to look around, Sari texted me and said "behave"..... which I interpret to mean "Don't even think about it bozo"..... but I have a plan.

If 1000 of you chipped in $14 each......... think of it this way... when was the last time you bought me a birthday present????  Here is your chance to make up for that oversight.  Even if you bought me a present recently, this is a cheaper option than buying me another shirt or something.

It could be your chance to help out an oppressed guy who lives in a house of females who think clothes and food are more important than motorcycles (Girls!  Pphhhffttt!!!) 

What is that?  You say I am lucky I have a wife that is nice enough to let me have ANY motorcycle much less the really nice one I currently have???   Many wives would not even consider that and Sari almost forced me to buy a good one???? 

True.... that makes her truly a spectacular wife(not to mention "odd" - in the best sort of way). 

However, think how much better that story would be if I had a brand new Concours to brag about.  Huh????  THAT would be a real story!!!!

Sari?????  Honey?????   HELLO???????  :)

That isn't funny!

 

An era has ended.  For more than 4 four years I have set my PVR to record the "Just for Laughs" comedy festival any time it was on.  I love watching "stand up".  It is amazing to me that a person can go on stage with nothing more than words and ideas and make a living... that is cool.  Sometimes it is vulgar and gets the quick "fast forward" button, but lots of times it is witty, insightful and just plain funny.

For example, one of my favorite guys, Greg Giraldo (who unfortunately died in 2010 and was a Harvard graduate) had this to say about 9/11......

"I live in New York and it is scary.  I mean.... every day my boy comes up to me and says, 'Daddy, why do the bad men hate us????  Why do the bad men hate us????'   That is sad isn't it...... because my son is 23 years old!!!!  I'm like.... 'I don't know... why don't you read a paper and form your own opinions!' What kind of a moron am I raising here?"  :)

Anyway, I have now recorded and re-record every "Just for laughs" ever made (5 times over) and so, the other day, I made the hard decision to set the PVR to "First run only".  No more reruns.... only new stuff.... and who knows when that will ever come out.

But the good news is that I have about 10 hours of really funny stuff saved up...... if you are ever bored and need a laugh.... I've got you covered.

Is that really necessary?

 

When doing the weather for Saskatchewan, is it really necessary to have forecasts for Regina, Swift Current, Moose Jaw, Yorkton, Weyburn and Estevan?

Seriously, I was watching the news at noon and they spent 5 minutes talking about the weather tomorrow and each of the places I mentioned were within 2 degrees of each other and they were within 20% in terms of "Probability of precipitation".

I mean, it is not as if the "coastal mountains" between here and Weyburn are going to drastically alter that weather patterns are they?

Or maybe they have to give such a detailed account because of the vast inland sea that we live beside.... there is a good chance of "Lake effect snow" when you get close to "Old Wives Lake" I am sure! (Or is that just Alkali blowing off the "lake"?  Either way, it is white I guess)

Wouldn't it be easier and more straight forward to say, "If you are in southern Sask, it is going to be about -15 and sunny" and just leave it at that???   I don't think I am repacking the SUV because it is going to be -14 when I leave Estevan BUT -16 when I get to Weyburn!!!!

What is JC Garden's phone number????  I think I can cut his work load down by about 95% here.  :)

PS.  Did I mention that all the girls are out of town and the only one I have to talk to is the dog.... and he doesn't want to be in the house with me?????  

Dads

My kids thought that this was funny - so I am posting it for them.  Enjoy!

PS.  "30 blogs in 30 days" is making its return this weekend (I think).  Check back for more.... ummm... stuff.  :)

Is it 1937??????

The Canadian government is funding research into its latest and greatest idea.......




Yep - a blimp!   Read about it here.

Now, before you right to me and tell me how stupid I am.... I do get the idea. The north is hard to get to and there are very few landing strips, so blimps make a lot of sense.  They can also haul very heavy loads very cheaply.

But still..... doesn't it sound sort of funny????  

"Yes, Prime Minister, we are looking into blimps.  Of course, we will not be able to complete those until we have looked into other important advances for Canadians such as the "voice to voice telegraph", the "Moving picture box" and the "Horseless carriage" - but once we have a handle on those things we will advance to the blimp!"

Ah the government..... 100 years behind the times and dropping like a rock!  :)

Seems about right

Hey y'all I have not given up on the blog. It is just that (as they say in the hood where I grew up).... "Stuff has been going down!" (or something similar to that).  :)

Anyway, sorry for not writing during the last week (I will explain someday - maybe).

For now, here is a video that my brother sent to me last week.... I had forgotten all about about the movie and this scene, but I like it - so here ya go. Enjoy! And thanks for coming back to read the silliness that is on here...... There is more to come! :)

Captain Kirk calls Chris Hadfield on the ISS

I heard a portion of this interview on the CBC when I was driving home at lunch.  If you have about 13 minutes, you should watch it.  Hadfield has some cool things to say about handling fear, doing something worthwhile and about the experience of being in space and seeing what he is seeing. 

Have a look!

Nice night (Day 29)

Tonight Hillcrest School held a "Sleigh ride/family night" and it was lots of fun. 

Horses.... fire pit.... coffee/hot chocolate/etc.... lots of families.... skate give away.... skating at the rink.... beautiful night.... did I mention a big fire (I got to be the one in charge of that.... starting fires on the school grounds - legally this time!!!!!  Woo hoo!!!!)  :)   

Good job Sari and all!


We have pics coming. I will post them tomorrow.

Ha Ha

I can hear my girls saying "Ahhhh" already

Baby animal pics..... here

This makes me want to go to New York - Anyone???

 

Grand Central Terminal (not "Station".... it is a terminal because it is the end of the line) is turning 100 years old.  Who wants to check it out????? 

Until then, check out these pictures.

A Childhood hero, a story and a complaint (Day 28)

Think back to your childhood heroes.  People you thought were simply "cool". 

Have any of you every had the chance, later in life, to meet one of your heroes?

I did.... just last week.

When Lenny (aka my brother Kurt) and I were kids, if you wanted to find us on a Sunday afternoon in the summer, all you would have to do is go to the exhibition grounds in Moose Jaw.  Why?  Because that is where the stock car races were held.

The stock car guys were our heroes... we knew all there was to know about their cars, their crews... we even rode our ten speeds all over town going to get to the houses or shops where the cars were stored just to see if we could tell what had been done to them that week (New motor?  New paint??). 

In fact, I even remember jumping through the windows of a few of those cars and pretending that I was driving (all the while watching for the owner who likely would not have been as excited about that as I was).

Looking back on it, I realize now that the cars they ran in Moose Jaw were sort of junky.  In fact, they would not be much better than a "bomber class" or "Enduro car" at most race tracks now.   They were just old cars with the windows kicked out and a roll cage welded in. 

However, there was one guy who had the craziest car we had ever seen.  I mean, this thing was super fast!!  It was loud!!!  The team was so cool that they even had a real car hauler and matching team jackets!!!   They did not race in Moose Jaw very often, but when they did, it was a show!

That team..... Jim Barnstable's team from Estevan, Saskatchewan.

Now, some of you are thinking "Wa?" because you don't have a clue - nor do you care - who Jim Barnstable is..... and others of you are thinking "Wa?" because you do know who Jim Barnstable is and you are thinking "He was your hero???"

Well, hero may be a strong word.... but to a 14 year old kid, dude was cool.

So imagine my surprise when several years ago, guess who moves into the house across the street from the church building..... one Mr. Jim Barnstable.

I often thought, "I should go over there, introduce myself and tell him my story of watching him race when I was a kid".   But then I thought, "Bah!  Why would he care that some preacher watched him race 25 years ago?"

Then, last week, I was outside shoveling the walk and guess who drives up to the church building with a load of clothes for our free clothing outlet.  So I introduced myself and told him my story and he was thrilled!!! 

In fact, he told me that he had this scrapbook of all his old race cars and newspaper clippings and stuff.... it was over at his machine shop and he said that I should come by and look at it sometime.  There was even stuff in there about Moose Jaw.  I told him I would do that.

Then.....

On Wednesday I am sitting in my office when I hear someone banging around in the building.  I get up to go see who it is and, lo and behold, it is Jim..... and he has the scrapbook with him.  "I just thought I would drop by and show this to you."

And so he did.... for the next half hour or more.  Then he said, "There is a ton of stuff in there to read.  Why don't you just take it home and look it over.  Keep it as long as you want and just bring it back when you are done".

Sometimes, when you are a kid, you build people up in your mind to the point that there is no way that they could ever be that nice.... so when you really do meet them it is a let down.

Not this time.  Jim could not have been nicer.  And I think I made his day too.  It is nice to be remembered, right?

 ___________
 So, for the first time in a year, I decided to go to "Noon Hockey" today.  It turned out well.  I am sore and tired, but it was a ton of fun.... all except for one thing.

When I went to look over my stuff last night to make sure nothing was missing, I noticed that someone (Sari) had put "Bounce fabric softener" sheets all through my hockey bag.

I was expecting to smell "Hockey dressing room" and what I got was "Spring flower tulip".

What is she trying to do?????  Get me beat up?????  Cause that is what happens to guys at hockey who smell too nice!!!!  

I almost beat myself up just on the principle of the thing!!!

I spent years getting that stuff to smell that bad!!!   I (literally) have not washed the shirt that goes under my shoulder pads in 10 years or more.  10 YEARS!!!!! 

Bounce sheets!!!!!!   Brother!!!  :(
__________
One last thought......

I am not the most "Politically Correct" guy.  Sometimes I think that stuff goes a little overboard.

However, the other day I heard something that did offend me and I can't believe that it has not been changed in all these years.

I asked Megan, "So what did you do in gym class today?"

Her response... "We played British Bulldog!"

Now come on!!!

Why is that not..... "Monarch ruled, island dwelling, North Sea, Anglo Saxon Male of the species Bos Taurus canine?"

"British Bulldog" indeed! 

I am writing to somebody about this, you know????!!!!  :)

You have to watch this

I know nothing about this guy... no idea who he is or what his story is (I may look him up later if I get a moment).... but I stumbled across this today and just had to share it.  Dude has something to say.

Some good news and some good advice (Day 27)

My "Cycle World" motorcycle magazine came today and that is good news for several people....

1. Me (For obvious reasons)

2. Dennis (As he gets to read them after I am done with them)

3. Sari (Because she no longer has to listen to me whine... "Where is my 'Cycle World'?" every day)

4.  The mailman/woman/person (I was about to start frisking the letter carriers to see if they were hiding my magazine from me - and that may have been a little awkward)

5.  Katelyn and Megan (Because it may be hard for them to survive without their Dad being around during their teenage years because he is locked up as a result of the fight that would have most certainly broken out after the "frisking" bit).

So - as you can see - it is a good thing the magazine showed up today.  The entire course of our collective lives my have been changed had it not.
___________
I was not going to share this bit of good advice.  In fact, it is completely against my better judgment.  However, Sari said I ought to blog it as it may help others.  So, feel free to take the advice and try the idea.  Results may vary.....

Sari was sitting on the couch at lunch and she could not stop coughing.  She asked if we had any "Halls" or something (as if I would know).

I said, "No, but I saw a stand-up comic one time who recommended taking laxative``.

"Why?  What good will that do?" she asked.

"Well", I replied, "His theory was that if you took enough of it you would be too scared to cough".  :)
 __________
See - better judgment should have ruled there.  Oh well!  Have a good night!  :)

Huh! (Day 26)

So Megan and I were the only ones going to church from our house this morning.  Katie was at a sleepover and was driving herself to church from there and Sari was down and out with a head cold thing that she has been fighting for over a week.

So Megs and I got out to the garage..... I go to the driver's side.... she goes to the passenger's..... I open the middle row door of the SUV just as she opens the one on her side.... I throw some stuff on the seat at the exact same time as she throws stuff on the other seat...... we close both doors at the exact same milli-second....... then we both open the front doors at the same time.... jump in and slam them at exactly the same time.

Megan says, "THAT WAS FREAKY!"

I say, "Naaaaa naaa naaaaa naaaa naaaa..... you are just like your Daddy!!!!!"

To which she replies, "Or you are just like a teenage girl!!"

Where do kids get this stuff and why are they so mean and hurtful???????  

I blame her mother!  :)