Would Words Work?

My First Widget!

2007-02-18T16:58:00.000-08:00

Today I found a place that builds you a widget that you can use to advertise your eBay items.

Best of all, it was free. I love free!

Caution. Shameless self-promotion follows.

Scroll on down to the bottom of this page and have a look at the showcase (that's what this widget is generating). This is just a sample of all the things I have for sale on eBay. Pick an item. Click on it. Then buy it from me on eBay.

Now I have to go figure out how to put this widget on my other blog.

Our Christmas Day

2006-12-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas! Lots of gifts and good food and happy conversation.

It has been a busy morning unwrapping and eating presents (a biscuit and a rawhide bone) then going for a walk, so Tyler has a nap.

After being told we were expecting guests, Andy parks himself in front of the window to wait for them to arrive.

I just wanted to say...

Being a teenager is tiring.

Studying each and every function is more fun than actually taking pictures.

I asked for expressions not quite so grim. This is what I got.

Andy misbehaves and gets sent to the penalty box.

Still doing stuff with the camera but not taking pictures

Ok, I'll take a picture. Here's my dessert in Macro Mode. Yum, yum!

Roewan's Other Blog

2006-12-23T12:47:00.000-08:00

Just in case you're wondering where I've been lately and you haven't noticed that I have another blog, click here.

Trip to Europe - A Dutch Party (II)

2006-12-17T16:35:00.000-08:00

And here are the rest of the party pictures. My sister exercised her formidible people-herding skills and we ended up with some great family group snapshots.

If anyone (that is, anyone in the family) wants higher resolution versions of these images to make prints then contact me.

Trip to Europe - A Dutch Party

2006-12-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

Last August while we were in Europe, one of my aunts hosted a fabulous party. She and her husband are very fortunate to have a home with a large back garden in a private natural setting. In The Netherlands, a small densely populated country, few have the luxury of such space.

It was perfect for an outdoor family party.

A Beautiful House and Garden

The party is in the back.

Space and Privacy

Gather Around

Begin with arrivals and introductions

Whose husband is this?

Then Cakes and Coffee

Aunts with sweets

Soon it's time for drinks.

I hope you have lots!

That glass is mine!

Proost!

And the party really gets rolling...

Mass Photography

After more food and photography and as the party winds down, we go for a walk.

Just down the lane, some curious cows

A perfect end to a perfect day

B5 - Five Years

2006-12-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

My latest email from the NW-B5 Mailing List came with a link to a quick 2:27 video covering all five years of Babylon 5 and set to music with some very funny lyrics by Tom Smith. Nonsensical to anyone but true fans, of course.

On Dec 1, JMS wrote that production (filming was done locally at Vancouver Film Studios) for the first DVD of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales finished principal photography. DVD release of Voices In The Dark is expected in 2007. Early 2007, I hope!

Some of JMS' own photos and missives from the production are currently posted here.

"We are dreamers, shapers, singers, and makers. We study the mysteries of laser and circuit, crystal and scanner, holographic demons and invocations of equations. These are the tools we employ and we know many things." -- Elric, The Geometry of Shadows

From Knitting Patterns to Surge Arrestors

2006-12-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

My small and sensible eBay business just lurched out of its quiet little niche by agreeing to sell amateur radio gear alongside the knitting and sewing patterns.

I wonder what my current craft pattern customers will think when they see coaxial cables, amphenol connectors, gas capsules, lightning protectors and cold shrink kits?

The Big Guy needs to free up space so that he can store the new amateur radio gear he's buying. The obvious way to do this (other than to move into a new house that happens to have a warehouse in the backyard) is to sell some of the current gear that is clogging up the closets and the crawl space under our house.

What can I say? Don't buy more stuff? Silly me.

Come and see order being created out of chaos at The M31 Emporium's newly opened Amateur and Ham Radio department.

Spam Troubles

2006-11-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago when I was being particularly pissed off at Blogger I investigated a few other blog hosting sites. And I registered at two or three, carelessly using my main email address. I now suspect that one of these blogging sites is not very careful about securing it's member database since my email address has been recently inundated by masses of Spam. I'm now up to about 40 to 50 Spam emails a day and I was only getting 4 or 5 a week before then.

I've gone back and deleted my profile on those sites (including MySpace) but I think the damage has been done...

It's very annoying.

Of course, it could also have been that one of my eBay customers had their PC farmed for email addresses by a Spammer.

I'm probably lucky that I have not had serious problems up to now.

My friend J. emailed me the URL for another blogging site, www.vox.com. I just had a quick look and at first glance it looks like a very good one! Lots of functionality, visually appealing templates, pages download very fast, and an interesting member community.

More Snow Pictures

2006-11-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

View from our front window. The beech tree's leaves have not even all fallen yet.

The snow in our backyard is deep enough to reach our dogs' bellies when they walk through it. They're not particularly enthusiastic about doing their business in snow this deep. I imagine it feels quite cold if it happens to touch certain body parts.

A pair of Steller's Jays stop by for breakfast

It Snowed This Weekend

2006-11-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

Yesterday it started snowing here around 3:00 pm, just flurries to begin with but it got heavier overnight. And it snowed all day today until it got dark this afternoon.

This is what our backyard looked like at about 11:00 am.

Tyler insisted on checking things out at least every 30 minutes. I think he wonders where have all the smells gone? I felt like a doorman. "Have a nice day, Sir." "Welcome back, Sir." "Going for a walk, Sir?" "Let me get the door for you, Sir."

A couple of hours later, it's still snowing and the heaps I brushed off the bird feeder and suet are quickly returning. Bushes and tree branches sag under the weight. The Big Guy is upstairs at this point, shovelling the snow off our balcony for the second time. We're both paranoid about leaks.

A small swarm of Bushtits come to the suet feeder. The birds I spotted today at the feeders included these Bushtits, Black-capped Chickadees, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Starlings, Steller’s Jays and a single Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia).

A Rocky Beach on Lake Huron

2006-11-26T17:36:00.000-08:00

I took these photos in the late afternoon of October 30. This beach is on the east shore of Lake Huron, between Kincardine and Tiverton. The wind of the day before has died down and the lake is calm.

Windy Day in Goderich

2006-11-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken at Goderich Harbour on October 29. It was a cold and windy day (following a dark and stormy night).

Ye olde Port of Goderich CPR train station, built in 1907, last used by CPR in 1988

The dome-shaped structures in the background hold salt ready to be loaded onto ships.

Canada Geese huddle on the beach facing into the wind

The wind was really wild. Look at the tree branches in this picture and you'll see they are bent back to the left (eastwards).

Clouds backlit by midafternoon sun

Michael and Don on the Menesetung Bridge over the Maitland River near the harbour. Yeah, it was cold.

Trip to Europe - a Week in The Netherlands

2006-11-11T19:57:00.000-08:00

This is one of a series of blog entries about my trip to Europe in August.

This post is revision 0.7, latest edit done on 11/23/2006. I'm done editing this thing. It's time to move on. I think I'll do a post about the party next.

Getting Around:
Automobiles - rented and borrowed, plus rides with helpful relatives, bicycles (more about this later) and walking. Lots of walking.

Sleeping:
We stayed at the Landgoed Ruigheroed. This is a Dutch-style resort with camping and cabins that you can rent by-the-week. My sister rented a large 5-bedroom cabin that had plenty of space for four adults and three teenagers. The resort has tennis courts, a large pond, a café, and a small general store. A walking/bicyling path runs just outside of the grounds through a wooded area. It was all very nice except maybe for the weakness of the wireless Internet signal, an inadequate Internet café and somewhat arbitrary restrictions on automobiles.

Our cabin, "De Kranenburgh"

Places Visited:

The Locks at Eefde (Sluis Eefde)

View of the Canal in Eefde (Twentekanaal)

Lochem: One of my aunts took us to a great bistro for lunch. I’m not absolutely sure but I think it was de Babbelaer. Some of us sampled the local beer (yumm, yumm). Later in the week my brother and I had an excellent dinner in a fabulous Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, the Cleopatra. We began outside at a sidewalk table and moved inside when it started to rain. I will always remember Lochem for our late night arrival and the church whose lit-up steeple proved to be an excellent landmark to help people find us when we didn’t know where we were. "We’re in front of this old church with a high steeple that has a gold clock, all lit up."

Zutphen: My nephews wanted to go shopping for wooden shoes so we went to Zutphen one day. It was Monday and the shops were closed so we had lunch while we waited for them to open. My brother, who had been informed by our helpful Dutch relatives that he will be forever branded as a style-challenged tourist in his neon-white North American athletic shoes, also shopped for shoes. Don bought some really cool black leather shoes, not quite as eye-catching as wooden shoes would be back in Canada, but he and I did blend in with the European locals more easily. That is, until we met up with our other brother, John, in Germany the next week. John would never think of abandoning his rural Ontario blue jeans, denim jacket and assorted baseball caps, no matter how stylishly his siblings think they are dressed.

Nijmegan: We went to the Nationaal Bevrijdingsmuseum 1944-1945, a museum that commemorates the liberation of The Netherlands during WWII. Exhibits focus on the impact of the occupation on the Dutch, Operation Market Garden, the Hongerwinter and then the Liberation. There is also a memorial to the solders who died in The Netherlands.

Nijmegan: The National Liberation Museum

Robin Hood the Tank and my brother. Check out those cool shoes!

Arnhem: The Openluchtmuseum is huge, and fascinating. If you go, plan on a minimum of three hours.

Admission to The Openluchtmuseum in Arnhem

Openluchtmuseum Map

Adventures and Observations:
Midnight in Lochem. I think I said in a previous post that Lochem train station is in the middle of nowhere. Actually, I found out the very next day that it’s within a few hundred metres of the home of one of my aunts. I wonder what she would have said if a jet lagged niece and nephew from Canada had knocked on her door in the wee hours of the night?

You never forget how to ride a bicycle. Yeah, right. Yet another myth that I can personally take credit for debunking. Hurt my foot. Ouch. Don snapped this picture before I fell off. I am pleased to say that there are no embarrassing snapshots of me lying on the ground tangled up with the bicycle.

You never forget how to drive a standard. Despite my sister’s incredulity and fortunately for my cousin’s car, this saying happens to be true. Really. However, it was a bit uncomfortable to work the clutch with a sprained ankle. Dr. Me researched hurt foot on the Internet after getting back to Canada and decided we only had a "Type 1" sprained ankle, barely worth mentioning except the damn thing still hurt six weeks later. My willing and able brother happily took over driving duties the next day. We puzzled out the road signage and had great fun zooming around roundabouts and up and down the tree-lined roads in my cousin's Renault.

My Canadian nephews sample Dutch delicacies: Too bad I don’t have pictures. Their expressions (accompanied by oral sound effects) while tasting pickled and raw herring were as amazing as any facial contortion a teenager can make.

My Mom and Dad Married in Almen in 1951: We visit Almen Julianaschool, Kerk van Almen, and De Hoofdige Boer. I am going to create a separate post (someday...) covering our visit to Almen and to the farms where my parents grew up. Stay tuned...

An older picture of de kerk van Almen

Wooden Shoes. Still a Practical Option. My nephews were impressed and even more determined to buy some.

Have Renault, will travel. Before venturing into larger cities and onto freeways Don and I headed for places smaller and quieter. We stopped in Ruurlo to get a map at the VVV and went on to Winterswijk. [more to write here...]

An Accidental Visit To Germany. We are barreling along the freeway near Nijmegan when I suddenly realize we're fast approaching a location coinciding with a thick purple line on my map. Panic sets in. Hey, Don! Did you bring your passport? But there's nothing at the border other than a large sign in the freeway median. We proceed.

Navigating Through Arnhem and Why Two Pairs of Eyeglasses are One Pair Too Many. Don and I disregarded the we got lost warnings from my sister and her husband and decided to drive straight through the middle of Arnhem instead of taking the freeway around. Everything was fine until we got to the area near the train station. Chaos ensued. I frantically switched between reading the map (which requiring putting on my reading glasses) and responding to Don's requests to please read all 57 of those signs at the upcoming roundabout (which required replacing my reading glasses with my night vision glasses). By the time I swapped glasses Don was already in the roundabout and making a wild guess at which exit to take. After about 15 minutes of putting on and taking off glasses I gave up on the map and just scanned for signs. We saw a lot of Arnhem.

What do the Dutch really think of Germany? They ask us, as we tell them about our plans to visit the Rhine valley and the Bavarian Alps, "Why would anyone want to go there?" Well, they do like the autobahn. That's because you can drive across the country really fast to get to the other side.

Dutch culture

A Visit To Colony Farm

2006-10-07T16:52:00.000-07:00

While adding back in the backyard bird links that were recently lost along with the rest of my blog template customizations, it occurred to me that I could also list the other birds that my brother and I saw last May at Colony Farm.

We saw:

Barn Swallows: As we walked the Dyke Trail, dozens of Barn Swallows zipped around, sometimes within a few meters of our heads, snatching insects out of the air.

Red-Winged Blackbirds: I remember these birds from where I grew up in Ontario but before I visited Colony Farm I didn’t realize they lived out here in the west too. At the park, they congregated in the marshy area.

Bald Eagle: At first we weren’t sure whether it was a large hawk or an eagle soaring high above but then I saw the bright white tail flash and knew it was a Bald Eagle. As the bird turned, we also spotted its white head, the colour of a mature bird.

Great Blue Heron: You see these all over the Lower Mainland, anywhere where there’s water with fish in it, including our neighbours’ backyard pond intermittently stocked with gold fish. The fishing efficiency of the herons gave those poor fish very abbreviated lifespans.

Bufflehead Ducks: What a silly name for a duck. What’s a buffle anyway?

Rock Pigeons: Another bird seen everywhere. Also known as flying rats.

Northwestern Crows: I’ve talked about crow cleverness before and I'm sure crows are smart enough to tease dogs but I read somewhere that they’re not as smart as Ravens. West Coast aboriginal peoples know the Raven as The Trickster.

And here are a few more pictures I took that day last May.

The Coquitlam River flows through Colony Farm.

Community Gardens

Newly built bat houses, ready for their first tenants

Nest Boxes. I think the numbered boxes may be for Purple Martins.

Colony Farm has a very easy-to-walk trail system.

Crossing the Millenium Bridge over the Coquitlam River

LOST MY BLOG TEMPLATE!!

2006-09-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

This just really, really bums me out.

Blogger (this place where I publish my blog) has several technical glitches plus performance problems that I've lived with or found work arounds for over the last several months.

But this week my template mysteriously disappeared. As a result I've lost all the links that I had built up over several months on the right hand side of my web page.

Did I mention that this really, really sucks?

Anyway, I'm on the hunt for a more reliable place to do my blogging.

I'm checking out MySpace now and I plan to look at other sites too before deciding.

Maybe I'll write some reviews of what I find out...

This Is Not a Post About My Trip To Europe

2006-09-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

Just finished vacuuming and dusting the house, cleaning the kitchen and downstairs bathroom, washing out Andy's ears (Tyler retreated to the back of the back yard as soon as he saw the dog ear cleaning solution bottle and then pretended he was deaf when I called him so I'll have to sneak up on him later) and now I'm trying to get my act together for my next blog post "Trip To Europe – A Week in The Netherlands".

But the jumble of travel notes and photos aren't arranging themselves into any sort of interesting pattern so "A Week in The Netherlands" is not going to get done today. Besides, (this is a big hint, you guys) I want copies of my sister's and brother's pictures from Holland too since I'm sure they've got some great shots that deserve inclusion in the post.

The best I can manage today is a preview picture. This is part of the fabulous view from the top of a windmill at the Openluchtmuseum in Arnhem.

Arnhem, by the way, has such a hopelessly convoluted tangle of streets around the train station that it's impossible to navigate from south to north without also visiting both the eastern and western sectors of the city. Our navigator (me) was forced to abandon the map in favour of desperately scanning for helpful street signs.

I'll end today with something I found while looking for inspiration for my own travel writings - Modern Gonzo's website. Click, read, see, enjoy.

Trip To Europe Notes – Arrival in The Netherlands

2006-09-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

This is one of a series of entries about my trip to Europe in August.

Travel:

Flying – Martinair flight 820, which was originally scheduled to depart Vancouver at 7:45 pm Aug 11, finally left at 2:15 am. Arrived Schiphol airport at approximately 8:30 pm (not too sure about the time, was still half-asleep) on Aug 12.

Trains – Nederlandse Spoorwegen. Schiphol to Apeldoorn to Zutphen to Lochem, a 2-hour trip with 2 connections.

Sleeping and Accommodations:

Aug 11-12: Seat 16A (window) forward of the wing. I actually managed to sleep almost the entire flight due to paying for an upgrade to Martinair’s Comfort class to secure a window seat, being really tired (2:15 am departure time), darkness (pulled down window shade and put a blanket over my head), quiet (earplugs) and two Melatonin.

Observations - 1:

The Martinair flight attendants wear uniforms with a retro look right out of the 1960’s.

Observations - 2:

Umbrellas are highly recommended in Amsterdam. My brother, whose flight arrived about 8 hours before mine, decided to venture forth into Amsterdam instead of spending the entire time at the airport waiting for me. It rained. He got wet. By the time I emerged from the baggage collection area and met him, he was looking bedraggled, sleep deprived and slightly lost. His Eurail pass had also gone for a swim in a puddle but we managed to separate and dry out the pages before they all glued themselves together.

Observations - 3:

The ticket machines for trains out of Schiphol airport accept several different forms of payment. A normal traveler from Canada with a wallet full of credit cards, debit cards and paper Euros possesses none of those acceptable forms of payment. However, the nice gentleman at the Nederlandse Spoorwegen Information & Services counter was very willing to accept any of the forms of payment in my wallet in return for train tickets. He also printed out what proved to be an extremely useful itinerary with track numbers and train connections for where we wanted to go.

Observations - 4:

Midnight in Lochem. Stay tuned, someday I may write a story about our adventures after disembarking the Syntus stoptrein at Lochem Station on our way to Landgoed Ruighenrode. For now, let’s just say the train station is in the middle of nowhere, it was dark, not all telephones operate as expected, my suitcase has very annoying noisy wheels when dragged over cobblestones, happy drunks can not be relied upon to give good directions, and church steeples make brilliant landmarks.

Trip To Europe - Favorite Moments

2006-09-04T17:27:00.000-07:00

In August I visited The Netherlands and Germany. Here are a few of my favorite memories.

Waking up early the first morning and standing on my bed to take a picture out of the skylight just after dawn at Landgoed Ruighenrode, Lochem, NL.

Going for a walk in the Dikke Bomen near Kasteel Ampsen at Laren with assorted aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives.

Visiting De Pas and Welsink, the farms near Eefde where my Mom and Dad grew up.

Seeing the Porta Nigra and other Roman ruins in Trier, Germany’s oldest city.

Wandering around in the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress where the youth hostel is and where I stayed 26 years ago in Koblenz.

Cruising the Rhine River on the K-D Line’s ship Godesburg. My brothers and I had a fabulous time sitting outside on the top deck surrounded by sun, wind, water, vineyards and castles.

Waiting for our next train in Augsburg. My brothers know how to spend the time!

Touring Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein, two of the castles near Füssen.

Riding the Tegelbergbahn up to the summit of Tegelberg near Schwangau and watching the paragliders taking off.

Having lunch in Mittenwald with Karwendel looming over your shoulder.

Walking through the Partnach-Gorge just outside Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Busy, busy, busy

2006-08-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

It’s been busy around here lately and whenever I felt in the mood to write a blog post, there was simply something else that had to be done first.

The major events have included bathroom renovations (egad, what a time-consumer that turned out to be!), my best friend’s wedding and her imminent departure for Costa Rica (boo-hoo!), and preparations for the trip to Europe.

Regarding the bathroom renovations... Wallpapering was tougher than expected – I’m out of practice plus I’ve never attempted it while having issues with my back. All that stretching this way and that way to measure things, crouching down and then getting up from a crouched position, climbing up and down the step ladder and holding heavy wet wallpaper over your head while positioning it correctly to match the pattern with the previous piece and then trimming edges is very demanding on your back! 20 years ago I could have probably wallpapered this whole bathroom in about six or seven hours in a single session. This time I had to do it in three separate sessions with one or two days of rest between.

The one last little thing left to do in the bathroom (other than cleaning out the clutter in the cupboards) is to remove the old caulking around the bathtub and recaulk it all. That chore can wait until I’m back from Europe.

Here are the post-reno pictures.

The wallpaper is white but it's textured to look like roughly applied plaster.

This bench from Ikea has a comfy padded seat to make it easier for me to put my socks on in the morning. The seat opens up to reveal my dirty laundry inside!

I love these irises painted on ceramic tile. Purchased (on sale) at an antique store in New West. See also the chic new towel bar.

Here's my new wooden waste basket, a framed Philodendron leaf (silk) and a clever little box that controls some of the clutter that's always sitting on the toilet tank.

In the other corner beside the door is the new shelf for my radio. I've got to figure out a way to hide that ugly black cord.

And, as a little surprise for anyone looking into the mirror, here is my wall art lizard high up by the ceiling.

Compare this marvelous new room to the pre-reno pictures!

Big difference, eh!

It has more of a spa type of feeling now. It makes me happy.

I leave for Europe tomorrow and over the last three weeks I’ve gradually whittled down the to-do list to figuring out which books to bring. Today I had one last planning phone-call with one of my brothers, traded emails with my sister who is already in Europe, had a session with my chiropractor, did my laundry, packed my bags and stocked up on groceries for The Big Guy and the dogs.

Now I have re-think my packing because of today’s new rules about what’s not allowed in carry-on luggage. Traveling by air gets more annoying every time I do it!

No water! No hand cream! No toothpaste!

I wonder if chap stick is ok?

I’ll be a dried up husk with bad breath by the time I get to Amsterdam.

The 10 Worst Things About Painting

2006-07-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

10 -- The smell.

9 -- Painting while standing in bare feet (it’s darn hot here) and having the plastic drop cloth stick to your sweaty feet.

8 -- Having serious doubts about the colour.

7 -- Drips.

6 -- Dogs who come looking to see what you’re doing and who wag their black hairy tails over a freshly painted spot.

5 -- Painting with white paint while wearing your new black skirt which you bought specifically to wear in Europe in August.

4 -- Cleaning up afterwards.

3 -- Getting paint out from under your fingernails.

2 -- Getting it done and realizing that at least one, if not two more coats will be required.

1 -- This stupid Wal-Mart brand ColourPlace paint brush which sheds bristles all over the place!

Bathroom Reno Project Status Report, July 22, 2006

2006-07-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

Project Summary

Lots of progress made this week (see pictures.) Everything is ready for painting and wall papering. The project manager expects project completion in the first week of August.

Deliverables Status - Green

Purchases of Bench/Laundry Hamper, Wastebasket and assorted decorative items all complete. Delivery of Painted Trim and Wall Papered Walls anticipated next week. Grouted Bathtub Rim expected either next week or early the week after.

Schedule Status - Yellow

The project manager has evaluated the status of each planned task and has determined that the overall project is a teensy weensy bit behind schedule.

Tasks completed this week: Filling holes, sanding, vacuuming and cleaning all done. Green masking tape all applied in readiness for painting.

Budget Status - Red

Budget is totally blown. And the project manager still has to buy a towel bar, electrical switches and outlet and a bathroom vent fan cover. Everything budget-wise was on track until J. and I cruised through a few antique stores this week in New West. I bought these lovely framed Iris tiles and a wonderfully eccentric wooden folding basket from India.

Risk Management Report

N/A. As the project manager did not prepare a Risk Management Plan, there will be no Risk Management reporting.

Issues

The customer (me) is complaining about the lack of a mirror in her bathroom but the project manager (also me) has arranged for her to use The Big Guy’s bathroom mirror next door and, despite The Big Guy’s dim lighting and messy counter top, this appears to have resolved the problem.

Project Manager Without a Project Team

2006-07-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

As it seems there isn’t any way I’m going to convince The Big Guy that moving to the Sunshine Coast is what we should do, we’re faced with a house that requires maintenance and general upkeep to keep it in a condition that satisfies our desires for someplace warm, dry and pleasurable to live in and look at.

The Big Guy has managed to turn a single leak discovered several months ago at one garage window into a major outside siding repair, deck repair, cleaning, painting, and eavestrough/downspout replacement project.

This spring, partially to avoid getting dragged into too much of the outside work, I decided to take on a couple of inside rooms.

Repainting the kitchen was pretty easy and didn’t take too long.

Now I’m working on "my" bathroom. This is the main bathroom upstairs and was last decorated by me almost 25 years ago.

Here are a few "Before" pictures.

Yeah, it’s time. That 1980’s look has got to go…

I have noticed that using baskets as decorator items is trendy again. No matter, these baskets will be tossed!

Task List (more or less in the order in which things are getting done):

Remove mirror, light fixture, picture and other stuff attached to walls, curtain, curtain rod, towel bar, toilet paper holder, switch and electrical outlet covers, bathroom vent cover and everything sitting on the window sill, counter, toilet tank and floor.

Remove tank from toilet.

Strip off the old wallpaper, fill in the holes in the walls, sand the walls, vacuum up the dust and loose bits of paper.

Clean all surfaces including ceiling, tile above bathtub, window and the sliding glass shower doors.

Paint window trim, window sill and the outside edge of the tile.

Put up the new wallpaper.

Remove the moldy old grout around bathtub and put in new grout.

Replace electrical switches and outlets (old ones are beige, I need white ones for the new wallpaper and paint color scheme). Re-install light fixture. Attach new bathroom vent cover.

Reattach toilet tank. Check for leaks and adjust as required until nothing leaks.

Hang the mirror.

Install new towel rack and the old toilet paper holder.

Install new wall shelf for the radio.

Hang the picture. Place the stylish new bench/laundry hamper and wastepaper basket in their designated spots.

Decide whether to rehang the old curtain (washed), buy/make a new curtain, or leave the window uncovered.

Put back the toiletries, knick-knacks, etc., making decisions about which should return to their old spots and which should be hidden inside drawers and cupboards.

Optional Task that can be put off until I really feel like it: Clean out the drawers and under-sink cupboard.

So far, I’m almost done striping off the old wallpaper except for the part behind the toilet. I’m waiting for a good moment to ask The Big Guy to help me remove the toilet tank. The Big Guy and Plumbing never get on well so I have to be very careful to choose the right time...

I can do everything else myself except maybe he’ll want to do the electrical work. I’ve read up on how to de-install and install electrical switches and outlets and it doesn’t look too hard to me but it sure would be a lot easier and quicker for him to do it.

Back when I used to do work that people paid me money to do, I was, from time to time, a project manager. The methods have some applicability to my bathroom improvement project. Unfortunately I have no team to delegate tasks to so I have to do nearly everything myself. And I find that not having a paying customer or a stressed-out boss makes the schedules and deadlines much more relaxed.

Sure would be nice to have that mirror back up sometime soon.

Need to have a word with the project manager about the schedule slips... Not to mention the budget.

Dominion Homes Sold (Good Riddance!)

2006-07-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

You can refer to my last post about investing in Dominion Homes here.

I am beginning to believe that the marvelous bull market we’ve enjoyed the last few years has finally reached its inevitable end and we’re entering bear market territory.

This week’s US stock market drop, more gloomy US home-building news and yet another bad news quarterly report pushed Dominion Homes stock (NASDAQ:DHOM) down low enough to trigger my stop loss and my holdings were automagically sold. My loss amounted to 19% since purchasing the stock in January.

Well, I can use the capital loss to offset some of my capital gains on my next tax return.

This afternoon I took the cash and bought some more Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) shares. This will be a relatively safe place for my money for awhile.

I hope.

Johnson & Johnson is a large, well established and diversified healthcare business in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and consumer products. The fundamentals look good, analysts like the stock and it also has a very nice dividend yield of about 2.5%. While it’s recently recovered some ground, the stock is down significantly since its peak in April 2005, down along with other big pharma companies. This is helping make JNJ more attractive from a value point-of-view. I’m not a big believer in technical analysis but I also happened to notice that the current stock price and the 50-day moving average price have both just crossed above the 200-day moving average price.

Instead of buying JNJ, I could hang on to the cash and watch for some other interesting yet safe dividend-paying blue chip stock to drop low enough during the bear market (or correction if that is what this really is) to become an even better buy. But I don’t like sitting on cash in my investment accounts. I’ve been thinking about buying some more JNJ for a couple of months and this is an obvious opportunity. The quicker I get this money working for me again, the quicker I can make up the loss from DHOM.

Cut and Colour

2006-07-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today I went to see my hair guy, Greg, or Gregory, as he’s also known to many of his clients.

I always like going for my regular cut and colour. It feels like we’re old friends now even though we only see each other to look after my hair.

Greg’s business has changed radically from when I first knew him as the very busy owner of a trez chic salon with 6 or 7 stylists plus employees plus someone he was training. In those days you had to book your appointment at least a couple of months in advance and even then you had to share your hour with another client. I once had my appointment bumped by Courtney Love.

Now he rents a chair in a tiny 3-chair salon and my sessions with him often go 3 or even 4 hours as we stretch out the luxuries of hair consultation, shampooing and massage, colour-mixing and application, more shampooing, conditioning, cutting and drying, styling and more styling.

Greg’s a somewhat eccentric dresser. I’ve seen him in waist-length hair (his own), a brush-cut, skirts, cowboy boots, a silk suit, white palazzo pants with a white wrap top, every imaginable type of hat, all sorts of sunglasses, silver bracelets, chains, rings on every finger, with and without beard…

Today he was even more outlandish than usual - bright pink wide-legged pants with ruched side seams long enough to drag on the floor and almost hiding the faded orange Adidas. Over the pants (which Gregory wore several inches below his waist, exposing a fair amount of skin) he had an orange fringed scarf tied around his hips and a camouflage purse fastened to a lime green belt with silver buckle. He had a fuchsia-coloured top under a pink Hawaiian shirt; and over all of that an off-white long-sleeved knitted duster with shawl collar. He had a lime-green turban covering his black hair and over the turban, a white Stetson-style straw hat; plus big sunglasses which he swapped for reading glasses on a string around his neck whenever he needed to look at my hair. In contrast the jewelry was very restrained today, a couple of wide silver bands on one finger and a tiny silver hoop in each pierced ear. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the black nail polish.

Ziggy, Greg’s dog, was also in the salon today. The front door was open and every 5 minutes Greg had to call Ziggy back in when he snuck outside to better see the world go by on Broadway.

Greg played his David Bowie CDs and I had a fabulous time.

Oblivion Shopping... Shopping for Oblivion

2006-07-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

I’ve talked about The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion before.

I bid on a number of Oblivion listings on eBay trying for a good deal. My objective was to find a reliable seller with a new or good used copy (with everything – retail box, map, instruction booklet and original DVD) and spend, including shipping, no more than half of what I would pay if I bought the game new at a local Electronics Boutique, Future Shop or Best Buy store. These stores are currently selling it for $59.99 plus tax, or you can get the collector’s edition for $69.99.

I bid on and lost six eBay auctions before winning a used game in superb condition plus the official Prima Oblivion game guide book all for $28.50 (US dollars) including shipping from a seller in Barrie, ON. This is a really good deal since I would have bought the game guide book too anyway. I figure I saved about $66 for the game and the book over what I would have paid at Future Shop.

I can tell from the turned-down page corners in the game guide that my seller probably played Oblivion as a mage. I myself usually play a fighter/mage combo character. I played Morrowind all the way through twice as a Dark Elf and worked at developing a versatile character with very high blade skills. I wonder if this will also work well in Oblivion?

I just noticed that people are showing video clips of their Oblivion gameplay (and mods) at YouTube!

If you’re not a hardcore computer rpg gamer the previous two paragraphs probably don’t make much sense but, never mind, this post is really about shopping, not about gaming.

I wouldn’t normally go to such lengths to save $66 to play a computer game, even one that I really want, but I already knew that I would also have to upgrade the graphics card in my computer. When I added everything up it started to look like a major investment.

I was determined to nickel and dime this every way that I could.

A few months ago, I researched graphics cards so I already had a short list of cards that would handle the very intensive Oblivion graphics and were also compatible with my computer. Luckily my computer system manual and ATI’s web site were very helpful in figuring out what would work in my 4-year old Dell PC.

Of course I really, really wanted the ATI graphics card at the very top of the list, the most powerful and fastest card, the most expensive card, the $299.99 US card. Too much money, I thought. So I was considering the lesser cards in the range of $169 to $199.

Despite being an experienced eBay Seller and Buyer, I’m reluctant to risk buying graphics cards on eBay otherwise I probably could have found one there for a lower price. I like to buy my computer hardware brand new, still sealed inside the original manufacturer’s packaging and covered by the manufacturer’s warranty. Or else given to me for free out of The Big Guy’s stash.

But, as is usual with computer stuff, just wait a little while and things get cheaper.

This Canada Day weekend, Future Shop celebrated in their usual manner with a really big sale. And, guess what. They had the very graphics card that I had written off at $299 US as too expensive on sale for $199! That’s Canadian dollars!

Woo Hoo!

Read on, it gets even better.

I had $9.41 left on a Future Shop gift card, the last remnant of a few gift cards that The Big Guy gave me last year in one of his occasional fits of generosity.

I also had another $100 Future Shop gift card that I got from Aeroplan in return for a bunch of air travel points that turned out to be impossible to use on actual air travel due to black-out periods, a shortage of seats designated for air travel points redeemers, and hopeless soul-destroying waits on hold wishing that a human being with a heart would answer my calls to Air Canada’s reservations call center. Besides, these days I prefer WestJet.

Anyway...

Do you realize the GST has also been lowered from 7% to 6%?

So, the graphics card plus tax only cost me $116.58 in real money.

Let the fun begin!

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 8 – Descent and Celebration

2006-07-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

The previous entries in this Kilimanjaro Trip journal are the Introduction, Arrival in Moshi, To Machame Camp, To Shira Camp, To Barranco Camp, To Barafu Camp and To The Summit. Alice’s words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font I use for these blog entries.

Today’s entry is Day 6 of the Kilimanjaro climb, the final day on the Machame Route. Day 6 includes the descent from Millennium Camp (3750m/12,305ft) to Mweka Gate (1800m/6000ft) and the celebration in Moshi.

Elevation Change: 1950 meters descending
Distance: 12 kilometers in 4 hours
Habitat: Heath and Moorland to tropical Montane Forest to Cultivated Land

Alice’s journal:

April 5, 9:50 PM

Boy, I haven’t stayed up this late for days! I’m back at the Keys Hotel, writing my journal under my mosquito net. I’m still wearing my headlamp since I’ve grown accustomed to it and there are no functioning bed lamps.

Our climb is over and it was great. We had a day that started and ended very clear and sunny. In the middle of the day we had mist but no real rain.

The wakeup routine is always interesting. Camp is quiet and then one porter or the Guide yells. Then a bit more yelling, “Get up!" in Swahili and then the porter chatter starts. They start yelling and joking amongst themselves. John told us that this morning they were talking about the walk out with no rain. Soon after, a porter taps on my tent to wake me up (I’ve already been awake for an hour) and asks me how I’ve slept.

We broke camp at 8:00 AM and had one long fast downhill march for four hours. I got the impression they wanted to finish this climb.

With all this downhill plus yesterday’s downhill, the legs are taking a beating.

We arrived at Mweka Gate at noon, signed out, and John collected our "Uhuru Peak" certificates.

The Green Jeep was already loaded with our gear since the porters have beat us down by an hour. We all loaded into the jeep with two hanging off the back. The first kilometer of road was a mess. I have great respect for the Green Jeep now, it can make it through anything. We had a precarious situation with the Jeep sliding part way into the ditch. It took a bit of maneuvering but we finally crawled out and continued on.

The 30 to 45 minute drive to Moshi was via a more rural route and there was absolutely no piece of land that was not cultivated or housing. And people everywhere. Lots of people hand hoeing in the corn fields. Kids hanging out at the side of the road. Women carrying stuff on their heads. The communities near the mountain looked desperately poor. Conditions improved closer to Moshi.

We arrived at the Keys Hotel, showered, ate lunch, and then started our celebration. While I ate lunch I sent the bartender around to give the porters two rounds. Little did I know that the beer bottles are a lot larger than I’m used to and the porters had not eaten since 7:30 AM.

John orchestrated the ceremony. We all sat together on the patio and I ordered them a third round. John presented our certificates and they sang us the Kilimanjaro Song. They were very good. We thanked them and they thanked us. Maria and I had given John the tip money at lunch and he had distributed it while we were absent.

I laid out all my goodies (used clothing, pens, pencils, rain poncho, very dirty socks, 20-year old headlamp…) John called each porter up and distributed the stuff. Oddly enough he did not distribute it evenly at all. I believe he based it on how he valued the porters.

The party wrapped up and we said good bye. Our half-drunk porters were going to buy some chicken from a street stall for a late lunch and then catch buses for home.

After six great days, our climb is complete. I had initially figured my odds at summiting as being 50/50, but no problem, and I am so delighted. Our Guide was excellent, the porters so hard-working and sweet and Maria was a great climbing companion.

Hey, I’ve got to do more of this in my life.

The End

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 7 – To The Summit

2006-06-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

The previous entries in this Kilimanjaro Trip journal are the Introduction, Arrival in Moshi, To Machame Camp, To Shira Camp, To Barranco Camp and To Barafu Camp. Alice’s words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font I use for these blog entries.

Today’s entry is Day 5 of the Kilimanjaro climb on the Machame Route. Day 5 is the Summit Attempt, a hike from Barafu Camp (4600m/15,088ft) to Uhuru Peak (5895m/19,325ft) and then down to Millennium Camp (3750m/12,305ft).

Elevation Change: 1295 meters ascending and 2145 meters descending
Distance: 7 kilometers ascending in 7¼ hours and 10 kilometers descending in 7½ hours including a rest stop
Habitat at Summit: Stone Scree, Snow and Ice, Glaciers

Alice’s journal:

April 4, 5:20 PM

I don’t even know how to write about this day. There is so much to tell.

Maria, John (Guide), Milla (Assistant Guide) and I stood on the Roof of Africa at 7:46 AM on April 4th.

I’ll write in chronological order, which is boring but the easiest for me.

I slept from 9 to 11 PM. At 11:00 we were awakened and had tea and biscuits.

At 12:30 AM we headed off in the dark under a starry sky. The next six hours were a slog in the dark.

I started the hike feeling good and knew that I would make it. There really were no other options. It was a strange six hours. We didn’t talk and I watched the patch of ground two feet ahead of me. My mind raced for the first hour, filled with questions and anxiety over our climb. I thought of Gaylene and tried to still my mind through meditation.

That didn’t work.

We took a few breaks to pee and drink but only when we found shelter in the rocks.

I think that I must have zoned out for awhile since Maria was just telling me about some things that happened and I don’t remember those events.

As we gained altitude I really had to set my own pace with the mountain-rest-step. The entire time my breathing resembled a mild sprint that I might do at the end of a 10K race.

As we got higher my mind quieted and I was completely absorbed by my breathing, walking, and wiggling toes and fingers with each step. It was very cold.

We had a strange incident with Maria. She was walking well but I suspected that she was cold and wet. Suddenly she started stumbling and let her arms hang slack with her poles dragging behind her. I hate to say it, but the guides didn’t really clue in. I knew she was cold and I also knew that she had a blood sugar problem. I sat her down and gave her a granola bar, one of my gel packs, water and a bit of my tea. She quickly came around and we were off.

Maria and I also have been figuring out that John, our Guide, was sick. He ate almost nothing for dinner and I saw him vomit yesterday. Apparently, for part of the climb, he trailed behind us and sat down. I don’t remember this.

Sunrise over Mawenzi Peak
Anyway, as we were nearing a ridge that I hoped was Stella Point, the sky started to brighten. It was very steep and I was going very slowly. I gave Milla my pack to carry at this point.

I knew that I could make it only because I’ve experienced altitude before.

We arrived at Stella Point at 6:20 AM. I should also mention that I felt the need to take Gravol and Advil every three to four hours. I found drinking difficult but tried my best. I couldn’t even face a granola bar but got two gel packs down. I was so thankful that I did not have a pounding headache.

The weather was clear, sunny, and gorgeous.

Additional comments from A about this photo: This is me at Stella Point (5795 meters, 19,007 feet) at sunrise. In the background is the rim of the crater. I can't believe that I look so happy. It was really cold and I was really tired. But, from here on, it is a lot less steep.

Back to A's journal: It took us an hour to go from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak. This was easier as it was not so steep. We met about 20 people coming down.

At this point I was feeling very emotional. I felt like crying but also knew that would be dumb. Waves of "I’m just about to cry" swept over me. My brain was oxygen-starved. I started repeating the phrase "Dead Cat!" over and over again in my head to distract myself from crying. Sounds weird but I wasn't thinking very straight at the time.

We arrived at Uhuru Peak at 7:46 AM. We were the only ones there. John mentioned that sometimes there are so many people on the summit that you wait 30 minutes for your chance to have your photo taken by the sign.

Suddenly Maria and I were energized and spent the next 30 minutes doing all the things that you do at the summit. I think our guides were itching do down.

We took tons of pictures and dealt with water, gel packs and sun screen. Some people leave something on the summit. I decided to leave a kiss so I kissed the sign.

We started down at 8:15 AM. Now, I made it back to camp in two hours 35 minutes but it certainly felt a lot longer. I was fine for the first 20 minutes and then I got progressively worse. It was harder than going up. I believe the altitude and dehydration caught up with me. I felt wretched, weak, unsteady, etc. I really considered the possibility that I would pass out and the uni-wheel stretcher would need to come for me. Eventually, I admitted to John that I was in rough shape and he patiently walked me down.

Back at camp (10:50 AM), 10½ hours since leaving, I felt dead but went slowly through all the necessary steps – bathroom, water, Gravol, Diamox, Advil, contacts out, electrolyte solution…

By 12:30 they called us for soup. I really didn’t think that I could stomach it but remembered my experience with Greg on Mount Baker when the soup helped.

So I got up, had soup, started feeling better and decided that I could manage the walk down to Millennium Camp.

A few hours before, I had no idea how I would do it.

One hour 20 minutes later we were at Millennium Camp. Our tents were erected. The weather was fine. This was our first day without rain. I’m also glad for the porters. Apparently they had all their wet clothes laid out on the rocks soaking up the rare sunshine.

I just left my tent and I spotted the mountain peak. I actually think that this is the first time on this climb that we had the visibility to see it. Of course, on our summit climb we had outstanding clear sunny conditions.

Here is the timetable of our journey today with hiking time:

Left Barafu Camp 12:30 AM
Stella Point 6:20 AM
Summit - Uhuru Peak 7:45 AM 7 hr 15 min
Left Uhuru Peak 8:15 AM
Arrive Barafu Camp 10:50 AM 2 hr 35 min
Rest until 2:00 PM
Arrive Millennium Camp 3:20 PM 1 hr 20 min

The final part of this Kilimanjaro Trip journal is here.

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 6 – To Barafu Camp

2006-06-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

The previous entries in this Kilimanjaro Trip journal are the Introduction, Arrival in Moshi, To Machame Camp, To Shira Camp and To Barranco Camp. Alice’s words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font I use for these blog entries.

Today’s entry is Day 4 of the Kilimanjaro climb on the Machame Route. Day 4 is a hike from Barranco Camp (3950m/12,956ft) to Barafu Camp (4600m/15,088ft).

Elevation Change: 650 meters
Distance: 13 kilometers in 6¾ hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert

Alice’s journal:

April 3, 6:40 AM

Darn. I’m awake and it is raining again. The first two days I was marveling at all the advantages of trekking off season. Now, I’m not so sure.

It starts to get light at 6:00 AM and I’m usually awake since I’ve been sleeping since 8:00 PM. Soon afterwards the porters that work the kitchen start talking and I can hear the gas stove. The large White-Nape Ravens start squawking and swooping over the campsite.

At 7:15 they bring warm washing water to my tent and yell at the other porters to get up. Breakfast is served at 7:30 sharp.
April 3, 5:23 PM

It is 5:23 and I’m in my tent trying to warm up and willing my wet/damp clothes to dry that are hanging around me.

One porter has not made it to camp and this is very bad news. He should have been here two to four hours ago. John has just sent some other porters down to look for him.

It rained on and off all day today. John says that he has never seen anything like it. The porters are poorly dressed and probably are not well prepared for the rainy season. I pray that all turns out well for the missing porter.

We hiked for 6¾ hours today. There were no views and we mostly trudged through the mist or rain.

We first climbed the Barranco Wall, which is a high steep rock scramble. John knew exactly where we had to place our hands and feet to get over the trickier sections. And we had to do exactly what he said. He didn’t like us taking any chances with our own route finding.

Except for a downhill bit into the green Karanga Valley, it was a long tedious boring slog through barren rock fields.

The last few hours I felt the altitude again. A very mild headache developed and I walked very slow using my “running-fairly-hard” breath. Exhale with a bit of a blow and inhale deeply in two stages. I think that I must have developed this technique years ago.

The gear that I was so proud of failed on me today. My boots and three layers of socks are very wet. The Outdoor Store promised me that my boots would never leak due to the Gore-Tex lining. They also told me that it was absolutely unnecessary to seal proof my boots. How false.

I’m pleased with my acclimatizing.

We are at Barafu Camp. Not a very pretty camp. It is on a ridge with nothing but rocks. The long drops are scattered about and there are two green round huts for the Park rangers.

Barafu is 4600m (15,100ft). We reached this same elevation yesterday when we went to the Lava Tower.

Alice inserts this postscript later: Missing porter came in safely.

The next part of this Kilimanjaro Trip journal describes the Summit Attempt.

Photos Not Appearing? Click Refresh.

2006-06-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

This page from my blog has lots and lots of photos and they might not all download to your browser right away. If you see a blank box with a little red "x" in the corner instead of a photo try this:

Click on the empty box where the photo should be to view the full-size version. Then click the Back button to go back to the blog page.

or,

Click your browser's Refresh button to try loading the whole page again.

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 5 – To Barranco Camp

2006-06-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

The previous entries in this Kilimanjaro Trip journal are the Introduction, Arrival in Moshi, To Machame Camp and To Shira Camp. Alice’s words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font I use for these blog entries.

Today’s entry is Day 3 of the Kilimanjaro climb on the Machame Route. Day 3 is a hike from Shira Camp (elevation 3800m/12,464ft) up to the Lava Tower (4600m/15,098ft) and then down to Barranco Camp (3950m/12,956ft).

Elevation Change: 150 meters (800 ascending and 650 descending)
Distance: 15 kilometers in 6 hours
Habitat: Semi-Desert (more about Kilimanjaro’s eco-zones)

Alice’s journal:

April 2, 8:00 PM

Today we had a six-hour hike to the Lava Tower (4600M, 15,098ft) and then down to Barranco Camp (3950m, 12,956ft). It was our worst day so far for weather. We had a great view of Kibo at breakfast but by 11:00 it was raining. As we gained altitude it turned into bits of hail, sleet and snow. My gear worked well and I stayed comfortable and dry.

We took the long route to Barranco to see the Lava Tower and gain a bit of acclimitization. [The Lava Tower is the volcanic plug of an ancient volcano vent that has eroded away leaving the solified lava core of the vent.]

We huddled under a rock overhang for lunch at the Lava Tower.

As we headed up we had the most monotonous scenery of a rock strewn moonscape. The mist hid views of Kibo. Heading down from The Lava Tower we were more occupied with keeping our footing and our feet dry as we descended in a wet creek bed.

The rain stopped eventually and the Senecio Johnstonii plants (aka giant groundsel) were a visual treat after the moonscape of the morning.

After six hours we arrived at camp. The remaining hours we filled with tea, many trips to the long drop (outhouse), and dinner.

John is joining us now for all our tea breaks and meals. We’re learning lots about the way of life in Tanzania.

This day would not be complete without a report on my AMS progress. I’m doing so well, considering my previous history with AMS. At The Lava Tower today (15,000ft) I noticed that I really had to slow the already slow pace. Back at camp I developed a mild headache that Advil took care of. So, I’m pleased but still anxious about how I will fare over the next two days. I still have a developing situation with IBS/constipation but I’ll visit a pharmacy when we get back to Moshi or Arusha.

From Barranco Camp you have this view of The Barranco Wall, part of tomorrow’s climb. They say it’s easier than it looks… If you look closely you can also see a couple of White-Necked Ravens Corvus albicollis perched on rocks in this photo.

The next part of this Kilimanjaro Trip journal is here.

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 4 – To Shira Camp

2006-06-26T11:04:00.000-07:00

The previous entries in this Kilimanjaro Trip journal are the Introduction, Arrival in Moshi and To Machame Camp. Alice’s words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font I use for these blog entries.

Today’s entry is Day 2 of the Kilimanjaro climb on the Machame Route. Day 2 is a hike from Machame Hut Camp (elevation 3000m/9900ft) to Shira Camp (elevation 3800m/12,464ft).

Elevation Change: 800 meters
Distance: 9 kilometers in 5 hours
Habitat: Alpine Moorland

Alice’s journal:

April 1, 4:00 PM

I’m relaxing in my dry tent while the rain drizzles on and off outside. We just finished our post-hike snack of warm peanuts, biscuits, tea and hot chocolate in the dining tent, which doubles as sleeping quarters for four porters at night.

We really are treated royally. When we first arrive in camp we are given our own personal basin of warm water and soap to clean up. Our tents are already erected and the snack soon appears.

This morning started with nausea, I have no idea why. I popped a Gravol and was cured one hour later. It could have been last night’s dinner, altitude, or the handful of pills that I take every day besides my vitamins, I take Celexa, my hormone balance drops, an antibiotic (for whatever flu/cold I had), vitamin E, Diamox (for altitude) and Malarone (for malaria). I decided to cut out Malarone for the next three to four days and to quit the antibiotic tomorrow.

I’m so thankful that the two weeks of cold/flu/headache/whatever finally disappeared for me yesterday.

Breakfast was huge – fruit, enough porridge for ten, toast and omelette. I had to cut out after the porridge. I said that I had to pee but I was actually afraid of vomiting.

Our hike today was five hours to the Shira Caves. The weather was a mix of sun, cloud, mist, and eventually rain showers just as we entered camp. We had a great view of Mt. Meru at one point but Kibo [Mount Kibo is Kilimanjaro's highest crater, measuring 1½ miles from rim to rim.] remained obscured.

We saw poop evidence of jackals, a mountain rodent, small birds, and Raven White Neck birds today.

The vegetation was small trees, shrubs, and lots of flowers. Lobelias (phallic symbols), Senecio, Red Hot Pokers, Helichrysums (everlastings) are a few of the plants that I could identify.

Our camp is at 3800 meters (12,464 feet) and we reached a high point today of perhaps 13,200 feet. I felt great the entire hike though I felt the exertion and the real need to go extra slow. I am delighted to be at this altitude still feeling good.

Maria and I learned a bit about John and the porters today. John has a girlfriend in Dar el Salam whom he sees about four times a year. He has a 12-year old son from a previous girlfriend who is going to private school in Nairobi. John has his own house with a small grocery store in the front. He is being sponsored to go to Great Britain next year for a year of Leadership Training in Climbing. I’m glad to hear that he has a promising future.

Our assistant guide who will accompany us to the top is Milla. Then there are six porters who are doing a great job. They are mostly married with some kids. They know very little English and, judging from their gear, are poor.

The following comments are not from her journal but were written by Alice after completion of the trek:

Each morning, Maria and I would head out hiking with our guide around 9:00. In the next few hours the porters would pass us and arrive at camp hours ahead of us. We weren't really hiking that slow but the porters are quick and strong. Each day we tended to hike 5-7 hours except for summit day which was closer to 14 hours.

Our porters were absolutely great. Always friendly and very service oriented. Our guides were fluent in English and a few of the porters knew some basic words.

If you are planning a hike of Mt. Kilimanjaro please bring extra treats (e.g., good chocolate) for the porters. I celebrated my 50th birthday on this climb, so there were rounds of Toblerone Chocolate for everyone.

Back to Alice’s journal: I’ve learned a bit about the people that I saw in the fields along the road (from Moshi to Machame Gate). The Masai are traditionally dressed, nomadic and tend to their cattle. The government is trying to encourage them to live in permanent communities, have fewer cattle and to grow crops.

The government is trying to establish hospitals and education for the Masai but this doesn’t work if they are nomadic. Also, Africa is much dryer that it was ten years ago and it is difficult to keep all the cattle during drought years.

The people tending the fields are Chagga. They are largely Catholic or Lutheran, poor, and, as I mentioned earlier, the ladies never wear pants.

Maria is cold and having trouble drying her cotton clothes. They’re now strung over the fire in the cook tent.

Soup, fried rice, cooked greens, chicken thighs and apple for dinner.

To bed at 8:00. Sleep fine until 3:00 and not so well afterwards. The usual issues with having to pee and some bowel discomfort. Was 5° C in my tent but my bag was plenty warm.

Dawn breaks over Kibo Peak, the top of Kilimanjaro, as seen from Shira Camp.

Here are some additional comments from Alice about the pictures below. Note the bare lava rock all around!:

This is a view of the outhouse from Shira Camp (Camp 2). I am now at 3800 meters (12,464 feet) and adjusting just fine to the altitude. I could feel the altitude the previous day coming up to camp but no major problems. I've previously been puking at 12,000 feet on Mt. Rainier but the Diamox is really working well for me.

Everyone asks me about the toilets. I was really pleased with the condition of the outhouses. It is the hole in the ground version and you need to squat. I was attending a “bootcamp” class at the gym in the months prior to this trip and my strengthened quads came in real handy in the outhouses.

The next part of this Kilimanjaro Trip journal is here.

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 3 – To Machame Camp

2006-06-24T20:16:00.000-07:00

The previous entries in this Kilimanjaro Trip journal are the Introduction and Arrival in Moshi. Alice’s words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font I use for these blog entries.

Today’s entry is about Day 1 of the Kilimanjaro climb on the Machame Route. Day 1 includes the transfer via jeep from Keys Hotel in Moshi to Machame Gate, one of the entrances to Mount Kilimanjaro National Park, and the hike from Machame Gate (elevation 1830m/6000ft) up to Machame Hut Camp (elevation 3000m/9900ft).

Elevation Change: 1170 meters
Distance: 18 kilometers in 5 hours
Habitat: tropical Montane forest

Alice’s journal:

March 31, 6:00 PM

What a glorious birthday! I woke up after a fairly decent eight to nine hour sleep. For the first time in about five days I had no headache.

Breakfast with Maria, a bit of last minute packing and we were off in the green jeep. The jeep was piled haphazardly with gear. The 45-minute trip to the Machame Gate passed through rural Chagga country and villages.

We were the only group at the gate. I kept trying to figure out who our porters were but it was hopeless. At one point, I don’t think that our guide, John, knew.

The cook, Maria and I started up first. I probably had 17 to 20 pounds. The cook had a heavy load and was working hard.

We passed through a gorgeous rain forest; much like you’d see hiking around Vancouver but the trees and ferns were different. We eventually reached an area where the trees were smaller and stunted.

Maria and I kept up a steady stream of conversation but our porter was silent and looked very unhappy.

We reached the round green hut of Machame Camp just as a huge downpour hit. Three camp rangers reside in the hut and would be our rescuers if we needed them. We signed the book and noticed that we were the only climbers for today. By comparison entries from February filled several pages. The ranger told us that sometimes there are 200 people camped at Machame on a single night in December to February.

We had the place to ourselves.

We were treated well. Our tents were set up and we were served hot chocolate and tea in a separate dining tent complete with card table and two chairs. It started to rain and they dug trenches around our tents.

I just noticed that they have a large cook fire inside the cook tent.

There seems to be a ridiculous number of porters here. We finally got a number from John, eight guides and porters and two of us. If they had high tech western hiking gear I’m sure that they could halve the number. They also don’t seem to pack the gear in any kind of efficient manner. Just lots of stuff put in baskets or bags and carried. Two had a decent backpack.

Maria wished me Happy Birthday in Swahili. I really need to focus on learning a bit of the language. So far, I can say “Jambo” for hello.

The temperature today is good. We’re now at 9,900 feet and it is 15° C.

I felt very good during the hike today (5 hours) and began to feel the altitude a bit by 9,000 feet. I started taking Diamox this morning at the lesser dose (2 x 125 mg). I may bump it up tomorrow to 250 mg and 125 mg. I feel ever so slightly dizzy and that could be due to Malarone, Diamox or altitude.

Dinner was great - soup, fried potatoes, spaghetti and spaghetti sauce, beef, bananas. We tried real hard to eat as much as we could but the quantities served were 3-times too much. I was relieved to hear that nothing would be wasted and the porters finish off the leftovers.

Since it was my birthday, I treated the porters with my two Toblerone chocolate bars. John ensured that they knew it was a treat due to my birthday. I heard the next day that they each took one piece and were saving the rest for tomorrow.

The temperature dropped to 9° C during the night. I was plenty warm and had a good night’s sleep (for camping anyway.) I woke every two hours and pee’d a few times. The stars were brilliant. I saw the southern Milky Way.

The summit of Kilimanjaro was also visible this evening after the thunderstorm passed over.

The next part of this Kilimanjaro Trip journal is here.

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 2 – Arrival in Moshi

2006-06-23T20:04:00.000-07:00

The previous entry in this Kilimanjaro Trip journal is the Kilimanjaro Climb Part 1 - Introduction. Alice’s words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font that I use for these blog entries.

In this journal entry, Alice describes her arrival in Moshi and has second thoughts about whether this trip was such a good idea after all.

Alice’s journal:

March 30, 5:47 AM

Yikes! I just realized that it is March 30th and Xene’s birthday. I promised to down a Kilimanjaro Beer or Gin & Tonic on her behalf. Don’t know how I’ll manage that today – I am so tired.

I’ve been traveling for about 24 hours, an 8-hour flight to Amsterdam then 8 hours in the airport. Now I’m just finishing up a 7½-hour flight to Nairobi. The horizon is a rainbow of colours.

My trip, so far, has been nothing but continuous attempts to sleep. I accidentally packed my Diamox [a preventative for altitude sickness] instead of my Clonazepan in my cabin luggage. No blissful drugged out snooze for me.

I’ve used my first internet café / communications centre in Amsterdam airport. I had a few emails to enjoy and had a brief live email chat with Greg. I sent some reassurances to my Mom and Dad and siblings as all I did was whine to them about my cold before I left.

March 30, 8:42 PM

Finally, I am here at the Keys Hotel in Moshi.

I had a great early morning flight from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro Airport. I had to smile (unusual when feeling sick and tired) at the scene boarding the prop Precision Air flight. We were all out on the tarmac, lots of flight attendants, flight crew, etc., needing to personally identify our baggage before they would load it.

I had a great view of Kilimanjaro from the airplane. It looks like a long walk.

Kilimanjaro International Airport is so small and quaint. I wanted to take photos but felt too self conscious. There were only seven real tourists on my flight. No hoards of climbers or safari clients. We’re definitely in the off season.

Unfortunately, my shuttle from the Keys Hotel did not materialize. I waited, politely refusing all transport offers. Managed to get someone to phone for me. Waited another 1½ hours. Then the Precision Air officer phoned for me and proceeded with a heated discussion in Swahili. My driver soon showed up in a wreck of a green jeep.

After filling up the radiator with water we were off for the 45-minute drive to Moshi.

I felt totally out of my element. I felt that I had made a terrible mistake and should be safe and sound at home in Vancouver. This is way more 3rd world than I ever imagined. People are so poor. We drove through rural Tanzania. The countryside was filled with people. People hand-hoeing, watching their goats and cattle, fetching water, riding bikes, hand-seeding the corn, standing, sitting…

A great number of the people were Masai, dressed somewhat in the traditional clothes.

Even the non-Masai make me feel totally out of place. I didn’t see a single female in pants. They wear either sarongs or skirts. I really wish that I had brought my old Everest green dress.

We arrived at the Keys Hotel and I was disappointed not to see a bustling hotel filled with trekkers. The hotel was unoccupied except for myself and Maria. A bit unhappy, I slept for four hours.

We had our pre-trek briefing with John, our guide, at 5:00, one hour late.

I met Maria. She appears to be single and around 30. Maria has arrived with minimal trekking gear but she was able to rent gear from the Keys Hotel and she feels prepared now.

Maria and I were the only two guests at dinner. I think we’ll be a suitable match. She is here to visit her "Companion Child", 300 miles north of Nairobi. For two hours! Can you imagine coming all that way but contact is restricted by the agency. Maria is doing the climb and her Child Visit followed by a 20-day safari.

I’m back in my room now getting ready to sleep. I’m packed. My continuous headache is down to a dull roar. I figured out how to work the air conditioner, such as it is.

Xene will need to wait until the end of my climb for her Gin & Tonic birthday toast.

Lights Out!

Part 3 of this Kilimanjaro Trip journal is here.

Kilimanjaro Climb Part 1 - Introduction

2006-06-18T19:18:00.000-07:00

This spring my sister, Alice, felt that she needed to do something special to mark the event of her 50th birthday and she decided to do the Mount Kilimanjaro climb. At my urging, she's handed over some of her photographs and notes and I'll be attempting to give you some idea of what the climb was like in this blog. Her words (with the bare minimum of editing by me) will be in italics. My words will be in the usual font I use for these blog entries.

Alice begins her Climb journal:

March 28

I'm sitting at Vancouver airport waiting for my KLM flight to Tanzania to board. I'm starting to feel more relaxed and less ill. I've been fighting a flu for nine days and it has turned me into a bear as I imagine my trip to Africa ruined.

I'm packed with a 27-pound porter load, 14 pounds in my backpack and another duffle bag filled with used clothing and my safari gear.

I had a great good-bye with Greg and the kids. All is well...

In eight minutes my plane reached 21,000 feet and it's -23° C outside.

Alice is a runner, an experienced hiker and has also done some rock climbing and mountaineering, including a trek to Everest Base Camp, whereas I am a somewhat sedentary ex-computer geek so it's going to be a bit of a stretch for me to really do justice to her experiences on Kilimanjaro.

With that said, I'll just forge ahead and if I mess up the account too badly I'm sure she'll let me know. I can always go back and edit these blog entries even after they're posted.

To begin, here's some background about Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania is the tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest freestanding mountain in the world. "Freestanding" basically means that it's not part of an already elevated mountain range such as the Himalayas.

The mountain is almost unique in that it is one of the few high mountains in the world that one can climb with little mountaineering experience. However, the challenge should not be underestimated, summiting Kilimanjaro requires good health, fitness and stamina. Climbers risk altitude sickness.

Kilimanjaro is a volcano, now dormant, that rises from equatorial forests at its base (elevation approx 2000 meters) to its summit at 5895 meters. It still has glaciers at its peak, although they are disappearing in today's global warming trend. Kilimanjaro climbers hike for 90 to 100 kilometers, depending on their route, ascending almost 4000 meters through cultivated farm land, tropical Montane (coniferous cloud forest), heath and moorland, alpine desert, snow fields and ice cliffs, all very close to the equator. Climbers need to be prepared for a wide range of weather conditions during the climb, ranging from tropical heat (30° C), high humidity and rain to bone-chilling cold down to -20° C.

The first nonlocal climbers to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro were Dr. Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller in 1889. It took them almost 6 weeks with a small army of porters, guides and advisors. Today, an average climber taking one of the main hiking routes makes the trek, up and back down, in six days.

Alice chose the 6-day Machame Route, known as the most scenic route to the summit. The route ascends from the western side of Kilimanjaro and descends down the south face. The climb is not really technical, basically you hike and scramble to the top, but aids such as hiking poles and appropriate footwear are essential. Accommodation consists of tents. All climbers are accompanied by guides and porters.

The long rainy season in Tanzania runs from March to May so Alice's Kilimanjaro climb was free of the crowds that jam the routes and the summit during the dry seasons. On the other hand, the weather can be abysmal.

Alice: The six day climb was great! Our group consisted of Maria, two guides, six porters and me. We traveled the Machame Route, known to be more scenic and technical.

We were traveling during the off season, i.e., long rains, and had the Route to ourselves. We saw no other groups until summit day. Our campsites consisted only of us, whereas we heard there can be 300 people in a campsite during the high season.

The downside was the rain. We had a lot of rain and mist that was manageable for Maria and me, but very tough on the porters who are poorly dressed, carry heavy loads, and do all the camp setup and cooking. I became a master at keeping myself and most of my gear dry in the wet weather, as a summit attempt is a no-go with wet clothes.

This is a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro while on the Precision Air hop from Nairobi Airport to Kilimanjaro, a refreshing sight after a 9½-hour flight Vancouver to Amsterdam, a 9-hour wait in Amsterdam, and another 9-hour flight from there to Nairobi.

Enroute, Alice sends us a jet-lagged email from Schiphol airport:

I am in Amsterdam waiting for my flight to Nairobi. I'm feeling a lot better now that my trip is underway. My cold is starting to get better.

I'm so glad all the packing and getting ready is over.

My flight was uneventful but KLM is really not what it used to be. I've had the worst airline food ever!!!! My coffee did not even come with cream or milk. It was the powdered stuff!

Don't worry about me. I'm excited and you'll hear from me around April 6th or a bit sooner.

Eventually Alice arrived in Moshi, one of the small towns around Kilimanjaro where climbers make their base camp. She stayed at the Keys Hotel, a spot also popular with climbers.

Ok, now... my inner geek can't resist, I was playing with google maps and...

Click on these links for satellite views of Mount Kilimanjaro. In the first couple of maps look for the little grey spot in the bend in the northern border between Tanzania and Kenya.

1. View showing most of Africa

2. Zoom in to view of Tanzania

3. Zoom in some more to a view of Tanzania's northern border around Kilimanjaro

4. More zooming in to the mountain

5. Closest zoom possible on google maps (they really should ask the US military for their satellite images) of Kilimanjaro. If it was just a little closer you would be able to spot the trekking routes and campsites. Compare that image to this map. [6/23/06 Note: I think google's updated their images. You can zoom in on the summit much more closely now than when I originally wrote this entry. The trails are visible in many places.]

Part 2 of this Kilimanjaro Trip journal is here.

Steller’s Jays

2006-06-11T15:09:00.000-07:00

I found one of the Steller’s Jays last night, dead on the patio near our back door.

I had seen it twice during the afternoon, once on the ground under a lawn chair, just crouched there, slowly opening and closing its beak. When I came near it flew up into the nearest tree. Later I saw Andy, peering into the big bush under the tree like there was something under there. The Jay was on the low wooden edging on the opposite side of the tree, again just sitting there, looking like it was panting. I stepped out the back door and it flew up into the middle of the bush. Andy hadn’t seen it yet but he obviously thought something was there. I thought he might try to catch the bird if it left the bush again so I went over to command him to “Leave It!” Our dogs are trained not to touch anything that we give this command about – one of the few commands we actually manage to successfully teach to all of our dogs. When I was very close to the bush, just a couple of feet away from the bird, I could hear it peeping very softly. I thought it was the chick that our Steller’s Jay pair had this spring.

I found it after supper, dead. A crow was hanging about nearby, and the other two Steller’s Jays were up in one of our neighbour’s trees screeching at another crow.

I put the body in a bag in the garbage. It was still warm. Birds seem so much smaller when they’re dead than when they’re alive.

And then I was sad for awhile.

This morning, the other two Jays came to the bird feeder and I saw immediately that it was the chick and one of the adults. I can’t tell them apart unless I’m looking at them at the same time. So it must have been the other adult that died. I wonder why. Was it sick? Was it old? I remember that I thought its feathers looked a bit ratty. When do Steller’s Jays moult? Did it get poisoned? Lots of people use pesticides on their lawns and gardens at this time of year.

I watched the remaining adult have a bath in my birdbath. It would crouch down in the water and quickly flutter its wings and duck its head into the water. Then it perched on the edge with its feathers standing out looking like a very fuzzy round ball with head, tail and feet sticking out of the grey-black mass of feathers. It repeated the process several times – splashing, perching and puffing up.

Life goes on.

These are pictures of my birdbath with the solar-powered water fountain that I installed a few weeks ago while my brother was here. Birds seem to like the fountain. The solar panel is embedded in the fake rock that you can see below the birdbath in this second photo.

A Visit To Burnaby Mountain

2006-06-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

In May, my brother, who came Out West to visit with his sisters, and I visited a few local scenic spots. Today, I’ll talk about our visit to Burnaby Mountain Park.

It was a great day for touring around, sunny and neither too cold nor too hot. We drove up Burnaby Mountain, through the SFU campus and then around to the west side of the peak where Horizons Restaurant and Burnaby Mountain Park are.

From the parking lot you have great views to the west of Burrard Inlet, Burnaby and downtown Vancouver. On a really clear day (we had some haze) you can easily see the Lion’s Gate Bridge crossing from Stanley Park to the North Shore.

On the north side of the Park, behind a low fence, there’s a sheer drop pretty much straight down to the Barnet Highway and Burrard Inlet. In this photo you can just make out BC Hydro’s Burrard Thermal Generation Power Plant on the other side of the Inlet. This is a 950 MW conventional natural gas-fired generating station with a capacity of 7,050 gigawatt hours per year. It provides back-up for the hydroelectric system during low water years and also supports the Lower Mainland’s transmission and electrical supply system. I tried to find some more detailed information about this power plant but it seems that it’s been pretty much purged from the web, for security reasons I guess…

This next picture shows Indian Arm angling northward from Burrard Inlet. Indian Arm is a steep 18-mile fjord. While the part of Indian Arm directly across from Burnaby Mountain can be reached by car (Deep Cove), most of it is only accessible by boat.

Burnaby Mountain Park has an impressive totem pole display – good for dramatic photographs. Actually it’s a sculpture called the Playground of the Gods created by Japanese artists, not West Coast totem poles, but whatever, I really like them no matter who made them.

You can see my brother in the first of these shots.

Kamui Mintara, or Playground of the Gods: Sculpted by Japanese artist Nubuo Toko and his son Shusheo. The poles represent the story of the gods who descended to earth to give birth to the Ainu, Japan's first inhabitants.

Gothic II Endgame

2006-06-02T15:08:00.000-07:00

I’ve been playing Gothic II almost every evening for the last few weeks and I finally finished the endgame last night. I battled my way through the Halls of Irdorath, figured out the lever/switch puzzle, slew the Undead Dragon, avatar of the evil god Beliar, and saved Khorinis from a fate of never ending war, destruction and death.

I was a level 37 Paladin (strength:163, dexterity:99, two-handed melee skill:100%) with the twice-consecrated two-handed sword, “Holy Executioner”, so it only took me about five or six solid hits to finish off the Undead Dragon but he did manage to knock me down a couple of times, blasted me with fire and I had to pursue him around his lair as he flew around.

Nice armor, eh?

Then Xardas, the Necromancer who saved me from the ruins of whatever happened at the end of Gothic I (I never played that game so I don’t know) and set me on this quest at the beginning of Gothic II, magically appeared and took the power of the Undead Dragon (no longer undead, now really dead, since I just slew him) into himself and after some reassurances that he wouldn’t use this power for evil disappeared again.

I was not so reassured, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it, so I’ll just have to wonder…

What will Xardas do?

And also, it’s not too clear, I did kill all the dragons but is the Orc War over or not?

Obviously, this is a setup for a Gothic III.

I went to Gamespot to see if they had anything on it and, sure enough, Gothic III is scheduled for release in September. I wonder if I'll have to upgrade my video card to play it?

Well there wasn’t anything more to do after slaying the Undead Dragon so after talking to everybody in my ship’s crew we set sail again heading back for Khorinis, or maybe the mainland since I do have a couple of crewmembers (mercenaries with shady pasts) who are not too anxious to see that place again.

Instead of just exiting out of the game, which, by the way, was developed in Germany and Austria and translated into English (including some unintentionally weird and funny translations), I let the final credits roll and had some fun deciphering the credits and Thank You’s which were mostly in German. Who says software game developers don’t have a sense of humour?

Then there was this funny little scene at the end with the ship sailing into the distance where you can overhear the crew arguing with me about what to do with all the gold.

It’s my gold!

I ran all over Khorinis and the Valley of Mines, fought everything from Giant Rats to Orcs, Trolls and Dragons, worked my butt off doing all sorts of quests for farmers, merchants, the militia, a bunch of monks, thieves, mercenaries and other assorted riff-raff; gathered tons of herbs and rare plants; picked the locks on scores of hidden treasure chests; and fought my way through at least 30 nasty grubby caves filled with assorted wildlife and monsters to get all that gold!

The NASA TV Channel

2006-05-29T10:31:00.000-07:00

You don't get NASA TV on your cable or satellite service? No problem, you can watch the NASA TV channel on the Internet here or, if you don't use Windows Media Player, check here for a RealPlayer feed.

The current schedule has live ISS Mission coverage on every day at 11am Eastern.

New Birds - Woodpecker and a Grosbeak!

2006-05-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Just when I was starting to think I had written about all the birds that were ever going to show up in my backyard, two new ones show up today!

I was scrubbing the kitchen sink this afternoon watching The Big Guy digging up chunks of concrete left over from various long forgotten construction projects when a male Black-Headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) landed on my birdfeeder pole. I don't remember ever seeing this bird in our yard before.

Here's one of Bob Steele's fantastic photos of this bird.

Unfortunately, the Steller's Jays finished up all the bird seed earlier this morning and a Downy Wookpecker had reduced the suet to a tiny 1-inch chunk and then I had not gotten around to replenishing the supplies so there was nothing left that the Grosbeak was interested in. It fly away after a minute of looking around.

Then this evening just before we sat down to supper, a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) landed on the birdfeeder pole. This enormous woodpecker might even be a relative of the one that chiseled large chunks of wood out of our back step railings several years ago.

This picture which I snagged from this website gives you an idea how big this woodpecker is. It's at least as big as a crow, maybe even longer when you consider the tail. That beak looks like it could pound holes through steel!

I had still not gotten around to refilling the feeders so no joy for the woodpecker either. There wasn't even a tiny bit of suet left anymore.

I did refill the feeders after supper. Maybe our new neighbours will come back tomorrow.

I Bought Another Harry Dresden Book

2006-05-23T16:35:00.000-07:00

I bought a new book the other day. I just had to have it. At least partly because I really, really like the cover illustration. It’s so film noir. And there’s something about an enigmatic man with unkempt hair in a long dark coat...

I know, I know, J., I said I wasn’t going to buy books any more just because they have very cool cover illustrations. It’s a setup for disappointment. Books with great covers rarely live up to the expectations that I develop about them.

But in this case my purchase is surely justified since Dead Beat happens to be book #7 in a series of books written by Jim Butcher about a Chicago private eye named Harry Dresden who is also a wizard and I love these books! I just finished book #5, Death Masks, and will probably start book #6, Blood Rites, soon.

I often do read two or three books at the same time if they’re very different from each other. But in this case Havana Bay is close enough in setting and mood to the Harry Dresden books that I have to wait until I finish Havana Bay before starting Blood Rites. Otherwise I’ll get hopelessly confused and start mixing up plot details and secondary characters.

Dominion Homes update

2006-05-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Financially, this latest quarter (reported on May 8th) has moved Dominion Homes (NASDAQ:DHOM) from profitable to unprofitable. This is no surprise given Dominion’s downward trending home sales numbers and the deteriorating US housing market but it is still a strong negative from my point of view since I only like to own profitable companies.

In their earnings press release, DHOM says it doesn’t expect 2006 to be a profitable year.

Analysts are pretty much across the board thumbs-down on the company with Hold and Sell ratings.

But as Irwin Michael says in his latest comments on DHOM, the company’s market capitalization is still only about half its book value. Sooner or later, assuming that land values and home sales don’t both totally collapse, this imbalance should correct itself one way or another.

On a positive note, the stock price has been trending slightly upward since early April. I’m in the money at this point (if I was to sell it today, I would have a small profit) and have renewed my stop loss increasing it to $8.00.

I’ve written previously about Dominion Homes here, here, here and here.

Gertrude and Heathcliffe

2006-05-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Last week in White Rock, which my brother said reminded him of Wasaga Beach, we encountered a pair of seagulls on the White Rock Pier. To be specific, they were Glaucous-Winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens). This gull is very similar to the Western Gull (Larus occidentalis), but I have decided that they were Glaucous-Winged Gulls because of their lighter-coloured wingtips.

But we weren’t thinking about what kind of seagulls they were.

We were thinking of Gertrude and Heathcliffe.

And guess what, I have some jokes to go with my seagull photographs!

There were these two seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe...

But first, to get in the right frame of mind (and hopefully you’re old enough to remember Red Skelton or else young enough in spirit to appreciate the silly jokes) you should keep in mind Red Skelton’s instructions for telling Gertrude and Heathcliffe jokes.

"First…you must believe that Gertrude and Heathcliffe are very much alive, and that you are a seagull. This is done with your imagination."

"Next, extend and stretch your arms out to the sides. Now, bring both arms to your chest, leaving elbows extended downward. Hook your thumbs into your armpits. Now move your arms as if they were flapping wings."

"Hold thumbs in armpits and wiggle fingers. This gives the illusion that you are flying."

"Next. Make your jaw recede, giving you a buck-toothed expression. Look at the tip of your nose with both eyes. This gives you that bird’s-eye, cock-eyed expression."

"Now, when you speak with your lower lip touching your upper teeth, you will acquire a twang and a slight lisp. You are then ready to tell a seagull joke."

There were these two seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe...

It’s at this point that Red Skelton usually starts laughing. If you aren’t laughing yet, you can watch this video to get into the proper mood.

Anyway, there were these two seagulls, Gertrude and Heathcliffe...

(Gertrude and Heathcliffe are walking on the beach and he looks down and sees a broken mirror.)
Heathcliffe: Good heavens! Come here, Gertrude, and look at that. What is it?
Gertrude: (looking down) Why, that’s me.
Heathcliffe: Well, thank heavens. I thought it was me.

Gertrude: Heathie, what were you doing behind that rock saying "How do you do? How do you do? How do you do?"
Heathcliffe: I was shaking hand with an octopus.

Gertrude: Look Heathie, that ship has dropped anchor.
Heathcliffe: I knew they’d loose it. It’s been hanging off the side of that ship for days.

Heathcliffe: Gertrude, why is that stork standing on one leg?
Gertrude: Because if he lifted that leg off the ground he would fall down.

Gertrude: Did you ever notice that when geese fly in their V formation, one side of the line is longer than the other? Why is that?
Heathcliffe: There are more geese on that side.

Gertrude: Hey, Heathie, how would you catch an alligator?
Heathcliffe: Well, I’d probably do it with a telescope and tweezers.
Gertrude: A telescope and tweezers?
Heathcliffe: Sure. I’d look in the wrong end of the telescope and when the alligator got real small, I’d pick him up with tweezers and put him in an empty jelly jar.

Heathcliffe: What’s the matter, Gertrude, don’t you love me anymore?
Gertrude: Well, for one thing, your table manners are terrible and you’re very selfish. Last night for dinner we had a small fish and a large fish and what did you do? You took the large fish and left me the little one.
Heathcliffe: What would you have done?
Gertrude: Taken the little one.
Heathcliffe: Well, you got it. So what are you mad about?

For more silliness, you can listen for free to some of Red Skelton’s radio shows from the 1940s and early 1950s (be patient, they’re slow to download.)

While Waiting in Line...

2006-05-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the passport office and am greatly relieved that that chore is done. It was actually my second visit this week. The first time I forgot to bring my citizenship papers. Tell me, what idiot forgets their proof of citizenship when applying for a new passport!?

It’s been more than five years since my last passport application and the process has changed a bit. The paperwork is slightly more extensive and they’re pickier about the photos. But the lineups and the waiting is still much the same, although augmented by some interesting electronics.

There are three lineups. Well, maybe there are more but I only had to wait through two of them today. Lucky me, I guess. The sign for the third lineup said “Pick-up and Information”. Maybe I’ll get to wait in that one when I go back to pick up my new passport.

When I went earlier this week, the first lineup where you get your number so that you can wait in the second lineup only had three people in it (I’m not counting the babies and kids) so it only took me a few minutes to find out that I was an idiot.

Today, the first lineup was much longer. Much, much longer. It stretched from Counter No 1 in the passport office, out the office door, down a short hall, around a corner and halfway down another hall to the elevators. Happily, the line moved very fast (lots of people finding out they’re missing some critical piece of passport-getting paperwork and being sent away) and I got to Counter No 1 in about 20 minutes. The same person who pointed out my memory lapse a couple of days ago was there again today. I don’t think she remembered me, so I didn’t have to be embarrassed all over again. Whew!

She checked to make sure I had everything I needed, paper clipped it all together, gave me a piece of paper with A113 on it and said I should watch the electronic signs for my number to come up. I found a chair amongst all the other 200 or so people each clutching their little piece of paper and looked up at the electronic signs.

The nearest electronic sign said something like this:

B432  11
F751  7
E696  16

Another one had a different set of numbers.

D524  9
A104  6
F763  12

There were two more signs on the other side of the room behind me. Every few seconds the numbers on all the signs would shuffle around into different positions and/or to different signs. Occasionally a number would drop off and get replaced by a new number. After watching the signs for a long time and getting into a discussion with the person beside me (C379) and also the next person over (A117) the three of us figured out the following:

The second number on each line refers to a specific counter in the office where you go when your number comes up.
There were six separate sequences, beginning with A, B, C, D, E and F.
Sequences A and D get serviced the fastest.
Counter No 6 handles all the As. (Later, this was proven false when the person behind Counter No 8 came back from lunch.)
The system is not fair. D571’s number came up before mine even though they got assigned their number 20 minutes after me!
There is no methodology that we could figure out just by watching who went up to which counter when their number came up that predestines who gets an A, B, C, D, E or F.
The government (Canadian Passport Department) seems to believe that people will wait more patiently if you give them an incomprehensible system for taking turns to figure out. Maybe they should pass that tidbit on to the Healthcare Department? Maybe they already have?

All in all it took just over 1½ hours and I had to pay $87. I did get complemented on my passport photo by the person behind Counter No 6. Nice and clear, good lighting, good colour, plain white background, won’t be rejected. Apparently it doesn’t matter that the photo makes you look like you were just dragged out of bed at 4am with an acute hangover.

Housekeeping Woes

2006-05-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

The two or three of you who regularly read this blog might remember that in my recent rat rantings I mentioned having a mice infestation some years ago.

This morning I was getting my brother’s room ready. Not the chainsaw brother, I mean the recently retired brother who’s decided to come visit his sisters on the West Coast. Anyway, while unfolding the fold-up couch I found evidence of that same mice infestation. I guess you can tell that we don’t get many overnight guests given that I haven’t unfolded this couch for so long...

Disgusting.

I hate the mess that mice leave!

Filthy little buggers.

So I pulled the mattress covers (two layers, a futile attempt to make this bed more comfortable) off the mattress and threw them down the stairs in the general direction of the washing machine. I hauled out the vacuum cleaner and sucked up the mice poop and fluffy mice nest materials. I inspected the mattress for holes. Who knows, maybe they actually lived inside the mattress? No holes, luckily.

Then I sprayed everything with Febreze Antibacterial Fabric Refresher (“Kills 99.9% of Bacteria that Cause Odors”) and hoped for the best.

I least I haven’t found any more dead bodies.

Of course mice bodies aren’t as bad as rat bodies. Mice bodies can be flushed down the toilet. Rat bodies have to be secreted out with the garbage.

I’ll never win the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval at this rate.

Worsted or Double Knitting Weight?

2006-05-07T16:46:00.000-07:00

I’m sitting here at my desk eating trail mix, drinking orange juice, and scanning knitting pattern book pictures. I want to sell this knitting pattern booklet on eBay so I need to scan the pictures and write a description.

Don’t tell The Big Guy but I’m also feeding Andy peanuts from the trail mix. The Big Guy is on a diet and he’s super-critical of anybody eating anything that he misses eating himself.

Aaak! He’s drooling all over the carpet, I better take a picture...

Anyway, I’m about to write a description of this knitting pattern booklet for the Ebay listing and I’m trying to figure out the weight of the yarn used in the patterns.The booklet was published in 1986 so of course Patons isn’t selling Cotton Sahara yarn anymore. The gauge is 19 stitches and 30 rows in 4 inches with 4½ mm needles in stocking stitch. The 19 stitches makes me think it’s a Worsted weight yarn but the 30 rows suggests that it’s more likely a Double Knitting weight. 4½mm needles could be used with either weight so that’s no help.

So I google patons cotton sahara and after several frustrating minutes hunting through search results that are 95% expired eBay listings I get clever and google patons “cotton sahara” –ebay and the list of search results dramatically shortens to two entries.

Being clever doesn’t always work. Neither search result is useful.

But one of them, a blog written by a fanatical knitter, was great fun to read!

This pretty much always happens to me when I start researching something on the web. I get distracted when I stumble across something totally off topic and waste the next 45 minutes happily reading stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with what I wanted to find out in the first place!

OK, I gave Andy the last few sunflower seeds and, with the trail mix bowl now empty, he’s gone off to check whether The Big Guy, whom I can hear clattering around in the kitchen, will give him something else to eat. Who taught this dog to be such a mooch, anyway…

And the yarn? I’m going to take a chance and say it’s Double Knitting weight.

Tree Maintenance (Back in March)

2006-05-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

Here are photos that I took back in March when I was in Ontario. One of my brothers came over with his boys to help clean up the trees in Mom and Dad’s yard that were damaged in a very heavy snowfall this winter.

My brother (at left) instructs my nephews (at right) on how to use a chainsaw while Dad (centre) looks on.

First, cut a wedge on the side that you want the tree to fall.

You can see where the tree trunk split and snapped off during the storm.

More instruction about trimming branches.

My nephews practice their ladder technique,

While Opa tells them which branches have to go.

Cleaning up

More Backyard Wildlife: Ipswich Foxes

2006-04-28T15:20:00.000-07:00

J. sent me this link to a web page with video clips from someone's back garden in Ipswich in the UK.

Includes some footage of a crow attempting to make off with a fox kit that's much too large for it!

Eagle Nest Live Webcam!

2006-04-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

The latest news is that the eggs are going to hatch very soon, maybe today!

This is a live webcam of an eagle's nest on Hornby Island. Right now the eagle is sitting on the eggs. I can see her (him?) moving her head to look around every few seconds.

More info about the eagles, when the eggs were laid, some static photos, etc., here.

Kilimanjaro Photos

2006-04-27T17:52:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading this blog you already know that my sister recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

She successfully summited on April 4th. Here are two of her photos.

Unwanted Renovation Help

2006-04-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Big Guy keeps finding more and more places on the house where the original cedar siding needs to be replaced. Some areas are so dried out that they crumble into bits when you just pound on them with a hammer. It seems like it’s just the paint that’s holding the wood together.

And some of the birds have figured this out too.

About 10 days ago a Nuthatch started pecking away at a spot very high up just below roof edge on the west side of the house. It's a great location just about 25 feet away from the bird feeder. No doubt the Nuthatch was also inspired by all the hammering The Big Guy was doing on the east side where we discovered the water damage.

Stubborn little bird. Even getting sprayed several times with water from the garden hose didn’t deter it. Three or four days later, after removing two knothole plugs and lots of paint chips, the Nuthatch gave up. I guess it finally realized after it had excavated the second knothole that it wasn’t going to get much further on the very solid 2-inch thick board it had selected for its nest site.

But the cedar siding is much thinner.

And Northern Flickers have much larger, stronger beaks than Nuthatches.

A couple of days ago we started hearing knocking sounds on the south side of the house near the chimney.

A pair of Flickers have decided that we have the perfect location for their brood. In two days, they removed substantial hunks of wood from two siding boards, created an opening about 10 by 6 inches in size, ripped up the tar paper underneath and started in on the 2 by 4’s that the siding is nailed onto.

They’re driving The Big Guy nuts.

Yesterday afternoon he moved the medium-sized ladder around to where they are making the hole, got two fresh pieces of cedar siding left over from his work on the east side and temporarily nailed them over top of the hole.

This morning at 6:30 am they were at it again. Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock. They woke us up. I got up, went downstairs and peeked around the corner of the house. Flicker No. 1 was perched on the edge of the roof watching Flicker No. 2 pound away at a new location next to the boards The Big Guy nailed up yesterday.

The Big Guy is starting to mumble about guns and shooting and other kinds of violence.

And today’s his birthday too. I’ll go buy him some ice cream. That generally calms him down.

Asset Allocation Revisited

2006-04-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

No rat casualties the last two nights, I have to write about something else. Aren't you glad!

So, the topic today is Investing.

This latest run-up in the stock market is making me nervous.

It’s the wrong time of year for these types of advances, plus it’s throwing my asset allocation further out of whack.

I’m a moderately aggressive investor who likes to buy-and-hold and can tolerate short term market downturns in return for higher long term gains. My target asset allocation model is 30% Canadian equities, 5% Canadian income trusts, 15% US equities, 25% international equities and 25% fixed income. However, my portfolio is actually more conservative than this model suggests since a large proportion of my equity investments, including the mutual funds, are in large profitable dividend-paying companies (e.g., banks and insurance companies) that are a lot less likely to crash and burn than your average small-cap technology or junior mining growth-oriented stock. (Been there, done that...)

I have become less and less of an actively managed mutual fund fan as the years go by so I look for opportunities to move money out of mutual funds and into ETFs and directly purchased stocks. Rejigging my asset allocation is one such opportunity.

Right now I am overweight in Canadian equities (big gains in resource/commodities sectors) and cash (I had a bond mature recently) and underweight in US equities (partially due to Cdn/US currency movements) and fixed income.

The cash from the matured bond is easy. I’ll just reinvest it in fixed income, probably an ETF such as the iUnits Canadian Short Bond Index (TSX:XSB).

As for the rest, I could realize some profits in my Canadian equities and shift the money into the USA. Blue Chips look attractive. They seem to have been out of favour for a few years so it might well be a good time to buy into big, solid, dividend-paying companies that market products all over the world. If we assume a significant market correction or economic softening will probably happen in the US this year then Consumer Products also look good. Even when times are bad, people continue to buy groceries, beer and cigarettes.

With this in mind I am considering the iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index ETF (NYSE:DVY) and companies like Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Anheuser-Busch (NYSE:BUD) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). I already own some Johnson & Johnson and adding to that holding wouldn’t bother me in the least.

But what should I sell?

At first glance, my Canadian National Railway (TSX:CNR) and Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:BAM.LV.A) holdings look like prime candidates. The CNR investment has almost tripled in value and several analysts have recently published opinions saying the stock is now fully valued and highly unlikely to advance further over the next year. In fact, it may be due for a significant correction. But the thing is that when I calculate my current dividend yield based on what I originally invested it’s getting close to 4% and I would hate to give that up. It’s such easy money!

Similarly, BAM is yielding almost 5% for me and I’m even less willing to give that up.

I could sell CNR now and buy it back at a lower price when/if the correction happens. But that doesn’t support my objective of moving money from Canada to the US.

So I’m looking at my Canadian equity mutual funds. One of them surely needs trimming…

Another One Bites The Dust

2006-04-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Last night, Big Ben's bigger brother, Bart, was the third casualty of this little war. The Big Guy's traps are having an unusually high success rate, 3 rats in 4 nights!

But I'm sure the rest will smarten up pretty soon. In the past, the casualty rate has tended to fall off steeply after the first couple of rats. I have a few ideas about why this may be so.

The stupidest ones are all caught in the traps early on and the rest are too smart to get fooled no matter how much fresh peanut butter you smear on the trap triggers.

Someone else's backyard becomes more attractive for some reason (Higher quality bird seed? Better smelling garbage? Fewer dogs?) and they move.

After a few deaths, the word gets passed along to everybody that the wire and wood contraptions are dangerous and should be avoided even if they do smell like yummy, yummy food.

I'm sure there's some obscure municipal bylaw forbidding disposal of dead bodies in garbage. So far The Big Guy has three bodies double-wrapped in plastic and hidden deep in the depths of our garbage bags ready for pick up next week. At this rate, we may even accumulate a few more.

Here's a web site with some funny rat cartoons!

And www.ratkill.com has lots of rat eradication stories (some quite messy and gruesome) for those of you who don't have any fun rats to eradicate in your own backyard.

Bertha R.I.P.

2006-04-21T21:58:00.000-07:00

Rat Update: Big Ben's cousin, Bertha, expired on April 20th with the tantalizing scent of peanut butter in her nostrils.

Score: Humans - 2, Rats - 0

The Rats Are Back

2006-04-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

Once or twice a year we get rats in our backyard.

Luckily they stay outside and never come into the house – unlike those pesky mice against which we fought a protracted 2-year campaign some years ago that started with securing our food supply in sealed containers (the mice retaliated by changing their diet to cables and coated wires), sealing up several hundred large and small openings in the foundation and outside walls of our house, escalated to booby traps and trained dogs (it became quickly obvious that our dogs do not have mice-catching genes), and eventually ended with chemical weapons.

The mice lost.

Lessons learned:

Don’t put dishes in the same cupboards as you store food.
When you make a hole in the house to run a cable or wire, seal it up afterward!
Cats are better than dogs at catching mice. In fact, dogs probably won’t even notice that you have mice.
Don’t buy bird seed with millet in it.

The mice never came back.

But the rats do.

Two nights ago, The Big Guy spotted Ben’s great grandson, Big Ben, outside making friends with Andy. For some reason that we can’t fathom, neither Big Ben nor Andy recognized each other as mortal enemies. So they’re just checking each other out in the back yard under the bird feeder when The Big Guy opens the back door and tries to give Andy some explicit instructions about what dogs are supposed to do with rats.

With all the yelling going on, Big Ben figures it’s probably a good time to leave and, as The Big Guy explained it to me, he just waddled his fat self all the way across the back yard and climbed a tree. Andy exercised his keen hunting dog instincts by strolling after him sniffing out the rat trail the entire way to the tree.

Is this the same Andy who spends much of his mornings keeping watch out the front window just so that he can bark ferociously at the mail carrier, the UPS and FEDEX delivery guys and kids walking by on their way to school? What happened to the Andy who once actually caught and chomped on a squirrel. Where’s the Andy who will pursue any and all crows who enter our airspace?

I guess Big Ben somehow managed to reach his fully adult extra-large size without learning about traps. Last night, he came to a squished end.

Traps are set again tonight.

We’ll see if Big Ben has any relatives as stupid as he was.

Havana Bay

2006-04-17T16:17:00.000-07:00

I’ve started another book in Martin Cruz Smith’s Arkady Renko series, Havana Bay. As is usual whenever I start one of this author’s books, I wonder why I waited so long to read it!

Marvelous writing. It’s gritty and depressing and yet it keeps you reading far into the night with complex characters, vivid descriptions and surprising plot developments.

While looking up this book on the web, I discover that there’s another in the Arkady Renko series that I haven’t read, Red Square, as well as a more recent addition, Wolves Eat Dogs.

So many books, so little time…

Chris Bliss Juggling

2006-04-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

Turn on your speakers and enjoy this Chris Bliss 3-ball juggling routine choreographed to the Beatles’ Abbey Road medley.

Here is a 5-ball routine done to sound taken from the Chris Bliss video. I suppose the juggling in the 5-ball routine is technically superior (not that I actually know anything about juggling) but I like the Chris Bliss one better because it feels like better performance to me.

By the way, the washing machine's fixed and The Big Guy paid the bill. I'm almost afraid to go out in case he gets into some other sort of trouble while I'm not watching...

Miscellaneous Ramblings

2006-04-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

I haven’t written much in the last several weeks because I’ve had two colds, been out of town for nearly three weeks, been busy catching up on my eBay shop-keeping, not been in the mood to write anything, blah, blah, blah.

Then, this week we had The Incident of the Nail in the Washing Machine. Now, that’s a tale I’m itching to exercise my keyboard on. But, we still don’t know the ending of this story so we’re waiting to see what happens before we write about it. For now, suffice to say, no laundry is getting done.

Africa
My sister summited Mount Kilimanjaro (I checked my Websters, to summit can be a verb but the context seems to be confined to mountaineering and summit conference attendance) on Tuesday and she also made it back down (nadired, I suppose you could say.) Today she starts the Safari portion of her African Adventure with a visit to Tarangire National Park.

Netherlands and Germany
I’ve started planning this summer’s trip to Europe, actually, just the Germany portion. The Dutch segment has already been taken care of, mainly by my sister. For that piece I just have to buy airline tickets and figure out which trains to catch to get from Schiphol to where we're staying. In Germany, more extensive planning is still required. I am thinking along the lines of castles, rivers and mountains. The itinerary will likely include a Rhine cruise, Rhine valley castle viewing, and two or three of King Ludwig’s castles in the Bavarian Alps near Füssen. It got too difficult to figure out just by searching on the web so after getting sore feet by standing more than 45 minutes in front of the travel books section in Chapters, I ended up buying one of those over-priced guide books, The Rough Guide To Germany. Well at least it was on sale. There are some things that are still easier to do with a book in the hand vs. online.

Lewiscraft
My local craft store is closing and selling off their entire inventory. All the best wool was already gone but I did manage to pick up several balls of an interesting boucle yarn that I’m thinking of crocheting a few scarves from. I googled Lewiscraft and found out the company’s gone bankrupt and is closing all its stores. I thought there has been resurgence in crafting lately? Maybe Michaels, that big box craft store from the States is pushing out all the smaller competitors? Maybe crafty types are buying all their craft stuff on eBay? I know I’ve been turning to eBay for hard-to-find items like lilac-coloured Aida, unusual cross stitch patterns, etc.

Dominion Homes
Yep, that’s that troubled home builder stock I bought a few months ago. They’re still mired in muck, suffering from declining revenues and generally looking pretty pathetic. The U.S. housing market is bad and getting worse. Despite all of this DHOM’s stock price is holding amazingly steady. Well, OK it has slid downhill a bit. I guess they took their really big hit last year and investors are treating them like they are already as low as they deserve to be. We’ll see… Q1 financials are due out May 8th.

Taxes
Mine’s done. Hurrah! It’s raining today and The Big Guy can’t hammer away at the outside of the house in the pouring rain. He also can’t do any more work on the washing machine since he can’t put back together what he’s already taken apart. So he started working on his taxes. He’s making disgusted noises about a T5008 slip. Claims it must be in error. Unlikely since this particular T5008 is a replacement for an earlier one that did have an error. I asked him if he calculated the adjusted cost base. I also offered to have a look at it for him. He got all huffy and stomped off.

Wedding Planning
J. and T. have sent out a formal email announcing their wedding date so that makes it really official. Now J. and I are trying to schedule some time to go look at wedding dresses. It seems to be difficult to coordinate the somewhat sparse free time on our schedules. How can two people, neither of them working, both be so busy?

Costa Rica
In fact, we’ve been so busy that we haven’t seen each other face to face for a couple of months and so J. didn’t give me the big news until this week that she and T. are moving to Costa Rica. I can’t figure out if I’m sad or happy about this yet. On the one hand, my best friend is moving far, far away. On the other hand, I’ll be able to add Costa Rica to my most favoured travel destinations list and I’ll have somewhere cheap to stay when I go there.

Oblivion
It’s finally out! The next chapter in the Elder Scrolls saga!

I’ve played all the major releases in the series so far: Arena (I was still working at Digital in 1994 when I first played Arena), Daggerfall in 1996, Morrowind in 2002, as well as the Morrowind expansion sets, Tribunal and Bloodmoon. I spent some time this week reading Oblivion reviews, looking at screen shots, and watching the first sales on eBay before finally reading the System Requirements and realizing my graphics card is not going to be good enough. I just hate it when my otherwise perfectly-good computer can’t run the game I absolutely positively must have! And, yes, this has happened to me before. And yes, I did end up buying a new computer configured especially for running graphics-intensive games.

Unfortunately, my income is no longer what it used to be.

OK, here’s the plan. Take care of the trip to Europe first. Make a bunch of money on the Dominion Homes stock. Buy a hot new game-playing computer. Play Oblivion.

Of course, I could just upgrade the graphics card.

Hey! It would also cost less if I bought an Xbox and got the version of the game that runs on it...

The Common Grackle

2006-03-20T16:04:00.000-08:00

Another bird I see here (in Mom and Dad's backyard on the eastern shore of Lake Huron) that I have never seen at my own feeder in BC is the
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula). This bird is similar to a crow but smaller, slimmer and with a relatively longer tail. It has gorgeous lustrous feathers, indigo or deep purple (not the band) on its head and bronze-coloured on it's back. Mom likes "that black bird" about as much as I like Starlings!

Again, I can't claim credit for this photo. Good bird photography requires skills and equipment that I don't have. Yet.

I did take a bunch of tree clean-up pictures this week. A heavy snowfall in late February caused considerable damage to trees in the neighbourhood, including Mom and Dad's cedars. When I get home and have had a chance to cull and edit the photos, I'll post them here.

Birds Seen In Mom and Dad's Backyard

2006-03-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

I'm visiting my Mom and Dad on the eastern shore of Lake Huron for a couple of weeks so I'm not in my usual kitchen window location looking out for new species in my own backyard. But they also have bird feeders and I'll list a couple of their backyard species that don't visit my West Coast neighbourhood.

This morning we had a solitary male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), brilliant red with a black mask and looking fat with puffed up feathers against the cold. He perches at the side of the feeder, looking watchfully around as he uses his powerful-looking beak to break apart the sunflower seed hulls.

Sitting on top of the feeder's roof, also with puffed-up feathers is a Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) patiently waiting for his turn. The Dove is large enough to make perching on the narrow bench a trick that requires some practice. This one has obviously had many opportunities to perfect the art of squeezing his bulk into the cramped space against the slanted side of the feeder.

www.ebird.org is a website developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society where you can submit and track your own bird sightings anywhere in North America. You can keep track of your sightings in multiple locations over time and create reports. It's an easy way to contribute to research into North American bird populations and migration. The website also lets you access its sightings database and you can plot species statistics on a map.

That's it for today's blog entry. Mom and Dad's PC keyboard is very different (ergonomically shaped with much larger key caps) from my own and typing becomes an exercise in frustration what with fixing all the typos and having to close that irritating "My Computer" window that pops up every time I miss the too short space bar.

Sunshine Coast Trip, Part Two

2006-03-06T11:51:00.000-08:00

Part One of this trip is here.

The next morning, after an excellent breakfast served by our hostess at the Bonniebrook Lodge, we got back into the car and headed up 101 on the coast past Robert’s Creek and Sechelt into new unexplored territory.

Halfmoon Bay has a well-kept business-like harbour in a sheltered bay surrounded by high treed slopes. Fishing boats were tied up at the government wharf.

Garden Bay seems more of a recreational boater’s destination although very few boats were around when we stopped by. The Royal Vancouver Yacht Club has a facility here for the use of its members. The caretaker stopped to chat when he noticed us snooping around. I don’t think he really believed that my sister is a member of the Yacht Club.

The road twisted up and down and around and around as we drove further up the coast. North of Madeira Park, we came to Ruby Lake, an idyllic little lake with a glassy reflective surface and small tree-covered islands, surrounded by forest.

If you look carefully you can see houses here and there between the trees.

We drove as far as Earl’s Cove where the ferry leaves for Saltery Bay, before turning around. It was lunchtime and we turned up a narrow little road to Egmont looking for someplace to have lunch. And we found the Backeddy Pub. It’s even more rustic than it looks in these pictures!

Nine or ten of the locals were gathered to watch the final Women’s Hockey game between Canada and Sweden. And that’s where we were when Canada won the Olympic Gold.

It would have been great to also go to Skookumchuk Narrows to see the Skookumchuk Tidal Rapids but we didn’t have time this trip. Homeward bound, we drove back to Langdale to catch the 4:30 ferry back to Horseshoe Bay.

In the Neighbourhood of Mount Kilimanjaro

2006-03-05T15:33:00.000-08:00

I was going to finish up part two of the Sunshine Coast trip today, but I was clearing up some old unread emails and came across NASA Earth Observatory's latest email newsletter. So I was clicking on the links in the email and ...well, you're getting another post on volcanoes instead!

Here is the new image from NASA’s Earth Observatory showing the Crater Highlands to the west of Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. There are several volcanoes in the image and the largest crater, Ngorongoro Crater (more correctly called Ngorongoro Caldera), is the largest unbroken and unflooded caldera in the world. The Ngorongoro volcano was one of the world’s tallest mountains along with Mount Kilimanjaro before it exploded and collapsed 2 million years ago. The crater is about 19 kilometres (12 miles) across and the rim is 600 metres (2,000 feet) above the crater floor.

Today, Ngorongoro Crater is home for tens of thousands of big East African wild animals, including lions, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, rhinos, Thomson's gazelles, and water buffaloes.

This web page (where I snagged this photo and where you can see a much larger version of the photo) has magnificent photographs of the Crater and its wildlife.

Ngorongoro Crater is on the eastern edge of the Serengeti. Both the Crater and Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park are sites popular with safari-bound tourists. Stephen and Theresa Woo tell the story of their Tanzania safari in their photo journal. Lots of pictures!

Another interesting spot in the same area is the Olduvai Gorge, where in 1959 Louis and Mary Leakey discovered the 1.8 million year old fossilized skull of zinjanthropus, a human ancestor. The Gorge is rich with fossils, ancient tools, and footprints left millions of years ago.

To explore Tanzania further, here are some clickable maps.

Sunshine Coast Trip, Part One

2006-03-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

My sister and I went to the Sunshine Coast one weekend this February.

Here we are (my car is the green one to the right), at Horseshoe Bay in the lineup for the 11:20 am ferry, Queen of Coquitlam. It's a 40-minute ride across to Langdale.

We're off the ferry and headed into Gibsons. Mount Elphinstone has some snow.

In Gibsons we went down to the beach (Hopkin's Landing) to have a look at the house where Kay and Art lived when they were in Gibsons. They could watch the ferries come and go from their deck.

Next we had lunch at Molly's Reach, famous for being the place where the CBC series, The Beachcombers, was filmed in the 1970s. We had excellent soup and sandwiches. Just up the street you have a good view (if you ignore the parked cars, rooftops and hydro poles). Maybe I should have walked farther uphill for the photo.

Our Bed & Breakfast, Bonniebrook Lodge, is located right next to Chaster Creek. I suppose "Bonniebrook" Lodge makes for better marketing than Chaster Creek Lodge. It's very nice. You have a choice of private cabins beside the creek or suites in the main house with a great view across Georgia Strait. We had a cabin with a large Jacuzzi-style bath and a cozy gas fireplace. If you go, I would recommend bringing warm slippers, the cabin floor was quite cold!

Here's the beach across the road from our B&B

and a tiny park with a cairn in honour of Captain Vancouver who visited the area in 1792.

Robert's Creek, a short 10 minute drive from Gibsons, is a quaint little community known (perhaps undeservedly) for its granola-heads and artsy/craftsy inhabitants. It also has a picturesque beach.

Davis Bay and Wilson Creek, another 10 minute drive, is a very attractive community on the southeast side of Sechelt. There are large new subdivisions going up in the hills high above the shoreline. We drove up around in the new streets - lots of great water views from up there. The well-maintained shoreline has convenient free parking, a boardwalk, benches to sit on, and a pier.

It's mid-afternoon and the sun is low in the west.

Sechelt, a town with population around 8000, is not quite as pretty, largely due to the large gravel/sand mining operation which seems to be visible from almost everywhere. We drove a little ways up Porpoise Bay above Sechelt for better views. No photos, you'll have to take my word for it, there are excellent views up there of steep treed mountainsides and Porpoise Bay itself.

Back at B&B, we relaxed and had a pre-dinner glass of wine. My sister studied Mount Kilimanjaro maps and National Geographic's latest article on the Serengeti. You can never be too prepared for a trekking adventure! I played with my iPod and looked at the photos I had taken so far.

In Gibsons we had dinner at a Mediterranean/Greek-style restaurant, Leo's Tapas & Grill. Very Good!

Back again at B&B, it was a clear night and stars were clearly visible. I suggested going to the beach to stargaze. So, in the dark, we stumbled around off the road, groped blindly over the logs and driftwood piled at the high water mark and teetered carefully across the stony beach to look at the stars. Did I mention it was very dark? I did pack a flashlight for the trip but of course I left it back in the cabin! We could see the Milky Way and looking west across Georgia Strait, the lights of Nanaimo on the horizon.

Part Two of this trip is posted here.

Dominion Homes: Plenty of New News Lately!

2006-03-03T15:47:00.000-08:00

Dominion Homes (NASDAQ:DHOM) is proving to be a more interesting stock to follow than I expected when I first talked about purchasing it.

Here’s a recap of the latest news (some bad, some encouraging):

Feb 21 - Customer lawsuit #1. Plaintiffs with mortgage problems.

Feb 21 – Customer lawsuit #2. Plaintiffs have financing issues and claim the value of their homes was misrepresented.

Feb 23 – Customer lawsuit #3. More mortgage and down payment issues.

Feb 27 – DHOM 2005 earnings announcement. In summary, revenue down, income down, sales down, backlog down. Includes the comment, “we do not expect to be profitable for the first quarter of 2006.”

I also listened to Dominion’s Feb 28th earnings conference call. The webcast will be available to listen to until later in May. They make lots of comments about the initiatives underway to turn things around, e.g., reducing excess land inventory, paying down debt, and the Wells Fargo home mortgage venture.

Feb 28 – Dominion Homes makes a deal to have Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) take over its mortgage services. I think Dominion’s new CFO is starting to earn his keep!

Feb 28 – A bizjournals.com article discusses the Wells Fargo venture. It also says that DHOM is being subjected to “questions” from the State of Ohio and a HUD (US federal government agency) audit.

Feb 28 – Marketwatch publishes an article discussing the downturn in the US housing market. Mentions “troubled” Dominion Homes and another homebuilder also experiencing a decline in sales.

Mar 1 – An article in the Columbus Ohio newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch, on the Wells Fargo deal starts out “A plan to spin off Dominion Homes’ mortgage division will make it impossible for the public to continue tracking the embattled home builder’s loan defaults.” This newspaper, in the middle of Dominion’s main market, has lots of articles related to Dominion Homes and problems in Ohio’s housing market and mortgage financing.

Mar 2 – Dominion Homes hires a new President and COO. This is the second new “C” level executive hired since the beginning of the year.

Exciting times!

Despite all of this, the stock hasn’t moved as much as you might expect in the last couple of weeks. Maybe most of the negativity has already been absorbed into the stock price. It did drop from about $20 to $10 last year.

I’m maintaining my stop loss at $7.00.

Silly Songs, The European Starling

2006-02-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

Here, from J., are 365 days worth of silly music MP3 files for your listening pleasure (sorry J., I know you sent me this link ages ago but I didn’t follow it up until today as I only got the sound fixed on my computer very recently and I’ve been absorbed by iTunes and PureTracks since then.)

UbuWeb also has an eclectic collection of other audio files, writings and art/images, all free – great stuff to browse around in when you’re avoiding the items on your to-do list.

And, just arrived today from wherever they’ve been lately, two European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

I don’t really like Starlings. They are messy, hacking away at the suet with their bright yellow beaks, scattering more on the ground than they eat. They are bossy, preventing other birds from approaching the feeders. Even the Steller’s Jay, which will normally only give way to Crows, vigorous arm-waving, or attack dogs named Andy, screeches loudly from the top of the bird feeder pole, not able to land on the suet feeder despite being 2 to 3 times the size of the Starlings.

I bang on the kitchen window and the Starlings fly off.

The Steller’s Jay turns around and screeches at me. Ungrateful!

The Purple Finch

2006-02-27T20:40:00.000-08:00

This morning I was surprised to see a pair of new finches at the birdfeeder. Well, spring is just around the corner and you would expect a few different birds to be passing through.

At first I thought they were male House Finches that had brightened themselves up in anticipation of the breeding season. Groups of 8 to 10 House Finches, which I have written about before, regularly hog all the perches at my birdfeeder.

But these were a brilliant raspberry red color, not the strawberry red of the male House Finches. And they weren’t quite as bold, hanging back in the bushes while the Chickadees and Nuthatches made their wild zooming grab-and-dash forays at the feeder dodging around the House Finches firmly perched on their favorite spots.

I looked through my bird book, which has terrible pictures. The bird book’s Purple Finches were definitely purple, not raspberry red. But otherwise they sounded like the right species. What finally settled it tonight was when I found some beautiful Purple Finch photos, looking exactly the same as the birds I saw this morning.

According to Cornell’s article, the Purple Finch (Carpodacus purpureu) has been displaced in many areas by House Finches. I’m not surprised. They’re such pigs at the birdfeeder buffet!

Dominion Homes faces lawsuit

2006-02-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

Here is a report regarding a lawsuit filed by some of Dominion Homes’ customers.

This press release appears to have come out after the stock market closing bell so we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out how other DHOM investors react.

But it’s never good when your customers sue you...

My previous musings on DHOM are here.

First Robin Spotted, It Must Be Spring

2006-02-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I got back from a weekend trip with my sister to the Sunshine Coast (blog entry on the trip will be coming up as soon as I can get through all the photographs) and this morning it’s started raining again. The Big Guy mentioned that it actually snowed a little over the weekend. While it was not exactly brilliantly sunny, the weather was good enough over the weekend to make the trip highly enjoyable.

As I said, it’s started raining again this morning and as I was looking out the kitchen window at the dripping trees I saw our first American Robin (Turdus migratorius) of the year.

So it must be spring!

He was up in one of our neighbour’s trees, looking around for breakfast. Then he flew over into the eavestrough and had a few sips of water before taking off again.

I expect there will soon be lots of Robins returning from wherever they migrate to from here in the winter. According to the migratory maps, Robins do winter locally but in our neighbourhood I don’t see them for 2 or 3 months in the winter.

When the lawn is wet from morning dew or after a rain shower, they will come to our yard in groups of five or more to hop around the lawn hunting for earthworms. They look for goodies to eat by tilting their heads from side to side to get a good look at the ground with one eye or the other; it looks like they’re listening!

I Have Sound! or, How Assumptions Made Too Early Can Be Wrong

2006-02-15T14:49:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, The Big Guy said “Happy Valentine’s Day!” and he also asked me what I wanted for my birthday. I was so moved by this unusual display of affection that my mind went completely blank.

But I eventually recovered, said “Happy Valentine’s Day” back, and told him that all I really wanted for my birthday was the sound to be fixed on my computer.

His reply, “Is that all?” made me actually believe that he was going to fix it for me.

I should make a note to myself: Don’t Make Assumptions Too Quickly.

A few minutes later he plunked down a sound card, a screw, a screw driver, a couple of installation and driver CDs, and an installation booklet on the kitchen counter. “Here you go!”

I’m sure he was very happy that he could fulfill my only birthday wish by simply rummaging through his bins of spare computer parts.

But what I really wanted was for him just to take over the whole problem including what I call Stage One Computer Repair. This means doing the Windows software troubleshooting steps, checking for device conflicts, re-installing and updating drivers, shutting everything down, unplugging all the cables, opening up the box, dismantling various electronic bits, looking for scorch marks, blowing out the dust, reseating boards and cables, re-mantling, plugging in all the cables again, and powering everything back up. I get extremely frustrated if I can’t fix this type of problem right away, which is why I hadn’t even tried to sort it out myself before today.

I don’t want talk about Stage Two Computer Repair.

Stage Three is Buy a New Computer.

I started working through Stage One. The symptom of the sound problem was an extremely loud and annoying hum or buzz that drowned out the sound that’s supposed to be coming out of the speakers. Plus, what sound I could hear over the buzzing seemed very distorted, like it was recorded inside a metal box. The problem started about the same time I upgraded the memory. All this made me think that it wasn’t necessarily a broken sound card, it could be something to do with cables or power or speaker/monitor interference.

With that in mind, I changed the order in which I usually do Stage One Computer Repair and after doing the software troubleshooting and driver updating without any noticeable affect on the problem decided to unplug, move, and reseat every single cable connected to the speakers. I should also mention that while I was rebooting the computer after updating the drivers I noticed that the buzzing was still there when the speakers are powered on even while the computer was powered off!

It’s actually surprising how many cables are connected to the speakers. There’s the speaker power cable connected to an extension cord shared with a desk lamp and another extension cord before plugging into the wall. There’s the cable from the right speaker to the left speaker. There’s the cable from the headphones that plugs into the right speaker. There’s the cable from the right speaker that plugs into the back of the computer.

To make a long and boring story about tinkering with cables shorter, I’ll just say that the problem was fixed by reseating the cable connecting into the back of the computer.

Simple.

Cheap flimsy little connecters!

Now I’m happy.

Not so fast. I’m still running out of space on my hard drive.

So, next, I’ll have to come up with a strategy to get The Big Guy to gift me with a hard drive out of his spare parts supply. This time, with installation included!

A Backyard Tour

2006-02-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

It was sunny today (I really had to squint, It’s been dark since last November and I’m not used to all this light!) so I went outside to take some pictures of our house and yard.

The Big Guy ordered me out of the front yard. He’s in the middle of repairing damage on the side of our house caused by rainwater getting in around some poorly installed flashing over one of the new windows that we had installed two years ago. He doesn’t like me taking pictures of him while he’s working on something.

So I went to our lovely backyard. Neither one of us do much work that could remotely be called landscaping. Or gardening. Plus we have two largish dogs. And then there’s the ongoing conflict between The Big Guy and I about the pruning and eradication of trees and bushes which, in their natural untamed state, might somehow interfere with either radio waves or the cleanliness of concrete. We are somewhat polarized on this issue. I’m completely against it, eradication that is, and he’s all for it.

As a result, our back yard is a hodge-podge of unkempt and badly pruned trees, misshapen bushes, large areas of bare dirt, grass that has evolved over the years to resist the ravages of dog pee, a patch of garden (ha ha!) surrounded by string to remind the dogs they’re not supposed to go in there, a pile of broken up concrete, a Really Big Radio Antenna Tower (“RBRAT”), various runs of pipe through which power lines and coaxial cables go to the assorted antennas, and well you get the idea...

It’s not all bad. Birds seem to like our backyard!

Here’s a... umm, what should I call this? A roof on 4-by-4s? Well, under this roof we have a neat stack of brand new (and wet) boards that will eventually replace the rotted boards on the water damaged portion of the house, which I can’t take a picture of because The Big Guy ordered me off. You can also see some very pretty blue lawn furniture stacked there. That was my big painting project last year. If you look at the edge of the roof you can see a bright green line. That’s the sun shining through a thick layer of moss (we live in what was once Temperate Rain Forest, there’s moss everywhere!) If you look at the back of the roof over the lawn furniture you can see the lower portion of one of The Big Guy’s radio antennas.

This is Andy. I have lots of good pictures of Andy. It’s so easy to get him to pose. You just put his tennis ball somewhere and he will sit or stand close to it and look at you with this photogenic expression on his face just waiting for you to pick up and throw the ball. I took this picture while I was crouched down with the ball on the ground beside my right foot.

In this second picture he’s starting to realize that I’m not going to throw the ball, I’m just going to keep snapping pictures. He’s a little frustrated and is getting ready to bark.

Here’s the view towards the back (north-west) corner of the backyard. Tyler is inspecting the evolved grass beside the garden (ha ha!) which is surrounded by string to remind him to stay out. You can also see the base of the RBRAT. At the very back is the dog condominium which Tyler and Andy never use since they live inside the house with us.

You know, the grass looks a lot better in my pictures than it does in real life. And I didn’t even tinker with them with my photo editing software, except for some cropping, and maybe I tweaked the gamma on a couple of them a little bit. It looks like the grass in Hobbiton, home of the hobbits in Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings, The Fellowship of The Ring – much too green to be real.

This view is looking eastward towards the house. You can see the bottom of the RBRAT in the foreground. About half way towards the house there is an orange tub. This tub is protecting the base of another radio antenna from the ravages of dog pee.

Here’s a shot of Andy admiring the pile of broken up concrete in our back yard. Actually, I put his ball on top of the pile so that he would sit still beside it. In between the concrete and the RBRAT you can see some sort of odd white pipe elbow sticking out of a round upside down pail that is partially buried in the ground. This is where some of the assorted power and coaxial cables emerge on their way from The Big Guy’s office in the house to the RBRAT. If you look at the roof of the tool shed (the really dark building) you can see the bottom of yet another radio tower through the badly pruned tree branches.

This is Tyler. He is very difficult to take pictures of because as soon as you point a camera at him he runs over to get his ears scratched. I have taken lots of blurry snapshots of the top of his head. He always seems to look sad in photos. I don’t know why, he’s really a very happy dog. In this photo I managed to get him to look up from his inspection of the evolved grass and took the picture before he ran over. He’s going very gray because he’s eleven years old.

That’s it for the tour of the backyard. Maybe tomorrow, if I’m real sneaky, I can get some shots of the front yard and of the radio antennas on the roof of the house.

The Northern Flicker

2006-02-07T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today I had to get up unusually early (7am) to give The Big Guy a ride to the Skytrain. He still won’t take the bus, which stops less than 200 feet from our house although he’s gotten as far as studying bus timetables and route maps. He was somewhat indignant when I explained to him that the buses don’t exactly take the shortest route directly from our house to the Skytrain station and that the bus that stops at the stop only 25 feet from our house takes longer to get there than the one that stops 200 feet from our house.

Why do we take the Skytrain when we want to go downtown?

It’s not because we’re eco-freaks, although we do modify our behaviour somewhat to be environmentally friendly. It’s not because we don’t each have our very own late-model gas-guzzling vehicle. It’s because we don’t like driving all the way downtown from here in the traffic and rain and then trying to find someplace to park that isn’t full and that you don’t have to take out a loan to pay for and that is secure enough so you don’t have to spend the entire time you are downtown worrying about drug-crazed loonies breaking into your vehicle to search for nickels and dimes between the seat cushions.

Ok, I got a bit side-tracked there.

What I really meant to say was that since I was up unusually early this morning I spotted another bird, the Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)!

It’s always a treat to see a Northern Flicker. He’s big and colorful and doesn’t come around very often. I think their usual diet is ants and other insects but the one that visits us likes sunflower seeds and suet too.

He’s so big that it’s a challenge to grip the side of suet feeder while his tail feathers are fanned out underneath and he arches his head back far enough to peck at the suet with his big long beak. His weight causes the suet cage to tip so that he’s hanging almost feet up. I don’t think he likes feeding from this position very much!

This picture shows what I mean except that you have to imagine a wire suet cage hanging from a chain instead of the relatively stable feeder in the picture. I’m sorry to say that my bird photography skills have not improved this much (yet). This photo (copyright 2004 Alan Pattinson) is one I snagged from here.

And congratulations to J. who passed her “knowledge important to Canadians” examination and was duly rewarded yesterday with a certificate, id-card and a little paper flag, plus she swore allegiance in both official languages, shook hands with a real judge and sang the national anthem all the way through without any mistakes. Actually, I’m not really sure she made it through with no mistakes but let’s just assume she did.

Now J. can go to hockey games wearing a silly hat and do the wave along with everybody else without being embarrassed. Or not.

Kilimanjaro

2006-02-05T15:49:00.000-08:00

My sister has decided to climb Kilimanjaro for her birthday. Sounds a bit arduous to me but that’s the sort of adventure she likes, so Happy Trekking!

And it’s a good excuse for me to go on about one of my favorite topics again, volcanoes!

Kilimanjaro (Kilima Njaro or “shining mountain” in Swahili), is a large stratovolcano. In fact, it’s the tallest free-standing volcano on the earth’s land surface. It is located in Tanzania, Africa just south of the equator and is 5895 meters high at its highest point, Uhuru Peak. The volcano has a number of cones, the youngest of which is called Kibo. Kibo has a fairly large crater at the top. Some say Kilimanjaro is extinct, but in fact the volcano is still active and emits steam and gases from fumaroles in the crater. It has not erupted in the past 100,000 years or so. Mount Meru, just 70 kilometers to the west, last erupted in 1910.

This 3-D perspective view (which I got from Nasa’s Visible Earth web site) clearly shows Kilimanjaro's multiple peaks. The image was generated using topographic data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, a Landsat 7 satellite image, and a false sky. Elevation exaggerated two times.

The image above is from Space Shuttle mission STS-97 on December 2, 2000 and it shows the glaciers and snow cap. The bits that look like cotton balls are actually clouds, the snow and ice is in the center, more streaky looking. As you can see from these images below from 1990, the mountain is losing its snow and glaciers.

Kilimanjaro is one of the volcanoes in the East African Rift Valley. The Great Rift Valley is the result of the ongoing separation of the African and Arabian tectonic plates in the north and rifting of the African plate in the south. The region has several volcanoes and lots of hotsprings that have formed over hotspots caused by the thinning of the lithosphere and upwelling of mantle plumes underneath. Lots of academic debate is going on in this area!

Unlike the Great Rift Valley volcanoes, most stratovolcanoes form along subduction zones where one tectonic plate is diving down underneath another. When they erupt it is usually quite explosive. During active phases these volcanoes build up layers upon layers of lava, ash, cinders, etc into a steep symmetrical cone or cones and can get quite high. They erupt from vents which are conduits from a magma chamber deep inside the mountain.

When a stratovolcano becomes inactive for awhile or goes dormant, the softer material erodes away quickly, leaving the harder material which formed some of the layers and plugged up the vents. This erosion can result in landslides and even catastrophic collapses.

Mount St. Helens is an example of a stratovolcano that exploded when its north flank collapsed and released the pressure that had built up inside. I was sleeping in on the Sunday morning in May, 1980 when it blew up and the bang woke me up. At the time, in my muddled half-asleep state, I thought someone had fired a cannon at the Haida festival in New West. Of course, in hindsight that’s a pretty silly idea as any kind of gunfire at a Haida festival would probably be highly offensive! The Big Guy and I didn’t know about the volcano until several hours later when we finally turned on the TV.

If the explosion is large enough the entire top of the volcano can be blown away, the magma chamber empties and what’s left of the mountain collapses inward leaving a caldera. An example of this is Crater Lake in Oregon, the collapsed remains of Mount Mazama.

Shield volcanoes are another type of volcano. I think I'll write about them some other time. The Big Guy has supper almost ready...

Purchased: Dominion Homes Inc. (DHOM:NASDAQ)

2006-01-30T20:05:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, I talked a little bit about why and how I was looking for a US equity to buy. Now I’ll summarize the results of my search and say something about my plans for this stock.

Before we get into all of that, I have to say that writing this all down in public for anyone to read takes some nerve. I run the risk of my investing mistakes being exposed in plain view (I hate to be wrong about anything to do with money!) On the other hand, if this one turns out to be a tenbagger I can show off my stock-picking expertise. Tenbagger, or 10-bagger, is a term coined by Peter Lynch to refer to an investment that is worth ten times its original purchase price. To find out more about stalking tenbaggers, you could read One Up On Wall Street. I might even lend you my copy.

Of course, what usually happens with most of my investments is that (a) they make an OK return but are exceedingly boring (e.g., my mutual funds, banks, insurance companies, railroads); (b) they crash and burn and I just manage to sell before losing everything (e.g., Waverider, Enron, Bombardier); or (c) I hang on to them for years (e.g., Nokia, CAE, Sears) while they do nothing or just cycle up and down and then I sell getting my money back but not much more, right before some major event like an takeover bid by another company sends the stock into the stratosphere.

I spit nails when that happens!

Onwards...

A Short Review

Asset allocation, sources of investing ideas, blah, blah, blah, see here.

What I Purchased: Dominion Homes Inc.

Dominion Homes (DHOM:NASDAQ), formerly known as Borror Corporation, was formed in 1952 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio. They are a US-based homebuilder with operations in Ohio and Kentucky. They also have a financial services (mortgages) subsidiary. Recently, times have been tough for Dominion Homes with the softening of their market and high rates of mortgage defaults. As a result, their stock price has dropped to depths not seen since 2001.

Why I Decided to Buy This Stock

I found this stock among Irwin Michael’s holdings. As I don’t directly own any US real estate or building and construction companies, I decided to take a closer look.

Shares are trading at just over $10 but book value is $23.61 per share. I always love a bargain! Irwin Michael says this company is a good candidate for privatization and also for acquisition by another builder. The company is profitable. After a couple of disappointing buys that wiped out in the tech crash of 2000 (see the horrible chart over on the right), I made a note to myself to only buy companies that are actually making money. They have a new CFO. He’s been given the mandate to clean up the sales side and mortgage operations. A sudden CFO replacement is generally either a good sign or an extremely bad sign. I prefer to believe that, in this case, it’s a good sign. If they unexpectedly acquire a new CEO I’ll shift over to the It’s A Really Bad Omen side, especially since the CEO's last name is Borror and the Borror family owns almost half of the company.

My Exit Strategy (or, how I plan to make money on DHOM)

Ultimately, it’s not the buying, not the holding (unless you’re raking in dividends), and not the watching the price zigzag up and down from day to day where you make the money. It’s the selling. So, when to sell?

Here’s my plan.

Sell half when it doubles. I’ll get back what I invested and can go look for another winner to buy and the DHOM that I still own is all profit.

Sell the rest when it reaches $40 to $50 (my target price). OK, I know I said I wanted a tenbagger but I just don’t believe this stock has that much potential.

Sell when Irwin Michael sells it. After all, he’s the expert. And DHOM was originally his idea, not mine.

And what if a meteor falls out of the sky and squashes Mr. Borror on his way to work one day? I have a stop loss at $7.00. I’ll ratchet up the stop loss as the stock price rises to eventually lock in profits.

I'll report back if something interesting happens. Watch this space.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Augustine Volcano in Alaska erupted again this weekend. Seismicity, pyroclastic flows and ash emissions have been observed today. Depending on the weather and whether or not it’s dark you might be able to see something interesting on the Augustine webcam. Here’s an image that was captured yesterday.

Gung Hay Fat Choy

2006-01-29T19:56:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

This is the first day of The Year of the Dog.

I had a look at what Chinese astrologers say about 2006, The Year of the Dog. There will be increased social awareness and more generosity for society’s less fortunate. But this is the last year of the Metal cycle before we start the Water cycle in 2007, so unexpected good or bad events could occur. You can read more about all sorts of things Chinese here.

I was born in the Year of the Snake. People born in the Year of the Snake are deep. They say little and possess great wisdom. Here is more about me and my snakey pals.

The Varied Thrush

2006-01-25T10:57:00.000-08:00

It’s been about two weeks of watching and waiting for a new bird to show up in the backyard that I haven’t already written about. J. offered to tour me around the park where she lives just so that I can spot some new species. But they would be mostly ducks, geese, herons and swans that don't visit my backyard so I would have to create a new category in my links over on the right, something like "J.'s Park Birds."

This morning I did finally catch a glimpse of a new bird, the Varied Thrush.

Like the Towhee, the Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius) is quite shy and I rarely see it. It’s about as big as a Robin and looks for tasty things to eat in the litter under the evergreens well back from the house. I have seen it under the birdfeeder but I think it prefers to stay sheltered under the trees.

Oops, my boo-boo.

I've discovered that I mis-identified the Towhee that I wrote about on January 4 so I corrected my entries about it. It was actually a Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus). I had called it a Rufous-sided Towhee. The academics who decide these things now consider that the Rufous-sided Towhee is actually two species: the Spotted Towhee and the Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus). They're very similar looking but their home ranges are on opposite sides of the continent. Apparently hybrids exist where the ranges overlap.

I was going to write about my adventures booking airline flights with uncooperative call centre agents (aren't these people supposed to *want* to sell you something?) but I'm not in the mood right now (I might say something nasty) so maybe later...

Today's Left Coast Report (with two more birds too)

2006-01-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

Summary
Weather: Rained last night. Not raining right now. Will rain again soon.

5-day Forecast: Periods of rain interspersed with periods of just-stopped-raining and just-about-to-rain.

Gas: 94.9

Bird Sightings: Nobody new in the backyard but spotted Pigeons behind the grocery store and Crows hanging around the McDonalds. These birds are featured in Today’s In-depth Report. Keep reading.

Traffic: Heavy around the Future Shop store due to the big sale they have on. (This direct-from-the-scene traffic report by The Big Guy.)

Election Campaign: Has reached 7.5 on the candidates-being-nasty-to-each-other-in-public scale.

Stock Market: Up yesterday. Down today.

Stock Market Outlook for Next Week: Periods of Upward Trending Momentum interspersed with Unexpected Downward Pressures.

Technical Issue of The Day: The activation of a new cell phone that required all the problem solving skills of a Professional Engineer (retired), a Computer Science Major (latest occupation: eBay Seller of Knitting Patterns) and a very young technical support person in a far away call center.

Today’s In Depth Report

The Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus)
and
The Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Crows seem to be very smart birds and if you watch them a lot you can come to recognize individual birds by their appearance and personality. Several years ago we had a Shepherd/Lab cross whose self-imposed life’s calling was to keep our property clear of uninvited people, other dogs, cats, raccoons, skunks, rats, squirrels, large insects and birds, most especially crows. She was not too bright but extremely athletic and quick enough to catch a rat occasionally.

Anyway, there were a couple of crows that found it amusing to perch about 20 feet up in the tree just outside our back door just to tease her. She could sit there for ages watching and waiting for her chance to catch a crow while they would squawk and preen and drop little bits of whatever they had handy down on her. I remember coming home from work one day and finding just a few long black feathers.

I guess somebody wasn’t too smart that day.

There is a very large crow roost near Still Creek in Burnaby and every day close to dusk you can see thousands of birds flying towards the roost. One good place to watch them flying by is near the south end of the 2nd Narrows Bridge.

A small flock of about 30 pigeons hangs around in the parking lot behind a grocery store near where I live. Over the years I’ve seem various businesses in the area install owl sculptures on their roofs in an attempt to ward off the pigeons (they are a bit messy and I never park my car under the power lines there.) The fake owls are currently on a roof across the street from the grocery store. I don’t know if they work but I’ve never noticed the pigeons over there. Maybe somebody is feeding the pigeons. Otherwise they would likely move to the grain elevators where there’s always lots of grain spilled along the railroad tracks.

While I was writing this, I googled for more information on pigeons, pigeon predators, pigeon repellants, and so forth. There are certainly a lot of businesses dedicated to selling an amazing assortment of products that are supposed to repel pigeons! There are chemical warfare agents, sticky stuff you smear on the roosts, inflatable owls, shiny spinning whirly things, water sprinklers, balloons with scary eyes painted on them, spikes, little fences made of wire, fake owls with wings that will flap in the wind, noise makers, ultrasonic noise makers, strobe lights, electric shock systems, etc., etc., etc.
I bet that a not too bright German Shepherd/Lab cross would also work.

Canada: Just Say No!

2006-01-19T17:24:00.000-08:00

In honour of the upcoming election here's a cartoon. It's from 1996 but nothing much seems to have changed since then.

[Note to J.] Study this. Ask T. if you don't get all the jokes, but if you show him the cartoon try to keep "No-Where" covered up with your finger. And there WILL be a quiz on the provinces later.

Carpet Cleaning

2006-01-17T20:38:00.000-08:00

The carpet cleaners came yesterday.

To get ready, I moved the stacks of unsold eBay inventory, shipping supplies, office supplies, almost-but-not-quite-finished crochet and cross stitch projects, investing and stock market research files, 3-year old job hunting papers, outdated computer books, broken computer hardware, Christmas wrapping paper, 15 paperback books that are supposed to go to the used book store, a Super Nintendo game console, a dog chew toy, a pile of dirty laundry, AND a pair of The Big Guy’s jeans that need a button sewn on from my office floor onto the spare room floor.

This is a picture of my desk. Maybe it will help you imagine what the floor usually looks like…

All this moving, just so that the floor of my office could be cleaned.

Now it’s clean! And sort of empty too…

Today I started moving all of the stuff back.

This *inspired* me to start sorting through the boxes and piles to make Keep/Recycle/Throw Out decisions. After a couple of hours of this I had to drop everything and go with The Big Guy to a meeting with a Financial Planner. He needed advice on how optimally arrange his post-severance finances so that he (and I) can keep most of it instead of handing it over to Revenue Canada.

After the meeting I was no longer inspired.

So now I have stacks and stacks of half-sorted stuff piled up in TWO rooms instead of just in one room. I’m further behind than I was before the carpet cleaners came!

And who can tell that the carpets are clean when they’re all covered up with this stuff?

The Sum of All Fears

2006-01-15T17:27:00.000-08:00

Last night I re-watched The Sum of All Fears, a 2002 movie loosely based on Tom Clancy’s book of the same name. The first time I saw it I liked it much better. That’s probably because I had not read the book either and didn’t know what was going to happen. Of course, given that it was a Tom Clancy story (alternate near history is his specialty), I should have realized that the bomb *was* actually going to explode and America was not going to get off as easy as Hollywood usually lets it.

Not a great movie but good enough for a diverting Saturday evening. It has a few memorable moments: the helicopter getting slammed by the shock wave from the bomb blast, the CIA Director (played by Morgan Freeman) telling Jack what to say to his girlfriend about why he has to cancel their date, Jack’s first conversation with the Russian President (Ciarán Hinds is simply compelling in this role.) But I prefer Harrison Ford to Ben Affleck in the role of Jack Ryan as in The Hunt for Red October. If real-life CIA employees are as clueless as Ben Affleck always appears to be, it’s no wonder they get into such a mess sometimes.

Speaking of The Hunt for Red October, that was a really good movie! And the book was fantastic too! OK, I am a little biased because I happen to be fascinated by submarine movies – all that tense claustrophobia inside a cramped and creaking metal tube, sneaking around underwater while listening real hard for other boats sneaking around… And how can you do better than Harrison Ford and Sean Connery in the same movie as a submarine?

Anyway, after watching The Sum of All Fears again I’ve decided that I’ll read the book soon. I’ve had a copy for several years, just waiting for me to get into a Tom Clancy mood again.

…later…

Aargh! I can’t find it! I must have loaned it to somebody.

But I found this other Tom Clancy book, Without Remorse, that tells the story of John Clark…

So many books, so little time…

Today's birds: Nuthatch, Steller's Jay and Downey Woodpecker

2006-01-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

I have three new bird species to report on today.

But first let me talk a little bit about how the day went. (This is mainly for my Mom. Hi Mom! Welcome to my blog! I talked to her on the phone already but my brain was on hold at the time so I forgot to mention any of this stuff.)

Today was very busy (more than usual, that is).

I got up and before I could even have a coffee, The Big Guy wanted a ride to the Skytrain. He had to do some post-severance paperwork, turn in his badge, Blackberry, cell phone and laptop and then attend a good-bye lunch with his co-workers.

After dropping him off, I threw some laundry in the washing machine and had some quality time with the business section of the newspaper and ROB-TV. On one of my coffee cup refill trips, I noticed that it wasn’t raining and the cloud cover had partially lifted. With outdoor lighting conditions at their most favorable since it started raining approximately 23 days ago, I grabbed my camera, opened the kitchen window and prepared to capture some live action shots of the birds at the feeder (for posting here in my blog). But the feeder and the suet cage were both empty so I had to refill them first. I took about 30 pictures hoping for at least a couple of good ones. Our guests at the bird buffet today included Chickadees, Juncos, Finches and Nuthatches.

Then I had to package up all the items people bought from me on eBay over the weekend and take them all to the post office for shipping. When I got back from the post office, Andy was upset that I hadn’t brought The Big Guy back with me and insisted on checking every corner of the garage to make sure he wasn’t hiding somewhere.

I uploaded the pictures from the camera and had a look through them. It’s obvious I’m going to have to rethink my birdfeeder photography technique. Maybe leaning over the kitchen sink aiming the camera out the open window is not such a good idea. Terrible photos. Poorly focused. Lighting not so good. And the birds don’t exactly just sit around posing for their portraits. This is the best one. I cropped it and tinkered with the contrast and gamma a bit but there is only so much you can do… From top to bottom the birds are a Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch and Dark-eyed Junco.

After giving up on trying to fix the bird photos, there were some emails to answer: Why isn’t my stuff delivered yet? Where are the seams in the dress in this sewing pattern? If you can please help me get my zillion dollar inheritance money freed up from this bureaucratic snafu I’ll share half of it with you. Click here to find out the 10 top secret ways for guaranteed 500% returns on your investments!!!

Then The Big Guy phoned and wanted to be picked up at the Skytrain. He was all smiles and happy with his gifts from the people at work, even the bright orange thong underwear with the Alcatel logo on front.

OK, now for the birds.

The Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Canadensis) has a long bill, flat head and straight tail that give it a stream-lined torpedo shape. OK, maybe it's more of a *fat* torpoedo shape. It likes black-oil sunflower seeds and I have seen Nuthatches stashing seeds in crooks and crannies of the bark in trees in our back yard.

Whenever I put fresh seed out that has peanuts in it, at least one Steller’s Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri) is sure to soon show up. A Jay will fill its crop with as much seed as it can fit in resulting in a big round bulge under the bill. Then it flies off to hide the seed somewhere. These Jays make a very raucous screeching sound and if one is unhappy with what you (or your dogs) are doing in the backyard it will scold loud enough to inform everyone for at least 2 blocks in every direction.

Downey Woodpeckers (Picoides pubescens) also come to our suet feeder. They are quite shy and fly off at the slightest movement so I don’t see them as often as most of the other birds. Here are some excellent photos of the Downey Woodpecker.

The end...must run, House is on.

You can’t be bored already!

2006-01-06T13:14:00.000-08:00

Big news, The Big Guy finally got his severance package from The Company! We’ve been waiting for this for months and months and now it’s finally here.

Yesterday was his last official day of work. This morning, he’s puttering around in his office like he usually does this time of the morning.

At 10:00 am he says to me “I think I’m bored already.” Well I’m busy with my coffee and the newspaper and the daily Sudoku puzzle so I just try to blow him off with “You can’t be bored on your first day!”

He makes himself another coffee. I can tell he’s not going to go away that easy so I try “I’ve got a really long list of things that need doing if you’re really looking for something to do.”

“Like what?”

“Like fixing those lights in the ceiling there.” I indicate the ceiling light fixtures in the family room that he bought real cheap a few years ago. The heat from the light bulbs has yellowed the finish on the fixtures so that the glow is now an extremely unattractive orange-ish hue.

He mutters something I can’t quite hear (I’m a bit deaf) and retreats back to his office.

A few minutes later he’s back. “What else?”

I wave my hand at the walls. “I want to paint these walls. They’re really dark and ugly.”

This triggers a short discussion on the merits of the cedar wood strips on the walls, whether or not they are dirty, decorating 1980s-style vs. now, the difficulties of removing the wood, what the wood will look like if it’s painted, etc., etc. At last he asks, “What color?” Now I can tell I’ve won this round so I let him off easy with “I was thinking maybe a sort of a beach house blue.”

Of course, painting walls is way too big a job to start on your first day without gainful employment. But the mention of dirt has gotten his brain cells working.

The Big Guy, thinking that he’s distracting me from the wall-painting idea, asks “Are the spider webs still in my bathroom?” I mentioned the spider webs the last time I cleaned his bathroom. I had my glasses on while I was cleaning (something I don’t always do, wear glasses that is) so I noticed a lot of dusty spider webs up around the corners where the walls meet the ceiling.

I tell him, yes, they’re still there but he’s not too keen on hauling out the vacuum cleaner so he comes up with another idea.

He points at one of the cold-air intake vents that cycle cool air down to the furnace when it’s running. “Those are really dirty.” He’s right, the vent grills are covered with grimmy dust and dog hair. I nod. “I vacuumed them a couple of weeks ago but they really need to be taken off and washed.”

We’re both happy. He’s got something to do that he thought of himself. I get some cleaning done without having to do it myself.

Asset Allocation, Bushtits and Starfish

2006-01-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

My asset allocation model is telling me that I should move some money out of Canadian equities and into US equities. I’m not surprised given the performance of the Canadian stock market and movements in currencies over the past two years. I have two questions to research before actually doing anything. 1) What US equity (or equities) should I buy? 2) What Canadian equity (or equities) should I sell?

Under Question No 1, I have topics to investigate.

What has Irwin Michael been buying? Irwin Michael is mutual fund manager with a value-based investment style. Unlike most other mutual fund managers he publishes information that anybody can read for free (you don’t even have to be one of his clients) about specific selected companies he is invested in, including why he purchased them, how they’re doing and why he sold them. I’m hunting for investment ideas in what he currently owns in his ABC American-Value and ABC North American Deep-Value funds.

The Global Tire Shortage: I first heard about this last summer. Major tire manufacturers (Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Titan, etc) are producing at maximum capacity and demand is very high due to booming economies and commodities prices around the world. The shortage and rising price of tires is beginning to impact the financial results of companies that rely on large off-highway vehicles, e.g., in the mining and energy sectors, construction and road building and truck manufacturing.

My Watch List: I keep a list of stocks that I watch. Sometimes a stock is on the list for years before I buy it or chuck it off as a bad idea. Right now the watch list only has one US equity on it that I don’t already own, Sea Containers (SCR.A on the NYSE). That’s a bit sparse. Maybe I’ll have a few more to watch once I go through Irwin Michael’s holdings.

Exchange Traded Funds: I turn to ETFs whenever I can’t decide on a particular stock. This morning I was looking at iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index Fund (DVY on the NYSE).

Now, back to the birds.

Today’s backyard bird is the Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus). These are tiny little grey birds that travel around in largish flocks. The flock that stops by my suet feeder has at least 25 birds in it this winter. They don’t seem to mind crowds. Most of them will try to cling to the suet feeder all at the same time resulting in a squirming grey swarm that covers the suet on all sides and top and bottom too. Then they fly off, one or two at a time into the bushes and into next yard.

Before I knew they were called Bushtits, I used to think of them as “those scruffy little birds.” The first time that I really noticed them was during the summer while they were molting and they looked very dull and ragtag with bits of feathers sticking out here and there.

And, finally, the picture.

Here's a pair of Starfish. I took this photo near Long Beach on Vancouver Island.

More birds, a bird haiku

2006-01-04T12:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I watched out of the kitchen window for about 10 minutes and it was the same crowd as Monday with the addition of a Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) and a solitary female House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus).

At the birdfeeder, the Finches are like a group of ill-mannered party guests standing around the buffet table sampling all the goodies (black oil sunflower seed seems to be the favorite) and refusing to let anybody else get close. In contrast, the Chickadees carefully select a treat (a peanut if they can find one) and politely fly off to sample it, leaving a clear perch for the next guest. My silo bird feeder has six perches and sometimes they’re all occupied by Finches eating and dropping seed hulls on the ground while the Chickadees flit around in vain hoping for an empty spot.

The Towhee is a very shy bird that stays on the ground under the bushes at the side of our yard looking for the seeds and peanuts that the Chickadees drop from above.

This morning I decided to try a bird haiku.

After the rain
wild birds sing
Empty feeder hangs alone

Seen at the Birdfeeder Today

2006-01-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

I've decided to use this blog to document the bird species that come to our back yard. I'll also list them in the links over to the right so you can check that from time to time instead of hunting through all the blog entries to find the ones about the birds. I intend to write more these backyard bird entries from time to time until I run out of species or until I get bored with the topic.

Today's birds:

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus): This cheerful little bird is particularly fond of peanuts. One will come zooming in from a tree or bush straight for the birdfeeder at such a speed you're sure it can't stop in time! It will perch, throw out a few sunflower seeds (for the Juncos), grab a peanut and then zoom back into the bush to peck at the peanut while holding it between its toes. I read recently that they will store food in as many as 28 separate caches and can remember where the caches are for at least 30 days.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens): Similar to the Black-capped Chickadee but with brown coloration on the back and side.

Oregon Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis): These birds have toes that are not as adapted to clinging to the perches on my birdfeeder as the chickadees' toes. The Juncos like to hop around on the ground looking for seed that other birds have dropped. But some of them seem to have learned how to grab precariously onto a perch as they try to snatch a seed out of the feeder or a bit of suet out of the wire suet hanger.

Here's a picture of a Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus).

I found this owl lying on its back just outside our backdoor one morning in October 2002. It had apparently crashed into the window during the night. The owl was still alive but had obviously been hurt and I took it to O.W.L. I was delighted to hear from them just before Christmas two months later that the owl had fully recovered and they were releasing it back into the wild.

Not a List of New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

I had a nice long post all about my New Year's resolutions for 2006 95% complete. But I got so annoyed at the whole list and all that thinking about what needed improving in myself and my life that I deleted the whole thing.

I bet you’re happy about that! That’s one less tedious list of something or the other to read through.

What is it about the end of a year or decade or century that makes people want to make lists of everything?

I went through yesterday’s Globe and Mail and also another daily paper this morning and it was one list after another through both papers. Newsmakers of the year (I had completely forgotten about most of them.) Election campaign what’s hot and what’s not hot (I have noticed that the same items and/or people seem to appear frequently on this weekly list, they just keep changing sides from hot to not hot and visa versa.) Most memorable quotes by otherwise forgettable people. Funniest jokes by late night talk show hosts. All the shooting incidents in the last 30 days. Best stocks. Worst stocks. 10 tedious things talked about by a columnist during the year. A review of last year’s (mostly wrong) predictions. Predictions for next year (you would think after last year’s list that they would know better.) Ways to cure a hangover. The trendiest beverages to drink to acquire a hangover. Hottest TV shows (most of which I have never seen.) A list of celebrities who are famous for no other reason than they end up on a lot of lists.

The whole point is that I am not making another list for you to read today.

But I am researching a number of potential topics for future posts. E.g., The birds who visit my feeder in the winter. 10 ways to make more money with less effort on eBay. Potential causes for the defective sound coming out of my computer’s speakers. Best podcasts I have subscribed to. Why I bought each one of the stocks I hold. And more…

Any special requests? Feel free to leave a comment.

Charlie Farquharson with Helpful Hints About Gittin Thru This Munth

2005-12-31T19:58:00.000-08:00

Charlie Farquharson is a well-known (to Canadians) character played by comedian Don Harron.

Charlie wrote some interesting books when he wasn’t busy on the farm or spouting off on the CBC, including Charlie Farquharson’s Histry of Canada (listen up J., these books are required reading for all new citizens), Yer Last Decadent, Charlie Farquharson’s Unyverse, and Charlie Farquharson’s K.O.R.N. Allmynack.

I went to a thrift store today looking for items I can profitably resell on eBay and I found a copy of the Allmynack!

Like all good almanacs it has informative articles, horoscopes, weather predictions, helpful hints and ads for obscure products.

I'm going to sell it on eBay but in the meantime I'll be treating you to quotes from time to time. Maybe you better hope I sell it quick. Anyway, here’s what it says about January [Ed note: shamelessly copied without permission from Charlie Farquharson’s K.O.R.N. Allmynack.]

Helpful Hints About Gittin Thru This Munth:

Don’t take yer cold frame into the garden as yet. It’s a good time to think about fertlizing tho. Locate a good sorce of manoor. Try looking dreckly under a cow. This Back to the Land movemint is called Orgasmic Gardning. It’s the real thing, and garntees when it comes to city peeples in the summer, you will have one of the best spreds around. But fer now, keep yer feet in the stove, practiss tying yer own flies and wait to git sprung by spring.

Happy New Year!

There are scoundrels everywhere...

2005-12-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

Not much to say, just this picture. Source is here.

Scary stuff, eh?

And yeah, I've been ripped off too, despite all of my precautions.

Whatever. The universe is a dangerous place.

Although, I must admit, the sorts of people who buy knitting pattern books and sewing patterns are pretty much an honest lot. And very nice too!

Podcasts and Other Boxing Day Distractions

2005-12-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

I got a iPod (30GB, with video) for Christmas and am neglecting eBay in favour of hunting around for interesting podcasts and music and videos...

Guess what! There’s this whole other realm of fascinating stuff on the web that I haven’t looked at (or listened to) yet! This makes me think something profound is happening to radio. There are zillions of people out there who are producing this vast selection of audio content and making it all available for free.

So far I’ve subscribed to Doctor Who: Podshock, Science@NASA Feature Stories, the CBC Radio 3 Podcast (Canadian indie music) and a couple of others.

Now I need to go and (try to) hook up our VCR so that I can tape Doctor Who for J. She’s off to a hockey game tonight and won’t be near a TV when CBC broadcasts The Christmas Invasion. Trouble is, the VCR hasn’t been hooked up since before The Big Guy and I got our new TV three years ago and gee, I don’t know, there are already so many things hooked up to the TV and we have satellite not cable these days and I have to figure out again how to program the VCR and I have to find a tape that doesn’t already have a Babylon 5 episode on it that I need to keep…

Maybe it will be easier if I have lunch first.

The Big Guy’s gone off somewhere (“I won’t be long!” he just yelled up the stairs). It would be good if I can get the VCR situation sorted out before he gets back. I don’t like being the object of his sarcastic slurs about my technical acumen. This from a guy for whom I have to set the time on his watch every time we transition into or out of daylight savings time.

He’s probably gone Boxing Day shopping. This morning he was busy googling survival kit suppliers (we need to restock some of the consumables in our earthquake kits) and waving around some printed pages with detailed lists of all the sorts of things you need to survive after the Big One hits.

Here’s hoping for no Big One today. I really do want to catch this episode of Doctor Who.

The Big Guy Went Christmas Shopping

2005-12-22T17:33:00.000-08:00

and he bought a Christmas Tree Stand from Canadian Tire (some assembly required) complete with a small bag of easily lost components vital for correct operation and a 14-page booklet with step-by-step instructions, diagrams and Limited Life Time Warranty in both official languages. But garbage collection day arrived before the tree did, so the booklet was gone by the time we actually put up the tree. Things went well despite the missing instructions (there aren’t too many technical problems a Professional Engineer and a Computer Science Major can’t solve) and we only had three little white knobby thingees left over at the end.

He also bought two strings of Christmas Tree lights, chosen to replace the perfectly adequate lights we already have. The new lights are State-of-the-Art “LED Technology”, “Virtually Unbreakable”, according to claims boldly proclaimed on the boxes. We’ll see.

Best Sellers on eBay

2005-12-20T19:37:00.000-08:00

I got laid off from my last full-time job in Fall of 2002 and after a lot of serious but fruitless job hunting and a little part-time contract work decided to take a break and do something completely different.

So I started selling on eBay.

I began the way most eBay sellers do, with a wide variety of things that was just lying around the house and that my inner packrat allowed me to part with.

Occasionally, The Big Guy lets me sell some of his stuff. "These are really bad!" he said as he handed over a boxed set of Andy Sidaris movies starring Playboy bunnies. They were easy to sell. I think the photos I posted with the listing helped drive up the bidding. (Hey, they can't act their way out of a paper bag but they sure fill out a bathing suit nicely.)

I also offered to sell his radios but he said no.

These days I specialize in used and vintage craft patterns, things like knitting and crochet patterns, sewing patterns, etc. I'll never get rich doing this but, whatever, you gotta find something productive to do with your time.

Which reminds me, I was going to tell you what my best sellers were for 2005.

My Best Sellers:

(1) Quilling books - Quilling is a rather odd craft that involves curling up narrow strips of paper and sticking them together to make decorations for cards, plaques, boxes, etc. Also known as paper filigree. Go figure...

(2) Tablet Weaving books - Tablet weaving is a form of weaving done by turning cards that have yarn strung through holes in the cards. You make narrow strips of woven fabric with interesting herringbone-like patterns.

(3) 1940's Crochet patterns for women's handbags - Very retro, very chic!

(4) Pingouin Baby Knitting Pattern books - These always get bid up enthusiastically. I sold one lately for $96 (US). I suspect some bidders get overly excited by the auction process.

I have other things that sell well on eBay too and I'm sure all you eBay sellers out there want to know...

But I have to go now, I am summoned by The Big Guy. We're off get a Christmas Tree.

No matter where you go, there you are.

2005-12-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

Last night I re-watched one of my favorite movies The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, Across The Eighth Dimension.

Marvelous fun!

I highly recommend it.

How will you know if you'll like it too?

Take this quiz.

QUIZ
1) You already have Buckaroo Banzai on VHS or Laser Disc and want the DVD Special Edition version for the alternate opening. (T) or (F)

If you answered (T), give yourself 100 points and skip down to "End of Quiz".

2) Your favorite TV series of all time is (pick one): (a) Babylon 5, (b) any incarnation of Star Trek except for Enterprise, (c) Lost, (d) The Prisoner, (e) MST3K, (f) Taxi, (g) Doctor Who, (h) all of the above, (i) none of the above.

3) You have at least 2 acquaintances who are "Browncoats" or you are one yourself. (T) or (F)

4) You know how to find all the Easter Eggs on the last DVD you bought. E.g., What's that watermelon doing there? (T) or (F)

5) You personally own one or more computers running (choose as many as apply): (a) Windows, (b) Apple(Mac), (c) UNIX/Linux, (d) Sun(Solaris/SunOS), (e) VMS, (f) FreeBSD, (g) DOS, (h) OS/2 (i) an OS you wrote yourself on the weekend

6) You possess a collectable item autographed by (choose all that apply): (a) JMS, (b) Joss Whedon, (c) Charlize Theron, (d) Donny Osmond, (e) Mr. Dressup

7) Your favorite artist is (choose one): (a) Frank Frazetta, (b) Todd Lockwood, (c) John Howe, (d) David Messina, (e) none of these but you know who they all are and can name a work by each without googling their names, (f) huh?

8) Last Friday evening you (pick one): (a) went shopping, (b) went out to a movie, (c) watched TV, (d) went someplace where beverages were served and loud music was played, (e) went out to eat, (f) went to a sports bar or attended a sports event, (g) read a book, (h) read a comic book, (i) went online, (j) called a chat line, (k) worked on your OS, (l) other

(Picking "other" is ok, I won't ask and you don't have to tell.)

9) You collect (pick as many as apply): (a) Limited Edition Franklin Mint Plates (b) license plates, (c) parking tickets, (d) points, (e) James Bond movies, (f) Spiderman comics, (g) lint

10) You believe: (a) the hoverboards used in Back to the Future II were real, (b) the Daleks were NOT actually all destroyed, (c) The avalanche has started. It is too late for the pebbles to vote. (d) In every generation there is a Chosen One. (e) hostile Martians actually did invade Grovers Mill, New Jersey in October 1938 but Orson Welles was later coerced by those same invaders into claiming the whole thing was a fictional broadcast (f) a tin foil hat can prevent the government from reading and/or controlling your mind

[End of QUIZ]
Those of you who have read this far and actually want to know your score can give yourselves an extra 2 points. Look for instructions on how to calculate your score in a future post.

Laugh While You Can, Monkey Boy!

The Big Guy Has An Overnight Inspiration

2005-12-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

The Big Guy woke up this morning inspired by the overnight decision that it was now OK to drill holes into his truck, being that it's now officially 3 years old and no longer too new to tamper with.

He says he is not going to fool around any more with trying to run wires all over the place and holes in convenient places is a much better way to go.

What's this all about, you ask?

Amateur Radio Madness, which I will henceforth refer to as ARM.

Being severely afflicted with ARM, The Big Guy obsessively spends much of his spare cash and time on purchasing, modifying, installing, de-installing and repairing radios, radio antennas, and radio accessories. Plus the tools required for all this work.

1:10 pm and so far it's been not too bad.

The Big Guy has yelled at me only once for "sneaking up on him". Tyler and Andy, wise to the side effects of ARM, are staying out of his way. The ground is still pretty much frozen so the path through the family room (on the shortest route between the driveway where the truck is and the shed in the back yard where the tools are) isn't showing much dirt yet. There have been just two trips to the Land of Orange Aprons (for a bag of mysterious metal things and to replace a broken skill saw.) No demands to "come here and hold this". Yet.

This is Andy trying to retrieve a ball from The Big Guy's office.

How Pictures Work

2005-12-16T12:35:00.000-08:00

Great! I just figured out how to upload a picture. Easy As Pie! Actually, pie is not that easy when you intend to make the crust from scratch. That cliche is probably from a time when everybody (every woman over the age of 12, of course) knew how to make a perfect pie crust.

I've read that good writers avoid cliches. Do you think that applies to bloggers too?

Maybe... afterall it could be anybody, anywhere who reads what I post and maybe the cliche is absolutely meaningless to someone from another cultural background and age group.

Hmmm, I suppose it depends on who I am writing for. Everybody? Just those I tell about my blog? Nobody? Myself? Does it really matter?

Anyway, this is the magazine I was scanning yesterday. I sell stuff like this on eBay and have found that the more pictures you have, the more likely someone will buy. At least, that seems to be true for crafty things like knitting magazines and crochet books.

But it's damn tedious scanning them all in!

Have to Start Somewhere

2005-12-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

My best friend, let's call her J., says I write funny emails and should have a blog. I guess I've been thinking about it for some time too so here goes...

So far, setting it up and choosing templates and cruising around other people's blogs has been way more fun than the other thing I was doing this morning (scanning pages from a Vogue knitting magazine - more about that later) but I don't actually have much to say at the moment so I'll spare you the rambling and come back later.

Left Barafu Camp	12:30 AM
Stella Point	6:20 AM
Summit - Uhuru Peak	7:45 AM	7 hr 15 min
Left Uhuru Peak	8:15 AM
Arrive Barafu Camp	10:50 AM	2 hr 35 min
Rest until	2:00 PM
Arrive Millennium Camp	3:20 PM	1 hr 20 min