Feb 21 2024 - It is Firefall Time

 

Last week a friend showed me the Escarpment hillside covered in orange.  It was a picture from the morning sunrise, and it was blazing orange as though an autumn scene.  But we're in February and the trees are bare.  This was morning Alpenglow.   And it is this time of year when Yosemite has the Firefall display.  This is where the sun catches the water cascading over the Horseshoe Falls to create a fire-effect.  The Horsetail Falls is fed through snowmelt and run-off so it dries up in the summer and disappears.  It is only a few weeks starting in February when it shines brilliantly.  It is 2,130 feet long so that when the sun catches it, it is amazing.   Permits, logistics, reservations have turned this into an exclusive event.  I bet it is packed like some outdoor festival. Here is a picture from their facebook page.  Wouldn't this be something to see live!  There's even a video showing the valley at night with all the visitor activity.   You can see more stunning images on their facebook page - here is the link:  https://www.facebook.com/yosemitenation

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Dec 7 2023 - The Hat Trick Continued

 

The hat trick in different sports - in cricket where it originated, the same player has to take three consecutive wickets.  In hockey it is three goals by a player at any point in the game.  If the goals were made one after the other it is a natural hat trick.  Hockey has a good track record at hat tricks.  Supposedly the origin in hockey, according to SportsAspire is that... "in the 1940s, Alex Kaleta of the Chicago Blackhawks was walking around in Toronto, prior to his match against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was searching for a hat and found a man by the name of Sammy Taft. So he sees this swanky gray fedora with a gray trim, and he really digs it, but he didn’t have enough paper to buy it. So Taft makes an offer to Kaleta, telling him that if he were to score three goals in the upcoming match, the former would gift him the hat free of charge. As it turned out, Kaleta took it seriously, scored four goals, and Taft kept his word. Enter, the hat trick in hockey." This is the accepted narrative in the NHL Hall of Fame, and hockey fans reward such an accomplishment by throwing their hats into the arena. That's what I was told yesterday, so I am going with it. Compare the sports here.  There are lots of differences.    This was a model at this year's convention in Denver.

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Sep 20 2023 - No News Now

Metroland is the publisher of community newspapers across Ontario - and it is moving to a digital-only model with only six of its papers in print.  These daily publications include the Hamilton Spectator, St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Peterborough Examiner, Welland Tribune, and the Waterloo Region Record.  Isn't that an ouch! We'll still have NewsNow in Grimsby as it is independent. But Niagara This Week will join the online group.  And how did I find that out?  Only by looking at Wikipedia.  The other reports from various newspapers and sources did not give a list. And the Globe and Mail?  That print subscription will be heading towards $1,000  in 2024.  It currently is listed as costing $10.99 per week – not including Sunday ($43.96 per month) for the digital and daily delivery. I looked up the subscription rates for the newspapers.  This is hard work.  There are so many different costs listed.  The Toronto Star is $19.90 per week for the digital edition.  The National Post?  Tuesday thru Saturday 1 month at $45.50/month.  The digital edition is $14.00. And finally, the New York Times?  It is hard to figure that one out - there are so many listings of different rates.  In Canada, it is distributed by the Globe and Mail.   All in the span of 50 years - from the zenith of prestige and the elite, to barely existing.  Our steam engine reminds us of how fast technology changes.

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July 14 2022 - Garages

 

When did garages get built as part of houses?  It really started in the 1940s when cars replaced horses as transportation. Before that  carriage houses and barns are located separately - when one looks at the older heritage homes in Grimsby that's what is apparent.   Somehow garages brought to mind the  1954 movie, Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn, where the "garage" figures large in the beginning plot of the movie: "Sabrina Fairchild is the young daughter of the Larrabee family's chauffeur, Thomas, and has been in love with David Larrabee all her life. David, a three-times-married non-working playboy, has never paid romantic attention to Sabrina. Since she has lived for years on the Larrabees' Long Island, New York, estate with her father, to him she is still a child. Eavesdropping on a party at the mansion the night before she is to leave to attend the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, Sabrina watches, follows, and listens as David entices yet another woman into a dark and vacant indoor tennis court. Distraught, she leaves her father a suicide note and then starts all eight cars in the closed garage in order to kill herself.  She is passing out from the fumes when Linus, David's older brother, opens the door, discovers her,  and carries her back to her quarters above the garage when she does pass out." The plot seems amusing with a nod towards royal family dealings: David's serious older brother, Linus, who runs the family business is relying on David to marry an heiress in order for a crucial merger to take place.  By the 1950s, North Americans became car owners with their garages.   Our own 1950s built house had a breezeway between the house and garage.  Of course, a garage for one car Here's a picture from our trip to Cuba, with Gerry boarding a steam engine.

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Aug 9 2021 - Olympics Fade but the Jokes Live On

 

The Olympics concluded with its medal counts and highlight pictures.  It seemed like an echo of past Olympics with allegations of bribery, plagiarism of the initial design, and illegal construction overwork.  And then there were the worries about weather. But in the end, the Olympics is declared a success with the excitement of big sports events between nations.   Do we have a sense of humour about the Olympics? It was difficult to find non-racist jokes for the Olympics. Here is the most repeated Olympic joke? At the Olympics a man walked up to a competitor who was carrying a very long pole. Excuse me, are you a pole vaulter? Nein, I am German, but how did you know my name ist Walter? In contrast to all the racism, I found this site of Canada Olympic Jokes.  These were from around 2010 when Vancouver won the chance to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.  These aren't really jokes, but questions that were asked, and silly answers in response - the full set is HERE:   Now that Vancouver has won the chance to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, these are some questions people from all over the world are asking.  Believe it or not these questions about Canada were posted on an International Tourism Website.  Obviously the answers are a joke; but the questions were really asked. Q: I have never seen it warm on Canadian TV, so how do the plants grow? (England) A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around and watch them die. Q: Will I be able to see Polar Bears in the street? (USA) A: Depends on how much you’ve been drinking. Q: I want to walk from Vancouver to Toronto – can I follow the Railroad tracks? (Sweden) A: Sure, it’s only Four thousand miles, take lots of water. Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in Canada ? (Sweden) A: So it’s true what they say about Swedes. Q: Are there any ATM’s (cash machines) in Canada ? Can you send me a list of them in Toronto, Vancouver , Edmonton and Halifax ? (England) A: No, but you’d better bring a few extra furs for trading purposes. Q: Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Canada ? (USA) A: Only at Thanksgiving. Q: Are there supermarkets in Toronto and is milk available all year round? (Germany) A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of Vegan hunter/gathers. Milk is illegal. Q: I have a question about a famous animal in Canada , but I forget its name. It’s a kind of big horse with horns. (USA) A: It’s called a Moose. They are tall and very violent, eating the brains of anyone walking close to them. You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking. Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA) A: Yes, but you will have to learn it first. A nice locomotive for our picture today.

July 2 2021 - Brockville Train Tunnel

 

Back to tunnels.  The Brockville Railway Tunnel was the first railway tunnel built in Canada.  It takes 20 to 30 minutes minimum to walk the tunnel.  It was built between 1854 and 1860 and was a tunnel for trains to pass through.  The rationale says it was designed to provide a rail link from the timber trade to the port facilities on the St. Lawrence. It goes under the town. A hill was the obstacle.  The chief engineer recommended the rail line run around the high grade of the community and simply come down to the river and avoid the hill. However, the philosophy of the Canadian railway builders seemed to be based on the belief that no railway was complete without at least one tunnel. The council of the day and the citizens of Brockville seemed to agree and pledged their support to the building of the tunnel under the city for a direct access north.  Numerous people died in the building of the tunnel, and it had its accidents during operation as well.  Its short height meant that shortened steam engines had to be used to travel through it.  Despite its constrained size it was in operation until 1970.  Today it is a tourist attraction with a light show on the walls.   It is 1,721 feet long.  Is that long?  It seems so to me.  Mount MacDonald tunnel under Roger's Pass in Glacier National Park is 14,723 metres long - that's the longest in Canada. Brockville is third from the bottom at 527 metres long, but is also the oldest tunnel in Canada.   What might the longest in the world be?  It is the Gotthard tunnel at 57 km (35 miles) or 57,500 metres long from the Netherlands to Italy.  Switzerland, Austria, Japan, England and South Korea all have tunnels over 50,000 metres long. That seems like a "bad dream" trip to me.      Here's the tunnel, followed by a post card image today.

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Feb 22 2021 - Become a NASA employee

 

Google just sent some fireworks across the screen. Was it for the Mars rover landing?   I think so as it repeats every time the search term is retrieved.  You can imagine being involved in that project. The cheering staff in the pictures are referred to as NASA engineers.  That's quite prestigious to me even in comparison to the rocket scientist title of the past.  What about a career at NASA? This is from their website: Career Corner for Students Grades 5-8 Have you ever thought that one day you might work for NASA? Many students have written, asking "What do I need to study to work for NASA?" The fact is NASA needs workers that have a wide variety of knowledge and skills. NASA isn't just astronauts and scientists. NASA has engineers, mathematicians, accountants, historians, writers, computer support technicians, project managers, artists, educators, human resource personnel, public relations managers, physicians, lawyers -- and more. The most important thing for preparing to find a job at NASA is that you study what you like and work hard to achieve your goals. It's true - there are a lot of jobs at NASA.  Here are some of the positions being recruited: Manager of Rocket Propulsion Test Office Director of the Office of Strategic Analysis and Communications Extra Vehicular Activity Safety and Mission Assurance Lead Lead Aerospace Engineer Chief Engineer There's 37 jobs listed - everything from Deputy Directors to Branch Chiefs.  Lots of good salaries - up to $190,000 US and the lowest looked like the Administrative Specialist at almost $74,000.   That's 37 jobs listed with a workforce of 17,000 people and it excludes government contractors.  The total NASA budget for 2020 was $22.6 billion.  There are articles praising NASA as a great place to work.  Things like: projects are incredibly interesting, challenging and critical to the success of an experiment or mission.  "Great assignments" - that would be an understatement, don't you think?   This is one of the locomotives from the Kaitangata Line in Otago New Zealand.  This locomotive was donated to the preservation society at Shantytown, near Greymouth where it operates as a tourist train.  These pictures are from our visit in 2009. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Dec 15 2020 - Christmas Train

 

I was able to upload yesterday's train pictures, so we have more trains today.  there is a huge mountain side cloud passing south - when I first saw it, it seemed like mountains in the distance.  But now it is starting to swing overhead, like real clouds.  The weather forecast gives no indication of snow squalls for Grimsby,but this looks like it could be snow. There's no CP Holiday train  this year - not the Polar Express either this year.  The CP Holiday Train first began in 1999, and has since brought a lit-up locomotive across Canada and the northern U.S. to raise money, collect food and draw attention to the needs of local food banks. CP says it is replacing its train with a virtual concert.  It has raised more than $17.8 million and 4.8 million pounds of food. There are many Polar Express Trains - The Grand Canyon, Adirondack, Napa Valley, and many more.  What about Durango's?     "Because we care about your safety, this year, The Polar Express™Train Ride will look different in the following ways: The train ride itself will be shorter and will be about 35 minutes in duration but the overall event duration will be longer. The entire event will last a little over an hour. The North Pole will be located on the back lot of the depot. Santa will be seated at a distance from guests but will be available for socially distanced photos. Hot Chocolate and cookies will be served at the end of the event but not on the train. The first gift of the season (Christmas Bell) will be distributed at the end of the event. The event dances will be performed outside on the platform or on a stage. A conductor will lead the event in each car. Some of the windows in each heated coach will be open to promote the circulation of air flow." Read about it HERE. That would be amazing - to go through snow-covered mountains.

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April14 2020 - What's in a Name?

There are people who see things in very funny ways.  Here's an example that popped up last week when the bad dog jokes popped up.  Perhaps there was a google humour day in the searching and retrieval algorithm. It makes me wonder about first names and surnames.  We think of surnames as coming about in England.  They were adopted between the 11th and 16th centuries. The aristocracy started the consistent use of surnames. The Domesday Book in 1086 is the marker for the introduction of family names.  That was so they could tax everyone, and know that everyone had been taxed. But much earlier, the Romans had personal and family naming conventions - both a personal name and regular surname. Well, quite complicated, with the tradition evolving over centuries.  But it broke down following the collapse of imperial authority in the west.   Today, we engage in names as a social convention and personality statement. Websites have recommendations for turning surnames into first names.  A great example is Beyoncé:  "The singer's full name is Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter. Her mother, Tina Knowles, chose the name because of her own French maiden name, Beyince."  I put that in quotes, because I wonder if her mother had spelling issues. Johnny Depp?  This is more traditional:  Depp is a surname of South German origin, from a nickname for a 'maladroit' person, or according other sources a comedian.  Ellen Page's surname is traditional - status name for a young servant, Middle English and Old French. And 50 cent? This is the personality statement name:  Curtis James Jackson III adopted the nickname "50 Cent" as a metaphor for change. The name was inspired by Kelvin Martin, a 1980s Brooklyn robber known as "50 Cent"; Jackson chose it "because it says everything I want it to say. I'm the same kind of person 50 Cent was."   It is a Cumbers and Toltec day - these are from our visit to Colorado in 2017.

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Feb 24 2020 - Dogs on Train...Seats

This is the last week of February.  Knowing our popular and unpopular months, there's a little cheer! Here's a satirical article in the press covering the reactions to a dog sitting on the seat in a train to Paddington.  Being TV news host Emily Maitlis' dog, it got some attention.  The attention of this writer takes a satirical twist.  It was in theguardian.com - outlining the rules of train travel int regards to seats.  The basic rules is that pets are allowed on trains. Should pets be allowed at all? "Yes – as long as you remember that not everyone likes being on trains with animals, even their own pets. If you see me on a train with my dog, you can assume that something has gone badly wrong with my travel plans. I know my dog is adorable, but I am only prepared to talk about that for a limited amount of the journey. Getting an adorable pet was not my idea. Because my dog is also small and needy, it will probably insist on spending some time standing on my lap. This is not the same as a dog on a seat, and again, it will not have been my idea. I go on trains to take a break from my dog." What about children? "I have travelled with small children, and in my experience most passengers would rather sit next to a dog than a toddler. On a crowded train, you should give up your seat for a toddler if you have for some reason come to dislike the person you are sitting next to. Older people should be offered your seat, depending on how old they seem, and not how old they are. Do not ask for ID." Is it ever acceptable to put a bag on the seat? "No. A bag on a seat is worse than a dog on a seat. At least the dog is enjoying the ride. Even worse than bags is feet on seats. Any attempt to cushion yourself from the possibility of having to sit next to someone is both antisocial and prone to backfire – you end up sitting next to someone who hates you and they will give up their seat to the first toddler to come along." Should you chat to your neighbours? "It is almost never acceptable to make eye contact with a stranger on a train, even if you are facing them across a table for a five-hour journey. I am very sorry my dog does not understand this." This made me think of how a context can make "the" difference. In comparison, dogs sit on seats at the animal hospital I go to with Dezi. Most of them, like Dezi, would rather hide under the seat and disappear. The orchid today won't be for sale at the vendor table at the RBG orchid show this coming weekend.  This is an exotic and rare lady slipper orchid typically sold between expert growers only.

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Because I Said So... and More

Wake Up on the Bright Side 

It's a good day to have a good day


It is especially a good day when we get to read the funny things we say.  I found some great examples from children.  There are a number of websites, facebook and instagram pages that accumulate stupid/cute things my children/I as a child have said/done.

"When my oldest was 5, I was pregnant. I found out I was having a boy and we excitedly told our son he was having a brother. He started crying. Through the tears he asked, 'if you have a boy who will I marry when I grow up?' We had to explain a lot of things that day."

"Me: Can you tidy your room please!?!

4 year old son: But I'm playing a game...and in the game, this ain't my room.
 

"Before going to bed

Me: Did you brush your teeth?

Child: Yes

Me: Tonight ?

Child: .....Oh...I thought you meant last night."

Adults don't think they say dumb things to their children.  But in fact, common parental expressions seem to be dumb. Huffington Post has categorized them for more entertainment:

The Illogical:

• This hurts me more than it hurts you
• Because I said so
• When I was your age
• Money doesn't grow on trees
• One day you'll thank me
• If you want to act like a child, I'll treat you like one
• Quiet down, I can't even hear myself think

The Logical:

• Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer
• If your friends told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it too?

The Threatening:

• Do you want a spanking?
• Wait till your dad/mom gets home
• Stop crying or I will give you something to cry about
• I am going to count to three

The Sarcastic:

• Are your legs broken?
• Oh, Jen's mom lets her do (such and such)?  Then go live with Jen's mom...I'll help you pack
• Shut the door, were you born in a barn?

Where do these expressions come from - how old are they?  It seems it is easier to find out the origins of common cat and dog sayings than parenting sayings and their origins.

Here are some of the things I found out.  I retrieved a cartoon of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev as a dentist about to extract Cuban leader Fidel Castro's teeth, drawn as missiles with the expression:  This hurts me more than it hurts you. HERE.

Ask a stupid question and you'll get a stupid answer - that was  found in Oliver Goldsmith's play She Stoops to Conquer (1773) and became popular thereafter.

Stop crying or I'll give you something to cry about - This retrieves a site that offers to translate it into Spanish.  Perhaps Spain considers this a useful expression.

Because I said so retrieves "Get a Because I said so! mug for your daughter in law Jovana."  

Our Sacramento layout today shows how the rock face has been modelled and then the close-up of the train as it travels over the bridge.