Thoughts by OddChick

Zip Line, Olympic Park - Calgary

2009-08-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

Went to the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary to do some zip-lining
for my first time. It was my birthday and a toss-up
between an airplane jump and zip lining. Maybe do the
plane jump next year. Anyway, so off to Calgary with
hubby and a couple of friends. Stopped at the HooDoos,
jumped up and down on a suspension bridge, stayed
overnight in Red Deer and then went zip-lining the next day.
A very busy weekend but well worth it.

Canada Olympic Park is a pretty neat place. Primarily used
by our athletes for training, but is open to the public. As well as
being home to the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, they have the
typical sports such as skiing and biking, and then they
have the cool stuff. The Z Trip is something I want to do next
time I am at the park. They put you in a clear plastic ball then
roll you down a track.

They also have Euro-bungy. Kind of like bungy
jumping but safer.

And during the winter you can ride a real Olympic Bobsleigh,
guided by the pros of course. Travel down a 1,500 metre
track at speeds up to 120 km per hour!

We were also lucky enough to catch an antique car
show at the park, and it was free of charge!

We then head to the Zip Line Station for our
practice run. This part is easy. I am on the left.

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195413

So, off to the Zip Line Tower we go. Up Up Up
the elevator we go, right to the very top.

We are really high up there. The people below
resemble ants. Here we go throwing the parachute.
Again, I am on the left - a friend is on the right.

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195414

I start to get a bit cocky by waving and flapping my
arms and legs. This made things go a bit faster but
not too fast.

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195412

And the final descent

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195415

A very cool experience. I am now looking for bigger
and faster zip lines. Or maybe an airplane.

That was close!!!

2009-08-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

We had a twister touch down in Leduc, about 5 mins from us.
My hubby works across the street from where it touched down.
----> It picked up an entire building and deposited it across the street!

Not a lot happened on our street, the winds got very high here,
and the sky was orange. We saw weird orange flashes and our
sun porch roof almost blew off. Nothing compared to 3 streets over...

Short video:

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195271

Too close for comfort

Rocky Mountain House

2009-08-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Recently took a trip to Rocky Mountain House
and the Nordegg area of Alberta. What a
beautiful spot! Here are a few pictures and
videos from our camping trip last weekend.

We stayed at a Provincial campground, Crimson
Lake. The campground was very well kept and
had carts circulating regularly selling wood. Wood
was $5 a bundle, not bad. Showers were $2 each,
a bit steep but they were very clean and lasted
quite a while. Only 3 showers Men/Women, but
not overly busy.

This deer was a regular visitor to our campground.

He came very close at times.

Our neighbors tried to meet him but he oblivious
to their attempts.

He just ignores them and walks away....

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195247

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195250

Another regular visitor...

We were quite impressed by the design of this fire pit.
The very top part was perfect for resting your 'fire poker'.
The middle section was a grate which you could slide
over the fire. We are avid campers and have never
seen this design, so we were pretty impressed.
It doesn't take much.

They also had a great swimming/boating spot.
Sandy beach, lots of room.

We went hiking a bit, the mountains were amazing.

Some of the areas we hiked in were quite steep.

We then headed off to Crescent Falls, an
absolutely breath taking spot.

There were a few Asian tourists there who kept
asking hubby to take group shots of them. He
didn't mind though.

You can see her eyeing hubby up here, wondering
if she should ask him.

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195249

The girls were quite brave sitting on the edge of
the waterfalls. The boys did not join them.

And some very brave folks climbed down the
side to get to the bottom pool.

Hubby and I had been hiking for an hour or so in
temperatures hovering around 30C. The crystal
cold waters of the falls were a welcome relief.
The power of the water was quite surprising.

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195246

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195251

Rocky Mountain House/Nordegg area is truly a
hidden gem.

Honeymoon Suite

2009-07-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

For all of you who are old enough to even
know who Honeymoon Suite is, (http://www.honeymoonsuite.com/)
they played on Canada Day, in a field in Leduc. It was
great weather and they had a large turnout for such
a small town. Here is some live footage.

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195019

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195018

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195015

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195016

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195017

"Bad Attitude"
Misheard Lyrics:
That's me on your toast
Original Lyrics:
Best be on your toes.

"Feel It Again"
Misheard Lyrics:
Defeated again
Original Lyrics:
Feel it again.

"Burning In Love"
Misheard Lyrics:
I'm still a lonely man burning alive.
Original Lyrics:
I'm still a lonely man burning in love.

"Stay In The Light"
Misheard Lyrics:
Keep your talking inside.
Original Lyrics:
Keep your target inside.

3 years to the day

2009-07-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was 3 years to the day since we moved
from Nova Scotia. There was a tornado watch in
Lacombe, not far from us

http://edmonton.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20090704/EDM_funnelcloud_090704/20090705/?hub=EdmontonHome and funnel clouds were spotted.

Here in Leduc, we had some wicked rain.
Here are a few videos from our deck....

Here it comes out of nowhere....
http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195008

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195009

We are only about 1 or 2 mins into the storm,

check out how much the water has built up already,

especially around the drain near the sidewalk

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195010

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195011

Here is the drain, about 2 mins or 3 later

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195012

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195013

And about 2 mins more, all is quiet

http://www.medicinefilms.com/pill/195014

and then it's all over.

Top 10 Of Everything

2009-05-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

Hoppy Easter

2009-04-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Now here is a chocolate Easter bunny....

It's at a store called Fassbender & Rausch in Berlin.
It's made up of 11320 smaller bunnies.

And did you know the world's largest Easter egg is
right here in Alberta

It is located in Vegreville, Alberta (Canada)
It weighs 5000 lbs and measures 18.3 ft high
by 25.7 feet wide. It was constructed in 1975
to welcome Ukrainians settling in the area.

And again from Berlin, we have to world's largest bunny

Herman weighs 22 lbs and eats 2kg a day, mostly lettuce.
Herman is 3 ft long, his ears alone are 21 cm long.

An Easter egg hunt to keep the kids busy for a while.

510,000 Easter eggs were hidden in Cypress Gardens,
a theme park in Florida. 1000 of the eggs held special
prizes including scholarships.

We all love those little marshmallow peeps. Now you
can savour the taste all day long

For the devout kid on your list

Didn't you just hate all that leftover fluffy stuff
in your basket. You had to dig through it to
find the few remaining candies. Now you can
eat your way to the bottom

I love mini eggs, but I'm not sure about
mini eggs filled with pop rocks

Some weird traditions from around the world...

In Germany, they burn all of their leftover Christmas
trees on Easter day. This is to encourage a sunny Spring.

The Easter Bunny may be the symbol of Easter

here, but not in Australia, it's the Bilby. Rabbits

have destroyed much of the crops in Australia and

are not a favoured species!

In Hungerford, Berkshire (Britain), a policeman blows

a horn, summoning all of the men to the town hall.

The men then roam the streets giving oranges to

women in exchange for a kiss.

In Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia women believe

they can keep their youth by being spanked. On Easter

Monday, it is tradition for men to throw water on women

and then spank them with handmade whips of willow.

Ouch.

And finally when you take your kids to visit the

Easter Bunny, don't visit this one

Odd Christmas Gifts

2008-12-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long.

In the spirit of the holidays, here are
some odd Christmas gift ideas.

For the Darth Vader Fan

Jumping Santa

Inflatable Fruitcake

Christmas Themed Toilet Paper

Charlie Brown Tree

Shot Glass Wreath

Pop Rocks - Candy Cane Style

USB Musical Santa - Kinda neat

Inflatable Christmas Tree - For the very lazy

Bake Those Cookies

Remember Your Monitor At Christmas Time

Hoo Doo U Think U Are?

2008-07-06T18:06:00.000-07:00

Our trip to the Hoodoos started on Thursday,
with the purchase of camping gear. This
took awhile since we kept forgetting things
we needed, and had to keep returning to
Canadian Tire. Anyway, some several
hours and hundreds of dollars later, we
had all of our camping gear. We think.

So on Friday, off to the Badlands we go. It was
a waaay longer drive than we thought it would be. No
comment on that subject. However, it was well
worth it.

On Saturday, we start out by going to Drumheller to see the
world's largest Dinosaur - an 86 foot tall plastic
dinosaur. You are welcome to climb the 106
stairs to the top for $3. We just took pictures.

and bought some cool fossils.

It's not super clear, but here's what you get:

We also bought wood and bones:

and a fossilized escaping bug

The entire trip was filled with fields of Canola flowers.

We then headed for the HooDoo Trail. HooDoo Trail
is part of the Badlands. The HooDoo rock formations
are fascinating.

Hoodoos take millions of years to form and stand 5 to 7 metres tall. Each hoodoo is a sandstone pillar resting on a thick base of shale that is capped by a large stone. Hoodoos are very fragile and can erode completely if their capstone is dislodged (in other words, no climbing allowed).

The name "Hoodoo" comes from the word "voodoo" and was given to these geological formations by the Europeans. In the Blackfoot and Cree traditions, however, the Hoodoos are believed to be petrified giants who come alive at night to hurl rocks at intruders.

It is illegal to climb certain areas or deface the rocks.
Sadly though, there is some graffiti carved into the rocks.

We could not believe the people climbing these rocks!
The slope was very steep and covered in fine sand.
There were some people climbing in flip flops!
Crazy. I was surprised at the kids allowed up there.

Next we checked out the Rosedale suspension bridge.
The sign said a maximum of 20 people on the bridge
at any one time. There were way more than that, which
made us nervous. But we went for it anyway. It was
very windy and the bridge was swinging back and forth.
We met an old fellow on the way back who looked terrified.
The bridge is 117 metres high and felt it.

Further on our travels, we saw this tiny little church on
the side of the road. It was small en0ugh that it almost
looked like an ornament. Turns out it was a real church.
This 7'11" Church seats 6.

The last stop on our trails is Horse Thief Canyon.
This canyon is reputed to have 'stolen' many horses.

Horses would disappear into the canyons of Red Deer River

and later re-appear wearing a different brand.

You are very high up. With no fences. And prairie

dog holes lining the edge of the viewing area. You have
to be very careful when walking around the edges.

We are on our way back to the camp site, and spot this cute little ferry.
It operates on a pulley system, you ring a bell to get
service. We were pretty tired at that point so didn't
do the ferry adventure. The hill leading to the Ferry

was very steep.

It was a great experience and we saw lots of interesting things.
Our campsite was very nice and wooden, and we were
visited regularly by bunnies and friendly old men.

Who didn't like their pictures taken.

The bunnies, not the old men. We didn't try

to take their pictures.

Floating Priest

2008-04-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

I'm back. Sorry for the delay. I just didn't have
any blog worthy material for awhile. Sometimes
you feel like a blog sometimes you don't.

Anyway, here is an odd story out of Brazil.
Reverend Adelir Antonio de Carli wanted to
raise some money for his church, God bless
him.

The world record for time spent
in the air floating by balloons was 19 hours.
By God, he was going to beat that record.

So the only obvious choice was to
tie hundreds of helium balloons to himself,
strap on a helmet and thermal suit and float
away. He also brought lots of cereal bars
and water. The cereal choice was rather
smart I thought.

After about 8 hours of balloon time,
ground control unfortunatley lost contact with him.
He has not been heard from since. He has
been balloon floating for 5 days now.

Although this story comes with a flavour
of humor, you can't help but feel bad for the guy.
But, if he does not make it back to earth he likely
has a good chance of making it to his final chosen
destination.

For those who are interested, here is a quick

video of the balloon lift off:

http://video.globo.com/Videos/Player/Noticias/0,,GIM818189-7823-RECOMECAM+AS+BUSCAS+AO+PADRE+QUE+SUMIU+NO+MAR+DE+SANTA+CATARINA,00.html

Vulcan Alberta?

2007-11-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

A nearby town has plans to build the biggest

Harley Davidson in the world.

Fairview, AB hopes to attract Harley Mechanic

students to nearby NAIT. NAIT is the

only place in Canada to train as a

Harley mechanic. You can read the story

it here.

Alberta is famous for having lots of

unusual roadside attractions. In

Airdrie, you can find a huge Cowboy.

Or in Andrew, you can find the

world's largest Mallard duck.

How about the world's largest Beaver?

Located in BeaverLodge. Naturally.

World's largest putter, Bow Island.

And this one is located in Edmonton. I

must check this out. World's largest

western boot.

And in Vulcan, Alberta we have

the Enterprise. I know a guy who

would probably move here if he

knew this. There's really a Vulcan, AB?

You can find lots more here. This guy's site

has been around for awhile and has developed

very nicely over the years and I have featured

his site in the past.Visiting some of these would

make for a great day trip. I must check some of these out.

Procrastinating Geese

2007-11-07T19:23:00.000-08:00

Well, it's happened. It has snowed. A whole
3 centimeters. And the Geese are panicking.
All the Geese that have been procrastinating
are suddenly checking their daytimers.

The early birds started leaving about 2 or 3
weeks ago. But not these guys, they are
just shipping out now. They sound louder
and more panicked than the first crew or two.
And I think they are flying faster.

A friend of mine owns a house near a pond.
Or maybe it's a small lake. I think it's a pond.
Anyway, he said sometimes before the Geese
leave for their trip south, they rest on the
pond/lake and the pond/lake is totally covered
in Geese. That would be neat to see.

Here are some facts about our feathered friends.

Why do Geese fly in a V formation?
As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range, than if each bird flew on its own.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
Reminds me of Edmonton traffic.

When a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.
This would not happen if you broke down in Edmonton traffic.

Life expectancy of Canada Goose is about 20 years
Life expectancy of a Canuck is 75-80.
http://www40.statcan.ca/l01/cst01/health26.htm

Average weight of a Canada Goose is 20-25 pounds.
Average weight of a female Canadian is 153 lbs, for
a male it is 182 lbs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_weight

Geese mate for life.
Not all humans do this.

Geese can fly 60 mph but generally coast at 40 mph.
The drivers on the QEII HWY should

drive 70 mph but generally fly from

80-100 mph.

Average number of eggs in a nest: 5
The birth rate in Canada is at an all time
low - 10.75 births/1,000 population.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ca.html

Average incubation time for a Canada Goose 28 – 30 days.
Average human incubation time is 280 days.
http://www.vardaan.net/pregnancyduration.php

During June adult geese lose wing feathers
(molting) and are unable to fly.
I have no comment to make here.

Here is a neat story about Harley the Goose,

who has imprinted on a man and his...what else...

Harley Davidson.

If you are really nuts about Geese, there are

products made just for you.

Proclaim your love of Geese with this stylish

bumper sticker:

Or this lovely necklace:

How about a Goose windchime?

Or a nifty wall clock?

Honk if you love geese.

Just not while driving in Edmonton.

Boo

2007-10-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost Halloween. Now, back home

this would be somewhat of a big deal. Back

home being Nova Scotia. There would be

office pot lucks with witches fingers and

graveyard pudding. Although certainly

celebrated here in Alberta, it is not a real

big deal. They will be doing something

where I work, but not sure yet what.

Besides they already have Christmas stuff

out in some stores. Merry Halloween.

Here are some facts about Halloween:

Pumpkins can also be white, blue and green

Samhainophobia is an intense fear of Halloween

Some people believe that if you put your clothes

on inside out and walk backwards on Halloween

night, you will meet a witch

Pumpkins are 90 percent water

90 percent of parents admit to sneaking goodies

from their kids' Halloween trick-or-treat bags.

Halloween is the second most commercially

successful holiday; Christmas is number one

According to superstition, if you stare into a mirror

at midnight on Halloween, you will see your future spouse

A caramel apple has 550-600 calories

The pulp from a pumpkin

can be used to soothe burns

Or it can be used to bake a cake:

Winter has arrived in Alberta

2007-09-10T18:06:00.000-07:00

Well, looks like winter has arrived in Alberta.

In September none the less. We had a wicked

hail storm here this past Saturday. According

to Wikipedia it only hails here 1-3 times per year.

Ha. We have seen it hail at least 5 or 6 times so far.

The highest temperature recorded in Edmonton was 34.5°C (94.1°F) on August 5, 1998.[13] Some areas, however, such as the City of St Albert and Sherwood Park recorded temperatures of 37.7°C (99.9°F) on July 22, 2006, while the downtown core managed to reach around 35°C (95°F). The coldest temperature was −49.4°C (−56.9°F), recorded on January 19 and 21, 1886.[14] and hails occur on an average of 1 to 3 times a year

Let's hope we don't break the cold temperature

record while we are here.

So, here are a couple clips of the hail storm. Turn

your speakers up so you can hear it. At the bottom

are a couple pics.

http://www.medicinefilms.com/digs/190391

http://www.medicinefilms.com/digs/190392

http://www.medicinefilms.com/digs/190393

http://www.medicinefilms.com/digs/190394

http://www.medicinefilms.com/digs/190395

Fore!

2007-08-18T11:20:00.000-07:00

So I was in a golf tournament this past Thursday.
It was my first time golfing. Ever.

I was golfing with my boss, who was most patient,
in a charity tournament. I don’t think I did too
badly, I hit the ball at least which is a good start.
I was no where as good as my teammates
of course but they were good about it.

One of the Edmonton Eskimos was at the tourney.
Actually, he was an auction item. Our team bid
on him and we got to have him on our team.
His name was Willie Pless. He was a pretty
good golfer and an even better sport. I would
hit my ball like 15 feet off to the left and he
would say “Good try, good try”. All of my
team was patient which made the day more
bearable. Because golf is just a wee bit slow
for me.

I turned out to be not too bad of a
putter, I actually got the ball in the hole
once much to my surprise. We golfed for
6.5 hours. I had hurt my back just a bit
from lifting weights earlier in the week
so I sat out the last 4 or 5 holes. Again,
my team was most understanding. My shots
were not helping the cause much anyway.

My boss almost lost me once. See, each time
she would stop the golf cart, I would get out,
she would tell me what club number to use,
we would go tee off. But once she stopped to
let another cart by, which I did not see. Boss
stops, I hop out. Boss drives away. I am
standing there waiting for my instructions.
Boss looks beside her – no passenger.
Lucky for me she didn’t drive too far, I got
back in and we continued on our merry way.

Here are some facts on Willie Pless, my teammate:

Willie was born February 21, 1964 was a star football
linebacker in the Canadian Football League.
Willie played his college football at the University of
Kansas. As a Jayhawk starter for only three years he
amassed an amazing 633 tackles. In 1991 he signed
with the Edmonton Eskimos as a free agent. During
his eight years with the Eskimos, he set club records
for most all time defensive tackles (813), tackles in
one season (177) and, on four occasions, tied the club
record for defensive tackles in one game (12).
Pless won numerous awards and honours throughout
his tenure as an Eskimo.

All in all the day wasn’t too bad. There was lots of
free snacks, drinks, and the usual temptations.
We were given a free pair of “professionally fitted
golf shoes” which I may or may not use.
The BBQ dinner was really good. Willie signed
an autograph while we ate. I wondered how he
felt about being disturbed while he ate his dinner.
He was very pleasant about it. Willie gave a speech
and then he was off to catch a flight. He left us
his 50/50 tickets. The boss and I stayed for a bit,
discovered we didn’t win the 50/50 draw and we took off.

So, I can now say I’ve been golfing. Would I do it again?
Not likely. Although I did have fun with the team
I was on, I suspect that would not be the case in a regular
game of golf. It’s unlikely the golfers behind you would
say “Good try, good try” when you hit the golf ball
15 feet off to the side.

There are a lot of rules on these golf courses. Wear this,
don’t wear that. They even tell you to wear socks.
Why? How can this possibly affect the golf course or
your game? No jeans either. Again, why? It’s beyond
me. If I was a paying golfer, I would resent them telling
me how I should dress for the day. Maybe I hate socks.
Maybe I love jeans.

I went to the driving range once with a friend and that
wasn’t too bad so maybe I will try that a few times before
taking on Tiger Woods. I wonder if Tiger Woods showed
up with no socks if they’d send him home?

Shoo Fly

2007-08-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

So I have been stalked by a Fruit Fly for
6 days now. And I do mean stalked.
It lives here in my apartment. For almost
a week now it has followed me everywhere.
Into the bathroom, into the kitchen, living room.
He is even here right now watching me.
Which is weird.

For those who know me, I am anti-fruit.
And the fruit that is bought for hubby
is like oranges, apples etc. A minimal
amount is kept in our storage container
in the fridge. Plus, I thought Fruit Flies
only lived for a day or so. This fly is

obsessed with me and it is creeping me

out. So I decided to learn about about

this Fruit Fly species. See how they tick

and plan my strategy.

Fruitflies are attracted to very ripe or damaged fruit in the field where they lay their eggs. The life cycle in summer is approximately 7 to 8 days, with adults laying about 700 to 800 eggs in a 20- to 30-day life span (UC-Davis). Populations build up as temperatures become warmer. Ideal temperatures for development of this insect are in the low 80s F (27-30 C). The flies do not lay eggs at temperatures below 54 F (12 C) or above 91 F (33 C).

So there you go, I simply need to keep my

apartment below 12 degrees and no more

Fruit Flies. But where are the eggs coming from?

We have no very ripe fruit - actually I even looked

and as of yesterday we had 2 apples and one orange.

And some canned fruit - but I don't think they are coming

through the cans. And I'm sure it's the same Fruit

Fly - he looks the same. And he sounds the same.

And why me and not hubby? Do I smell like a banana?

Some other random Fruit Fly facts

Official name is Drosophila melanogaster.

The males are the smaller of the two sexes.

Are studied to test properties of many diseases.

Click here for studies on Fruit Fly Fights.

Fruit Fly DNA chart, I have no idea what this means.

One single gene controls courtship in Fruit Flies,

by changing just one gene, scientists can

make a female perform the courtship ritual of the male.

You can breed your own Fruit Flies here.

Here is a Fruit Fly with 2 bodies:

That's it for now, but remember:

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana

The Accidental Tourists

2007-07-02T16:22:00.000-07:00

Not knowing that Albertans were rabid about their
camping, hubby and I waited until Tuesday to try
to book a camping spot for the Canada Day long weekend.
Big mistake. Albertans are also fanatical about Canada
Day. Which is a good thing, but not this weekend.

After almost 2 hours of calling we find a spot.
In Edmonton. 45 mins from us. But, after living in a
basement apartment with no balcony this looks good to us.
We book for Fri, Sat, Sun night. Friday comes. The weatherman
predicts a 60% chance of severe thunderstorms. I hate
the weatherman. Having camped in the rain we know how
painful this can be, but we don't want to lose our spot.
We decide to go pay for the 3 nights, and come back later
to set up if the weather cooperates. Hubby heads in.

I give hubby the wrong address - I had been calling so many
campgrounds I lost track. Oops. Poor hubby, he calls back
and gets the right address which is on the other side of town.
Hubby calls 45 mins later. "We don't want to stay here" he says.
Turns out their 'camp sites' are in an open field, no fire pits, no
shelter, no nothing. So hubby comes home and back on the phone
we go, venturing further out into the wilderness of Alberta. We
luck out, first place hubby calls has sites open. First come first
serve. It is in a town called Hinton. Hubby looks at map, doesn't
look far, "maybe hour or hour and a half" he says. Turns out it
is over 4 hours. It is near the Mountains, by Jasper. Not a good
start having left at almost 6pm. But hey, we are going to the
mountains. To live with the wild animals.

So anyway, we arrive in Hinton at about 11pm and eventually find
the campground. "We are full", the campground owner tells us.
"But the Graveyard Campground down the road will likely have
some sites open", he says. This sounds suspicious to us but
we have no choice. "If not, come back and we will stick you
in overflow camping" he adds. Gee, that sounds reassuring.

Off we go about one kilometre down the road to the Graveyard.
We find out it is called Graveyard Campground for a reason.
We drive around this dusty, desolate campground looking for
the registration building. We spot campers and roll down the
window. "Where is the building to register?" Hubby asks.
"Oh, there is no building" the camper guy says, "You just find
a spot wherever you can and put your money on a tree in the
little boxes" he says. We stare at him dumbfounded. Turns out
there are also no showers or flush toilets either. We leave.

We go back to first place. I think they feel sorry for us
at this point. They give us a spot and we go set up,
exhausted but still hopeful. About an hour or so into
setting up, just as we finished, a guy pulls up in a car.
"Um, I think this is my spot" he says. Turns out hubby, who
I do love but want to kill at that moment, read the map wrong.
Hubby is not normally directionally challenged and I begin to
worry about him. It could be the 5 hours of driving and lack
of food for 12 hours, but who knows. Anyway, the camper dude
is having a stag party and needs his reserved spot. I am tempted
to stay and join the stag group just because it would be easier.
But that is not an option. Our only option is relocation.
Hubby does not know I am yet aware of our predicament.

Hubby looks at me, terrified. I can see hubby
thinking - "Which would be worse...to kill this
guy or to tell my wife?" He does not need to tell me
as I have heard the horrors and am already packing up.
Bear in mind, it is now midnight and we have not eaten
since noonish. Happy campers we are not. Off we go to
our new spot. Which is really a new improved spot because
now we are right by the showers and water supply.
As things start to improve, hope returns. We go to our new
improved site, set up, have a very quickly cooked, very
burnt crumbled hamburger a la bun, and get ready for bed.
Luckily we had put up our tarps because it rained hard that
night. But we were mostly undamaged in the morning.
"Bit cold last night" I say to hubby the next morning.
"Yes" he says. Hubby is a man of few words in the morning.
"I have heard it can get cold in the mountains" I say,
"maybe we should pick up a blanket in Hinton", the nearby
town. So we do - two actually - which is the smartest move
this trip. The next night, Sat night we were sitting by the
fire. You could literally feel the temperature drop beginning
around 9pm. We began to see our breath as we spoke. This
was not a good thing at only 10pm.

By 11pm I had on 2 pairs of socks, 2 sweatshirts and
a flannel jacket. Hubby was dressed in similar attire.
Couple from across the way invited us over so we went
there for beer, fire, and festivities for the evening
We also got a Bear lesson. We had noticed all these
Bear rules posted over the campground:
None of the following allowed in your tents or on the
camp site overnight: toothpaste, cologne/perfume, shampoo,
deodorant, liquor, and of course food. You had to store these
items in your car. You also cannot leave any dirty dishes
around or scraps of food. You are supposed to empty dirty
dishwater in a special bear proof receptacle, but no one does.
They do follow all the other rules though.

We didn't notice how cold it had become until we left
for our tent. Man alive was it cold. Lucky we bought
the blankets cause we had 2 light sleeping bags, a
flannel blanket and a big comforter, plus all our layers of
clothing on. We were freezing all night. It was so cold you
could feel it though the air mattress, through the layers of
clothing, into your back. You had to keep your face below
the blankets because it was just too cold outside the blankets.
Not sure how cold it got but it was damn cold. Going to pee in
the middle of the night was not an option. I'm sure ice cubes
would have come out. The next night was a bit better but still cold.

So, having found ourselves in the mountains we decided to do a bit
of touring. Wow. Jasper - what an experience. We met mountain
goats, had a bear encounter, and were blown away. The
mountains were stunning, and the Columbian Ice Fields
were very interesting although very cold. We were not
prepared to venture into ice fields having brought sunny,
camping clothing. But we persevered. Here are a couple
pics and short videos from our adventures in the mountains.

Click here for the photos

My first attempt at the video aspect of the camera

A drive through the mountains

The Mountain Goats

The amazing view

Powerful Waterfall

Waterfall 2

Waterfall 3

Speeding Ticket

2007-06-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's happened. A speeding ticket.

It was no high speed chase or anything fun.

The infamous Photo Radar of Alberta nabbed

me. I have heard of many others being nabbed,

but I don't speed. Much. OK, so I was doing 66

in a 50 zone but let me explain.

First of all, for those of you who are not
familiar with photo radar, it works like this:
City Police set up photo radars in odd places
like vans, behind bushes, and I have even
heard of them being in fake signs. Most

commonly in cars, vans etc. They sit there

unmanned and when cars go over a certain

speed they take a photo of your license plate.

Then they mail you a ticket.

The area I got nabbed was a very, and I do
mean very, heavy traffic area. Anyone who
has driven home during Edmonton rush hour
knows exactly what I mean. Bumper to
bumper all the way to the Highway.
The string goes 30 you go 30, it goes 60, you go 60.
You go with the flow or risk being crushed.

So this leaves me to wonder how many others
in the string of cars got nabbed. Did a bit
of research about the so called 'cash cow' system
of Alberta. Consider this from 2002:

"Last year Edmonton police scammed $15,007,607
milking the cash cow and bilking the motoring public."
http://members.shaw.ca/halotic/radar/ <-- There are some

very interesting facts on this site. And some amazing

horror stories.

That works out to over $41,000 per day. In Edmonton

alone. 5 years ago. In case you are wondering, the revenue goes to

the police stations, not charity, community funds or any

other such benevolent act.

So anyway, gonna cost me $100, but no points or other penalties.

Guess I'm a true Edmontonian now.

Word Origins

2007-05-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently sent me an interesting email about word origins which I thought I would share.....

Bet you didn't know these things... In George Washington ' s days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."

**************************************************************
As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

**************************************************************
In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use the expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."

**************************************************************
Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman ' s face she was told, "mind your own bee ' s wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile" In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . therefore, the expression "losing face."

**************************************************************
Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in "straight laced". . . wore a tightly tied lace.

**************************************************************
Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "Ace of 'Spades. ' To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."

**************************************** * ***** ****************
Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip."

**************************************************************
At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts," hence the term "minding your "P's and Q's."

**************************************************************
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem..how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.).

Signs of Summer

2007-05-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Summer is on its way. How do I know?

I saw the sign today. The dandelion. The

dreaded weed. The above photo

is a real portrait of the official dandelion.

I know cause I took it myself.

The first known dandelion in Alberta.

Probably.

Everyone hates dandelions.

Personally, I love them. They are pretty

and unassuming. I would love some day

to run through a field of them. Naked.

Well, I might leave my socks on.

And dandelions are nutritious:

The leaves are nourishing, containing high amounts of Vitamins A, B complex and C, as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and many other trace elements.

I have a friend who is a caffeine addict, so he may be interested in this:

If you're looking for a good coffee substitute, here's one to try.
First, harvest some dandelion roots (late summer roots are the most 'fat' and full of healthful properties). Don't try to air dry them as they apparently are attractive to bugs and such, and don't dry well using slower methods. But if you dry them in the oven at about 200 degrees for an hour or two, they'll be ready quickly and won't lose much of their nutrient properties. Then, simply grind them like coffee, and prepare yourself a tasty beverage that isn't even all that bitter.

Hmm...not sure about that one. I have

tried dandelion wine and I must say it

is pretty gross. Dandelion coffee?

Seems dandelions are a big ingredient

in food - in Wilton, Maine there's a

cannery that imports and cans

only dandelion greens.

Some Facts:

Growing dandelion greens for market generates millions of dollars a year in the U.S.

Many popular herbal teas, weight-loss products and organic vitamin supplements contain dandelions. Check the ingredients.

Fifty five tons of coffee substitutes made from roasted dandelion roots are sold each year in England, Australia, and Canada.

Recipes using dandelions appear in one of every four general cookbooks in the U.S.

Dandelions are a favorite food of hogs, poultry, deer, silkworms, purple finches and gerbils.

Make liquid fertilizer by immersing a handful of dandelion leaves in a pint of water, bring it to a boil, cover and allow it to cool. After it is cooled, strain the liquid off, dilute with four parts of water. For a leaf spray, add one teaspoon of liquid soap (not detergent)

I really like it when dandelions dry up and

become fuzzy blowers. There is an artist who

sells lights that look like fuzzy blowers.

That's all for now, have a Dandy Day!

Crappy Car Chronicles

2007-05-03T18:17:00.000-07:00

So our car has been overheating for awhile.
Was OK in the winter but with the warmer months
coming, figured we'd better get it fixed. So
Saturday morning hubby takes the car to
Canadian Tire. First mistake.

Canadian Tire says they can fix it either

Saturday or Sunday. Fair enough, we

wait at home. Sunday arrives. Canadian Tire calls

us about noon. "We tried to fix your motor fan and
we broke your housing unit." Great. Good job.

Turns out our car is so ancient (1990) the part may

be hard for them to locate. "But that is our only car"

hubby tells them. They tell us the car is completely
undriveable and suggest hubby call some pick-your-part
junkyard in Edmonton. So he does. We quickly discover

that contrary to popular belief, not everything is open
in Alberta on Sundays.

What to do? Well, we reason, the car may not

be worth fixing. But, the longer Canadian Tire has it,

the more the bill is going up. And not in a fair way.

Time to remove our car from clutches of Canadian Tire.

Since we were told the car was no longer driveable, we
arrange for a towing service to meet hubby at Crappy
Tire. Canadian Tire was surprised to see hubby to say

the least. Why you ask? Well, the car was driveable,

the only difference was it now had some cracked
housing thing which did not make the car any worse.

It was functioning the same as when we originally

brought it to them. We were clearly lied to.

Hubby drives the car home. Luckily tow truck man

was understanding and waived any fees. Have I mentioned

I love the men in Alberta? They are awesome.

So, car still has overheating problem and can only go
short distances. We decide it is not worth fixing,
let's buy another car. So we start calling ads. Second
call we luck out - a very kind mechanic man hears our
tales of woe and offers to come up and pick hubby up,
and drive him to Edmonton to see the car. Hubby
sees car, drives car, likes car, buys car. Hubby
is on his way home with our new car. Hubby calls
halfway home. Car died. Hubby calls mechanic,
who sold us the car, and who is most understanding.
Mechanic man towed the car back to his place and gave
hubby his money back.

Mechanic man says "I can loan you a car to get home with,
and tomorrow I will have this fixed (timing chain) and

you can re-buy it". So, off hubby goes in the borrowed car.

Halfway home hubby calls, the car ran out of gas.

No friggin way! I say. Yes friggin way! Hubby says. So,

hubby makes another call to mechanic man

(it is like 11pm at this point). Kind wonderful mechanic man

comes to the rescue again. Hubby gets gassed up, calls me,

says he will be home in about 1/2 hour. I expect hubby about

11:30 or so. I fall asleep on couch. About 1:30 in the morning in

walks hubby. I look from hubby to clock, clearly confused.
What happened? I ask. Hubby has a glazed kind of psychotic
look on his face. "I took a wrong turn, and ended up in Camrose".

Now, this is particularly funny to those who know me. I am,

let's say slightly directionally challenged. Hubby is the

navigator in the family.

We both just laughed hysterically for about 5

minutes then went to bed. The next day we wake

up, decide we cannot deal with buying any more cars.

"Did you like the car you borrowed?" I ask.
Hubby did. The car runs well, it's here, we go see our

mechanic buddy and buy it.

Strange Google Searches

2007-04-23T18:53:00.000-07:00

Most of you are probably familiar
with the Google 'bug' of typing
"miserable failure" into Google.com,
click the "I'm feeling lucky button"
and the White House pops up,
complete with a picture of Bush.
Here is an article explaining how
that happens. Rumor is, that the
folks at The White House are currently
trying to fix that 'glitch'.

Here is another kind of odd search
result which someone sent to me.

Follow Directions exactly:
Go to Google.com
Click on Maps.
Click on Get Directions.
From New York, New York.
To Paris, France.
Read line # 24 .

And even Google has a sense of humor.
They accept public submissions for
funny logos etc...which can be viewed here

And here are some specialized Google search engines
including an upside-down Google world.

That's it for today....

Plug it in

2007-04-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine recently sent me a video of a USB device...

it was small Snoopy dog equipped with a USB, when you

plug it into your computer, Snoopy gets 'friendly' with

your computer. I have weird friends. But I have an

even weirder mind, so I got to thinking - I wonder what

other strange USB devices are out there....

Meet the Duck. For only $99 you can have your own

plug in duck, available in 6 different colors.

Or maybe you want your memory stick to

look like a piece of wood. Again, a bargain

at only $99.

Or Sushi...

Or maybe you live in an anti-fur building like

me and cannot have a real pet. This hamster

is for you.

Or, maybe you work in one of those new fangled

no-smoking buildings. This device claims to make

'secret smoking' easier.

This I might buy at Christmas....

Or maybe a fish tank

This is actually quite clever, a USB powered

vacuum cleaner, like a mini dust buster.

Or maybe you want to grab a quick fondue

Wonder what the future brings for these devices.

Maybe there will be plug in clones of ourselves we

can leave at our desk. Now that would be sweet.

Snack Attack

2007-04-14T07:59:00.000-07:00

When you've got the munchies....

Here is an neat company in Edmonton.

When you are hit with those late night

munchies and nothing is open, or it is

too scary to go out...just call Snack Attack.

These guys will deliver munchies right to

your door!

Their customers include a variety of

folks from pregnant women to the

"usual buzzed suspects". http://snackattack.ca/site2/

I wonder about the dangers of second

hand smoke...

Prices are not bad either. $2 for a bar,

$2 for chips, $3 for a pop. They are

open till 4:30 in the morning and even

take debit at the door!

Cool and unique business idea, I hope

these guys do well.

I have a friend who is a self admitted

chocoholic, maybe I'd best not send

him this post...

Hoppy Easter

2007-04-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

The South American Tinamou known as the Easter Egg Bird
lays multi-colored eggs in blue, green, pink, yellow and purple.

The first Easter baskets were made to look like bird's nests

The traditional act of painting eggs is called Pysanka

The world yearly production for chocolate bunnies is 90 million

When it comes to eating chocolate bunnies, it is the ears

that are preferred to be eaten first by as many as 76%

Each Easter season, Americans buy more than 700 million Marshmallow Peeps

In 1953, it took 27 hours to create a Marshmallow Peep.

Today it takes six minutes.

Pretzels were originally associated with Easter. The twists of a

pretzel were thought to resemble arms crossed in prayer.

And did you know there are hidden gems, sort

of like secret codes, hidden in your software

and other applications...visit here to see some

examples: http://www.eeggs.com/