Life On Lot 12

April 3, 2009

K(eep)I(t)S(imple)S(tupid)

Filed under: Rants, Stupid companies, Technology — Pat @ 8:59 am

The KISS principle was often invoked where I used to work. Don’t make the routine or the policy or the plan too complicated, keep it simple. It seems to me that the same should apply to receiving bills electronically.

Here’s my story. I receive 3 bills electronically every month, from my ISP, the folks I buy my long distance telephone service from and good old Bell Canada (our land line and our satellite TV service). Two of them send me my invoice as a PDF file attached to the email every month. Its not a huge file usually between 35 and 60 kilobytes. Its quick to download and easy to open and print (if I want). It tells me how much I owe them, the web address of the company in case I need to do a little business with them and that’s about it. It takes less than 30 seconds to open the bill and print a copy for our files. Fits the KISS principal very nicely.

Then there is good old Bell Canada, no I take that back, there is no good in good old Bell Canada. it is simply the only choice where we live. This has to be one of the most inept, uncaring, slow to change monopolies the modern world has ever known. Even now when they are not a monopoly anymore they are still backward and inept and they drive my BP right through the roof. I get an email from them every month that says that my ebill is ready and I owe $xxx.xx and to see my ebill login in on www.bell.ca. Thus starts a 5+minute process of tooing and froing and opening and closing and do I want to buy this and will I be subscribing to that. All this to get to my bill and then if I want to print it I have to go somewhere else. What in hell are these folks thinking, that if they piss me off enough I will buy more services from them? What a complete load of horseshit! Trying to get this friggin monolith to change would be like trying to turn a cruise ship by blowing through a straw against the stern of the ship. See I’m am almost incoherent. I keep thinking I should cancel my ebilling and go back to a paper bill but the thought of wasting all that paper every month stops me. It just pisses me off that they can’t send me a simple 1 or 2 page statement as a pdf file every month.hey ma bell do you think that you could try simple just once? Oh and while you are at it ditch that electronic helper will you PLEASE.

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March 21, 2009

Beer Shopping

Filed under: Beer, Shopping — Pat @ 9:08 am

Above you see the results about 15 minutes of browsing at what is arguably my favourite place to shop, a well stocked outlet of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), referred to still as the government dairy.

Yesterday afternoon found me tired and worn out after 4 days of training some new co-workers in the ins and outs of doing the work we do. Day 4 included a 3 hour presentation by my good friend Charlie on a field officer’s perspective. A couple of his stories are still hard to listen to. Anyway, I was beat.

Before I headed home I had to get some groceries. I went to two stores where people were acting like it was the last day that food would be available before the apocalypse. In other words it was full contact shopping! And traffic was busy and I had the truck which is not as easy to drive in the city as the car and I all I wanted to do was get home into some really comfortable clothes and veg. I got to thinking that a cold beer would taste mighty fine and that there was no wine at home so I decided to stop at the LCBO and grab a couple of things. Now, I don’t drink a lot, certainly a lot less than I used to and what I drink has changed dramatically in the last 10 years or so.I enjoy a good red wine and my taste ion beer is fairly catholic. I’ll try just about anything.

So in I went with a very open mind, which is how I frequently shop at the LCBO. Right inside the door was a fine display of some higher end imports, most over $20.00. That is not sipping wine where I live. I wandered around for a few minutes and finally settled on a Konzelmann Estate Winery 2007 Merlot Reserve. The tasting notes on the display made it sound very good, I like Merlot wines, I lean towards Ontario VQA wines and the price was reasonable (under $15) so in the basket it went. Then a bottle of Montalto, a Sicilian Cabernet Sauvigon blend at $8.95 and get 5 bonus Airmiles with each bottle. There was aglass of soemthing quaffable for supper. Oh, did I mention that I was I walked through the door intending only to get a couple of cans of something cold I had picked up one of the LCBO’s very deep shopping baskets, subconsciously I guess I knew that I would getting more than I thought I would. Then I headed back to the beer display. Now, two things I like about shopping at the LCBO, they carry a pretty good selection of imported and Ontario craft brewery beers and they sell most of them by the each. The first one that caught my eye was a bottle of Cobra Premium Beer (www.cobrabeer.com) apparently an Indian beer brewed in the European Union.Then I grabbed a can of Holsten Maibock, a German strong beer that I have had before and enjoy, besides it was on sale at $0.50/can off the regular price. Just a little further along on the display I spied a can of Red Baron premium blond beer from Brick Brewery in southern Ontario, sounds good to me. Next was a bottle of Brakspear Oxford Gold organic beer (http://www.brakspear-beers.co.uk/brakspear2006_draught.htm. I don’t think that I have ever had an organic beer, I had better get one. Then I spotted a bottle, a full half litre at that of something called Bitter & Twisted. Given how I was feeling this became in instant “must have”. Seems this comes from a craft brewery in Alva Scotland, wherever that is. According to their website (http://www.harviestoun.com/) this was voted the world’s best ale at the world beer awards in 2007. WWW.ratebeer.com says that it is “very moreish”. Then I spotted what for me was the find of the day. I spied a label that said Spitfire, premium Kentish ale. HMMMMM. I have been to Kent, once. In 1995 Val and I went to England for a holiday and spent part of the time in Kent meeting some distant cousins and being taken to the village where my maternal Grandmother was born, Faversham. We had the lunch and a couple of pints of the local brew, Bishop’s Finger there at a small pub close to where she was born and within view of the local brewery Shepherd Neame, which claims to be England’s oldest brewer. When I looked at the bottle of Spitfire I saw that it is also brewed by Shepherd Neame. I have to have one of these. So there you have it 6 bottles of beer, no two the same and 2 bottles of wine. All of a sudden I was feeling better and was really anxious to get home. On the way I decided that this little adventure was worth a few lines here.

To conclude, just so none of you think that I am turning into some kind of a beer snob when I got home I pulled out the last can of a 6 six pack of Budweiser that I have enjoying and it was cold and tasted just right. I want to savour the the good beers that I have and will probably start that exercise this afternoon. I’ll let you know how it goes.

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March 13, 2009

John Sebastien You were So Right!

Filed under: New Gear, Technology, Whine — Pat @ 8:09 pm

Sometimes you want something new – not need but want. In fact you may want it so much that you convince yourself that you need it. And then when you get it you think, “What in hell did I do that for?”. Remember the song Did You Ever Have To make Up Your Mind by the Lovin Spoonful? The 1st refrain goes:
“Did you ever have to make up your mind

Pick up on one and leave the other behind

It’s not often easy and not often kind

Did you ever have to make up your mind”
About 5 years ago I got a Dell laptop computer. It was, at the time, a fairly high end machine. It has served us very well. It has been on many trips. Literally from one end of this country to the other and many points in between. It has had a new screen installed, the hard drive partitioned, a new battery a few years ago and Linux installed. It has shown movies and played lots of music. It has helped me develop and put on a number of training courses. It is however quite heavy and dragging it through airports is always a challenge.

Last year when we were in BC I had a chance to see an Asus Eee PC 7″ netbook. It was tiny and weighs lass than 1 kg. It was a little sweetheart and to make it more attractive it came with a Linux OS. Hugh actually bought us one and we had it for two days before we decided that it was too small and we returned it.Since then I have wanted a new laptop. A smaller, newer, faster model that weighs a lot less. In fact I convinced myself that I needed one. So, I started dropping hints, not subtle ones either.”Val look at this”. Val when we get to SSM today I want to stop at Staples.” “Val did you see the deal in that email from Tigerdirect.” You get the picture. Then it was “Hugh do you think if I get a computer with X it will do A, B and C?” And on and on and on. About 3 weeks ago I went so far as to take Val into a store and point to the perfect mix of size, speed and cool. We came close but decided to go home and do our income tax. In the process we had the discussion about we don’t need it, we really have other priorities and besides the old one works just fine. Well that’s settled, right? Like heck it is. it just meant that we didn’t talk about it any more but I was still checking the Dell website every other day or so and keeping track of the deals. Then last Saturday morning my sister called with the news that my brother and her and I were going to share in some unexpected largess that came our way. When I got off the phone Val looked at me and said, “well there is your new laptop.” Sunday we made a trip into SSM and bought it. Tuesday we picked it up. What a little sweety, a 13.3″ screen, lots of power and speed and it weighs just a bit over 2 kg. A big difference from the old machine. It took off flying right straight out of the box. Val loves it and so do I. It comes into the living room with us and thanks to our wireless router and a built in wireless card in the new machine logging on is a snap. But and here comes the but I can not bring myself to pack up the old one. It is slower and heavier but it is still very functional (even if I would be laughed at if I tried to sell it for more than $2.00). I even found myself turning it on and using it yesterday afternoon. Oh the guilt.This sense of guilt that you don’t deserve a new whatever or that you really should use that money for something else is such a pain. It can get in the way of enjoyment. Anyway, I have it, I think that it is great, I’m going to keep it. I just have to decide what to do with the other one. So there.

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March 2, 2009

Winter, winter go away

Filed under: What we do in winter, Whine, Winter — Pat @ 7:17 am

Its March and in spite of over 35 winters in northern Ontario I still want it to be spring. I know that you can’t rush it, that winter lasts until at least the end of March BUT enough already. As I write this early on March 2nd it is -27C! Last Thursday we got a real shot of snow, 15cm+ and Friday morning as I went to work it was blowing, cold and nasty. Of course it snowed Thursday night when I had to work Friday and Saturday. That meant that I had to drive through the snow four times before I could start to clean up the mess yesterday morning. Driving through fresh snow before you move it makes the job that much more unpleasant. This what it looked like before I started.

That is our mailbox at the end of the driveway. This is the entrance to the driveway

It took me almost 3 hours yesterday and I haven’t opened the path to the red shed where I store recycling until spring and to the sauna where I may get warm again. There are a couple of spots where the snow blower won’t throw the snow over the bank any more. I am going to have to move some of that snow before it starts to melt.

When I got finished I put out a pail of corn for the deer who were out of the trees and munching away before I got the house. I sat on the porch and watched them. The snow is deep and they are hungry. We are entering what is surely the toughest month of the year for them. I’m sure that there will be a couple of more storms before winter is over and we will deal with that but it should be spring!

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February 26, 2009

Things That Go Bump In The Night

Filed under: Birds, New Experience, Rural Experiences, Wildlife — Pat @ 7:39 am

Last evening, about 10pm our satellite internet connection went out so I went to see if snow on the dish was the cause (it was). While I was on the deck I heard scrabbling behind me and saw a northern flying squirrel eating sunflower seeds under the bird feeder. These are small nocturnal squirrels that are rarely seen. We often hear them as they glide in from the trees to land with a thump on the balcony or roof of our house en route to the feeder. They clamber down the chain that holds the feeder so that they can settle in for a hearty meal. They apparently love the taste of sunflower seeds.

Anyway, this little guy was on the deck and could care less that I was almost stepping on him. After I got the snow swept off the dish I ran in and grabbed my camera. he was still scabbling in the snow for whole seeds that the birds didn’t get. I had lots of time to snap a dozen or so pictures and the flash didn’t bother him one bit. I was able to get the camera within 40cm or so of him.

I have never been that close to a flying squirrel before. It was a neat experience. I wanted to touch him but knew enough not too. Wild creatures don’t like to be touched and react badly if they are. There are two things to remember, they are incredibly fast to react and that reaction usually includes biting.

And then – while I was on my knees taking pictures I heard a small commotion behind me and assumed that another flying squirrel had arrived for supper. When I turned to look instead of a flying squirrel there was an apparently confused female redpoll trying to get fly through the patio door (which was closed ) towards the light. I have no idea what woke this dumb bird, perhaps the flash on the camera. It ended up perched on the door sill so I took a photo of it.

I’m not sure what was going on last night, it wasn’t a full moon but there you have it two very unusual sitings in one night. BTW I had to pick this little bird up (it sure squealed) and throw it up into the air so that it would fly away and not into the house when I opened the door.Who says nothing ver happens in the country.

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February 24, 2009

Inertia

Filed under: Musings, Whine, Winter — Pat @ 8:47 am

Here is the definition of inertia as a noun – “a feeling of unwillingness to do anything”. That is what I am feeling these days, inertia, in fact I seem to be approaching completely inert. We went off to Cuba almost 2 weeks ago, had an amazing time and when I got home I did not write one little entry here about all of the things we saw, heard, tasted and experienced. I have agreed to put on a training course for 4 days in mid-March, I did that in December, it is now 3 weeks until the start of the course and I just got off my ass yesterday and started to put together the material. In the process I discovered that a lot of what I used to be able to do in PowerPoint I have forgotten. Just lovely!

I am not sure if this inertia is winter related, age related or what but it is really bothering me, but not apparently enough to do something about it. See – inertia.The last two days I have wakened early, been down stairs, made the coffee and had my breakfast finished by 6.30 or so. I did what needed to be done in the morning and then spent the afternoon and a good portion of the evening laying on the couch dozing and watching TV, sort of. Man there is a lot of crap on TV.

Perhaps this is the first step to recovery. I am admitting my inertia. I’ll let you know of it works, if I can get up the energy .

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February 2, 2009

Hi Ho Hi Ho Off To Wawa We Went

Filed under: Good Food, Old friends, Road Trips, Winter — Pat @ 8:32 pm

On Friday our good friend Wendy turned 50. Charlie decided to have a surprise birthday party for her and we were invited. One small problem. The party was scheduled for January 31st and Charlie and Wendy (The T’s) live in Wawa 3 1/2 hours north of us. The trip means traveling along the east coast of Lake Superior which routinely experiences heavy snow squalls, white outs and extended road closures. It can be a really crappy drive which I never undertake lightly. As the planning progressed I was tasked with sourcing and delivering the fruit for a chocolate fountain and as of Thursday picking up a Wii game system, Charlies gift to Wendy. I also volunteered to make a batch of baked beans and a loaf of whole grain bread. Friday the beans were cooked and bread was baked.Also on Friday I discovered that my good friend Inga had to go to Wawa for another event and we arranged to travel together. All week it was clear with no precipitation. Saturday morning I woke up to snow – of course. A check of the road conditions online foretold less than ideal road conditions but I was committed and decided that if the highway was open we would go. I loaded the car with lots of heavy clothes and boots in case we got stopped somewhere. After stops in the Sault to buy the fruit and the Wii I collected Inga and off we went. The weather actually improved as we headed north. Highway 17 was almost bare, the snow quit and the traffic was light. About halfway to Wawa you reach the hamlet of Montreal River Harbour and climb one of the nastiest hills east of the Rockie Mountains.At the top of the hill the weather and road conditions changed abruptly. We experienced a series of squalls blowing in off the lake which caused sharply reduced visibility and the road surface became snow packed a lot more slippery. We slowed own and made it into Wawa about a half hour later than anticipated but safe and sound. I dropped Inga with her friend and then headed to the party site to deliver the goods and help with set up. Preparations were in full swing. By 2pm 30+ people were sitting chatting when Wendy walked in and was completely surprised. She had no hint what was going on. It was a fun afternoon with visiting and a few drinks and lots of snacks. People came and went. Wendy was having a great time. A number of gifts and cards were opened and a funny hat was produced.

After a while it was suppertime and out came lasagna, salad, beans, home made bread and buns and afterward a huge birthday cake. Everybody ate as much as they wanted and there was lots left over. After supper we broke out the Wii and played a few games of bowling. It really is a lot of fun.About 9.30pm I decided to head up the hill to my hotel room and made arrangements to be back at the chalet in the morning to help load all of the leftover food and booze into Charlies van for the trip back to their place.

I was down in the morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and some chat with Charlie and Wendy before heading to their place. We arrived just after 9 and Charlie immediately started organizing breakfast. Jon and I were dispatched to buy some bacon and Jon’s friend Eric was sent downstairs to start a fire in the wood stove. Just before 10 the bacon was frying and the pile of pancakes was growing when Charlie started mentioning that he could smell something like plastic burning. A few more sniffs and all of a sudden Charlie was yelling at Eric to look outside at the chimney. Yup it was on fire! Eric had overachieved on the fire. Well, then things got exciting. Charlie was roaring at everyone to get out of the house and Wendy called 911. Rebecca stumbled out the door in a tee shirt, boxer shorts and her boots, still mostly asleep. Jon was ordered out of the shower and into the street. In a few minutes the fire trucks arrived with 8 volunteer firefighters in all their gear including breathing apparatus and after some discussion insisted on going up on the roof to inspect the chimney. The street was blocked off, the neighbours were out and the red lights on the fire truck were going round and round.

By this time the forecasted snow squalls were starting to amke an appearance, the prospect of pancakes and bacon had, pardon the pun, gone up in smoke and it was time to head south. I collected Inga from down the street and Jon from the house and off we went. The weather and road conditions were very similar to what they had been on the way north and but again the traffic was light and we took our time. We arrived back in the Sault just after 2pm and after dropping my passengers I headed back to the island to see Val and tell her of all the adventures. Many thanks to the T’s for a great party and a fun-filled visit.

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January 27, 2009

Sometimes We Like Surprise Visitors

Filed under: Birds, New Experience, Rural Experiences, Wildlife, Winter — Pat @ 7:27 am

We live in a rural part of the island and it is fairly common to have wildlife in the yard. Our visitors range from a variety of small birds who come routinely to our feeders to white tailed deer who love the taste of Val’s flowers and my vegetables. We’ve seen raccoons, foxes, a weasel and one warm summer night about 4 years ago a bobcat who had a taste for cat meat. Poor Mulder . Bad bobcat!

White tails survive northern Ontario winters because they have learned to expend the least amount of energy possible to acquire the most calories possible. That means that if they find a source of food, especially high energy food, they don’t go far. They regularly come right to the edge of our deck to vacuum up shells from the sunflower seeds that the birds love. Deer also have big brown eyes and when they can relax they look right in the windows at us. When Val sees them and I hear “oh they look so hungry” I know that I will shortly be going out to put some whole corn down in the driveway for them. Every winter I promise myself that I won’t do it but every winter it happens.This winter is proving to be no exception and late last week I heard those fateful words and Friday afternoon I dumped a pail of mixed corn and oats in the driveway. They were immediately discovered by a pair of blue jays who apparently love the taste of whole corn. Saturday – no deer, Sunday – no deer. Monday – same thing. Just those jays getting fatter by the minute! Yesterday about 9.30 am I looke dout the window intot he yard and this is what I saw:

15 wild turkeys came walking down the driveway and right in to that pile of corn. This not the first time we have seen them but it is the first time we have had them here in winter. They stayed for 15 or 20 minutes and then headed back down the driveway. But, before they got the road them seemed to settle down as if they were just going to rest there for a while. They are very wary animals and would rather walk or run than fly.Late in the afternoon they came back and were in the cedars in front of the house. They didn’t stay long this time but we are hoping that they come back again.

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January 24, 2009

Feet Meet Your New Friends

Filed under: Cuba, Diabetes, New Gear, What we do in winter — Pat @ 11:38 am

I would like to introduce you to my first pair of new sandals in many years. To quote the Monkees “And I think I love you.”

New Sandals

As I sit here it is -24C and the ground is frozen hard and covered with many cm. of snow, not normally the conditions that make one want to run out and buy a new pair of sandals. But we are headed south in a couple of weeks and that was the impetus for this purchase. When we get to Cuba I don’t really want to wear socks and shoes all the time (that is what diabetics are urged to do to help protect their feet). It is going to be hot and sunny and I want to wear as little as possible and that includes on my feet.The other option was to get a pair of Crocs and I am avoiding that option.

I knew what I wanted and where to find them but was having trouble with the cost. I always whine and waffle when it comes to spending money on myself. I found these last fall and immediately fell for them.The big attraction is the toe protection and protecting your feet is a priority for diabetics. Foot injuries can lead to infections and that can lead to BIG problems. Where did that foot go? Anyway, when we were in SSM yesterday I finally went to the store where I saw them months ago. Of course they were not on display but the owner was more than happy to go into the back and dig them out. I tried them on with socks (forgive me Clara) and said to wrap them up. At this point the cost was secondary. I did get a pleasant surprise when I paid for them. This is the 3rd pair of shoes I have purchased from this store in the past couple of years and when the sales person entered my telephone number he told me that I now have a $60.00 credit when I buy my next pair of shoes. Bonus!

So two weeks from now when I am strolling the beaches of Varadero I will be happy and my feet will be cool and well protected.

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January 23, 2009

Thoughts On A Dark Morning

Filed under: Musings, My Health, Whine, Winter — Pat @ 8:31 am

Motivation, where does it come from & how do you hang on to it? This a question that I have been meaning to think about and write about, if I can get motivated. January is a dark month and a cold month and those two things combined seem to have driven any motivation I may possess into the farthest reaches of wherever motivation goes for a holiday. Probably Bali or a tiny village near the headwaters of the mighty Limpopo River in central Africa. Anyway it seems to have gotten off my island.

I have not uttered these words out loud but I made two promises to myself sometime between Christmas and new years. I told myself that I would reinvigorate this blog. I’m not sure why this has become important to me but it has. It is a matter of great pride for me to write something (hopefully of some import) regularly. As I have said here on more than one occasion I am in awe of Clara’s skill with words and with her ability to find time in an incredibly hectic life to write regularly, articulately and very humourously in her blog. And if my son would start to write in English instead of techno-garble I’m sure that I would enjoy his blog also . These two are my motivation.

The other promise I made to myself relates to my health. I live with diabetes and hypertension. Both of these are invisible and both are controllable, by me. All I have to do is lose weight, exercise regularly, eat a far better diet and cut way back on the amount of alcohol I consume. Last year my motivation stayed home and I actually managed to lose weight during the winter, enough weight that people started to notice. My doctor sure did! My BP dropped right back into the very normal range and my bg readings were the best they had been in sometime.I was using a recumbent exercise bike and walking. In the spring I kept it up. I was outside gardening and walking.I managed to keep the weight off over the summer and things were looking pretty good. Good enough that I thought that I could start to eat a bit more than I had been and things that I know are not good for me. Just before Christmas I had an appointment with my doctor and although my BP was still good my weight had started to creep back up.That was enough to make me stop exercising completely. So I told myself that come January 1 I would get off my ass and get back to it. Well here we are on Jan. 23 and I am till telling myself the same story. I delude myself into thinking that hauling in firewood once a week and walking behind the snow blower are suitable alternatives but I know it ain’t so. I walk past my bike half a dozen times a day and every time I think I should park my butt and spend 15 minutes but its not happening and it is really pissing me off. I have to start! So if anyone who reads this sees my motivationwill you please tell it to come home.

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