My poor Sister Sandra in Sturgeon Falls!

Credit: Bayview Camp & Cottages webcam

May 31st and look at the white stuff on the ground! Sandra is less than impressed!

H1N1 flu, world cases as per the WHO.

*Credit WHO*


http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/history_map/InfluenzaAH1N1_maps.html


I posted the earlier map on May 19th, 4 days ago. Since then 2 more countries have cases and the total world number has risen by 2,192. This is far from over.

Wash your hands!

Where I've been...

This is where I've been! Non stop for about 6 weeks! 'Tis the season. My gardens aren't done, though it was only 1 degree the other night so well, that's kind of an excuse! I plan on at least weeding soon. I could likely knit a cat or two from what's wafting around the house! I plan to fix that up this weekend!

http://www.khfireworks.ca/

So click above and see what my work is all about.

H1N1 flu

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html

The World Health Organization site: excellent info.

Happy Mother's day, but this is a weird one for me!

Ok, so this photo is about 21 years old but it's a great one! Matthew is in Saskatchewan/Alberta and Michelle on Portland Island in British Columbia! It's been a lot of years since I didn't have a kid around on Mother's Day. Sigh... Well I guess it's good practice for what's to come. There were still great gifts, perfectly suited to me, and cards and Bob is at Tunnel BBQ to pick up my favourite meal in Windsor and of course, there is wine involved!

Happy Mother's Day to my friends and family who are Mother's! xo

Snowball the dancing cockatoo

http://thirtypoundsofcat.blogspot.com/search?q=snowball

Since the little Backstreet Boys loving, dancing, head banging bird is suddenly in the news, I thought I'd post a link to my blog post on him from last year... enjoy!

Well interestingly, the video has been removed for terms of use violation? hmmm then why put up an embed code? sorry, go to you tube to see it and well, I hope you don't violate anything!

Swine flu. It's 1976 all over again!

This is the last thing the world's fragile economic state needed. Should this reach pandemic proportions with people not leaving their houses we'll be stepping out into a whole new world once we unlock our doors.

Since last September when the false, easily affordable, high living fable fell apart it's been one major blow after another. I suppose it a smack of reality hitting hard and fast. We cannot live on promises, we cannot destroy the very place that sustains us, we cannot shove thousands of animals into a building, beef them up on man made drugs never allowing them to move more than a few inches and expect all to be well. Consumers, consume. We seem to be ravenous.

I suppose it's more than just a coincidence that "consumption" has the meanings it has?

Now as an aside here's a BBC link. Do you think this is an issue that really needs to be made at this time in human history? Is this how "politically correct" we must be? I say worry less about the name and more about the cause and effects!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8021301.stm

Chrysler and the C.A.W.

Kenny says: No concessions, pattern bargaining just like always. well Kenny...

The Letter from Chrysler to their employees: The letter warned that the “clock is ticking. The letter outlined the company’s proposals to offset costs, “without affecting base wages and pensions.” They include:

• Prescription drug dispensing fees, by eliminating the cap results in estimated savings of $2.16 per hour.

• Elimination of out-of-province health care coverage (snowbirds), with employees and retirees assuming responsibility for any coverage results in a cost savings of $1.00 per hour.

• The change from semi-private hospital room coverage to “ward” coverage saves an estimated $0.97 per hour.

• Elimination of life insurance for current and future employees results in a cost savings of $1.54 per hour.

• The reduction of shift premiums to 2.5 per cent results in a cost savings of $.80 per hour.

• The elimination of non-traditional benefits such as child care, legal services, tuition reimbursement, dependent scholarships and extended health care coverage (chiropractic services, massage therapy, naturopath, orthotics, etc.) results in a cost savings of $0.73 per hour.

Well... it's a new world, new expectations, the unions no longer carry the weight and power they've brandished for so long. Jobs are not for life, the company is not responsible nor can they carry us from cradle to grave. We're back to a time where you earn your keep, you merit the raise or the promotion. There are plenty of places in the world willing to do these jobs for much, much less. I'm not going to comment on the benefits these folks have enjoyed for so many years, I really had no idea how good they've had it!

Susan Boyle, Britain's Got Talent!

Yep, Simon smiling... you know something's up!








Here's who's up... a 47 year old Villager named Susan Boyle! I'm jumping on her bandwagon.




Here's the You Tube link... click it, it's well worth watching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

Not something you see everyday!

(Not the actual bird seen, photo from Google images.)

Driving to work this morning, I was watching for my hawk that's usually sitting on the airport fence; (we've bonded, I'm pretty sure he nods his head to me as I drive by.) Well, no hawk, just a squished opossum.

I approach the intersection of Lauzon Parkway and County Rd. #42, it should be noted that there are farm lands, ponds and woods in the area, along with 3,456,789 transport trucks and just about as many cars! I see something huge and brown at the side of the road! Yep... a female wild turkey! She stood there staring at me, I tried to take a picture with my cell phone but cars pulled up between us. I've see many birds, including large birds like eagles, hawks and falcons, but not a turkey and certainly never had one stand still and stare at me!

I looked up animal omens... turkey means abundance, the promise of things to come!

Happy Easter.

So, I haven't blogged in quite a while, and yes I got the messages! I've been lazy and busy.

Last weekend Bob and I went for a day trip to London to visit my family. It was a nice day for a drive and great to see them. I didn't see everyone but we were only there for a couple of hours visiting. We stopped to pick up some camping supplies for Mich for her trip to BC in early May.

She's off to help conduct research (for her Grad lab at UWO,) on the Gulf Islands for 3 weeks then comes home for a couple of weeks, then off to New York City to help conduct research, (for her current Lab at Windsor,) at ... The Museum Of Natural History! Then she's home for a bit before she moves to London to start officially at UWO. (I don't want to talk about it!)

It's getting busy at work for the Victoria Day fireworks season and shows. I will be at the office 7 days a week soon and likely 10 hours a day, I will try to sneak in the odd blog.

Hope you're all having a wonderful holiday weekend with friends and family! Oh and a big thank you to Patty who picked up the huge stash of Easter candy for me! (Bob and Mich say thanks too!) xoxo

Windsor Canal Project - doable!

The report on feasibility is in and it says it can be done! Details will be released to Council soon and then we'll all know!













Here's a link to my original posting on this project!

http://thirtypoundsofcat.blogspot.com/search?q=canal

Stephen Harper/Rod Blagojevich ?

Hmmmm, just hmmmm.

Ouellette Avenue overpass... AGAIN!

I took this picture, with my phone, driving home from work yesterday. Yep, they're working on the Jackson Park/ Ouellette Avenue overpass; AGAIN! ON what part? The expansion joints; AGAIN! (You know, those connector thingys between the sections, not all that important I'm sure!) I'm thinking that if they have to do this every single year, sometimes more than once a year there may be a bigger job coming. It'll be ugly if they have to close it down. It's one of the two main incoming roads from the 401!

You can click here for last May's post on this piece of Windsor roadway.

Spring has sprung!

Birds do it... bees do it... even educated fleas do it.




I love the part at the end when she sees looks at the window and sees me taping them!
Sorry it's not a closer shot.

McGuinty conducting business as usual?

These are not normal times. I live in a city that is gasping for breath, struggling to keep pumping and in reality, they're lining up in the US and Mexico for all the left over usable parts!

My city is Windsor, Ontario. A one trick pony, auto industry and all it's associated offshoots. My city is in the Province of Ontario, lead by a man, I once considered reasonably intelligent, Dalton McGuinty.

Here's the last couple of genius ideas that have seeped out of The Palace in Toronto. Lets start with the right hand of our conductor. Before you can sell you home in this province you have to have an energy audit... oh and it'll cost about $300.00.

Vladan Veljovic is president of Greensaver, one of Ontario's oldest energy auditing firms. "Home inspectors currently do between 25,000 and 30,000 energy audits a year across Ontario, Veljovic says. Under the new rules, that could to increase to about 200,000, with a corresponding jump in demand for inspectors." (thestar.com) 200,000 times $300.00, that's $60,000,000.00. (That's 60 million for those of you large number impaired, though there are far less of us now than there were prior to the numbers floating around since September 2008's financial meltdown.) Now they will need to " hire" or "certify new inspectors but there's not any detailed legislation covering the job description, so maybe those guys who keep knocking at my door trying to convince me that they are from my local power company while trying to get hold of my actual bill can get real jobs!

Certification requires taking a five-day course, according to Natural Resources Canada, followed by an exam and the supervised inspection of seven houses. The entire process takes about two months, depending on how quickly the home inspections can be scheduled.
http://oee.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/residential/business/participants-networks/r-2000/plan-evaluators.cfm?attr=12

Now for the left hand... Harmonized sales tax. Wow, what a great idea! Apparently business will find the paper work easier. One report, maybe 4 times a year instead of GST 4 times a year and PST anywhere from monthly to once or twice a year, depending on the nature of your business. (Never mind that computer accounting software does it for you, that's non elemental to this discussion apparently.) Well bully for business! You who's trying to feed and clothe your kids. Now you can pay one convenient 13% tax on everything! Yep even the stuff that was PST exempt. Lucky you. Hey maybe it'll be as spectacular as the Quebec and PEI systems where they charge the PST on the GST in their great tax of harmony!
Can't see our conductor passing up that opportunity.

Mr. McGuinty, with all respect I cannot help but ask, have you lost your mind? Is this the time to saddle us with extra payments? Maybe you need to come on down to Windsor, lose a few filling driving over our rutted roads, oh, avoid Howard where the inside lane is often blocked by out of work factory folks staging a blockade to get what's rightfully theirs while Chrysler tries to get it's machinery out and ship it to the US! Oh, avoid the area around the Downtown Mission that's seeing a rise in numbers as the line up might delay your progress. Don't try to go down College because the bridge at Wellington is closed and well, our fight with the Feds over border crossings is holding it hostage no matter that those of us who live near or go to the University it find it a daily hardship. (I plan on doing something about this in the near future!)

All in all, I'm furious and frustrated. Why at this time would anyone, never mind one of the people we actually trusted to look out for our best interests, even consider such untimely and obviously ivory tower ideas. Come back to the real work Sir and open your eyes. I failed to mention previously we have two, yep two, Provincial Cabinet Ministers from our beleaguered town, haven't heard a peep out of either one of them about these issues?

Happy me day!

'Tis the annual honouring of St. Patty day and well, being a Patty/Patti/Pat... I claim all the benefits. My family on my Dad's side does live in Belfast; my name, in it's older form would have been Patty O'Toole and you can't get any more Irish than that! So, I'm waiting for all my presents! hint, hint... :)

Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!

Coincidences, Karma and 6 degrees of separation!

So a bit of background. My name is Pat, and my favourite radio station is CBC Radio, AM, (as I have blogged so many times previously.) I grew up in London, Ontario, I live in Windsor. My daughter's name is Michelle. Michelle is in her last year of Honours Biology, environmental sustainability, at the University of Windsor. She works part time as a Pharmacy Technician at a Shopper's Drug Mart... so...

As I blogged last weekend I left for Ottawa on business. I took the train there. From Windsor to London, I sat alone. At London a gentleman was my seat mate. He introduced himself. His name was Peter Leo, a senior producer at CBC Radio in Toronto! Now... that's not all. He grew up in London. He then mentioned the "Inter-City Student's Council of which he was a member." Well, it was one year and I was the rep for my high school! We met monthly at the Board offices on Elmwood. Peter and I had to be there, at the same time, for these meetings! We talked all the way to Toronto and are now facebook friends.

From Toronto to Ottawa was a woman, just a bit younger than me. Her name? Michelle! Her job? She works for an Global Company specializing in Environmental assessments and reporting! Her daughter's part time job? Shopper's Drug Mart, Pharmacy Technician. Michelle, (my daughter, not my seat mate,) was on her way to London to interview for Grad School at Western for her Masters in a program that Michelle, my seat mate, was very interested in! (Oh, by the way, Mich was accepted into the Grad program and accepted in return!)*EDIT* I forgot to mention that the woman's niece is a pyrotechnician! Being a Federally licensed pyrotechnician and Fireworks Supervisor myself it's strange to run into someone who knows someone who's licensed for this, along with all the other intersections in our lives it was even weirder!*

There are far too many coincidences for it to be mere coincidence! It seems my train rides were "engineered" by Karma!

Off to Ottawa... again... in the winter... again!

The last time was in November for crying out loud! Too bad it wasn't a couple of weeks ago when President Obama was there. This week the weather is somewhat better but really, I want Ottawa in the spring. Though since we are all fireworks folks, we really are too busy to travel to meetings other than off season.