It's been a fairly hectic last few days. Scheduling Rory for his last trip out of here, and getting ready for my own 10 day adventure to Winnipeg. It's surprising how much work it can be to try to schedule 8 months of personal business into the one free day that I'll possibly have, if the weather cooperates on Sunday, and I actually get all the way to Winnipeg in one day. I've got interviews, accountant meetings, shopping lists, a rental car to pick up so that I can try to get it all done, and back-up plans for if the weather screws the whole thing up. I never imagined that one free day could end up in so much prep work.
I was kind of interested to see yesterday's school yard pick, but they tried way to hard to turn it into an actual event. A half hour pre-game show, and an hour and a half to get the picks done. They dragged it out way too long. Just pick your guys and get it done! I'm certainly never sitting through that again (if they ever repeat it).
Well, either I'll be writing tomorrow because the weather kept me here, or you won't be hearing from me until I get to Winnipeg. It's always a crap shoot. Currently, the wind chill is -53, but it's supposed too calm down before the end of the day. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear for my departure, other than the -38 or so on the thermometer. One more thing before I forget (speaking of the weather) - yesterday I thought that our outdoor compact fluorescent bulb had burned out, so I planned on getting a new one and installing it today before I left. Later, after the wind slowed down and the temperature rose a little, the light came back on. It was simply too cold for the light bulb to work outside! I'd never heard of that before.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Murder - North of 60
It's been a crazy couple of days! There was a murder on Monday night. "Apparently" (since he hasn't been tried before a jury of his peers), this particular gentleman decided that in the middle of the night, he should stab his girlfriend over and over again in the head. Then, of course, the only way to follow that up would be to hang himself in the shed. Problems arose when he was found in the process (covered in blood), broke free, and ran up into the mountains.
This was the news that we were greeted with when we got to work in the morning. At the time, the search party was still trying to track him down. A little later in the morning we were finally informed that he had circled back into town, where he was subdued and taken into custody.
What is wrong with these people!? That's two manslaughters, one murder, and one suicide in the last 8 weeks. If your keeping track: one out of every 300 people in town, have been killed (which doesn't count those who have died by natural causes) in the last two months.
There must be a more sensible place to live - something's got to give.
Stay tuned.
This was the news that we were greeted with when we got to work in the morning. At the time, the search party was still trying to track him down. A little later in the morning we were finally informed that he had circled back into town, where he was subdued and taken into custody.
What is wrong with these people!? That's two manslaughters, one murder, and one suicide in the last 8 weeks. If your keeping track: one out of every 300 people in town, have been killed (which doesn't count those who have died by natural causes) in the last two months.
There must be a more sensible place to live - something's got to give.
Stay tuned.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Down Day
This was certainly one of those days where you have to ask yourself what you're doing in the arctic, thousands of miles from anyone that you know. And not because the windchill was -42.
It's not that anything terribly specific happened to make me question the sanity of it all, it was just one of those days. If we're up here for the adventure, and the adventure doesn't really seem to be that fun, is there really a point to continuing? I guess there comes a time when you have to say - if it's not fun anymore, there better be some money in it. We're only one week away from the close of our fiscal year, and we've been doing great since we got here. There is a possibility that we're due for a great bonus, but we'll have to see when it gets here, and I'm not about to count my chickens before they hatch. And that will only bring me to the next question - was it worth it. Who knows, maybe they'll move us to a new place by then that will be awesome, and this whole day will be mute.
Stay tuned.
It's not that anything terribly specific happened to make me question the sanity of it all, it was just one of those days. If we're up here for the adventure, and the adventure doesn't really seem to be that fun, is there really a point to continuing? I guess there comes a time when you have to say - if it's not fun anymore, there better be some money in it. We're only one week away from the close of our fiscal year, and we've been doing great since we got here. There is a possibility that we're due for a great bonus, but we'll have to see when it gets here, and I'm not about to count my chickens before they hatch. And that will only bring me to the next question - was it worth it. Who knows, maybe they'll move us to a new place by then that will be awesome, and this whole day will be mute.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Steelers Win - Small Redemption
With the Steelers pulling out a five point win, I get back to a 4-6 record following the Bears loss. I'm obviously not nearly as smart as I think that I am. With all of the experts saying that the Packers can't be stopped now that they have their brand new running game, I was busy telling folks that having success for three games against poor run defense teams doesn't mean that you suddenly have a running game. Well, their running game looked pretty good today. And, how was I supposed to know that the Bears would be down to their third string quarterback?
It's a good thing that the Steelers staked themselves out to a 24-0 lead, because they needed every bit of it to hang on to the lead from a late charging Jets team. Lucky for me, my private hockey picks were a lot smarter than my football picks, so that any of my minor wagers all seemed to pay off so that I could do a little better than breaking even.
I've got some hockey rule changes to go over tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
It's a good thing that the Steelers staked themselves out to a 24-0 lead, because they needed every bit of it to hang on to the lead from a late charging Jets team. Lucky for me, my private hockey picks were a lot smarter than my football picks, so that any of my minor wagers all seemed to pay off so that I could do a little better than breaking even.
I've got some hockey rule changes to go over tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
First Night Out
After being here for five months, we were finally invited for our first evening out. In Repulse Bay, the cop came to introduce himself on our second day there, and invited us to play cards on Saturday every week until we finally gave in about one month in.
It was a pretty interesting event. The couple (and I say couple, but they're actually brother and sister) were very French, and spoke to each other multiple times through the evening to try to figure out which words to use. She, of course mentioned very plainly that we obviously had no choice but to forgive them, since we after all were only speaking one language, and were of no benefit to the language confusion at all. He is here as a school teacher, and has brought his two sons. His wife is also a school teacher, but in a completely different community up the coast. His sister, that is here in his house, has been brought along for the sole purpose of home-schooling his two boys. Very strange set-up!
The meal started off with an artichoke salad, with a vinegar dressing, lots of onions, and piles of parsley. Good thing there was lots of bread and wine to wash it down! The main course was a Thai chicken and vegetable mixture over rice, which was much more palatable than the appetizer.
The wind is picking up, the forecast calls for wind-chills of -47, but it's barely -35 right now. Hopefully the forecast is wrong, but I guess we'll find out. I was obviously planning on watching the football games anyway, so bring it on old man winter.
One week from today (weather permitting), I should be winging my way to Winnipeg. I guess we'll see how that goes.
Stay tuned.
It was a pretty interesting event. The couple (and I say couple, but they're actually brother and sister) were very French, and spoke to each other multiple times through the evening to try to figure out which words to use. She, of course mentioned very plainly that we obviously had no choice but to forgive them, since we after all were only speaking one language, and were of no benefit to the language confusion at all. He is here as a school teacher, and has brought his two sons. His wife is also a school teacher, but in a completely different community up the coast. His sister, that is here in his house, has been brought along for the sole purpose of home-schooling his two boys. Very strange set-up!
The meal started off with an artichoke salad, with a vinegar dressing, lots of onions, and piles of parsley. Good thing there was lots of bread and wine to wash it down! The main course was a Thai chicken and vegetable mixture over rice, which was much more palatable than the appetizer.
The wind is picking up, the forecast calls for wind-chills of -47, but it's barely -35 right now. Hopefully the forecast is wrong, but I guess we'll find out. I was obviously planning on watching the football games anyway, so bring it on old man winter.
One week from today (weather permitting), I should be winging my way to Winnipeg. I guess we'll see how that goes.
Stay tuned.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Conference Finals Preview
New York Jets at Pittsburgh Steelers: This should be a fantastic game! The Jets have shut down Payton Manning and Tom Brady in back-to-back weeks. The Steelers only played one game, but it was a tough one. Troy didn't do much in that game, but I expect him to be a game-breaker in this one. I wouldn't be surprised to have several lead changes, at least three turnovers, and it might just be the special teams that make the difference. Really tough to call, but I'm going to take the Steelers by 2.
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears: This should also be a fantastic game! The Packers did a lot more than I expected last week, and should prove to be much more than a pushover. The Bears looked pretty good as well, but let's face it, they were playing the Seahawks. The Bears should be rested and prepared, while the Packers might just be in over their heads. I'm expecting it to be a really tight contest, also several lead changes, but the Packers can't do it without some turnovers and lucky bounces. I call Bears by 4.
I'm only 3-5, it's probably going to get worse before it gets better, and only three games left.
It's still bitterly cold, Rico has reverted back to screaming when I make him stand outside, and our porch is filling up with snow. Ahhhh... winter in the arctic. Hopefully the wind dies, planes fly, freight comes in, and nobody asks me to make any deliveries.
Stay tuned.
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears: This should also be a fantastic game! The Packers did a lot more than I expected last week, and should prove to be much more than a pushover. The Bears looked pretty good as well, but let's face it, they were playing the Seahawks. The Bears should be rested and prepared, while the Packers might just be in over their heads. I'm expecting it to be a really tight contest, also several lead changes, but the Packers can't do it without some turnovers and lucky bounces. I call Bears by 4.
I'm only 3-5, it's probably going to get worse before it gets better, and only three games left.
It's still bitterly cold, Rico has reverted back to screaming when I make him stand outside, and our porch is filling up with snow. Ahhhh... winter in the arctic. Hopefully the wind dies, planes fly, freight comes in, and nobody asks me to make any deliveries.
Stay tuned.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Blog 101
Winter is finally here! It comes with bittersweet feelings. On the one hand, it took so long to get here, everyone's talking about how this never happens, and we came to the arctic expecting winter. On the other hand... man it's cold! The temp is about 27, but the windchill is more like 37. It's howling outside, and it definitely creeps right into the house. The dogs sure don't seem to have any sense of appreciation for it all. The ocean finally froze over on Monday, and Tuesday had several snowmobiles cruising around on the surface. It's a little late, but by the time it's over, I'm sure that I'll wish that it never came.
This is blog 101. Some days I get several ideas, blog one, and write down the rest. The next day, I'm searching for that piece of paper, because I've just got nothing. The hits seem to have the effect. I go days without much, and then 15 in a day (like yesterday). We're over 700 in total, from 17 countries now, and this month alone is over 100. It comes and goes - like my ideas. This one's pretty much nothing but fluff, but with 15 hits yesterday, I felt like I owed something. So, here I am, phoning it in. Tomorrow should be the conference finals preview.
Stay tuned.
This is blog 101. Some days I get several ideas, blog one, and write down the rest. The next day, I'm searching for that piece of paper, because I've just got nothing. The hits seem to have the effect. I go days without much, and then 15 in a day (like yesterday). We're over 700 in total, from 17 countries now, and this month alone is over 100. It comes and goes - like my ideas. This one's pretty much nothing but fluff, but with 15 hits yesterday, I felt like I owed something. So, here I am, phoning it in. Tomorrow should be the conference finals preview.
Stay tuned.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Worn Out Welcome
Pierre MacGuire - it's time to go.
You know, I may have been the only one, but I actually appreciated Pierre when he first came on the scene. It was mostly due to the fact that most of the time, when he was trying to make a point, and was showing a replay from the game, most of the time it wasn't a goal, or even related to or leading up to a goal. He was just showing somebody either doing their job well, or missing their assignment. Pretty much everyone else that I had seen, or have seen since, only show jobs well done or missed assignments that are leading to goals.
I'm not sure if he created it, but he was the first one that I heard talking about "creating time and space". It seemed reasonable at the time, but now every game that I watch (and I have centre ice) has every commentator talking about time and space. I'm really starting to get tired of it.
Then, there's the frequency with which he feels the need to use the word apoplectic (greatly excited or angered). Just because you know one word that the average person doesn't know, does that really mean that you need to use it every day? Instead of working so hard to find ways of using your one word, why don't you use half of that effort to learn some new words.
My Mom always said "It's better to leave too soon and have people wish that you had stayed longer, than to stay too long and have people wish that you had left earlier". Pierre MacGuire - you should have left sooner.
Stay tuned.
You know, I may have been the only one, but I actually appreciated Pierre when he first came on the scene. It was mostly due to the fact that most of the time, when he was trying to make a point, and was showing a replay from the game, most of the time it wasn't a goal, or even related to or leading up to a goal. He was just showing somebody either doing their job well, or missing their assignment. Pretty much everyone else that I had seen, or have seen since, only show jobs well done or missed assignments that are leading to goals.
I'm not sure if he created it, but he was the first one that I heard talking about "creating time and space". It seemed reasonable at the time, but now every game that I watch (and I have centre ice) has every commentator talking about time and space. I'm really starting to get tired of it.
Then, there's the frequency with which he feels the need to use the word apoplectic (greatly excited or angered). Just because you know one word that the average person doesn't know, does that really mean that you need to use it every day? Instead of working so hard to find ways of using your one word, why don't you use half of that effort to learn some new words.
My Mom always said "It's better to leave too soon and have people wish that you had stayed longer, than to stay too long and have people wish that you had left earlier". Pierre MacGuire - you should have left sooner.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
You Win Some - You Lose Some
With two games, I was almost to the point accurate. Steelers by 7 (exactly like I said), and Chicago by 11 (when I called them by 10). Then, there were the other two games. Way off! That leaves me at a pathetic 3-5 record. Going perfect for the remaining three games would only put me one game above 500.
I spent 10 hours stripping and waxing the floor at the store today. Awesome way to kill a day off!
I'm sure that I'll mention it again, but I'm scheduled to head back to Manitoba for about 10 days at the beginning of February. It's all business, and probably not a lot of fun, but there is the first day (weather permitting) that I should be able to get some business done, and spend a few minutes with family.
Anyway, even though I didn't write yesterday either, I'm exhausted - so that's it.
Stay tuned.
I spent 10 hours stripping and waxing the floor at the store today. Awesome way to kill a day off!
I'm sure that I'll mention it again, but I'm scheduled to head back to Manitoba for about 10 days at the beginning of February. It's all business, and probably not a lot of fun, but there is the first day (weather permitting) that I should be able to get some business done, and spend a few minutes with family.
Anyway, even though I didn't write yesterday either, I'm exhausted - so that's it.
Stay tuned.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Divisional Playoff Preview
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers: Big Ben is going to do what he always does - just enough to win. Troy Polamalu should probably get some looks at not only the defensive player of the year, but MVP as well. His face-off with Ray Lewis should show us all who the most dominant defender is. Steelers by 7.
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons: The storybook season for Atlanta will continue for at least one more chapter, while Aaron Rogers will have to wait for another day to truly step out from behind Brett's shadow. Falcons by 7.
Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears: There will be no miracles in Chicago. The Bears will dominate throughout, leaving you asking how this team managed to beat the Saints last week anyway. Bears by 10.
New York Jets at New England Patriots: This one's getting a lot of hype in the press. Rex Ryan keeps shooting his mouth off, and I doubt that getting slaughtered will prevent that from happening again. Tom Brady is awesome! He isn't surrounded with the same weapons that he used to have, but Bill Belichick is a genius. Patriots by 10.
Last week, the Seahawks were the only team to win at home. Expect that trend to come to a screeching halt this weekend, as the home teams go 4-0. Now, check out these picks, bet the opposite, and roll around in great big piles of cash (just don't put too much thought into where some of that money has been).
Stay tuned.
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons: The storybook season for Atlanta will continue for at least one more chapter, while Aaron Rogers will have to wait for another day to truly step out from behind Brett's shadow. Falcons by 7.
Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears: There will be no miracles in Chicago. The Bears will dominate throughout, leaving you asking how this team managed to beat the Saints last week anyway. Bears by 10.
New York Jets at New England Patriots: This one's getting a lot of hype in the press. Rex Ryan keeps shooting his mouth off, and I doubt that getting slaughtered will prevent that from happening again. Tom Brady is awesome! He isn't surrounded with the same weapons that he used to have, but Bill Belichick is a genius. Patriots by 10.
Last week, the Seahawks were the only team to win at home. Expect that trend to come to a screeching halt this weekend, as the home teams go 4-0. Now, check out these picks, bet the opposite, and roll around in great big piles of cash (just don't put too much thought into where some of that money has been).
Stay tuned.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Carbon Footprint
Have you seen those Hyundai commercials claiming that the commercial was made with no carbon footprint? I know that the last one was on commercials as well, and I took some time off, but before I get to some terrible football predictions tomorrow, I thought that I'd throw in another commercial, and again emphasize how much they lie to us.
We had a march against suicide today. The Co-op closed for three hours in the middle of the afternoon to participate, and we were quite busy as a result. It's not that I want to make light of it, and it's quite a serious topic, but I just don't understand how a bunch of people not committing suicide marching around town can even imagine that they are helping to prevent the next one. Protests and marches seem so utterly pointless to me.
Back to the carbon footprint. In the commercial they have: a car, material on a treadmill type sky, a bicycle type thing to turn the wheels, another similar arm crank dealio to turn the sky, and obviously a camera. Was the metal not smelted? What materials were used to create the movie camera? How did they get all of this equipment to the shoot site? There are a million other similar questions to ask, and I won't bother asking them all. But the big question is - how do they get away with claiming that the whole commercial was shot without producing a carbon footprint? Marketers wouldn't lie to us... would they? Maybe the bigger question is - how dumb do they think we are?
Stay tuned.
We had a march against suicide today. The Co-op closed for three hours in the middle of the afternoon to participate, and we were quite busy as a result. It's not that I want to make light of it, and it's quite a serious topic, but I just don't understand how a bunch of people not committing suicide marching around town can even imagine that they are helping to prevent the next one. Protests and marches seem so utterly pointless to me.
Back to the carbon footprint. In the commercial they have: a car, material on a treadmill type sky, a bicycle type thing to turn the wheels, another similar arm crank dealio to turn the sky, and obviously a camera. Was the metal not smelted? What materials were used to create the movie camera? How did they get all of this equipment to the shoot site? There are a million other similar questions to ask, and I won't bother asking them all. But the big question is - how do they get away with claiming that the whole commercial was shot without producing a carbon footprint? Marketers wouldn't lie to us... would they? Maybe the bigger question is - how dumb do they think we are?
Stay tuned.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Pepsi vs. Coke
Even though I'm a Coke guy, I use Pepsi first in the title for one reason - they're the only ones fighting the battle. Here's my point: ever since I can remember, starting with the Pepsi Challenge (remember those blind taste tests?), I just can't remember a Pepsi commercial that doesn't somehow take a shot at Coke. Whether it's original Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, or now Pepsi Max, they are copying Coke's ideas and then taking shots at them. On the other hand, I can't think of a single Coke commercial that takes any shots at Pepsi at all. They have the polar bears, the vending machine, the old "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" song, and so on. They always take the classy approach, and only discuss their own product.
All of this brings me to a commercial that came out last year already, but is now making a comeback. The Pepsi Max one, with the two truck drivers in the restaurant, "Why can't we be friends" playing in the background, the Coke guy trying the Pepsi Max, the Pepsi guy capturing it on his camera and uploading it to you tube, and the ensuing fight that breaks out. I don't like the whole thing, starting off with the continuing need to bring themselves up by bring Coke down, but especially two main things.
Pause and refresh yourself (1924), things go better with Coke (1963), have a Coke and a smile (1979).
All of this brings me to a commercial that came out last year already, but is now making a comeback. The Pepsi Max one, with the two truck drivers in the restaurant, "Why can't we be friends" playing in the background, the Coke guy trying the Pepsi Max, the Pepsi guy capturing it on his camera and uploading it to you tube, and the ensuing fight that breaks out. I don't like the whole thing, starting off with the continuing need to bring themselves up by bring Coke down, but especially two main things.
- The Coke guy seems to be so surprised by the fact that Pepsi Max has zero calories, while he's wearing a Coke Zero hat, and drinking a Coke Zero. How many calories do they expect us to believe that a Coke "Zero" has?
- The Pepsi guy is sitting on the right. When he's taping the Coke guy drinking the Pepsi Max, the Coke guy has the drink in his right hand so that we can see the label. When the Pepsi guy shows him the video on his phone, he's got the drink in his left hand so that we can still see the label.
Pause and refresh yourself (1924), things go better with Coke (1963), have a Coke and a smile (1979).
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Watch My Predictions - Bet Opposite
One out of four. Even if I go perfect through the rest of the playoffs, the record won't look awesome. After this tragic start, I'll be lucky to break even.
The weather during the past two days has been awesome! Since our storm about five weeks ago, I was having some trouble with my charging system on the quad. Right now, all of the loose snow has blown away, there was some sun to soften the surface, and now it's just cold enough to create a perfect crust over the top. I'm able to go anywhere a snowmobile can go. Even where the snow is 12-15 feet deep, I can just ride over the top. Yesterday I went out by myself, to see what could all be accomplished. Today I took out Fran, and between the two days I put on about 50 miles. This is a fairly high view, down into the valley where the town is, and clearly shows all of the open water in the background.
I expected Seattle to put up a pretty good fight, but not to actually win. The Indy/Jets game was pretty good. The Chiefs battled for a while, and then the wheels fell off, for the only game where I picked the right winner. Then, in what I thought was going to be the game of the week, the Eagles defense was not able to keep the Packers out of the end zone, and Akers couldn't make a kick. What are you going to do? I guess I'll just have to pick myself up out of the dirt, dust myself off, and carry on as if I actually know something.
Tomorrow's got nothing to do with sports.
Stay tuned.
I expected Seattle to put up a pretty good fight, but not to actually win. The Indy/Jets game was pretty good. The Chiefs battled for a while, and then the wheels fell off, for the only game where I picked the right winner. Then, in what I thought was going to be the game of the week, the Eagles defense was not able to keep the Packers out of the end zone, and Akers couldn't make a kick. What are you going to do? I guess I'll just have to pick myself up out of the dirt, dust myself off, and carry on as if I actually know something.
Tomorrow's got nothing to do with sports.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Wildcard Preview
The four teams earning the bye:
1. New England Patriots (14-2): Tom Brady - say no more.
2. Atlanta Falcons (13-3): Outstanding season - watch out for them.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): Big Ben's only stat that looks good - win/loss. With a week off after squeaking past the Browns last week, he should be raring to go.
4. Chicago Bears (11-5): I don't see how they keep winning - but they do.
Wildcard match-ups:
New Orleans Saints (11-5) at Seattle Seahawks (7-9): While it looks like a total miss-match, and the league should be embarrassed that a team like Seattle even makes the playoffs, I won't be surprised if the Seahawks put up a pretty good fight. Although, I won't be surprised if they don't. Saints by 10+
New York Jets (11-5) at Indianapolis Colts (10-6): Four weeks ago it looked like the Colts weren't even going to make the playoffs. Four wins later, at home, with Payton at the helm, Colts by 4
Baltimore Ravens (12-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-6): Take the under on this snore-fest. 10-6 Ravens
Green Bay Packers (10-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (10-6): The game of the week. One defense is going to have to come up big, to stop the other team from racking up points. Take the over. Eagles by 4
I'm probably way off, and I'll admit it when I am.
Stay tuned.
1. New England Patriots (14-2): Tom Brady - say no more.
2. Atlanta Falcons (13-3): Outstanding season - watch out for them.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): Big Ben's only stat that looks good - win/loss. With a week off after squeaking past the Browns last week, he should be raring to go.
4. Chicago Bears (11-5): I don't see how they keep winning - but they do.
Wildcard match-ups:
New Orleans Saints (11-5) at Seattle Seahawks (7-9): While it looks like a total miss-match, and the league should be embarrassed that a team like Seattle even makes the playoffs, I won't be surprised if the Seahawks put up a pretty good fight. Although, I won't be surprised if they don't. Saints by 10+
New York Jets (11-5) at Indianapolis Colts (10-6): Four weeks ago it looked like the Colts weren't even going to make the playoffs. Four wins later, at home, with Payton at the helm, Colts by 4
Baltimore Ravens (12-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-6): Take the under on this snore-fest. 10-6 Ravens
Green Bay Packers (10-6) at Philadelphia Eagles (10-6): The game of the week. One defense is going to have to come up big, to stop the other team from racking up points. Take the over. Eagles by 4
I'm probably way off, and I'll admit it when I am.
Stay tuned.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Arctic Life... And Death (Part Two)
When the snow falls (and it often does), folks rush outside to do some sledding. Parents take their kids to the nearest hill, and down they go. Sounds like fun right... think again. The nearest hill, is always the street right outside their house, and the children are taught from the earliest age that you slide down the street when the snow falls, and the streets are slick. These are the same streets that are regularly traversed by substance abusers driving various vehicles... still sound like a good idea? With that build up, you should obviously be able to figure out the end result. She was 8. The driver of the quad didn't even stop to see if she was OK. He just kept driving, hoping to not get caught (since he was clearly intoxicated). It's a pretty small town. It didn't take long to track him down. That was four weeks ago.
When there's enough snow, the main mode of transportation is snowmobile. There were two ladies (also intoxicated) driving down the road towards their homes. They were driving a little too fast for the curve, and were heading for a hydro pole. The driver turned the skis to the left, and the left ski caught the pole. The driver flew off to the right, while the passenger flew straight into the pole. She was 24, and the mother of three. The driver is being charged with manslaughter. That was three weeks ago.
I don't know the story behind the next guy, and I won't speculate. He was found hanging from a belt. He was 28. That was two weeks ago.
Last week, thankfully, the only death was an elderly gentleman in ailing health, who had a heart attack while sleeping. Only two days earlier, I had been to his house to have him sign an authorization form, to allow his son to cash his cheques for him. The only problem here, is that in the last five days, seven of his relatives have all been to the store to try to claim the money left on his cash link card. No remorse.
So, with a bit of insight, hopefully you can forgive me when so many of my blogs are about sports, entertainment, or some other pointless thing that has nothing to do with everyday life... and death, in Salluit.
Stay tuned for something completely different.
When there's enough snow, the main mode of transportation is snowmobile. There were two ladies (also intoxicated) driving down the road towards their homes. They were driving a little too fast for the curve, and were heading for a hydro pole. The driver turned the skis to the left, and the left ski caught the pole. The driver flew off to the right, while the passenger flew straight into the pole. She was 24, and the mother of three. The driver is being charged with manslaughter. That was three weeks ago.
I don't know the story behind the next guy, and I won't speculate. He was found hanging from a belt. He was 28. That was two weeks ago.
Last week, thankfully, the only death was an elderly gentleman in ailing health, who had a heart attack while sleeping. Only two days earlier, I had been to his house to have him sign an authorization form, to allow his son to cash his cheques for him. The only problem here, is that in the last five days, seven of his relatives have all been to the store to try to claim the money left on his cash link card. No remorse.
So, with a bit of insight, hopefully you can forgive me when so many of my blogs are about sports, entertainment, or some other pointless thing that has nothing to do with everyday life... and death, in Salluit.
Stay tuned for something completely different.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Arctic Life... And Death (Part One)
They say that life in the arctic is hard. Drug and alcohol abuse is rampant, it seems like there's a death every week, a woman's black eye is a man's trophy, and being covered with hickeys shows that they still love each other. Every woman of child bearing age is pregnant (despite the fact that there are "wear a condom" posters everywhere, and they're available free everywhere), since how many babies you have gives you bragging rights, and every child that you give birth to means that much more "baby money" that you get on the 20th of every month.
Other than that, I don't get it. Attempting to provide customer service, and please a customer that didn't work for their money, doesn't pay rent for the place that they're going to put their purchase in, and can't understand why you're still asking them for money on a snowmobile that they financed over a year ago and haven't made a single payment on yet... that's challenging. Being in a remote village, thousands of miles from family and friends... that's difficult. Living in a valley, that has two rivers running through it, is surrounded on three sides by mountains, and the other by the ocean... that's not hard at all.
Going through the last four deaths right now would make this blog too long.
Stay tuned for part two.
Other than that, I don't get it. Attempting to provide customer service, and please a customer that didn't work for their money, doesn't pay rent for the place that they're going to put their purchase in, and can't understand why you're still asking them for money on a snowmobile that they financed over a year ago and haven't made a single payment on yet... that's challenging. Being in a remote village, thousands of miles from family and friends... that's difficult. Living in a valley, that has two rivers running through it, is surrounded on three sides by mountains, and the other by the ocean... that's not hard at all.
Going through the last four deaths right now would make this blog too long.
Stay tuned for part two.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Can You Believe That?
How totally deflating! I did not see that coming!
There was a nice set-up by Schenn to Ellis for the opening PP goal, and a huge goal by Ashton late in the period to close out the first period up 2-0.
Schenn with a rocket in the second, chases the Russian starter, and gives us a 3-0 lead that we take to the second intermission. Nothing could possibly go wrong... famous last words.
During the first two minutes of the third, I was already considering what I was going to say about the game. I was saying out loud that while it's nice to win, the game had been pretty boring. No flow, no momentum swings, no sustained pressure, and no lead changes. Obviously I spoke too soon. When the Russians scored two goals only 11 seconds apart, I was thinking - OK, now we've got a game. Then, Tarasenko (who not too much earlier looked like they were dragging his dead corpse off of the ice) scores a mirror image goal to Schenn's (same pass across the ice, same one timer, same number, and same celebration), and it's all tied up. At this point I was thinking - suddenly their beating us to all of the loose pucks. The Russians go ahead with 5 minutes left, and then they score their fifth unanswered goal of the period with only a minute and a half left. It's all over but the crying.
They brought this goalie for the sole purpose of beating the Canadians. He started the tournament against Canada, lost, and never played again - until Canada went up by three. He stopped all 20 shots, and won the player of the game. Only played half the game, and won the player of the game. Good call!
I'm a gracious looser. Way to go Russia! Loosing the first two games of the tournament, being down by two late in the quarter final and still coming back to win, being down late in the semis and coming back to win, and being down by three in the third period of the gold medal game. If Canada had done anything like that, I would have said that it was destiny. Congratulations!
It's too bad that the silver medal is never any consolation to a Canadian hockey fan.
Considering how much I just said... I feel speechless.
The End.
There was a nice set-up by Schenn to Ellis for the opening PP goal, and a huge goal by Ashton late in the period to close out the first period up 2-0.
Schenn with a rocket in the second, chases the Russian starter, and gives us a 3-0 lead that we take to the second intermission. Nothing could possibly go wrong... famous last words.
During the first two minutes of the third, I was already considering what I was going to say about the game. I was saying out loud that while it's nice to win, the game had been pretty boring. No flow, no momentum swings, no sustained pressure, and no lead changes. Obviously I spoke too soon. When the Russians scored two goals only 11 seconds apart, I was thinking - OK, now we've got a game. Then, Tarasenko (who not too much earlier looked like they were dragging his dead corpse off of the ice) scores a mirror image goal to Schenn's (same pass across the ice, same one timer, same number, and same celebration), and it's all tied up. At this point I was thinking - suddenly their beating us to all of the loose pucks. The Russians go ahead with 5 minutes left, and then they score their fifth unanswered goal of the period with only a minute and a half left. It's all over but the crying.
They brought this goalie for the sole purpose of beating the Canadians. He started the tournament against Canada, lost, and never played again - until Canada went up by three. He stopped all 20 shots, and won the player of the game. Only played half the game, and won the player of the game. Good call!
I'm a gracious looser. Way to go Russia! Loosing the first two games of the tournament, being down by two late in the quarter final and still coming back to win, being down late in the semis and coming back to win, and being down by three in the third period of the gold medal game. If Canada had done anything like that, I would have said that it was destiny. Congratulations!
It's too bad that the silver medal is never any consolation to a Canadian hockey fan.
Considering how much I just said... I feel speechless.
The End.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Happy New Year's (continued)
You may recall from my original New Year's post, that I said that the fireworks were short and sweet, and that we must not have had a very large budget for them. As it turns out, the fire department had placed all of the fireworks in the snow (in preparation for shooting them off later) during the afternoon in the daylight. When it came time to shoot them off, there was nobody sober enough to find them all in the dark, or remember where they had put them. As a result, the fireworks that we had at 9pm on New Year's Day (after everyone got closer to sober), were way more impressive than the small sampling that we got the previous night.
This picture clearly doesn't do it justice, but I'll try to walk you through it anyway. When the three of us had gone for our walk in the storm, you could hardly see anything. After a short break, Rory and I went to climb the mountain to the cross. It took us about an hour, since the conditions were so harsh, and every route that we tried required a certain amount of crawling (that's right, crawling). But, during the hike, all of the loose snow had blown away, and we were left with nothing but a howling wind. Not only that, but once we got to the plateau right before the final stretch, we realized that the wind was even worse. I was kneeling on the ground by a rock (for stability), and trying to keep the angle right, unsuccessfully. This was Rory not leaning into the wind, but just struggling to stand against the force of the wind (with a pretty nice background). I was actually giving him quite a bit of credit here, because I spent most of my time at the peak on the ground. It was wicked!
Watch your back Russia... we're coming for you!
Stay tuned.
Watch your back Russia... we're coming for you!
Stay tuned.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Take That, Damn Yankees!
I suppose it would have been nice if the game had been closer, but I don't mind at all. Awesome!
I was a little surprised that they started Visentin, but he kept getting stronger as the game went along, and obviously the coach made the right call.
Canada started the game off strong, and Hamilton was wide open and kept digging to get Canada on the board. Howden had a nice effort driving towards the net and tipping in the pass to make it 2-0 in a totally dominant period.
It only took one bad call for the ref to get into trouble in the second. He blew the call against Canada, and ended up making a make-up call to make it even. The problem with that, is that now when something obvious happens, you have no choice but to give a two man advantage, just because you made a bad call three penalties ago. Johansen scores the PP goal, and now it's three zip, and it doesn't look good for the Americans.
Kassian scores in the third to put the nail in the coffin, and the Americans score on the powerplay to ruin the shutout bid. That's that. The game was fun to watch, the atmosphere was electric (with way more Canadian fans than American - in the US no less), and the outcome couldn't have been better. Bring on the Russians!
I promise, tomorrow will have nothing to do with hockey.
Stay tuned.
I was a little surprised that they started Visentin, but he kept getting stronger as the game went along, and obviously the coach made the right call.
Canada started the game off strong, and Hamilton was wide open and kept digging to get Canada on the board. Howden had a nice effort driving towards the net and tipping in the pass to make it 2-0 in a totally dominant period.
It only took one bad call for the ref to get into trouble in the second. He blew the call against Canada, and ended up making a make-up call to make it even. The problem with that, is that now when something obvious happens, you have no choice but to give a two man advantage, just because you made a bad call three penalties ago. Johansen scores the PP goal, and now it's three zip, and it doesn't look good for the Americans.
Kassian scores in the third to put the nail in the coffin, and the Americans score on the powerplay to ruin the shutout bid. That's that. The game was fun to watch, the atmosphere was electric (with way more Canadian fans than American - in the US no less), and the outcome couldn't have been better. Bring on the Russians!
I promise, tomorrow will have nothing to do with hockey.
Stay tuned.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Bring It On Americans
I was finally relieved to see that Visentin got the start today. That, of course, only lasted for a few seconds, until he let in that completely stinky goal, tipped in by our own defenseman.
This shot is actually back from the tournament opener against Russia, but even as I'm writing this, I'm looking down and seeing that I'm still wearing exactly the same outfit (right down to the pajamas). The only difference, is that I'm wearing a black team Canada T-shirt under the jersey, since the jersey alone didn't fare that well against the Swedes.
After the early deficit, Johansen continued his domination, as he tied it up in the first. Cizikas went top shelf to give us the lead in the second, and Leblanc put it away with a nice shot in the third. Kassian's empty-netter was pointless, but counts anyway. I would have been just as happy if he had carried it down into the corner and eaten up more clock, but that's just me.
We had tons of shots, with very few second chances, we went back to trying the stupid back door play on the PP (which still didn't work), and Visentin looked even more shaky than Roy. At this point, I don't think that I'll be shocked for either one of the goalies getting the start tomorrow. I might even lean towards Roy (I know, make up my mind). I wouldn't even bother with a prediction for tomorrow, other than that it will be another classic match-up, full of high intensity, and probably several lead changes.
Go Canada Go!
After the early deficit, Johansen continued his domination, as he tied it up in the first. Cizikas went top shelf to give us the lead in the second, and Leblanc put it away with a nice shot in the third. Kassian's empty-netter was pointless, but counts anyway. I would have been just as happy if he had carried it down into the corner and eaten up more clock, but that's just me.
We had tons of shots, with very few second chances, we went back to trying the stupid back door play on the PP (which still didn't work), and Visentin looked even more shaky than Roy. At this point, I don't think that I'll be shocked for either one of the goalies getting the start tomorrow. I might even lean towards Roy (I know, make up my mind). I wouldn't even bother with a prediction for tomorrow, other than that it will be another classic match-up, full of high intensity, and probably several lead changes.
Go Canada Go!
Morning Weather Mayhem
I was going to get this off a little earlier, so that there would be the opportunity to check it out well before the game, but we were shaken awake with an incredible wind. Fran and I got up, only to realize that we couldn't even see out of the window. The little lid to the attic was actually lifting up and banging down with a loud thud. We have a door with a little 3x3 porch, then a second door at the bottom of the stairs (both of these with deadbolts), then there's a stairway (14 steps), a right angle, and then another door into the house. You could very easily feel the wind blasting past that third door into the house! Rory got up complaining about his bed shaking so much that he couldn't sleep. Obviously we had no choice but to gear up, and go outside to get the full effect of the power of the wind. Awesome! Then Rory and I climbed the mountain to the cross, because we knew that even on seemingly calm days the wind is outrageous up there. I'll continue the story, and show you a picture or two later.
For fans, you already know this, for casual observers, I'll give you a little rundown of the implications of Friday's loss. Had we won, we (and the Americans) would have had today off, watched two other teams play each other today for the right to play us tomorrow, and then been fully rested for our game tomorrow against a worn out team. Then, we would have had the opportunity to play against the US for the gold on Wednesday. After our loss, now we have to play the Swiss in an elimination match, while the US has the day off, then (if we win), we have to go right back at it and play the well rested US in the semi-finals tomorrow, for a chance at gold on Wednesday (most likely a rematch with the Swedes). Not impossible, but obviously a lot tougher road to go down than had we won on Friday. On the upside, it gives Brayden Schenn another game's worth of opportunity to reach the all-time points lead for one tournament.
Stay tuned.
For fans, you already know this, for casual observers, I'll give you a little rundown of the implications of Friday's loss. Had we won, we (and the Americans) would have had today off, watched two other teams play each other today for the right to play us tomorrow, and then been fully rested for our game tomorrow against a worn out team. Then, we would have had the opportunity to play against the US for the gold on Wednesday. After our loss, now we have to play the Swiss in an elimination match, while the US has the day off, then (if we win), we have to go right back at it and play the well rested US in the semi-finals tomorrow, for a chance at gold on Wednesday (most likely a rematch with the Swedes). Not impossible, but obviously a lot tougher road to go down than had we won on Friday. On the upside, it gives Brayden Schenn another game's worth of opportunity to reach the all-time points lead for one tournament.
Stay tuned.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Sweden 6, Canada 5
Great game, terrible result!
Once again, without revealing the ending just yet, I was shocked to see that Roy was our starting goalie. Sure, you're thinking that hind sight is 20-20, but I said that last time already. I'm not sure what the coach is seeing during games or practices that I'm not seeing, but there is no way that with his weak performance so far, that he would have been my starter again. That being said, after our early goal (that certainly had some luck, but involved some great effort), there was nothing that Roy could have done about their first two goals. And then, let's face it, our next two goals were alot more luck than skill again. So, after the first period we have a 3-2 lead, but they had two good goals, while we had one go in off of their defenceman's skate, we had a long wrister (that should have been stopped), and the lucky bounce off of the glass with half a second left.
To start off the second, they score two weak goals. I couldn't believe that Roy wasn't pulled after the 3-3 goal, and then when he let in the fourth, I guess we might as well leave him in now. If we weren't going to pull him on time to preserve the lead, we might as well not pull him once we're already behind. Sweden was putting up way more of a fight than I was expecting. The score was staying close, and we were out hitting them, but they were creating more chances, and out-shooting us by a long margin. Now, we did score a very nice short-handed goal to tie it back up, and then Schenn scored a huge goal to give us another lead. I guess I'm going to have to eat my words about him disappearing in the big games. That's the biggest game that we've had so far, and he set up the tying goal, and score the go-ahead goal in the third. Only scoring in OT would have been bigger than what he already did.
Sweden scored a pretty tough goal to tie it up, OT settled nothing, and what can you say about important games being decided by a shoot-out. Six lead changes, huge hits up and down the ice, terribly exciting game. Another New Year's Eve classic! It was a shocking loss to me, but at least it didn't come during an elimination game, and we're not out of it yet.
I'll touch on tomorrow's Swiss game, and the implications of yesterday's loss, tomorrow morning.
Stay tuned.
Once again, without revealing the ending just yet, I was shocked to see that Roy was our starting goalie. Sure, you're thinking that hind sight is 20-20, but I said that last time already. I'm not sure what the coach is seeing during games or practices that I'm not seeing, but there is no way that with his weak performance so far, that he would have been my starter again. That being said, after our early goal (that certainly had some luck, but involved some great effort), there was nothing that Roy could have done about their first two goals. And then, let's face it, our next two goals were alot more luck than skill again. So, after the first period we have a 3-2 lead, but they had two good goals, while we had one go in off of their defenceman's skate, we had a long wrister (that should have been stopped), and the lucky bounce off of the glass with half a second left.
To start off the second, they score two weak goals. I couldn't believe that Roy wasn't pulled after the 3-3 goal, and then when he let in the fourth, I guess we might as well leave him in now. If we weren't going to pull him on time to preserve the lead, we might as well not pull him once we're already behind. Sweden was putting up way more of a fight than I was expecting. The score was staying close, and we were out hitting them, but they were creating more chances, and out-shooting us by a long margin. Now, we did score a very nice short-handed goal to tie it back up, and then Schenn scored a huge goal to give us another lead. I guess I'm going to have to eat my words about him disappearing in the big games. That's the biggest game that we've had so far, and he set up the tying goal, and score the go-ahead goal in the third. Only scoring in OT would have been bigger than what he already did.
Sweden scored a pretty tough goal to tie it up, OT settled nothing, and what can you say about important games being decided by a shoot-out. Six lead changes, huge hits up and down the ice, terribly exciting game. Another New Year's Eve classic! It was a shocking loss to me, but at least it didn't come during an elimination game, and we're not out of it yet.
I'll touch on tomorrow's Swiss game, and the implications of yesterday's loss, tomorrow morning.
Stay tuned.
Happy New Year!
Strangely, I'll be saving hockey talk for another blog later in the day.
Instead, I'll mention a little about New Year's in the arctic. Last year (in Repulse Bay), they staked out the design of 2010 on the ice, and used about 300 snowmobiles to drive around the course creating the numbers of the year in headlights. It actually looked pretty cool. I was thinking that maybe they were just using Inuk time, because the whole thing only got started around 12:30. I realize through this year's celebration, that they actually bring in the new year at the community centre, and then do some of the other stuff afterwards.
The ocean is actually starting to freeze right now, but clearly way too late (with way too much open water) to do anything out on the ocean last night. The only thing that actually took place at midnight... gunshots! There must have been at least a thousands gunshots going off at midnight. Some of them were very close, and some of them were obviously high calibre. You could feel the sound shock, even in the house. Needless to say, the dogs didn't enjoy that very much at all. Shortly after the gunshots started to die down, the fireworks got started. They took place at the dock, which is straight away from our living room window, so we had a front row seat. They were actually quite nice, but a little short (I'm assuming that we didn't have an extremely large budget for that). We were under the impression that the fireworks were the end, so we went to bed. Ten minutes later, the parade began. Two laps of the town, led by the fire truck (all sirens going off, all horns honking on the vehicles following it, and obviously everyone hammered).
At least you can always count on the mornings being peaceful (no matter which hamlet you're in), because nobody gets up at a reasonable hour. It's by far the best time to go for a walk, go to the ocean shore, or just check out things around town. At 8 in the morning, it would be easy enough to imagine that nobody lives here.
Anyway, hockey later (maybe twice).
Stay tuned.
Instead, I'll mention a little about New Year's in the arctic. Last year (in Repulse Bay), they staked out the design of 2010 on the ice, and used about 300 snowmobiles to drive around the course creating the numbers of the year in headlights. It actually looked pretty cool. I was thinking that maybe they were just using Inuk time, because the whole thing only got started around 12:30. I realize through this year's celebration, that they actually bring in the new year at the community centre, and then do some of the other stuff afterwards.
The ocean is actually starting to freeze right now, but clearly way too late (with way too much open water) to do anything out on the ocean last night. The only thing that actually took place at midnight... gunshots! There must have been at least a thousands gunshots going off at midnight. Some of them were very close, and some of them were obviously high calibre. You could feel the sound shock, even in the house. Needless to say, the dogs didn't enjoy that very much at all. Shortly after the gunshots started to die down, the fireworks got started. They took place at the dock, which is straight away from our living room window, so we had a front row seat. They were actually quite nice, but a little short (I'm assuming that we didn't have an extremely large budget for that). We were under the impression that the fireworks were the end, so we went to bed. Ten minutes later, the parade began. Two laps of the town, led by the fire truck (all sirens going off, all horns honking on the vehicles following it, and obviously everyone hammered).
At least you can always count on the mornings being peaceful (no matter which hamlet you're in), because nobody gets up at a reasonable hour. It's by far the best time to go for a walk, go to the ocean shore, or just check out things around town. At 8 in the morning, it would be easy enough to imagine that nobody lives here.
Anyway, hockey later (maybe twice).
Stay tuned.
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