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.
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