Sunday 26 December 2010

Light Pillars

Driving back from Carman last night, we saw these beautiful light spears shooting up from just about every source of light.

My pictures do not do justice to how pretty it all looked.

And being that I am very shaky, even when resting the camera on the window ledge, some of them are just a little odd.
The Geek discovered they are called light pillars. I think they are lovely.

Saturday 25 December 2010

Merry Christmas!


Merry Christmas!
May you all have a safe, peaceful, and happy holiday!

Monday 20 December 2010

Chilly Sunrise

The river is still open in places, which is unusual considering how late in December we are. But the combination of high water, as I mentioned earlier, and a lot of snow has made freezing a challenge.And it really wasn't that cold this morning; only -18. The 'balmy' conditions are expected to continue until after Christmas.

Saturday 18 December 2010

A Prairie Problem

Extension-cord law stirs Regina debate

Resident creates frigid fuss over $25 ticket

REGINA -- The harsh realities of a prairie winter and the right of pedestrians to move freely on sidewalks have collided in Saskatchewan, where civic lawmakers are dealing with a debate that could only have erupted in courtesy-conscious Canada.

Regina resident Bob Klassen has created a frigid fuss over a $25 ticket he got for running the extension cord from his car's block heater across the sidewalk to an outlet.

The city said people could trip over the cord.

Block heaters, foreign in warmer climes, are a winter driver's lifeline when the mercury dips. The electric heating element, juiced by a plug in the grill, keeps an engine from freezing up on long, cold nights.

Klassen doesn't have a garage, or a driveway on which to park his 1991 Corolla, so he has to run an extension cord from his house to the street.

"For an older vehicle it is really reliable, but it does need that extra little bit of TLC, you know," Klassen says.

Enter a bylaw officer who chose to enforced traffic Bylaw 9900, Section 68, Subsection 2: "No person shall allow any cord or cable left across, above, or on any public highway or sidewalk to be attached to their vehicle while that vehicle is parked on a street."

"I was dumbfounded," Klassen recalls.

"Let's face it. We live in Saskatchewan and not everybody is really rich. We don't all have off-street parking. We don't all have garages.

"I'm thinking, that's a law for Saskatchewan? It just makes no sense. We get down -- often for weeks on end -- to -40 C."

He took his grievance to city hall.

At first the only acknowledgment was an explanation -- we don't want people tripping on cords.

But when Klassen expressed his outrage in a letter to a newspaper, things began to snowball.

Debate has raged in online forums ever since. Some people are urging a more common-sense approach to bylaw enforcement, while others warn that anyone given an inch of cord will take a mile.

On Monday, the mayor and Klassen's councillor are to put forward a motion asking a committee to review the bylaw and consider options. Whether they are enforced or not, similar bylaws appear elsewhere on the Prairies. Some larger municipalities, however, have hit on solutions.

In Medicine Hat, Alta., drivers are allowed to run a cord through trees or anything else at least 2 1/2 metres above the sidewalk. In Grande Prairie, Alta., a cord may snake across a sidewalk if it is "done in such a manner to ensure due care and attention for the safe passage of vehicles or pedestrians."

Klassen says his situation is particularly galling because he meticulously clears his sidewalk of snow and makes sure walkers can spy his cord.

For this crusader for free-range extension cables, the only thing that really works is letting him keep it on the ground.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 18, 2010 A7

Friday 10 December 2010

Hardly Room for all the Big Heads

The Geek is having one of her Instructables published too!
She got this letter the other day.
Congratulations!
Hey there,

Instructables is trying something new! We're turning some of our guides into eBooks that will be available for kindle and iBooks readers. They'll also be free to any Instructables pro member through the site. This means we'll be getting your awesome projects out to a new audience and even more people to share.

One of your Instructables was chosen for a collection of solar projects. If for some reason you would rather not be included just PM me and let me know.


Congratulations again on being a part of the ongoing improvements at Instructables and thank you for sharing your project!

Best,
Jason

This is her project. http://www.instructables.com/id/Trickle-charging-auto-switching-LED-helmet/

Thursday 9 December 2010

Alfalfa Sprouts, Bean Sprouts, Tomato Sprouts?

I a still working on finishing up the last garden tomatoes. They are a little wilted, but otherwise unblemished.This one, however, is trying to ensure a continuation of the species. I wonder if I have come across the next health food fad?

Sunday 5 December 2010

Wow! I'm to be Published

I received this email today.
"Hello, Sox.

Congratulations!

Your Instructable has been selected for inclusion in an Instructables eBook. We're taking some of our Guides to the next level, and converting them into an eBook format to better share Instructables projects with a wider audience.

You'll get a copy of the eBook, which you can share with friends and family -- especially those with iPads.

You can see a draft of the eBook here: http://www.instructables.com/id/OEXKBDOGH8A5HPH/
Before publishing the eBook, I will be writing up a description of the projects and a link back to Instructables.com

We hope you're as excited as us, and wanted to reach out to let you know this was happening.

If you don't want to be included for any reason, please write back and let us know by Dec. 9.

Cheers,
Instructables Robot"

This is the instructable that will be featured, so the Geek will be famous too! http://www.instructables.com/id/Sew-a-Propellor-Equipped-Beanie/

And don't worry. I won't forget all the people I knew 'before'.

Thursday 2 December 2010

In My White MInd

There has been a lot of snow on my shovel, I haven't been on my bike, and driving has been interesting so, needless to say, I have been thinking about the white stuff quite a bit.
Here is what Environment Canada has had to say in terms of snow stats.

Snow by the numbers

110.6 cm = The average snowfall for an entire winter in Winnipeg

21.4 cm = The average snowfall for November in Winnipeg

55.6 cm = The amount of snow that fell on Winnipeg this November (an additional one centimetre fell in October)

80 cm = The total amount of snow that fell last winter

1.4 cm = The amount of snow on the ground in November 2009

15 cm = The amount of snow on the ground in November 2008

62.8 cm = The amount of snow on the ground in November 1996

80.3 cm = The record snowfall for November, set in 1955