In other words, what you post when you got..........................nothin'.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
In the spirit
In other words, what you post when you got..........................nothin'.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
I'm such a genius!
Ya right. I've been awake since 10:18 last night, laying there thinking `beige, I should paint the ceiling beige`. Sleep (or lack of it) has been an issue for me for a while now. While fighting to go back to sleep after waking, I compose all sorts of cool stuff to blog about while telling myself to just concentrate on breathing and not let the thought wagons circle. By the time I get up, everything's a big ol' jumble and I don't recall exactly what I was going to say. Must have been what Dad would call caca de toro (which is BS in whatever language you say it).
One of the things that I was thinking about last night was a good friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. When I was in High River for my optometrist appointment I poked my head in the door to say hello. He owns and runs a tack shop there and builds saddles (Eamors). Felmer Eamor started the company making saddles before I was born and had built up a reputation for a good quality saddle at a reasonable price. He sold the shop to a bigger company that butchered the whole manufacturing process and started putting out substandard product and the name pretty much went in the crapper. JD and his former Missus bought the name and JD started making saddles under the Eamor name (he`d been makng them for a while already and stays true to the Eamor design and quality) and they opened a tack and clothing shop in High River. The economy here isn`t as bad as that of our neighbors to the south but it`s not great and people just aren`t spending money. When I was talking to JD he told me that as soon as the existing inventory is gone, the shop part will be gone which is pretty sad to hear. He told me he`ll still be making saddles and doing repairs, but the rest is history. Dang.
One of the things that I was thinking about last night was a good friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. When I was in High River for my optometrist appointment I poked my head in the door to say hello. He owns and runs a tack shop there and builds saddles (Eamors). Felmer Eamor started the company making saddles before I was born and had built up a reputation for a good quality saddle at a reasonable price. He sold the shop to a bigger company that butchered the whole manufacturing process and started putting out substandard product and the name pretty much went in the crapper. JD and his former Missus bought the name and JD started making saddles under the Eamor name (he`d been makng them for a while already and stays true to the Eamor design and quality) and they opened a tack and clothing shop in High River. The economy here isn`t as bad as that of our neighbors to the south but it`s not great and people just aren`t spending money. When I was talking to JD he told me that as soon as the existing inventory is gone, the shop part will be gone which is pretty sad to hear. He told me he`ll still be making saddles and doing repairs, but the rest is history. Dang.
I finally caved in
Ever since I first started seeing my optometrist, he has been pushing me to go to progressive glasses. I really dislike wearing them as by the end of the day they make my beak so sore that I want to pitch them across the room. Had to go for my annual visit on Friday and finally gave in. I've been wearing contact lenses for the last 3 years and have tried everything to get along with them. See, I need correction to read and he told me that I'd hate bi-focal lenses so we tried what's called mono vision. One corrected for distance, one corrected for reading. Really didn't like it. It messes with your depth perrception so I went to a modified version; one corrected and the other not. It worked out ok for a couple of years but lately I've found that once it starts to get dark, I can't read a thing and instead of boosting my prescription yet again, I went for the glasses. By the end of the day with my one lonely lens, I want to claw my eyeball out, it feels like a great big ol' gob of snot in there, or else it's so dry I can't see out of it. I know,you're thinking "Get some drops to put in there." Did that. Got a bottle at home and one on my desk at work. So here we are.
My glasses won't be ready for a week and I'm down to my last lense. This morning, while getting ready for work, I got most of my beauty routine done (the days of bouncing out of bed looking like this are long gone) and went to put my lense in. It didn't go right the first time and when I went to re-adjust it I dropped it in the basket that contains my skin care and makeup. CRAP! Of course I couldn't see it right away but had heard it land in there and I had to take everything out of said basket item by item. Still nothing. Ok, carefully examine each item as you put it back in the basket. YES! I found it! But, it had dried out just enough in the meantime that even with a little soak it feels horrid. Sigh. Another wonderful day with contact lenses.
My glasses won't be ready for a week and I'm down to my last lense. This morning, while getting ready for work, I got most of my beauty routine done (the days of bouncing out of bed looking like this are long gone) and went to put my lense in. It didn't go right the first time and when I went to re-adjust it I dropped it in the basket that contains my skin care and makeup. CRAP! Of course I couldn't see it right away but had heard it land in there and I had to take everything out of said basket item by item. Still nothing. Ok, carefully examine each item as you put it back in the basket. YES! I found it! But, it had dried out just enough in the meantime that even with a little soak it feels horrid. Sigh. Another wonderful day with contact lenses.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Willy, part II
I've posted on Willy before. Here's the latest.
Willy just might be the oldest horse in the building that is the site of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
And, the legendary dark brown gelding, who will be honoured in a retirement ceremony at some point this week, has probably lost a step or two in his last year on the trail.
But, Cody Cassidy remains confident that the 24-year-old gelding can still do the job in rodeo's steer wrestling event.
And, who can argue?
Willy once again fired when asked and Cassidy caught and slam-dunked a dark red steer in four seconds flat to get himself on the leaderboard.
When all was said and done, he ended up splitting third in the WNFR's second round to earn $8,897.
Combined with a 4.6-second run on opening night, Cassidy is tied for fifth in the aggregate with a total time of 8.6 seconds.
"I don't think Willy is good as he once was, I mean he's 24 years old, but he is always going to give you a chance to win and I've got so much confidence in him, it's tough to jump on something else.
"I basically grew up with that horse and it's nice to have him here. He's not 100 percent like he once was, but hopefully eight more steers will be the last ones he's ever going to run."
Cassidy drew a steer that he knew wasn't going to run hard and could catch him quick.
"I got a little bit better start than I was anticipating and that was good because they said the steer always wants to hang a leg (in the dirt). He did, but I got by him and it was nice to win that much money."
This is Cassidy's first-ever NFR appearance and marks his debut in the money ranks.
"Hey, this beats the (crap) out of our Canadian Finals," he chuckled of the sizeable reward "and hopefully I can build on this moment.
Cassidy's older brother Curtis, the world standings leader coming into this $5.875 million showdown, overcame a no time on opening night to turn down his steer in 5.5 seconds.
It wasn't fast enough to put him in the money, but it helped him regain some confidence.
Curtis also switched horses in the second round.
He left his grey mount Casper in the barn and jumped on reigning world champion Lee Graves' world champion black pony Jesse.
That was his original plan, but after a disappointing round with the fractious Casper, he agreed he should have stuck with Jesse.
It's more than likely a comfort to Cody Cassidy to have Willy there as a kind of steadying hand at his first NFR considering he grew up with the old guy. 24 is an admirable age for a horse to begin with, but to still be in the shape he is and performing lke he does on a regular basis is pretty much unbelievable! The rodeo world will miss him while he enjoys his retirement.
Willy just might be the oldest horse in the building that is the site of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo.
And, the legendary dark brown gelding, who will be honoured in a retirement ceremony at some point this week, has probably lost a step or two in his last year on the trail.
But, Cody Cassidy remains confident that the 24-year-old gelding can still do the job in rodeo's steer wrestling event.
And, who can argue?
Willy once again fired when asked and Cassidy caught and slam-dunked a dark red steer in four seconds flat to get himself on the leaderboard.
When all was said and done, he ended up splitting third in the WNFR's second round to earn $8,897.
Combined with a 4.6-second run on opening night, Cassidy is tied for fifth in the aggregate with a total time of 8.6 seconds.
"I don't think Willy is good as he once was, I mean he's 24 years old, but he is always going to give you a chance to win and I've got so much confidence in him, it's tough to jump on something else.
"I basically grew up with that horse and it's nice to have him here. He's not 100 percent like he once was, but hopefully eight more steers will be the last ones he's ever going to run."
Cassidy drew a steer that he knew wasn't going to run hard and could catch him quick.
"I got a little bit better start than I was anticipating and that was good because they said the steer always wants to hang a leg (in the dirt). He did, but I got by him and it was nice to win that much money."
This is Cassidy's first-ever NFR appearance and marks his debut in the money ranks.
"Hey, this beats the (crap) out of our Canadian Finals," he chuckled of the sizeable reward "and hopefully I can build on this moment.
Cassidy's older brother Curtis, the world standings leader coming into this $5.875 million showdown, overcame a no time on opening night to turn down his steer in 5.5 seconds.
It wasn't fast enough to put him in the money, but it helped him regain some confidence.
Curtis also switched horses in the second round.
He left his grey mount Casper in the barn and jumped on reigning world champion Lee Graves' world champion black pony Jesse.
That was his original plan, but after a disappointing round with the fractious Casper, he agreed he should have stuck with Jesse.
It's more than likely a comfort to Cody Cassidy to have Willy there as a kind of steadying hand at his first NFR considering he grew up with the old guy. 24 is an admirable age for a horse to begin with, but to still be in the shape he is and performing lke he does on a regular basis is pretty much unbelievable! The rodeo world will miss him while he enjoys his retirement.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Avon and the oil sands
Who's the ding dong now, Avon?
Calgary Herald December 3, 2010 9:36 AM Comments (2)
Looking good is what Avon is all about, so it's not surprising that a cosmetics giant with annual revenues of $10 billion is concerned about its image. That, after all, is the motive behind Avon's boycott of fuel derived from Alberta's oilsands -- looking good. Never mind that oil banned from Alberta -- the most regulated and transparently sourced oil on the planet -- will have to be replaced by oil from some despotic regime but, hey, maybe you can put lipstick on a pig.
"Avon recognizes its responsibility to the environment and the world's forests," said Tod Arbogast, Avon's vice-president of sustainability and corporate responsibility. Gosh, you'd think that Avon CEO Andrea Jung is sitting around in her high heels, jumbo pearls and scarlet lipstick singing Kumbaya as she pulls down her $9 million pay package,
Avon, along with retailer LUSH and Canadian trucking company Concord Transportation, are the latest to join San Francisco-based Forest Ethics' misguided boycott of oilsands derived fuel. "Canada's tarsands are an unethical source of fuel for shipping LUSH products," explained Shama Alexander, LUSH's environmental officer. If Alexander really wants to talk ethics, we recommend the book Ethical Oil -- the Case for Canada's Oilsands, by Ezra Levant.
Big Beauty taking on Big Oil is a delicious thing to watch. Avon, one of several companies accused of "pinkwashing" by Stacy Malkan in her book Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, has more than 5.5 million independent sales representatives driving around ( "Ding, dong. Avon calling!").
We wonder how they feel about the counter-boycott of Avon Products being urged by the Alberta Enterprise Group, just in time for Christmas.
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Ok Avon Asshats (as my cyber-buddy would put it), here's the facts:
Oil sands GHG emissions were 37.2 Mt (1 Mt = 1 million tonnes) in 2008. This equals:
•15 per cent of Albertan emissions
•5 per cent of Canadian emissions
•less than 0.1 per cent of global emissions
Canada's total emissions grew by 155 Mt between 1990 and 2007, with oil sands emissions responsible for 14 per cent (22 Mt) of this increase; transportation was responsible for 36 per cent (55 Mt).
For more information please visit the following link.
http://www.oilsands.alberta.ca/
There was also a pilot flying in to Calgary last summer that stated 'the haze you see over Calgary is from Alberta's tar sands.' Ok, butt-head. First thing is that the oil sands happen to be a good 8 hour drive from here. And if you had checked your facts before opening your mouth, you would have known that the haze hanging over Calgary was from a series of very serious forest fires raging in our provincial neighbor BC!
I got ripped off this morning
After rushing to post about how cold it was here, I forgot to update you on the latest weather. You really have to love a country where the temperature can go from -30*C to -3*C in 24 hours. After camping out for over a week, the latest Alberta Clipper moved on to terrorize someone else and the meltdown began. We've had temps right around zero and a little higher for the bulk of this week and the roads have been wet and sloppy, so a goodly supply of smurf-juice for the wipers is in order.
This morning I decided to get up a little early and wash my truck on the way to work so it wouldn't freeze up solid from washing it on the way home and sitting over night. Stopped at the neighborhood gas station, grabbed my regular cuppa joe and paid $10.00 for the car wash. Don't know if you have them where you're at, but this one's fully automated. You drive up, punch in your access code, the door opens, you drive in, put it in park and the machine does the rest (and a pretty good job too). This morning I drove up, punched in my access code, the door opened, I drove in and stopped when the lights told me to, and NOTHING. The back door didn't close and the machine didn't start. Back up a few feet and try again. The door still didn't close and the machine refused to start. I was going to go in and complain, but I'd already screwed around long enough that it was putting me behind schedule so I just left. RATS!
Could have been worse though, the back door could have come down, the machine could have refused to start and then I'd have been trapped in there (and that would not have been a good thing)!
This morning I decided to get up a little early and wash my truck on the way to work so it wouldn't freeze up solid from washing it on the way home and sitting over night. Stopped at the neighborhood gas station, grabbed my regular cuppa joe and paid $10.00 for the car wash. Don't know if you have them where you're at, but this one's fully automated. You drive up, punch in your access code, the door opens, you drive in, put it in park and the machine does the rest (and a pretty good job too). This morning I drove up, punched in my access code, the door opened, I drove in and stopped when the lights told me to, and NOTHING. The back door didn't close and the machine didn't start. Back up a few feet and try again. The door still didn't close and the machine refused to start. I was going to go in and complain, but I'd already screwed around long enough that it was putting me behind schedule so I just left. RATS!
Could have been worse though, the back door could have come down, the machine could have refused to start and then I'd have been trapped in there (and that would not have been a good thing)!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Dinner Date
These pictures were taken by a fellow from Grande Cache, Alberta, 1.5 hours south of Grande Prairie, by the Berland river on Highway 40 Take a look at the time frame in the bottom right corner of each picture....
To which I say, typical male. Wine 'er, dine 'er, love 'er, leave 'er!
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