Author Archives: Tom

Calgary Cleaning Up From Summer Storm

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Well it appears Ian isn’t going to post anything so…

Calgary Herald [Fri. Jul. 16 2004] — Calgarians stared down torrential flood conditions as 50 millimetres of rain and hail lashed the city Thursday evening.

Springbank and south Calgary neighbourhoods weathered the brunt of a severe thunderstorm that cut a swath from the Northwest to Southeast quadrants of the city. Roads turned to rivers and hail pummelled neighbourhoods around Discovery Ridge, Signal Hill, Lake Bonavista, Woodlands and Queensland.
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NAC Data Centre’s Move is Now Complete

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The physical move that was estimated to take 4-6 hrs turned into 15 hours. Everyone’s email and website should finally be back online and working properly. If you are experiencing any site or email problems, please let me know as soon as possible.

No Broadband Internet for You

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The installation people from Airnet just left and announced there is no way we can have broadband internet at this time. Airnet is constructing a wireless network for the whole Chatham-Kent area and we cannot connect to their Chatham tower because it is obstructed by the neighbours woodlot. No way to go around it or over it and this broadband internet service requires a direct line of sight to the tower. Crying

Sushi Served Pondside :-(

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Thursday night I brought home some nice fish for our pond. I purchased two gold fish and three shubunkin (poor man’s koi). They seemed very happy in the pond and explored all the nooks and crannies among the rocks. They loved to dart back and forth under the waterfall and taking turns chasing one another back and forth the length of the pond. It must of been a great feeling to be out of the crowded aquarium they came from.

This morning there was no one to be found. We had an early morning visitor that had a preference for fresh fish for breakfast. Our new pets had become a delicious early morning snack for a great blue heron. While we were looking for our fish this morning, the local heron was making another sortie run overhead. Tough luck for us and our short lived pets. Crying

Happy Mother’s Day

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Last night was nice and balmy so for a pre-Mother’s Day treat, Laura tended to our first ever campfire with our new landscaping. It was nice sitting around the fire pit with the sounds of bubbling water and night creatures all around us.

Today we had Irene out to join us for a mid day luncheon feast of fresh fruits, home made breads, and a baked casserole. To top it all off Laura brought out her scratch Strawberry Angelfood Cake with whipped cream topping. Jaclyn tried repeatedly to call Martha and finally got her chance to wish her and Grandma a warm and happy Mother’s Day. See continue link for a few snapshots.
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Spontaneous Fires in Sicily Continue to Baffle Scientists

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According to Reuters, ever since mid-January, various electronic devices have been spontaneously combusting in the now evacuated town of Canneto di Caronia, Sicily; at this point, the fires are almost daily. The town has been disconnected from the larger electrical grid and was hooked to a generator, but that, too, caught fire. Even unplugged items have succumbed. Nothing seems to have burst into flame except where there is someone present to witness it, but the police no longer suspect a prankster — after witnessing wires catch fire without cause. Scientists have yet to explain the phenomenon (although unproven theories abound), leading many people to look to supernatural causes. Must Pray Faster...
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Inventor of Low Tech Fridge Wins Award

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This is Mohammed Bah Abba’s Pot-in-pot invention. In northern Nigeria, where Mohammed is from, over 90% of the villages have no electricity. His invention, which he won a Rolex Award for (and $100,000), is a refrigerator than runs without electricity.

Here’s how it works. You take a smaller pot and put it inside a larger unglazed pot. Fill the space in between them with wet sand, and cover the top with a wet cloth. When the water evaporates, it pulls the heat out with it, making the inside cold. It’s a natural, cheap, easy-to-make refrigerator.

So, instead of perishable foods rotting after only three days, they can last up to three weeks. Obviously, this has the potential to change their lives. And it already has — there are more girls attending school, for example, as their families no longer need them to sell food in the market.
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We Sold the Farm!

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sold.jpg
It finally happened. Out of the blue I received a very generous offer for the farms and they want to close by April 23rd. The buyer accepted our counter offer, plus a 5 year lease on our house. It never fails, you finally fix/build up a few things and then end up selling before you get to enjoy it. This will enable us to live here past Martha’s retirement date and then we can look for homes in…
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