We arrived in New Orleans around 3pm. It was snowing when we left home
and when we arrived in the Big Easy it was in the mid 20’sC. The hotel
is fantastic and includes free wireless internet in every room. We are just getting ready to leave the room and hunt up a restaurant to have a late meal. Check back tomorrow for an update.
Author Archives: Tom
Explosions Rock Madrid Train Stations
Laura’s plane leaves today for her class trip to Spain and Portugal. We awaken to the devastating news that Madrid has been rocked with up to 10 terrorist explosions at their commuter train stations. At this point 190 reported dead with more than 1200 injured. We are waiting for information from Explorica (tour organizers) to see what is going to be done… cancellation, tour reshuffling, etc?? The first 2 days of their tour is in Madrid. 
[EDIT 11:13am] They all left this morning on the shuttle to Toronto airport. We’ll hear if they got to land in Madrid by morning. You can follow along with Laura’s group by using this page link [deleted]
Curry KitKat anyone?
Willy Wonka had his never-ending gobstopper and Harry Potter is partial to Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans – but the maker of KitKats has proved that truth is stranger than fiction.
As well as the cumin and masala flavour, Nestle is considering offering lemon cheesecake, liquorice, saffron and passion fruit. Why would they do this? Nestle sales are down because people aren’t eating as much chocolate… and not because they crave a Curried KitKat! 
Lemon cheesecake KitKat is already sold in Germany and Japan, and the group confirmed it may be brought to Britain.
Three Wise Men may have been… women
LONDON (Reuters) – The Three Wise Men who followed the star to Bethlehem bearing gifts for the baby Jesus may not have been all that wise — or even men.
The traditional infant Nativity play scene could be in for a drastic rewrite after the Church of England indulged in some academic gender-swapping over the three Magi at its General Synod in London this week.
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Martha Towers Over Competition
Martha left for school this morning with a spring in her step and confidence that she would tower over her competition in today’s basketball game. She is part of the staff team at her school and they are scheduled to play against… not the students, but the Canadian Half-Pints.
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Construction Advances at Fernie
Ian has posted some more pictures in his Fernie cottage album. Check them out here. Things seem to be progressing nicely. I love following the progress.
Thanks Ian for letting me know about the album “resizing” problem. All should be working properly now and pictures have been moved to their proper place.
We’re all anxiously waiting for Kristen to return and upload some snaps from her 21st Birthday trip to Cancun, MX. Happy Birthday Kristen and CHEERS!
Website Demonstration a Success
The Chatham-Kent Firefighters Association chose last night as the official launch date for their membership’s website. They wanted a live demonstration at city hall’s council chambers, to demonstrate the workings and features of their new website I made and host for them. I was told “all the equipment would be provided and all I had to do was show the guys how to use the forum and gallery… very casual laid back atmosphere, don’t worry”.
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Catching a Comet’s Tail
On Jan. 2, NASA’s Stardust spacecraft flew through a 14,000-mile-an-hour hail of debris from the Wild 2 comet. Under this withering barrage, the ship’s objective was not only to survive, but to use a collector made of a bizarre substance to gather an unaltered sample of five-billion-year-old dust and gas ejected by the comet. NASA is using a substance called ‘aerogel’ in the Stardust spacecraft to catch pieces of the Wild-2 comet.
The NYT is running an article about some other amazing aerogel properties. My favourite quote about aerogel: ‘It’s the lowest density of any solid, and it has the highest thermoinsulation properties. Though it would be very expensive, you could take a two or three bedroom house, insulate it with aerogel, and you could heat the house with a candle. But eventually the house would become too hot.’
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We’re Snowed In!
We got a ton of snow today. This is a picture taken out of our upstairs bathroom window and the snow is over the eves. 
Click thumbnail to enlarge.
Empty Molson Brewery Largest Marijuana Operation in Ontario History
Over 100 police officers converged on a former Molson brewery site today, exposing what they say is the largest marijuana grow operation in Ontario history. Ten people were arrested and officers hunted for others possibly hiding in the massive three-storey building.
Thousands and thousands of marijuana plants, being cultivated with sophisticated watering and chemical grow devices, are believed to be on the site — an 11,250-square-metre building located in an industrial area. The police have never seen a grow operation of this magnitude.
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