Neil

This is a picture of Neil taken this past March at Little Shovel Pass near Jasper. Neil and three friends set up a camp and Neil slept for five nights in a snow cave in -25 Celsius temperatures (I'm not making this up).

Neil is wondering what that funny-looking, hairy creature walking up the other side of the mountain is. He's thinking it's either a yeti or the snow-blindness combined with the high-altitude lack of oxygen he's experiencing.

Isn't he cute? (Neil, not the Yeti)

Leo's 70th Birthday

This and the picture below were taken at Riondel on the occasion of Leo's 70th birthday.

Lookin' good!

Neil is the one with the mustache and cute legs.

The new arrival

This a beautiful picture of Brandy and Makala.

Hi all (revised)

Kev and Anita are going to be grandparents. Clear the deck. How will they be as grandparents? Just make sure I'm not in the neighbourhood. Anita will be great, cooing to the child. I assume when Col drops off the child for the first time, Kev will pretty well go ballistic. Not in the nuclear sense of course but more of the time bomb waiting to go off sense.

Kev isn't prepared for grandparenthood is he? He could well be. But if I see that child following his grandfather around the house while Kev's trying to get his shit together and discussing what vehicle is to driven by whom, I'm going sweep him away (the child, not Kev).

The Canucks

Here's the Canuck's logo. It's nice if one is blind in one eye and can't see out of the other. Apparently the Canuck front office is going to get Ronald MacDonald to come out of retirement for the first pre-season game this season (against Detroit on October 5).

They reduced their training camp roster by seventeen players so they will take only 50 players to the main training camp in Vernon. Among the 17 was Vladimer Petrokowskoffski, who is still in Russia looking for his Visa.

Progress

So I upgraded my blog to add a few new features, but unfortunately I can't upload pictures at the moment. Oops, I just cleared my cache and what should appear? One thing I have noticed is the number on the Profile Views. When I first started the blog the number of people viewing the blog would climb very slowly, but it would move. Then I put a google search on one of my sub-blogs (google pays one for every hit), and the number on the profile views stopped. It moved once a month by one or two. Now that I've upgraded, the number of hits on the blog are going up like crazy. I don't have that many relatives to account for it.

So for privacy reasons I will be more careful in the future, to wit:

An unnamed person has a huge unnamed flora in his/her yard/acreage.

A person, who shall remain nameless, yaks/gabs/goes on a lot.

The Great Grand Supremo, but Incognito Poobah is having his/her 34th/35th/36th nap of the day.

The Great (up and coming) Grand Supremo, and also Incognito Poobah is thinking of the moose/meese he just about bagged back in '82.

Ju...oops, Jane Doe is somewhat perplexed. She is wondering about life in general and/or specifically. Or not. Ask Jane Doe not me.

A younger brother, a.k.a. Wilfrid, is having a problem with his palm pilot. The pilot in his palm is having trouble navigating.

An annoying and/or irritating nephew who grows an unnamed herb is going to cheer for The Leafs and/or The Leafs and/or The Leafs this winter.









Uncle Do..oops sidney.

Fridays

I always look forward to Fridays as far biking home from work goes. I have no idea why but there is more traffic and people behind the steering wheels are more anxious to get home and chill out. I love it because I've gotta be a little more aware and my adrenelin gets going good and I'm in a rush too. The first stretch is just autos zooming by me and they are going hell bent for leather...to get into traffic jam. Hello.

The second stretch is nothing but hills and a lot of the lanes are turning off into side streets and I have to get between the vehicles turning off and those are going straight ahead. Sometimes I get in between a bus and a gravel truck and I'm stopped at light and I think: I know one has to turn right and the other has to go straight, gee I feel small. And I'm trying to bike up a steep hill, they just have to step on the gas.

The third stretch is the most interesting by far. Up until now I was in the 'burbs more or less. Now I'm in the 'crazy' part of town: two lanes, cars parked on either side, pedestrians going hither and thither (no one pays attention to crosswalks in this part of town and mainly most all Torontonians ignore them) and so the danger is hitting a pedestrian or someone opening their car door. It's beautiful though. All along this stretch (of Ukranians, then Koreans, then Italians, then chinese, etc.) are small shops that cater to their own community. Toronto really is a big city of small communities.

The fourth stretch is a calm one (because it actually has a bike lane) but an interesting one. It's on a street called Harbord. The first part is where mainly Portugese live and then it disects Spadina which is Chinatown and then it goes through St. George St. which is all about the University of Toronto. The ivied buildings and the students milling about. And then Harbord Street runs into Queen's Park which means the Ontario legislative buildings and it gets confusing (it took me a while to figure out the best bike route through this little stretch).

And the final stretch. Disecting Bay, Yonge, Church, Jarvis, Sherbourne, and then finally Parliament Streets. It sounds like a long way, but I usually make it home in an hour. Fridays though, I get home and say: "I survived, yay, that was a lot of fun"

An Addendum

I can't help it but it was funee: So I'm watching Ger and Jim heading off to the trailer as me and Kev are talking around Jim's campfire. I'm thinkin': they are leaving us, how the hell are me and Kev going to make it up that big hill, and I gotta catch a plane in an hour or two. Four o'clock in the morn and Kev is nattering, well it may have been me. "Kev, there is no one around, we have to walk up there by ourselves". "whom?" "Your brothers left us to our own devices and I'm not confident about making it to Jim's trailer" "Hang on to me, Uncle Don, I'll show you the way" Hello. So we start off and Kev veers. "Kev where are you?" "help" "where are you?" "look for the person amidst the flora and fauna" "Kev, I feel a sense of deja-vu, didn't we go through this on the canoe trip?" "are you going to help me up, shaddup" "By the way that was an amazing feat of tumbling, did you know you could do that, I'd give you ten out of ten on that" "how much farther?" "we just started, here we go, hang on to me Kev" Veer. "I'm going to insist Jim make a firepit closer to his trailer, like in his living room, by the where are you?" "I'm checking out Brenda's landscaping up close" "How is it?" "painful".

Hello

Is there any Storm Clan member not going a have child soon? Can we have a conference? I love children but do we need them all at once? The idea of it is to spread them out a little.

Kristen/Jim and Col/Jen will have the cutest kids in the history of mankind. Which is a good thing I suppose. And Brandy (of whom I'm awaiting pics). There's other's I'm sure, I can't keep track anymore. I'm going to open a day care centre in the Kootenays/Okanagan area, I'll be rich. Hello.

I saw Kristen a summer or two ago, I've never felt more comfortable with someone in my life. And Colin. He's got me figured out. Life is happening as it should. Kev as a grandfather. That can't be a good thing. Hello. A conversation between Kev and his grandchild-to-be: "coo" "coo?" "coo" It won't be a long conversation. Hello. I'm hoping when him and Anita babysit he won't give the child any bad habits. "I'm changing your diapers, but I"m above this, I'm not a bad person, I'm watching the Discovery Channel and rhinos are humping, I'm covering your eyes". "And I have nuns coming over and they are taking you to Tibet and that may be too close". "coo" "don't argue, you'll love sipping herbal tea".

Life

David Letterman's Top Ten List of Unanswerable Questions:

10: Why do I always get in the slowest line-up at the grocery store?

09. Why are the worst drivers persons who drive for a living?

08. Why can't lightning strike in the same place twice?

07. Why is Paris Hilton in the news every day?

06. Why do I miss Pat Quinn?

05. Why do I have more confidence in nurses than doctors?

04. Why does Kev enjoy being naked, armed and dangerous at 3:45 am?

03. Why does Ger continue to be annoying?

02. Why does Jim keep putting up with Kev and Ger?

01. why the hell does the Great, Grand, Historic, Somewhat Odd If Not Crazed Uncle Don continue to think they are worthy?

Bob and Lorraine

A picture Bob sent me in January of 2005 when they were in L.A.

Ger (revised)

If anyone cares to look, that landscape behind Ger is amazing. The light was perfect and it looks like a painting not a photo. I've never seen Kootenay Lake and the mountains look like that before. Which is an appropriate lead-in to wish Ger a happy birthday. A talented person who should be put away, I mean honoured.

In honour of Ger and the family I wrote the following. As I've said before, even I think I'm strange:

Which heritage your sperm doth evolve? The angelic side of your spermeth dids't evolve because a crazy swede set sail to North America and ended up in Saskatchewan. Thereby meeting a Darling person (get it?) who entwined to produce three boys and a girl. The eldest of the boys (King Roy The Twelfth) met a dasterdly family in Creston who were run out of Ireland because they couldn't run a grain mill quite right. But somehow the eldest son met the sweetest damsel (Queen Anna The Only) and they settled down into a life of bliss. Short lived, alas, James The First arrived and storm clouds arrived. A decree was bespoken and no more children would be allowed to populate the kingdom. Eek, another child was born, Gerald The Gellyroll. This child was larger than life, and caused a great deal of pain to the township far and wide. It took eight horses and a biiiig wagon to just transport the child to the potty. The call went out to the citizens of the estate. The Lord and Lady have finished with the family thingst. Eek. Her ladyness was with another child? The exhausted mid-wife trudged through the snow to deliver the cutest little bundle of pink. They named him Sir Kevin The Cute. The celebration was short-lived however when it was discovered that Sir Kevin The Cute was borne at 12:01 on Hallowed-Ween. Hello. Discussions were held around the round table. Sir Galahad suggested moving Hallowed-Ween to September fourth and calling it Labour Day in honour of the serfs. But Sir Lancelot prevailed and said to King Roy The Twelfth, what can happen? Hello. So thanks to Sir Kevin The Cute we have ten billion little Elvis impersonators knocking on doors asking for candy on October 31st.

Aah, as the bells pealed in town it was announced another childe was expected, the crowd roared: "not another boy: no more, we are done, finito, ". Hallejuhah, blessed be thy name. After the town crier lost his voice, the milkmaid turned religious, the blacksmith turned white, and the mid-wife died of exhaustion, a girl was borne to the kingdom. They named her Dame Julie in memory of Mother Julie of Gwynhennach. But Hail Mary, unlike her brothren, the youngest childe wast quiet and subdued. The townfolk rushed to praise His and her Highness for such an act of worthiness upon their village green. The air was joyous, the celebrations were raucous and Dame Julie was given a welcome fit for a very small and very poor kingdom (they couldn't even afford a moat).

Bonnie and Clyde (revised)

I've decided there are too many pics of His Great, Grand Poobah (in waiting) on my blog. People get bored. Hello. Yussee, the Great Grand Poobah (in waiting) unfortunately has to look off in the distance and has to look like he know's something about something, that's what Grand Poobah's do (or they wouldn't be a Grand Poobah).

But Brenda, on the other hand, doesn't have to do that. Let me tell you a bit about Brenda from my observations. She is evil. Cute, but eeeeviiiiilllll. In a good way. There ain't no good way, Brenda is evil. We all fell for Brendas' evil ways, I don't think I fell for her evil innocence so much as others. I wouldn't of course. But my evil eye will shift from poor, innocent, cherubic Justin (I never thought I would write that down in my life) to Brenda. One can't take relatives at face value anymore. Justin looks like Al Capone and Brenda could be mistaken for Snow White (well maybe not, how about Bonnie of Bonnie and Clyde).

Love you Brenda
It's goes without saying I love you

An Odd Bicycle Repair Shop

I try to take my bike into Aaron's at least once a week if not sooner. Aaron's younger sister, Diptheria has a new concept of fixing bikes. Fix the owner and the bike will follow. I'm gonna argue with that?

I've never met Aaron actually. There well could be. Diptheria tells me he has expertise in chains, tattooes and know's Charles Manson personally.

And so I've gone down to the the B's in the phone book to find a new bicycle repair shop: Bibble Bratwurst's Bike Emporium.

Max in a Bad Mood

Even the nicest dog in the history of mankind can have off days. It could have been due to the antlers he was wearing during Christmas '03. He didn't think they suited him, he would have preferred the red nose. Max's top ten list of annoying things:

10. Okay already, I don't mind a fire. But do they have to put the aerosol cans in it?

09. I don't mind thunder, but why does it have have to be noisy?

08. Who the hell came up with the seven dog years for every one human year. I don't remember being consulted on this. Shouldn't it be the other way around? We don't start wars.

07. My favourite hockey team has always been the Maple Leafs. Does anyone know how annoying it has been to pretend I like the Canucks? Of course the food and shelter thing comes into play here.

06. No one asked of course, no one ever does. Yes I enjoy retrieving balls, and yes I enjoy hiding them. But those little white ones with dimples in them can be awfully painful. Who asked the elderly wierd one to visit? He has hit me several times. If he actually lived here I'd be dead a long time ago.

05. I wasn't consulted on this either. Shouldn't 'pets' have rights? A pet bill of rights? We could choose who owns us. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have chosen the skinny guy. He's subject to wild mood swings. Try to get a little attention from him in the morning. Or at lunch. Hello.

04. If someone would have asked me, and we know that isn't going to happen, the silly game of throwing projectiles at a wall would be outlawed. How can I cozy up under someone's feet if they keep getting up every 45 seconds? It's rediculous.

03. Not that I was asked, but in the unlikely event that I was, I'd recommend that persons above the age of sixty should be knighted and given 12 million dollars so they could treat me with the respect and dignity I deserve.

02. It's not up me, because nobody asked, but I hear dog heaven is going to be populated by dogs. That could be boring. But maybe not. Maybe not.

01. Not an annoyance, just a muse, it's been all about me. As it should have been. I heard the skinny guy telling the weird elderly person that I can't be replaced. Of course not, are you kidding? But there will be another dog to take my place. Not for a while, but there will be. That place is meant for a dog.

I just see all these dogs in apartments in Toronto, what would they think of Kevin's? With all the space. And these people work. One thing I can't get my mind around is why own a dog if you live in an apartment. Obviously it works, but I don't get it.

Reprobates and musings

It's rather nice to have these three reprobates as friends (as well as relatives). Not a bad thing.

When I turn sixty-three, I'm going to get crabby again. I keep thinking that biking has no influence on my life (other than the physical effort put into it). Maybe it does. For the fourth or fifth time I have put off seeing the Doctor. I don't see what good can come from it. But I will go this time. If you don't hear from me for six or seven months, it means I'm under sedation and on whatever life support systems the hospital has to offer. I've already got my hospital room picked out.

I hear Anita talk about how much time she has to spend in a room washing it down, depending on whether the person died from a communicable disease or not. Hello. They will have to torch my room. I wonder what they will do with my brain? I do not want it to be pickled (anyone who's lip even comes close to turning upward in a smile, I will come down there and drive a blunt-edged sword through their sternum).

Sci-fi

One of my passions is science-fiction. To me, that is where good writing is at. And of course it gives my mind a little exercise (which is a good thing).

And it seems sci-fi writers don't mind me. Hello. We connect. But the bad thing is I can never find enough books good sci-fi books at my local library. The bike comes in handy, I have sci-fi books out from across the GTA (greater toronto area).

Yay

We all knew Karen and Colleen are cute but Robin? In a round-a-bout, stretch ones imagination to the limit kind of way he might be. It wouldn't hurt to be blind either.

I think he's cute, The Rest of the World (TROTW) may not.

Nice

A picture of Marcel and Coleen during Marcel's graduation this last May. Today Robin and Karen are leaving for the coast to drive Coleen back to university.