Brunch at one of our favourite spots, Stella’s on Provencher where we had the “usual” Mexican Breakfast followed by a walk in the park.
Author: Garry
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Older Kids
You never stop worrying about your kids. How could you? They might be older but they’re still running around unsupervised!
Emoji -> ?
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PhotoPills, a learning experience
PhotoPills is iPhone software that helps you plan photographs of the sun, moon, Milky Way and more. I bought the software several years ago but this was the first time I actually planned a photo and when out to execute the plan.
The idea was to photograph the moon over the iconic Provencher Bridge, more specifically the Esplanade Riel bridge which runs in parallel for pedestrians and cyclists.
Winnipeg’s Esplanade Riel: A magnificent bridge connecting people and cultures This idea was to have the moon right at the top of the peak of the bridge. Here is the plan.
Overview 
Detail at the shooting spot The red pin is the shooting location and the black pin is the centre of the spire on the bridge. The thin blue line is where the moon will be at 6:09am, 2022-01-28, right over the bridge spire.
One of the tips in planning these photos is to scope out your shooting location physically to get familiar with the area before arriving in the dark, a good tip.
I thought I knew the area so I skipped the scouting trip. I’d just drive up Waterfront Drive, park near the train bridge (red pin) and I’m good to go. What I didn’t account for was the line of sight from the red dot to the bridge. I get to the spot, turn around, and I can’t see any of the bridge! It’s completely obscured by the large trees that line the river bank and I’m not up high enough to shoot over them. 🙁
So, when I moved to a near by spot where could get a good sightline to the bridge, the moon of course was now no longer in the correct position and this was the result.
A different crop The other learning was to better understand how high the moon will be relative to the top of the bridge. Photopills calculates the hight of the moon but you need to figure out how high the bridge is. A little internet searching turned up:
Top of the pylon is 57 metres (187 ft) above the bridge deck, and the bridge deck is about 11 metres (36 ft) above the water level.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esplanade_RielSo, my shooting spot is -10m from the black pin which appears to be the bridge deck not the top of the spire so I’d need the moon to be ~67m. According to Photopills the moon would be 70m higher that the black pin. So, it should have worked, but I wasn’t at the red pin shooting location but the moon seems like it would still be too low.
My next attempt will be on 2022-02-17 at 12:41am when there will be a full moon. Hopefully, the weather will be good and there will be a clear sky. This time, for sure, my shooting location is better known and there is nothing between the spot and the bridge spire.
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Alfred E. Newman had it right
Alfred E. Neuman Humble people worry less than the arrogant. Why is that? Because they aren’t so conceited as to think they have any idea (or control over) what may or may not happen.
The poet Rilke put it well: “Life is not even close to being as logically consistent as our worries; it has many more unexpected ideas and many more facts than we do.” Worry is pointless not only because it rarely makes things better, but also because you’re rarely ever worried about the right thing!
Seneca’s line was that “nothing happens to the wise man contrary to his expectation.” By that the arrogant person might take it to mean that the wise man is so smart that they are aware of all the possibilities. The humble soul knows that is probably not what Seneca meant. They know it’s more plausible that the wise are aware of Murphy’s Law and the absurd randomness of the universe. That is, within the range of expectations of the wise man is the idea that just about anything can happen.
Remember that today when you get anxious. The thing you’re hoping won’t happen, or hoping will happen; well… it’s just as likely that the world has entirely different plans for you. These plans are often things we couldn’t have even comprehended, let alone anticipated or prevented.
So let go a little bit. Don’t worry. It’s unbecoming. It’s arrogant. Be humble instead.
Full credit to The Daily Stoic
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The Decon’s Bench
Well, it’s been almost 20 years in the making but it’s done!
The Decon’s Bench The project started as a 50th birthday present for Shirley. Somehow it got derailed many times over the years. I’d build a part of it and then park it away in the corner of the shop. You’d think it would have been completed last year with the lockdowns and all the time at home and while it did get some attention it wasn’t until the end of 2021 and January 2022 that the push was on for completion.
So, what is a Decon’s Bench? There seems to be a mixed opinion on the origin and purpose but it seems that a bench with a storage space under the seat is common. Ours has a flip up lid under the seat cushion with a large storage area underneath. For us it’s a place to sit when you’re putting on your shoes or boots.
A happy user! ? -
High School Shop Projects
A coupe of shop project creations from the boys. Keeping the photos for posterity. Fate of the creations is uncertain. ☹️
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Toolbox Memories
My Grampa, my dad’s father, built this for me when I was a young boy, about 8 or 9 years old.
The toolbox came with a saw (original still in the box), a hammer, screw drivers, pliers and a number of small glass jars containing various sizes of nails. I still have some of those glass jars too! The box is very well constructed and has a lock which was quite magical as a young kid. Something I could lock up and keep secrets in. Sadly, the key has gone missing.
My earliest fond memory of using the tools was in Sudbury on a sunny Saturday afternoon out in the garage cutting up various bits of scrap wood and making my version of a toy boat. Something like this only less fancy. I thought it was a masterpiece! After all I did it all by myself!
Fancy Toy Wood Boat Over the years this toolbox has held lots of childhood treasures and good memories.
When we had Eric and Scott my dad decided to keep the tradition going and build our boys similar toolboxes.
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Strava in 2021
The video below has my Strava highlights from 2021 consisting of mainly cycling with some hiking and rowing thrown in.
Not too bad considering some of my other activities the 2021 that kept my activity on the bike a little lower that normal ?. I’m mainly on the trainer in the winter and still doing some outside riding with the FROG group as well. However, I’m already looking forward to riding around Winnipeg & Kenora in just a jersey and shorts. ?♂️.
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My Anchor Holds within the Veil – love unrationed
A great blog entry that relates well to my tattoo.
Read on www.loveunrationed.com/2018/04/27/my-anchor-holds-within-the-veil/We have this certain hope, like a strong and unbreakable anchor holding our souls to God himself. Our anchor of hope is fastened to the mercy seat in the heavenly realm beyond the sacred threshold. Heb 6:19 TPT
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Lake Life: Winter Edition
Len & I are at the lake for a weekend of R&R, hanging out and basically not doing much of anything.
We’d hoped to see the bay freeze over or be partially frozen but we’re too late this year. There is a good 3-4 inches of ice and no open water in our area.
We set out from Winnipeg around 3pm and stopped in Kenora for dinner at the Lake of the Woods BrewCo. At the cottage Len was able to drive up the driveway after clearing some of the snow plow ridge at the foot of the driveway. I start the furnace, fireplace and kerosene heater and the process of bringing the cottage up from -14ºC begins.
We settle in with a drink and a movie and 2 1/2hours later the temperature upstairs is pretty good at 17ºC. Downstairs is still an icebox. By the next morning it’s quite pleasant upstairs and the kerosene heater is maintaining the temperature without the furnace.
After a cup of coffee and a trip to Redddens for the newspaper it’s time to chop a hole in the ice and bring up some water. I drill a few holes and Len chops out the area between the holes so we can fill the buckets.
Chop Chop