Tempus Fugit

Latin (tem-pu̇s-ˈfü-git): Time Flies

Category: Grab Bag

Stuff about stuff

  • Great Fall Weekend

    It was actually a hot weekend for this time of year with temperatures in the mid to upper 20s. Both Saturday and Sunday were totally clear blue skies. On Saturday, I was up late and after fixings a technical problem with the blog it was off for a cycle. The FOG guy were off for a BBQ at one of the guys cottages which didn’t quite fit my schedule so I rode solo. Wow, it’s a lot more work when you’re riding alone. I took the “short” route back up Henderson, instead of the lap around Birdshill Park, for a 76km ride. Plenty given the warm strong south wind which was pretty much head on for the second half of the ride.

    Saturday night we drove out to the lake and joined Eric & Dez for Sunday. I was up early to catch the sunrise. After making a cup of coffee to go, I was off in the kayak for a 2 1/2 hr. paddle around the bay and out to Copper Island. The wind was picking up on the paddle to Copper making it a nice workout. Later, after brunch, Eric & I did a little bush whacking in the area that my hold a future construction site. It seemed to get warmer through the day and stayed warm and very breezy through the night.

    Monday was cloudy but still warm. A coffee on the dock and a little reading started the day. Then Shirley and I went off to Rushing River to look around. We hiked the lower river trail and got caught in the rain. Back at the cottage it was a late breakfast and a nap. The nap was the result of reading this book about all the wonderful benefits of napping, so of course I had to try it out. Later it was still cloudy and raining so we packed up and headed into town. Another great weekend.

  • Ring of Fire

    I’m at work writing a report and listening to the iPod on shuffle mode. Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash just came on and it brought a smile to my face. You know what I mean? 😉

    Inside joke perhaps.

  • Mission Accomplished




    On the Roof

    Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

    I spend most of the weekend putting on the gazebo roof you see in the background. It took a little longer that anticipated, but now for the reward. It’s a nice clear sunny warm afternoon, and I’ve packed a lunch and I’m off to enjoy the kayak for a couple of hours before heading home.

  • Winnipeg Dragon Boat Festival 2007


    Dragon Heads
    Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

    On Friday night we were down at the Forks to see the start of the 2007 Dragon Boat Festival, and especially to watch Dez race with her team mates from Price Waterhouse Coopers.

    She was in two heat and their team performed well. They will be back again on Sunday to compete again. The weather was a little cool and it from watching the participants you get wetter that you think so by the end of the evenings racing there were lots of chilled folks looking for dry cloths and trying to warm up.

    In the very first race there was an odd maneuver by one of the boats where it suddenly cut across the path of two of the other boats almost causing a collision! The boats race four at a time and have clearly defined lanes which they should stay in. The boats should always be travelling in parallel, but as you can see from this photo something has clearly gone wrong. Fortunately, there was no collision, but the race was really messed up.

  • Total Eclipse of the Moon


    Lunar Eclipse
    Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

    Hey, isn’t that a Pink Floyd song on Dark Side of the Moon? No, the song I was thinking of was Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart.

    Anyway, we rolled out of bed this morning at 3:45am to catch the event. Initially, it was a little cloudy but the skies cleared for a perfect view of the total lunar eclipse, the first in the 21st century. About half way through I went back to the cottage to pick up the camera and get a few shots. As the eclipse proceeded and the moon dimmed more and more, the stars really started to pop out in the night sky. Some more photos and a NASA explanation of the event

  • Crazy Stuff

    On Thursday we’d been out to dinner with friends and were back at our house just chatting on the street before calling it a night when a young man starts walking up the street talking very loudly. At first we thought he was just talking on a cell phone to friends, but it turns out he was calling home for help and when he spotted us he came our way for assistance.

    It turns out he had just been sprayed point blank in the face with bear or pepper spray by some kids around the corner and he was in agony. Well, what was a quite evening got quite exciting! We took him around the back and had him flushing his face and eyes with water. This provided some relief but not much. Shirley called 911 and help was on it’s way. It also turns out we know his parents through a mutual friend, so Shirley calls around and gets his home number. It turns out nobody’s home because his Mom is already driving around trying to find him from the previous cell phone call.

    Soon there is the sound of sirens and the firemen arrive, followed by an ambulance followed by two police cars. The street is now blocked off and blinking like a Christmas tree on steroids. The firemen ask for milk, and proceed to flush his eyes, nose & face with it. This helps take the sting away much better that water as it turns out. Everything wraps up in a few minutes and they take him off to the hospital to get checked over just as him Mom arrives. Quite the night.

    There are some sick kids out there. Who’s just hanging around looking for somebody to spray with pepper spray? We find out from the police, that this was the second incident in the neighborhood that night.

    Powered by ScribeFire.

  • Flying home

    I’m on Westjet 553 in 12F flying back from Toronto. 12F is the exit row and F doesn’t have a seat in front so there is lots of legroom. Another bonus is you get to pre-board.
    It’s been a good trip for a sad occasion, the death of my Aunt Florence. She was a wonderful lady and so much like my mom in many ways. Lots of memories stirred.
    It was good to re-connect with many of the cousins and uncles. My sister and I stayed at Aunt Floence’s house with family. So many memories in that place from over 54 years and our time when we lived in Toronto.
    A hard transition for all.

  • Muddy Waters 100 – My First Century


    Muddy Waters 100
    Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

    No, I’m not that old!

    However, on August 12th I cycled my first century – 100 miles! It was a great ride with around 200 participants riding 50km, 100km, or 100 miles (162km). The cycling computer photo below has the stats for the record.



    Century - Cycling Computer Numbers

  • Mass Murder or Jones Town Style Suicide?


    Abandoned Monkeys #3
    Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

    Today a grisly discovery was made by an outdoor enthusiast while hiking the popular Tunnel Island trails just outside Kenora, Ontario.

    “I was just walking along side the tracks taking some photographs when something unusual caught my eye.” said the local summer resident. “At fist I thought it was just some sort of unusual fungi or something but when I looked closer I was horrified!”. “As I uncovered one then another and then another it was just too gruesome to believe.” The bodies of over fifteen monkey were exhumed from beside the CPR main line and there may be more discoveries in the days ahead as the investigation unfolds. More photographs of the crime scene have been posted here and here. The public is encouraged to call in with any information pertaining to this discovery.

    Local officials are investigating and it’s not clear yet whether foul play was involved or this was some sort of a monkey cult mass suicide. Officials are warning everyone in the area to be on the look out for any signs of monkey business.

  • Seen on the side of the road


    Weather Vane
    Originally uploaded by Big Dadoo

    The things you can see on the side of the road can be truly amazing. This for instance is a functioning weather vane, it’s actually balanced and spins in the breeze.

    I spotted this on Hwy 3 on the way back from St-Leon where I was checking out the wind turbine farm. Announced in 2004 there are 63 of these producing 99MW. These wind turbines are quite big and scattered all over the place. I’d really anticipated that they would be much more tightly grouped. For more technical details you can check on the specs or some overview material on the whole project.

    On the trip there and back I did some geocaching and as always got to see some of the country side that I’d normally drive right on by. It was a hot day so the air conditioned drive between stops was much appreciated. I took in some sights in Carmen, St-Leon, Sumerset, Roseisle, Notre Dame de Lourdes and a historic church in Cardinal. I’m not sure if it was the heat or just the laid back country life but almost everything was closed and I saw very few people outside. Some of the towns almost seemed like ghost towns.