keyboard fail

Keyboard fail??
Apparently that is what I have. Or at least my computer has. No more typing for me.

That is as good an excuse as any to finally get my new Mac.

Yay. Maybe tomorrow I will have everything transferred and I can set it all up.

I am SO EXCITED!

Monday AMuse

the weather

It has been bitterly cold out these last couple of days. Not mid-west type of freezing cold, but still, uncomfortably cold. With windchill. And snow.

I was watching the weather channel this morning when I got home from work to see how the rest of the day would unfold (or at least, I had it on while I got caught up on some blogs) and the guy who was standing outside the studio and almost lost his scarf was going on about the high winds and cold temps and the traffic snarls and the more snow to come and how it was also messy as hell out there, so be careful. About 20 minutes later, he came back on, as they do, to repeat the same video and message, except this time it was "icy as hell out there". Finally, I guess he decided to tone down his language, because 20 minutes later he came back on, with the same scarf and same winds and same videos, but by now it was "icy as well out there".

Now, I think it is time for my nap.

Monday AMuse

and, because I know you are all wondering about those beer vats...

They arrived a short time ago, safe and sound at the Molson plant on Carlingview after nine days on the road.

apparently it will now take several months (months!) to hook up the vats.

photo from yfrog as seen on twitter (more photos of the journey on link above for the truly addicted)

viewers like you

Have a gander at this post of Nanny Goats in Panties who has had a bit of a rant on her blog that may or may not be an over reaction to this article in the Daily Mail.

Either way, it is a telling tale of what some in the UK inaccurately assume of Americans and public television.

Viewers Like You who watch PBS do not like to be patronized.

curiosity

A while ago, a blogger had a post that included a moan about her husband's penchant for watching such shows as How It's Made and wondered if she was alone in having to endure such torture. Many of the commenters were in sympathy with her. But I happen to quite like such shows as this and Superstructures and their sort, though How It's Made is best for my short attention span. I like it for its brevity - short bursts of information that does not descend into the realm of far too much information and thereby killing my interest. It is just enough to fulfill my curiosity. It happens to come on television very early in the morning, too, which is just when I am getting home from work, so I often watch it while having my tea and breakfast. For a long time it became my default programme (right up there with House Hunters) when it seemed to be on every few hours on some channel.

Last Sunday, when a friend and I were heading out to a movie, I said that we should make a short detour to see the beer vats that were resting just a kilometre or two up the road. I thought she might be interested in seeing them (since it was all over the news) and she knew I would want to take pictures and was fine with that. When we got to the street and turned the corner, you could see the vats, gleaming in the brilliant sunshine. If anything, they looked even more massive surrounded by open field with the vista of the city off in the distance than they had the previous day when it was snowing and they were still in the city. I pulled up to the shoulder along with the dozens of other cars that had stopped to have a look and take photos and asked her if she wanted to get out and have a closer look. "No, I don't like beer" was her response. So I left her in the running car with the radio on, and wondered what not liking beer had to do with anything? Yes, they were beer vats, but if I hadn't told her that, she could have assumed they were for any number of purposes. Later, we talked about the vats and the amazing things that could be made and transported but I still wondered about that comment.

I was reminded of a time when I was young (and probably a royal pain in the tuckus) and after asking my one millionth question I turned to my mother and said, accusingly, "you don't know very much, do you?" My parents were not the hands on type who might engage you in your interests or questions. My mother would often just respond that she didn't know, usually followed by a "go look it up", signalling an end to the conversation. "Aren't you even the least bit curious about any of this", I would often ask. "No, not really" was her reply. It was not so much the lack of interest - lord knows there are many things I am not interested in - but the lack of curiosity that astounded me. I later noticed, like my friend, that she would often wonder out loud about things, but never had enough interest - or curiosity - to actually seek any answers.

Of course, the internet has been a godsend for seeking answers. It has become easier and faster than ever to get answers, whether detailed or in short, terse sentences. I can be derailed from almost any search into a realm that I had no previous interest or knowledge and become thrilled with what I found. My bookmarks of interesting subjects and websites has grown to an almost astronomical size. Of course, much of it I rarely look at again. But, every now and then, I will remember something... and can't find it in my bookmarks or favourites for all the other crap that is in there. I prefer to think of it as an example of my wide ranging curiosity.


...and if you are curious - the beer vats are sitting by the side of the road, a little bit closer to their destination, for a second day because of a snow storm last night making it impossible to lift the hydro wires and not get in the way of the snow plows.

Today would have been my mother's 94th birthday.
She would not have been curious about this blog. Not at all.

a not so amusing monday

Blogger has messed up my template.
I tried to fix it and ... well, lost the old template.
Now, I cannot get my columns, even though the template says it should be in columns.


I guess I should be grateful that it was only the template that got lost.....

It is a long, slow journey for the six massive beer vats enroute to the Molson's brewery.

First, there was the 20 days crossing the ocean from Germany. They couldn't be unloaded for a few days due to high winds in November. Then they stayed in the Hamilton Port for a few weeks while the final logistics of the move were made. Then Christmas came... so the move was postponed so as not to interfere with holiday traffic.

But, last night was the much anticipated move. The first leg of a four night slow crawl.

Because of their size, highways are out of the question, they would never fit under the bridges, or the many overhead signs. The company charged with this undertaking had to plan a route that would avoid overpasses and then coordinate with police forces to close intersections, raise or cut hydro and cable wires to get the vats through, steer trucks by remote control through tight areas and remove metal poles then weld them back in place. The plan was to move about 10miles (15km) a night. then rest during the day.

Last night, it barely made it 3 miles into the first leg. The freight company is blaming the hydro company for not being prepared. Then a snow storm hit.

This map shows the anticipated first leg. The vats made it to Dundurn, just before the bridge. It still has a l-o-o-ng way to go!

The beer vats are huge — 45 metres long, eight metres high and more than seven metres wide - or in American values: 147' 7" long, 25' 3" high and more than 23' wide. And they can each hold enough liquid for about 1.2 million bottles of beer. There are 6 of them. Pity it's destined for Molson Coors and not a better brewery


Update on the crawl....
now that the convoy is out of the city things are moving better. the vats are now resting after a 12 hour 13km journey on day 2.

I resolve...

There are a few resolutions I could be following through on. Like heading back to the gym and working out - it has been far too long and I am expecting a guilt inducing phone call from my personal trainer any day now.

But, I still have chocolate that needs eating. And I got a wonderfully soft pair of pyjamas and cute slippers for Christmas that need breaking in. And a new book to read (actually two new books.) One is Bill Bryson's At Home, which I am reading at home because remember what happened the last time I read one of his books out in public.

Monday AMuse

balloons floating over mountains of ice cream

a salami highway

more balloons floating above a garden of delights

Yes, you may have noticed, I like food art!

Carl Warner